Page 180 of Queen of the Crimson Throne

“That’s what I thought.”

“I didn’t mean to, I was—I was so close.” But yet again I had failed. I slammed my fists against the floor. “Fuck!”

I stood, the sensation in my legs finally allowing me to do so. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I took the bowl that had held the relics, throwing it to the floor. It landed with a satisfying crash, the pieces flying across the wooden floor.

With a heaving chest, I turned back to the table and grabbed a jar in each hand. I threw both of them, they crashed to the floor, shattering glass and relics across the floor. What good was this magic if it could only lead me so close to answers, so close I could almost taste them, only to cut me off time and time again before I could get what I needed? Failure. I was such a failure. Could I do anything right? One by one I smashed the jars until there were none left on the table.

The floor was littered in glass and a mixture of the relics. My mother would kill me if she knew I was wasting relics this way.

But I didn’t give a fuck.

I wanted them gone.

I summoned my magic, intending on using wisps of air to clean the mess, but came up empty.

Even now my magic failed me with this simple task.

I stared at the mess on the floor. I always made such a mess of things, didn’t I? Streams of water made their way through the shards of glass, soon there was a small river in the middle of my bedroom, carrying away the glass and relics until they disappeared off the balcony, leaving the floor spotless, like nothing had happened.

“Thank you.” I didn’t bother to look at Nico. “I don’t have any magic left. I can’t even clean up my mess so I can’t try thespell again.” Even if I tried again later it wouldn’t work. Not without another item linking me to whoever took Kara.

I crawled into bed. Not even bothering to pull the covers up over me as I curled into a ball and hugged my knees to my chest.

The bed dipped beside me. “You’re not a failure.” Nico’s voice was clear but soft. “You did everything you could.”

“Exactly,” I muttered. “I did everything I could and it still wasn’t good enough.”

I jumped at the feeling of his calloused palm on the bare skin of my arm as he rubbed up and down several times, before wrapping his arm around me. His front was warm against my back, warming my chilled skin. I didn’t have it in me to ask him to leave, so I said nothing and let him hold me.

“You are good enough, Lucy,” he said finally.

Those were the last words I heard before I let sleep consume me.

68

LUKA

Lennox slept through the night. I guessed it was the most sleep she’d gotten in a long time. I was expecting her to have a nightmare or two, but she never stirred. She was exhausted—too exhausted to dream even.

Me on the other hand—I felt like I hardly slept. I was too worried about Lennox.

Worried I would wake up to her gone, having gone for Kara on her own.

Every time I felt myself falling asleep, I jerked myself awake, looking to find her still asleep beside me.

A little before sunrise she stirred awake. I sat as she blinked back the sleep from her eyes, holding my breath, waiting for her to remember what happened.

“Luka?” She mumbled as she stretched her arms over her head. “What happened?” Her brow furrowed as she tried to recall the events that led her here.

“Kara!” She gasped, sitting up abruptly and ripping back the sheets.

I laid a hand on her arm. “Lennox calm down.”

“Calm down?” Her nostrils flared. “My sister has been taken and you’re telling me to calm down? I—” I couldsee the panic starting to take over her features. “You let me sleep! I was sleeping while my sister is Goddess knows where…” Her breaths became short and uneven as she clawed at her chest.

“I—I?—”

I crossed the bed and grabbed her, pulling her against me as her panic consumed her body.

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