Page 133 of Craving Carla

“I don’t know...” I begin, uncertainty weighing down my words.

Tabatha approaches, but Moria and Kemnebi both hiss at her, causing her to stop. She looks down at them with a smile.

“You’re doing your job. Good children. Protect your mother no matter what.” She looks back at me. “I don’t want the position. I just want to be free from limbo, and I can’t until you accept yourself for who you are.”

“I just want Amari and to have a happy life,” I say, my voice small.

“That was never your life,” Tabatha replies firmly. “Your life is to be the queen of limbo. Even Amari knows you’re queen—only you don’t know that. And that man is already making sacrifices for you. But what sacrifices are you making for him?”

“What will it cost if I embrace who I am?” I ask quietly.

“You wouldn’t lose Amari, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Tabatha assures me. “That damn vampire is willing to stay here in limbo with you—he loves you that much.”

I look down at Moria, still determined to protect my heart.

“I wish I had such companions while I was in the living realm,” Tabatha says softly. “It would have given me a fighting chance. But the key was never meant for me to keep forever. It was meant for you.”

She pushes open the door to the cabin and steps aside. Kemnebi immediately runs through.

“Go home,” Tabatha says.

“Thank you,” I tell her, “for giving me life again.”

Tabatha shakes her head. “No, do not thank me. Being a Queen on this level will require you to make decisions that will hurt you to the core. But when you officially take the throne, Wintermoon won’t have much to worry for anymore. Because you’ll be fighting battles for them forever—a thankless job that I know they’ll never come to appreciate.”

I start to step forward but pause, a realization hitting me. “My children are protecting Anora’s son.”

Tabatha smiles at me. “Ah yes, those thankless battles.”

She groans. “I’ve got more time in limbo than I thought,” she mutters. “I was hoping when you came to me, you’d be ready. But you’re just as lost as when I found you.”

I glare at her but don’t respond.

“When you’re ready, the veil will lift,” Tabatha says. “Not before.”

With a sigh, I walk through the doorway, only to be consumed by a bright light so intense that it forces my eyes open.

I blink, disoriented. Moria is no longer clutched against me. Instead, I’m in Amari’s arms, cradled against him like something precious.

“Hi,” I say weakly.

Amari narrows his eyes at me. “Don’t ever leave me like that again.”

“Sorry,” I murmur, but then I hear screams that make me sit up alert, my eyes finally focusing on the scene across the room.

Angie is on a table, yelling at Moria who’s hissing back at her ferociously.

“These motherfucking spiders, goddammit!” Angie screams.

I sigh and fall back into Amari’s arms, just staring into his eyes. They’re so deep, so full of concern and relief and something else—something that makes my heart race despite my exhaustion.

“Did you get any good news?” he asks softly.

“It was a message from Tabatha,” I reply. “A cryptic one.”

“Can you take me home?” I ask, suddenly desperate to be away from here, to be alone with him.

Amari stands up with me in his arms, then looks to Angie, grinning as Jacob picks her up from the table and throws her over his shoulder.

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