Sovereign Hope by Frankie Rose Page A

head on my
arms folded on the desk, wishing there were no more mysteries.
    Agatha laughed
under her breath. “He’ll be back soon. I’ll get him to tell you
everything. Until then, you’ll just have to be patient.”
    Patience had never been my forté. “He’s not going to tell
me anything,” I grumbled into my arms.
    “ He doesn’t have a choice,” Agatha murmured, so low I barely
heard her, and then stood up. The tiny woman left me with my face
still buried in my sleeves.
     
     
     

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    Thank Daniel
     
     
    It was
Wednesday, but it could have been Sunday, or maybe even Monday. The
days were all depressingly the same here, after all. I retrieved a
brand-new horror novel from the shelf in my room and sat down in
the lounge, preparing to immerse myself in another world for a
short while. It was easier than dealing with the confusion of my
own. It was a thick book; at least it would last a couple of
days.
    “ I never did thank you for setting up my room, Agatha,” I
said, as I traced my index finger along the lines of the
blurb.
    “ You should thank Daniel,” Agatha replied without pausing in
what she was doing. The sound of her typing was all machine-gun
determination.
    “ What?”
    “ Oh, yeah. He arranged all of that for you. I was surprised he
managed to get that bed down here at such a short
notice.”
    Daniel? I stared at the cover of the
book. How had he known my favorite author? Or that this was the
only one of his books I hadn’t read?
    I did my best
to follow the story for a while, but it was impossible. The
fifteenth page came around and I had no idea what was going on. The
book made a loud snap when I slammed it closed. Why did he have to
be so confusing?
    As if on cue,
Agatha’s head shot up. She paused, her eyes distant as she listened
for sounds I couldn’t make out.
    “ He’s home.”
    A rush ran through my body, a mixture of apprehension and
panic, combined with a considerable amount of excitement, and I
chastised myself . “ I don’t know what you’re so happy about,” I grumbled to
myself under my breath. He was going to be hella furious with
me.
    Agatha caught
sight of me muttering and chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to him.
I may be small but he’s more afraid of me than you’d imagine.”
    “ I’m fine.”
    “ I know, I’m just saying.” She smiled and turned back to her
computer screen, so when Daniel entered the hangar two seconds
later I was the only person staring at the entrance.
    He paused and caught me in the flash of his eyes. The
term green with envy sprung to mind for some reason, though that wasn’t the
particular sin that burned through me when he locked me to the
spot. Nope. That would be
lust , my conscience whispered. I scowled.
Was it possible for your own body to turn traitor on you? If it
was, then mine most certainly had.
    Daniel wore
his battered leather jacket over a white v-neck shirt and fresh
jeans. Still the same green Converse, though. Had he bought new
clothes while he was gone just to avoid coming home? I couldn’t
remember much, but he had definitely been drenched head to toe in
blood when he stormed out.
    Daniel’s jaw
tightened. I was doing a pretty convincing impression of a rabbit
trapped in headlights as he made his way into the room, his keys
clutched tightly in his fist, whitening his knuckles.
    Agatha
continued her work, seemingly unfazed by his return. He stopped at
his desk, picking up a pile of papers to flick through before
dropping them back down again. My mouth was so dry it was hard to
swallow. I studied his face for any signs of emotion.
    He looked
tired more than anything. There were dark circles under his eyes,
and he bore a vaguely haunted look as he slowly removed his jacket
and slung it over the back of the chair. I dragged my gaze back to
my hands, trying to look casual as Agatha began to hum under her
breath. The softness of her voice eased some of the tension that
sparked in the air.
    “ How’s