Spare me the theatrics #Excerpt from A Stolen Heart #PietasFans #SciFi #MFRWhooks

In this scene, Luc had rescued a little girl who'd been kidnapped. Only afterward did he discover that her going missing was part of a grand scheme for Pietas to control her scientist-parents. When Pietas shows up unannounced and acts as if nothing happened, Luc confronts him about the kidnapping. Pietas denies it.

With Pietas, the truth was often in what wasn't said as much as what was. "Then you hired some lackey to do it."

"A king has no need for lackeys." Pietas drew back a lock of silver hair and flipped it behind his shoulder. "I command soldiers. Or if needed, I ask a favor. Like I did you."

"You asked someone to kidnap this child for you, then you put her into the Guild and asked me to find her."

"I told you. I did not kidnap her."

"If you asked someone to do it, it's kidnapping!" He snapped the wineglass stem, stabbing his hand. He dropped the pieces and pressed a thumb against the cut. The blood staunched. The cut healed within seconds. "Don't skirt the truth. You thrust that child into danger to get what you wanted."

"Spare me the theatrics." Pietas flipped a hand. "The girl wasn't harmed."

"The Guild told her that her parents were dead. They isolated her! She's a Better. Are you aware what the Guild does to non-humans?"

"Betters are human."

"Not to the Guild."

"They are human." Pietas turned his back. "I should know. I designed them. Genetic manipulation is my role in this lifetime."

"As I said, not to the Guild. I rescued a HalfKin child today. They'd been locking him in a windowless room in the dark as punishment. They fed him from a bowl on the floor. He's three. Was that harmless?"

"That's barbaric." Pietas grimaced. "Why would the Guild do that?"

"Because he isn't human. Imagine what they'd do if they discovered what I am."

Antonello Brothers

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#SciFi #Romance

Crystal Clear Truth is out April 25, 2022

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