In Other Worlds by Sherrilyn Kenyon Page A

him. The twisted flesh. The puckered skin . . . How could Livia not be repulsed by him? Even he hated himself. “Get out and leave me alone.”
    â€œAdron?”
    The sound of Livia’s gentle voice washed over him like a gentle caress, and it tore through him like glycerin on glass. Gods, it wasn’t fair!
    She came forward, and when he felt her touch on his scarred arm . . .
    Forget the pain of his injuries. They were nothing compared to the mental damage that touch wrought. “Get away from me!” He pushed Livia back and glared at his sister as his monitors blared. “Take her to a lawyer and get us divorced. Now! I mean it, Rina. Don’t you dare ignore me.”
    Theo came running in with two nurses behind him. “Out,” he snapped at the women. “I told you not to upset him.”
    Livia felt her tears swell at the sight of the doctor forcing Adron to lie down and the sound of Adron cursing them all.
    Her throat tight, she looked up at Zarina. “What did I do?”
    â€œIt’s not you, sweetie.” Zarina hugged her to her side as they left the room and headed down the hallway. “Adron is just blaming you for what Alia did.”
    â€œAlia?”
    â€œHis first wife.”
    Livia stumbled at the news. “He was married before?” Please don’t let him still be married. That was one question she hadn’t even thought to ask.
    She nodded. “Yes. And she was one serious bitch. To this day, I’d love to rip her cold heart out and feed it to her. Since she was the Wurish heiress, her father had negotiated a marriage between them when they were both in their teens. Alia had agreed only because she wanted a trophy husband, and as the youngest commissioned officer in League history and the next in line to inherit my father’s empire, Adron was a choice candidate for her.
    â€œBut they never really got along. She was too selfish and bitchy. I think half the missions he took were to escape having to be around her. He spent so much time away from home that he was all but a stranger to us. Then three weeks after Adron had been found—while he was still fighting for his life—my mother, father, and I were in his hospital room, trying to give him reasons to live through the pain. All of a sudden, Alia showed up with divorce papers. She handed them to him and told him she was too young to be nursemaid to some cut-up cripple.”
    Horror for him filled Livia as she gave Zarina an incredulous stare. “How could she do such a thing?”
    â€œI have no idea, but if I live an eternity, I will never forget the look on Adron’s face. I saw something inside him die that day. But honestly, between you and me, I think it’s the best thing that could have happened to him. He didn’t need her in his life, and it was good riddance to self-indulgent trash. I just wish the bitch had had better timing.”
    Zarina stopped and leveled a hard look on her. “And speaking of timing . . . are we going to a lawyer’s office?”
    Livia bit her lip in indecision. Adron had been through so much that she wondered if he was still mentally sound. His physical scars she knew; it was the ones she couldn’t see that scared her.
    She searched Zarina’s eyes for the truth. “Tell me, is he psychotic or abusive?”
    â€œNo. But he is angry and extremely bitter. He was never the type of person to depend on anyone for anything. It humiliates him every time he has to ask for something, and right now he needs help to do even the simplest of things.”
    She could understand that. She’d never liked being dependent either. And if what she’d seen was his worst, she could definitely withstand it. “Then take me home.”
    Zarina smiled. “I knew I liked you for a reason.”

    Over the next few days, Livia spent as much time as she could learning about Adron while she waited for him to come home.
    Zarina and