Page 76 of War of Her Heart

My eyes shot up when I heard my name. It was Astrid. What was she doing in here? She’d never been in here with them.

“Since it’s the last day of your punishment I have one more, well, I guess you could say surprise, left.”

The creature was holding Astrid by the back of her neck. No. They couldn’t do anything to her.

“Please let her go. She hasn’t done anything wrong,” I begged as I stood up.

“You’re right. She hasn’t done anything wrong, but she means something to you.”

“Please . . . just kill me and let her go.”

“Violet, you know I can’t do that. While I’m sure Calum has long forgotten about you, he might be a little upset with me if he came home and you were dead.”

“You don’t think he will be upset with the hell you’ve put me through already?”

“Oh, I’m not worried about that.”

“Please, let Astrid go.”

Celine nodded at the creature, and he released Astrid from his grip.

Astrid and I both let out a sigh of relief but as she took a step towards me, the creature lurched forward and slit Astrid’sthroat. I screamed as her lifeless body fell to the ground. I crawled over to her and wrapped my arms around her just as she had done for me for the past fifty-two days.

I sobbed. I would’ve taken a lifetime of whips if it meant I could bring her back. She didn’t deserve any of this. Her love for me cost her life.

Celine knelt down next to us, holding her dress up to make sure none of Astrid’s blood got on it, and grabbed me by the chin so I had to look her in the eyes. “I will make the rest of eternity hell for you.”

She stood up, adjusted her dress, and walked through the wall, leaving me alone with Astrid.

Celine left me in my cell overnight. Unlike any other time when she would have turned the light off, leaving me in total darkness, she left the light on. I sat up all night, staring at Astrid’s lifeless body and thinking of every possible way I could hurt Celine.

This torture wouldn’t be enough punishment for her. I wanted Calum to rip her limb from limb.

She broke me. The last fifty-two days were horrible, but they were nothing compared to having to watch Astrid die. She was the closest thing I had to a mother.

Now I understood everything Celine did was a part of a bigger plan. The fifty-two days of whippings was just fun for her. The real punishment was bringing Astrid back into my life just to take her away for good.

The next morning, Celine came through the wall with a couple of servants. As the servants took Astrid’s body from my concrete prison, Celine said, “Your punishment is over. You are released from your cell.”

The concrete walls began to fade in front of my eyes and what was left was all too familiar.

We were in my room.

Did we transfer from the cell to my room? I looked down to see a blood-stained wood right where Astrid’s body used to be. I quickly realized that I was never trapped in a concrete room, someone got into my mind and made me believe that I fell through the floor into a cell. I’d been in my room this whole time, but someone made me believe that I was in my own hell.

Some faeries and other creatures have mind reading and manipulating gifts, but I’d never encountered one.

They may have faked the concrete room, but the blood-soaked floor and the pain radiating from my back told me everything else was real.

“Okay, Violet, we’ve had enough fun, but unfortunately all good things must come to an end. I need you to forget everything that has happened. I don’t want Calum finding out about this.”

“Forget?” I stood up from the floor, still completely naked. “You expect me to forget everything that you’ve done to me?”

As I began to walk toward Celine, I stopped when I saw an unfamiliar female walk into my room. I couldn’t move. It felt like someone had locked every joint in my body. I realized then what this female was.

The witch walked up to me, raised her hand, and said a few words.

And just like that, I had forgotten those fifty-two days, and the memories were replaced with a narrative that Celine chose.

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