Page 52 of Of Skulls Of Shackles

He was afraid. I had caught him with his crown off. The skin between his scar and mange was pale and drawn. His yellowed eyes held the same fatigue as that of the ill King Bring.

This king was vulnerable.

I licked my lips and stalked closer. “Tell me, great king. Why have you not put this fool queen in a cage already? You chuckle more than you trap. Or are you trying to savor the capture?”

“My mercy will soon expire. Turn tail and run now. I will enjoy the hunt, and perhaps there is a tiny chance that you might escape and keep your freedom for another night.”

A bluff. But what was the measure of a weak king? How powerful was King Change so soon to orchestrating ruin on the Takes?

I could only glean one way to find out.

Terrible, crackling power flooded through me, and I blasted power out in a wall. My power was vast and cloying in quality—like breathing in mud. Queenly night—the darkness between stars—poured from me to deliver a conquering blow against a king.

The king’s hasty barrier dissolved in the face of mine, and Change snarled and staggered back. His head was whipped aside, and I imagined that remaining upright had taken all the willpower he possessed. Which was a lot.

Of his brilliance, I had no illusion.

“Weak from ruin,” I purred, pouring power out with ease. “Arrogant in purpose, you have become, great king.”

My voice was on the wind and everywhere, layered and menacing in totality. King Change’s eyes widened. He had never seenthisversion of the fool queen.

I laughed. “You fathom.”

“My princess has betrayed me. I had thought that she could not.” He grunted from the effort of shielding himself from the continued onslaught of my power.

“Unions crumble before everything I am,” I screamed.Screamed,no less. The shrieked comment warranted deeper thought later. Ancients controlled me right now, and my voice too. That comment had originated from them.

He replied, “Evil might try. She shall find no surrender in me.”

Well, yes, surrender was unlikely from this king. I could appreciate such willpower, as I had not come across this very often from other monsters.

This king must be robbed of all choice. My hands clawed as I pulled in my thick, consuming power. This time I did not blast out the crackling darkness in a wall. Instead, I formed my power into the hand of a giant and seized the king in my grip.

He could do nothing against me. The king struggled in vain.

I sighed with impending triumph. Change was weak beyond my wildest hopes. I could feel the barrier he had erected. The barrier dissolved against my cloying power, and King Change stabbed outward with what little remained to him. A gleeful shout left my lips when he attempted to drill a hole in his prison.

I should remember that tactic.

His knees started to shake. Sweat broke out on his brow to trickle over his face, so melted in appearance from ruin.

I did not pause the flow of queenly power. I squeezed at a king and savored the way he banged his fists for freedom. “Here is a cage foryou.”

“How will you hold me once my power returns?” His bellow was muffled.

I had wondered the same about my olden prison, but I did trust in madness and obsession by now. They existed for a reason.

I squeezed harder and harder until King Change dropped to one knee.

My mad ego considered doing many other things. Slamming his face into the ground for the corn husk dolls. Dragging him through dirt for vile words spoken. This king had never supported me in monsterdom. He had only done harm to this world and its creatures.

I trembled against the urge to punish himfor what he had done to three werebeasts and his princess.

Snap!I whipped to look left at the intrusion and caught sight of Princess Raise standing still and watching from a distance. A quick scan revealed two other princesses.

They were here to stop madness spilling over, and that understanding was enough to pull me back from punishing thoughts.

I would never convince King Change to love monsterdom if I committed the same punishing acts as he. I had naught in common with this cruel king—I could understand nothing ofwhyhe ruined. Somehow and somenight, I would understand. Then, I would guide him back to wellness and hope.

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