Page 49 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
The simple fact is that I don’t trust them.That every instinct within me screams that this offer is too good to be true, and it must be a trap.
I walk as though through water as I close the distance between us, moving to place my hand in Belladonna’s, but I stopshort, pointing at her. “Don’t fucking poison me when I touch you.”
A slow, taunting smile fills her face. “I can’t make any such promises.”
I take in a deep breath, choke down every curse that rises to the tip of my tongue, then place my hand in hers. Leonardo and Valentine wrap theirs around the outside. Wisps of warm light mingle with tendrils of shadow that curl up around us. A matching, searing pattern runs up each of our forearms, a series of short white and black lines curving around each other like an embrace.
My fate is sealed with this bargain. It may come back to bite me. I can’t find it in myself to care.
I now have the dark army I need to reclaim my mate and my throne.
Hold on, dear heart. I am coming for you.
Aldrin died today. Heactually died.
I thought my heart would stop along with his. I lost the will to live. Those moments of pure agony—I still can’t shake the intensity of them. Echoes crash over me like waves as my mind reels, each one amplified by the last. The reality of what happened hits me hard now that the shock of the moment has faded. Now that he is no longer being threatened and the current calm allows all the trauma to flood in.
I collapse onto the floor of the bedroom, my legs giving out beneath me. I tuck them up against my chest protectively and curl into the side of the bed as violent tremors ripple through me. My throat closes like a vise is wrapped around it.
I can’t drag in air.
A wheezing sound escapes me instead.
I am flooded with the sensation of his breaths becoming shallower and shallower until they stopped completely. Of the way his muscles burned and his brain screamed from oxygen deprivation, alongside the agony of the poison tearing at his body. I press my face into my hands, but all I see is his visionslowly turning black as Belladonna peered into his eyes, her lips as dark as midnight.
My mind conjures up images of his lifeless body strewn across the mats of the fighting arena, and I break down completely.
I choke and gasp as I scream my sobs, the sound tortured even to my own ears, and I am forced to shove the bedding against my face to mute it. The last thing I need is for my enemies to find me this vulnerable.
My voice echoes around the chamber regardless.
Hot tears burn down my cheeks, the salt of them searing my eyes. My heart will surely explode with this anguish, because I can’t seem to stop revisiting the moment of his death.
The night passes slowly, but I am frozen in place and time, unable to move forward. The violent shakes of my body recede until they are replaced by hiccups. My streaming tears dry up; I have none left to shed. I am completely alone, in the heart of enemy territory.
Exceptheis here with me.
Don’t grieve me while I still live, dear heart,Aldrin repeats again and again, so gentle and full of love. He sits on the ground beside me, arms wrapped around my frozen body, even though he is so far away. He apologizes so many times for the things I have had to witness during these trials, but he is the one who has had to live them. I should be comforting him.
Don’t fret for me, Keira. I have endured worse.
Those words don’t make me feel any better. I don’t sleep a single wink, even long after the sobs have passed. I stare vacantly into space, and Aldrin speaks softly to me through the entire night. He needs this closeness between us as much as I do.
It isn’t until the sun rises that I pass out, then wake almost at sunset. Basil watches me with consternation as I attempt to eat the small feast he has laid out for my dinner. I am still sounnerved that I drop my fork for what must be the fifth time. It clatters loudly to the table, and I make more noise as I try to pick it up with shaking hands. I can hardly bear to look at all this food, much less eat.
“Is everything okay, my queen?” Basil frowns down at me, but his tone is gentle. “Is the food to your liking?”
I hardly register his words. My entire body feels so numb, my mind disconnected from it.
“My queen?” Basil leans down to peer into my face from across the table.
“Yes,” I say a little too quickly. “Yes. The food is adequate.”
“Adequate?” He raises his eyebrows, but his tone remains politely neutral. “Shall I ask the kitchen to prepare something else?”
“No. No. It’s not the food.” I run my hands down my face. “I received a shock yesterday. Aldrin—he—it’s hard to be apart,” I finish weakly.
I almost trusted this man, who has been Aldrin’s personal servant since he was a boy. Gods, I have no idea who will betray me in this viper’s den, and it is exhausting to be constantly on guard.
