Page 41 of A Heart of Crimson Flames
Maez seemed to read it all on my face as she shook her head. “You don’t want this, Princess.” She said it firmly, but I couldstill see the question in her eyes. “I am not the person you once knew.”
I opened my mouth to protest, and she closed the distance between us, gripping me by the upper arms. “Briar. Hear me.” She crouched to meet my eyeline and repeated, “I amnotthe person you once knew. And I will never be her again.” She studied that truth as it hit me like an arrow, but I’d come too far now; I refused to hear it.
I shook my head. “I can’t believe that.” My voice broke. “I won’t give up hope.”
Her eyes darkened as she released me, disgusted as she stalked away. “Then you are a fool,” she shouted over her shoulder. “Go clean yourself up.”
And like a fool, I did exactly that, looking to my next chance to prove her wrong.
Calla
WE WALKED THROUGH THE PALACE WITH NEW EYES, THEgrounds in utter disarray. Blood speckled the walls, portraits were torn out of their frames, glass shattered across the dirt-streaked carpets. Once they had been so perfectly silver, not a single stain or spot in the fabric; now the ransacked castle looked like a war zone.
We moved silently, following Verena’s guards who guided us to her location. After the siege in the snow, Verena had hastened to secure the castle with the bulk of her remaining retinue while Grae and I hung back to burn pyres to our fallen Golden Court soldiers. Only a few short hours had separated us, but I was relieved to return to our joint forces again.
As we stalked into the throne room, the space was vacant apart from Verena who stood frowning at the throne upon the dais as if she was afraid to sit upon it.
“What happened here?” I asked, looking around the room that had once held glittering balls and lavish parties and now looked like a juvleck had been set loose.
“Before Hestoff came to meet us on the battlefield,” she said, lifting her chin to the sky like a Wolf howling at the moon—a prayer for him, “he and Djen fought to seize control of this place.All that was found of Djen and Hestoff were tatters of gore-coated pelt, barely enough of them to burn on a pyre.”
“Looks like they didn’t care if there was any pack left by the end of it,” Grae said as we closed the distance to her, “let alone a palace to house it.”
She looked up at us with sad, weary eyes. “No more of this,” she said with a solemn shake of her head. “Our pack is done killing each other. I’ve spoken to what remains of both parties”—she let out a huff—“barely any adults. Terrified pups, that’s all that’s left of my pack.”
She rubbed a hand over the back of her neck, and I could see the weight of it all crashing down on her—a burden I felt all too keenly. Becoming a queen was an honor, but it was also a terrifying responsibility, the lives of so many were squarely placed in our hands.
“It never gets easier,” I said, moving to stand beside her and stare down at her throne. “But the work becomes more bearable, putting one foot in front of the other. Knowing it’s for your people and not for yourself.”
Verena sighed. “We’ve all agreed we’ve lost too much already. If we keep going, there will be no pack left.” She glanced sideways at me. “And then who will stop Nero from knocking down our doors?” She looked at Grae. “Or Valta for that matter.”
“That monster,” I said with a shudder. “Sadie had told us of it before, but to see it in the flesh...”
“I’m guessing that is Rasil, then,” Grae noted.
“If that sorceress friend of yours hadn’t shown up...” Verena clicked her tongue.
It hurt to hear her still called our friend. Whoever Maez was now didn’t seem like the person we used to know. The way she hadn’t even acknowledged Grae, the hurt on my mate’s face, made me want to wring her neck. She’d always been a soldier, but now she just seemed like purely a killer. And Briar had still chosen to go with her...
A fresh wave of fear washed over me as I thought of my twin, hoping she was okay, wherever Maez had taken her.
“Do you think we can rally her to our cause?” Verena asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t think she’s within our control.”
“What about in the control of your sister?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat, thinking of the danger Briar had put herself in. I knew it was hopeless to try to dissuade her. My sister and I were as obstinate as they came—a Golden Wolf trait. Briar was either going to save Maez or let Maez destroy her, and there was nothing I could do about it.
“Briar will do whatever she can to get through to her mate, but on that front all we can do is hope. I think we will have better luck turning our attention to Sadie,” I said diplomatically. “Songkeepers against Songkeepers. We have a dragon now. And the possibility of controlling more monsters. If Rasil shows up again with that creature, we will need them all in a battle.”
Verena nodded.
“Unless,” Grae said, “Rasil and his lackeys make more monsters.”
Verena’s eyes widened. “What? They canmakemonsters?”
I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “There is much we still have to tell you.”
