Page 94 of Wings of Lies
“Weak beings have a difficult time surviving in Elora, Lucille. No matter what side you’re on.” His gentle tone shocked me.
I expected a,then you will die,with a nice glare to hit me where it hurts. Not that.
“Well, I think I’d have a better time surviving in the Ethereal Kingdom than the Tenebrous.”
His gaze drilled into my cheek. “You know the names?”
“I know a few things.”
“Not enough. The Ethereal Kingdom isn’t much better than the Tenebrous. But I suppose we do have the Mother of Demons as our queen.”
His queen was the mother ofalldemons? That’s who he was taking me to?Now I knew why he scrutinized my cheek. He wanted to know my reaction.
But he wasn’t finished.
“Which is why your cuffs aren’t just cuffs that bind your magic. They’re made from the metal mined in Dark Embers hot pits, where demons are first created, and they’re infused with demon energies. And seeing as crossing into The Tenebrous Kingdom requires demonblood, and we’re not sure what you are besides part angel, you need to wear them, or you’ll die before we reach her.”
I laughed, unsettling the ancient forest, and probably making the Drunes and Aspen wonder if I’d lost my mind. But I couldn’t help realizing how unlucky I was, how every step of the way had been one terrible thing after another.
Did I need any more proof of why I shouldn’t be attracted or moved by his stupid laugh or pain?Like he said, he was the enemy, not a handsome stranger in the forest, not my guardian angel. My enemy.
I closed my mouth, reining in my disbelieving laughter, letting it sink in.
If I crossed that boundary line, I’d never escape. I’d never be able to remove the cuffs without killing myself.
“I told you not to come here.”
My head whipped around, eyes narrowing.
“I told you to stay.”
Stay here. Stay put. Stay safe.
He never meant tostay putat my house. We moved, and he didn’t care. No, he meant stay puton Earth. He never wanted me to come to Elora.
I scoffed. “You told me to stay put. To stay safe. And now look at you, handing me over to your queen to be slaughtered.”
He flinched, and I laughed, feeling a creeping itch. I focused on the sensation and analyzed it. But it wasn’t just an itch. It was a ruthless energy coiling beneath my skin, begging to come out. Soon, I’d let it.
“You’re a liar. Your words mean nothing.”
Aspen jerked on the reins. I flew forward at the sudden stop, catching myself on the wooden ledge.
“I am no liar, Lucille.”
Right.
“I remember those sweet words you’d say right before you ran away. You probably went straight to your queen to give her all the intel she needed. Is that it? Or are you Marcus’s new employer, and that’s why he gave me over to you? Do you have my mom, Aspen?”
“I don’t know what the hell you’re creating in that naive mind of yours, but we didn’t take anyone but you. I intercepted Marcus before he took you to wherever he was running away to and reported the traitor to our queen.”
So, the chilling voice was right. Marcus worked for someone else, and if he took my mom, the queen wouldn’t have her.
“That doesn’t change the fact you’re a liar and play twisted games. I’m just calling it how I see it.”
He stood, towering over me while I sat on the edge of the carriage front. “No, you call it how you want to see it. There are reasons I did and said the things that I did.”
I held his searing stare and grasped the coiling energy that itched my skin. I didn’t want to show my power. I only wanted to practice for when I was ready to show my hand. “Says the male, taking me to his queen. I will be another Nalini, won’t I? Murdered and forgotten.”
