Page 93 of Treasured

“My Queen?”

I ignored Triboulet. Searching within myself, I sought the bond connecting me to my son. It was always there, ever since the night I Made him.

But it was gone. Vanished, like it had never existed at all. Like I hadn’t shared the gift of immortality and Made him into the prince he was.

“No!” I shrieked.

Somehow, I’d assumed this little jaunt with his wife was temporary. That after all this, once she was dead, maybe I would have my weapon back. That my son would return with his tail between his legs and realize the fault in his ways.

Now, the absolute wrongness of my assumption slammed into me.

He cut our bond. He severed our connection, spitting in my face. I sacrificed for him. I gave him a position, a home, a name to be feared. This was how he repaid me?

I looked up and screamed my fury to the heavens. Rage poured out of me, and I repeatedly slammed my fists into the wall. Stones crumbled to dust, but I did not stop.

Alone. Betrayed.

Again.

Thrice, my sons had betrayed me. Thrice now, they’d abandoned me. Could no one just be mine? Could no one do what I asked? Sebastian would pay for this. Death was too good for him now.

A hand landed on my shoulder. “Queen Marguerite?”

Triboulet dared touch me?

I twisted around, snatching his hand before he could pull it away. “Did I give you permission to do that?” I snarled. “Or to speak, for that matter?”

His eyes were wide, and he trembled. “Apologies, Your Majesty. I just thought…”

“That’s your problem.” I tightened my grip on his arm with one hand, and with the other, I grabbed him by the throat and squeezed. “I find I’ve grown tired of you, Triboulet. Once, you were a good soldier. Once, you knew how to listen.”

“I do know how to listen,” he insisted.

I ignored him, drawing on my shadows. They came to my call, moving us through the Void. We landed in a cold storage room beneath Castle Sanguis. The floor was covered in dried blood, and the air stank of fear, sweat, and death.

Keeping my hand wrapped around the general’s throat, I released his wrist and formed a dagger out of the shadows. The Blood Ruby pulsed at my throat in eager anticipation of what was to come.

Triboulet’s eyes bulged as my fingers dug into his neck.

I yanked him close enough to kiss and whispered, “My ruby is hungry. I would ask if you had any last words, but I don’t care what you have to say.”

He shook. “Please, no! I’ve served you. I’ve done as you asked. This isn’t…”

His cowardly, useless pleas ended in a gurgle as my shadow dagger severed his head from his shoulders. Blood spurted like a red fountain from the wound. I fell to my knees, dragging his corpse over to me. Lifting the ruby reverently, I dipped it in the fresh blood and chanted the now-familiar words Koleta had taught me all those years ago. They easily fell from my lips, and the air thickened as the magic streamed out of me.

The ruby bathed in Triboulet’s blood and shone like a star of death.

Finally.

My power was returning. It was mine. Once again, I would be the strongest in the land. This was exactly what I needed to defeat the challengers to my throne. It was…

The jewel flashed once, twice, then it sputtered and returned to its murky state.

“No!” I yelled. “No, no, no!” My heart raced in my chest, and fury pulsed through me. I reached up and tore my hair out from the roots. Kneeling in my general’s blood, I clutched the necklace to my chest. “Come back to me! Shine! Imbue me with power!”

I shouted at the jewel until my voice was hoarse.

Nothing happened. The ruby was as good as dead. It held barely any power, and right now, it would do little in terms of protecting my throne.

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