Page 73 of The Nightmare Queen

“ENOUGH!” Both of them turn to me stunned. “If I have to listen to the two of you argue for another second, I’ll put the both of you out.” Eveera’s lips press in disapproval but at least she quiets. I crouch down in front of the accused men. “Let me be very clear here, gentlemen. You can give us the information we want, or you can die.” I wait for an argument from Will that surprisingly doesn’t come.

The bigger one of the two, who's named we found out is Zekiel, starts to laugh. His ruddy brown eyes are bloodshot and locked onto Eveera. “How did we miss you?” He asks. “You should have died the night she did.”

Eveera’s eyes flash and then something hot and sticky splashes across my face. I look down to see Zekiel’s head now on the floor at my feet. She is panting heavily in front of me, her eyes blackened and her magicked claws dripping with blood. I stand up and wrap my arms around her, pushing her back a few steps. The second man, Ryel, gapes in horror at his decapitated companion. “There.” She gasps her face turning into my chest for a moment. “Maybe we can turn him into a friend for Percy.”She half heartedly jokes while I switch the weight of her fully onto my left side.

I slip my hand down into the slit of her dress and reach for one of the daggers attached to her thigh. “I so wish I could have taken my time with you.” The words are low, he stutters trying to put together some half-assed argument to get out of this but those attempts are thwarted when the dagger sinks into his chest.

“Well, that was productive.” Ezra snaps storming out of the cell.

Once back in the room, Bennett had questions for us. Unfortunately, we had no answers to give.

Will rushed to the bathroom sick from the blood that splattered onto him. But I was less concerned about him and more concerned about the queen next to me. Her face is stricken, a mixture of hate, pain, and confusion.She didn’t bother closing her mental walls to me, those five words on a constant loop in her mind. 'How did we miss you?'What in the gods is that supposed to mean? I wonder. When Will returns, his skin has taken on a green pallor and he is wearing one of my night shirts.

We all wait in hesitation for her to say something as she paces back and forth the length of the room. “We end thisfast.I want what is owed to me for my end of this deal.” Her voice is shaky as she says it.

“What exactly is owed to her?” Will asks quietly.

Her head cocks to the side, “I’m going to make our prince here a king.”

Eveera

I left them with their jaws gaping and information I hadn’t planned on sharing yet. Millicent I found asleep in the bed, her skin color finally pinking up again. “Stupid girl. Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to drink from a cup that wasn’t yours?” I mutter.

From my peripheral I can see my reflection watching me through the crack in the bathroom door. Blood is stuck in my hair and my face and chest are dotted with the red spatter pattern from Zekiel.

“You should have died the night she did.”

I wanted to scream at him, that I did die that night. That they killed me the moment they gutted her. It wouldn’t make a difference. Just like his death my feelings mean nothing anymore and after tonight? The king and queen’s blood will never be enough. No, now, I want every fucking individual connected to their deaths.

My hands grip the lip of the slate counter top. Like a dam breaking all at once the wave of emotions tears out of me. I can’t find it in me at the moment to care how loud I might be. If my feelings truly mean nothing, then who cares who hears me? Right?

Let them hear what they’ve driven me to. Let them hear what they’ve created.

With each sob my back pulls tight, the familiar itch to overtake the pain is restless under my skin. I’ve nowhere to place my rage and against my better judgment I hurl my magic into the mirror.

Glass shatters everywhere, over the counter, onto the floor, onto my skin where tiny cuts now make themselves comfortable.

My hand closes around a larger shard and I watch the blurry eyes as I bring it up to my shoulder. I reach as far back as I can and press it hard into the scarred skin. The burn from both the jagged slice and the rune steal my breath. “One” I gasp. Two arms rip the shard from my hand and wrap around me before I can make another cut. “NO!” I hear myself scream, the sobs racking through my chest as we stumble back, falling clumsily to the floor.

Rorin’s voice starts whispering in my ear, and whole whatever his words are, comforting or not, all I can do is shake my head rapidly as I yell. His arms put pressure around me, keeping me still in place until the sobs stop.

I don’t know how long we’ve been sitting here for. But, the words I try to speak come out in a hoarse quiet croak. “I broke your mirror.” Is all I manage to get out. Rorin’s hand brushes down my hair as he squeezes me a little tighter against him, mumbling into my hair.

“Shhh…it can be replaced.” I nod slowly. “I did die…” I whisper as pure exhaustion takes over and my eyelids start to droop. He’s body stiffens around me momentarily before he repeats himself, not acknowledging the vulnerable admission.

“Shhh…it can be replaced. It’s only right before sleep takes me that I hear him whisper, a kiss pressing into my hair,“but you cannot be.”

The light streaming into the bathroom assaults my eyelids, stirring me awake.

My ass is completely numb from spending the entire night on the hard floor. I blink trying to clear the sleep from my eyes when I hear soft snores come from behind me. I peer over my shoulder, trying not to disturb him.

Rorin’s head is back against the wall. His arms still locked in a tight embrace around me. I try to tip forward enough to see Axel’s body come into view - he’s contorted in a horribly uncomfortable position against the door frame.

I start to move out of Rorin’s grip as subtly as I can but his arms flex in response, pinning me to my spot. “Can’t we pretend for just a little longer?” He asks. His voice is heavy with sleep and his eyes remain closed.

“What?” My words are a whisper.

One hazel eye peeks open, looking right at me. “I said, can’t we pretend for just a little longer? You can go back to hating me and wishing death upon my head when it’s not only daybreak.”

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