Page 203 of Curse of Darkness
“I understand why you did what you had to do. And she’s gone,” I tell her, wanting her to understand. “Mother’s gone.”
Andraste clasps my face between her hands. “I know. I don’t know how but I felt it happen. Edain and Lysander found us, and I begged Raith to ride south and then… suddenly I knew I had to get to you. I knew you needed me. We’ve been pushing day and night. What happened?”
“I turned her into a tree.”
“What?” Andraste draws back so she can see my face. “A tree?”
“A tree?” Edain barks, reminding me we’re not alone.
He stands nearby, trying to clean his knives.
“I… couldn’t kill her.” I can see it all over again and the story rushes out. “I didn’t want to become her.”
“Oh, Vi.” Another hug from my sister. “Vi, you’re nothing like Mother. She was cruel and manipulative and—”
“She wasn’t always like that.” I swallow the lump in my throat. “I’ve seen the past. I saw how she took her throne. It was the crown, Andi. It gave her the power to save herself all those years ago, but it slowly warped her into the queen she became. It stripped away every facet of who she truly was, until only ambition was left.”
There’s pain in my sister’s eyes. “What did you do with the crown?”
I’m not entirely sure I want to reveal the truth. Not with so many ears listening. It’s still there. Lurking at the edges of my conscious. “I locked it away where no one could get to it. And then I forgave her.”
A certain hardness flashes across her face. “Maybe you’re a better woman than I am, because I hope that bitch rots.”
“I didn’t do it for her sake.”
I did it for me. I did it for Thiago. For Amaya.
I did it so we can all move on and embrace happiness.
Maybe she understands, because she releases a slow breath. “Okay. So Mother is a tree. The Horned One is gone. And my little sister is all grown up.”
“Enough about me. Where have you been? What happened to you?” I grab her sleeve and draw her away from the rest of them.
The faintest of smiles playing over her lips. “Nowthatis a long story.”
“It seems we have time,” I remind her. “Can you imagine how horrified Mother would be to know the queens of Evernight and Asturia will sit down over wine and reminisce?” A laugh breaks loose. “If nothing else, that’s the vengeance I seek. I want her to know she couldn’t destroy us. Or our countries.”
For the first time, I sense Andraste withdrawing. She throws a glance over her shoulder to where the enormous goblin that was riding at her side sits on a broken section of hallow stone, trying to wind a bandage around a shallow wound on his left arm. He bites the linen, forced to use his teeth thanks to the stump that is all that remains of his right hand, but I know his attention is upon us.
“No,” she whispers, staring back at him. There’s something on her face I’ve never seen before. Then she lets out a breath and straightens. “I’m not going to become Queen of Asturia. I’m not taking the throne. I’m not coming back, Vi.”
“What?” I squeeze her hands. “What do you mean?”
Andraste was practically groomed from birth for the crown. She’s spent her entire life with it in her sights.
“I made a promise.” She won’t meet my eyes. “If Raith fought for you—if he fought for me—then….” Another slow exhale. “I would fight for him. I owe him a debt, Vi. And this one time, I have to pay it myself.”
“Who is he?”
Suddenly, there’s a hint of a mischievous smile on her face. “My husband.”
“What?”
“It’s complicated.” Her smile turns into a full-fledged laugh. “Not the husband Mother promised me to, obviously.” She screws up her nose. “Raith killed Urach barely two hours ago. But the one who kidnapped me on the way to my wedding.”
“Kidnapped you?”On the way to your wedding?I link arms with her. “I think the two of us definitely need to sit down and have that glass of wine.”
“I think I’m going to need more than a glass,” she mutters, her gaze shifting past me.
