Chapter 96

• Simone did her best to avoid Jackson. What made it all the easier was the fact that he was avoiding her too. Each new day, Simone was thrown into new forms of queenly duties. She was dragged to meetings and forced to listen to lectures. For the most part, Simone kept her poise and accepted her fate, but she also noticed something else getting in her way of concentration.
• Her sickness was beginning to hit her all over again. She randomly had short piercing episodes where she would feel tremendous pressure or pinching pain absorb her body. Simone silently bared the pain to conceal as much of it from the family. At moments, she would even wish for her death. The likeliness of actually turning into a vampire wasn't very promising. Yet, the risk was something she was willing to take.
• Walking down the hall, Simone felt a sharp pain run up the side of her stomach. She groaned as she bent forward, hoping to dull it somehow. Hearing footsteps, she came up with an excuse; blaming craps for her terrible mood. Another sharp pain drizzled through her body and she hissed. Before she could even register her surroundings, she was lifted into a pair of strong, inviting arms.