Page 19 of Queen of the Wicked
A sense of authority surges through me then, something ancient and unfamiliar. I look at the Griefclaw where hollow sockets rest where its eyes should be, and I raise my chin.
“Leave.”
A voice that is not my own, yet sounds like me, slithers out of my throat with a hiss. The Griefclaw raises its sharp talons in my direction, slashing the air between us.
“You do not scare me,” the voice says from my throat. “For without me, you are nothing.” The Griefclaw chitters as if offended, snapping its teeth around in the air like a warning. “Leave this place. Do not return. Do not harm anyone in this palace.”
The beast wails, and I take a threatening step toward it, to which it cowers.
Cowers.
The mere thought of a servant of the Priestesses’ fearing me makes me tremble with power, and I watch with satisfaction, not fear, as the black rot claws further up my arms.
The creature leaps, but it doesn’t leap for me. Instead, it vaults over the balcony, and I watch as it runs like a nightmare through the streets of the vampire settlement before disappearing into the cliffs.
I let out a long breath, relief and power washing over me before the world goes silent and calm again. I sense a presence, and a moment later, Kaius rounds the corner, sauntering toward me with the grace I’ve grown accustomed to.
He does not ask questions. He doesn’t even look suspicious. I don’t even think he knows the Griefclaw that was once Dravon even entered these halls at all.
His fingers wrap around mine, and he carefully examines my forearms, now blackened with magic. “You’re trembling.”
Something inside me forces me to lie. I shake my head. “Just…remembering. What death felt like, and how it felt to be in that space without you.”
His arms are solid, cold, and familiar as he embraces me. I close my eyes and he whispers: “You shall never be without me again.”
When I open my eyes, across the room hall in the reflection of a golden flowerpot, I see my face, etched in black veins and smiling like I’m rotten to the core.
And while the Griefclaw cowers from my power,I will not.
Sixteen
Adelasia
I sit with my legs crossed, my hands in my lap. I don’t dare look at them, for they only make me think of evil, twisted things.
So instead, I close my eyes, and I meditate. Hidden between the tomes of the library, Cassius watches over me while I do, giving me silent company.
I am not afraid of pain. I’ve lived it. I’ve danced with it. I’ve died with it.
But I am afraid of hurting Kaius. The rot grows every time I use the power, and the only thing I can picture now is my magic spilling out during one of his quiet touches and turning his skin to ash.
I hear Cassius hiss and open one eye.
“You know,” Rowan’s voice drawls softly, “for someone so powerful, you spend a lot of time hiding.”
I open my eyes fully and glance up. He’s leaning against the archway, arms crossed, one brow lifted. His shirt is half-buttoned, and his wings are folded tight behind him so he can fit between the narrow aisles of bookshelves.
“I’m not hiding,” I say quietly. “I’m busy.”
“Busy napping, is more like it.” He lifts a brow, and with my eyes closed I scowl in his direction. “Could’ve fooled me. You’ve been sitting in the wreckage of your fear for hours.”
I huff, then open my eyes only to narrow them at him. “What do you want, Rowan?”
“To help you.”
I laugh, humorless and bitter. “Youwant tohelpme?”
Rowan walks toward me slowly, his footsteps deliberate and soft. “Yes.”
