Page 47 of Inheritance
My eyes widened at the way she seemed almost drained of life and power, the nullifying cuffs surrounding her wrists as she lay there, half unconscious. On all sides of the ballroom were soldiers, and while it didn’t stop us from entering, I knew we were walking into a situation that had more than a potential to be lethal. There was no going back, especially now that we knew Adrien’s little sister was involved.
That was so fucked up.
“Son, good of you to join us,” King Roarke mused. “I do have to admit, it's a bit predictable that you’d attempt to act like the hero in all of this, storming in with your merry band of—“
“Misfits,” Queen Ava looked at Ama and Jace before glancing back towards the rest of us, “and soon to be dead heirs.”
A growl worked its way up my throat as the woman laughed, a shrill sound that grated my ears.
Let me kill her.
We can’t yet. We have to follow Ama’s lead.
“We’ve killed or injured almost every member of your militia. Our military stands outside, circling the Summit palace,” Ama said firmly, her eyes narrowed, “You’ve lost. Even with the soldiers in this room, you’ve lost.”
“Losing is a matter of perspective, hybrid,” King Roarke spat in disgust, his eyes flaring with rage.
“I mean, have you really won anything if we’ve already slaughtered your family and left you with nothing but this girl right here?” Queen Ava motioned as I felt anger surge through me. No, no that couldn’t be true. I refused to believe that my parents were dead.
Somehow, Ama managed to stay calm, her gaze turning critical and thoughtful, her chin jutting up as she called them on their shit.
“You didn’t kill any of the monarchs you captured,” she reasoned. “I know you haven’t. You wouldn’t have risked that because if you did, then we really would have nothing to lose by rushing and killing you right now.”
King Roarke chuckled as he appraised Ama with his eyes, “Smart girl. They may still be alive, just like how this little Wraith here is barely alive. However, whether they continue to breathe...that all falls to you, Ama.”
The tension in the room amplified tenfold at what he was insinuating, and I couldn’t help the growl that ripped through my chest, echoing through the expanse of the ballroom.
“Yes,” Queen Ava smirked, smug as all hell despite being outnumbered, which truly rattled me. What did they have up their sleeves?
Her gaze zeroed in on Ama as she tacked on, “You see, we are not giving up this fight, and the only way to win this truly is to have something of the heirs’ that will stop them from acting against us. Clearly holding some of their family as prisoners isn’t incentive enough.”
“Simple, really,” King Roarke agreed, a toothy grin on the bastard's face.
“What the hell does this have to do with Ama?” Colt demanded, his giant wings unfurling and expanding to their full massive width and height. Guards around the room shifted uncomfortably at his movement, their eyes flicking to their king and queen to signal an attack on him.
The toothy grin turned sinister as King Roarke explained, “If Ama hands herself over, putting a cuff on herself to nullify her powers, then we will not only let our little Wraith go, but we’ll also release any of your family members.”
Liar.He was a fucking liar, and we would never let that happen. We’d just gotten her back from the fucking devil, and we would not part with her ever again.
I wanted my family back, don’t get me wrong, but I am not willing to give up Ama, and my parents would never expect me to give up my mate. They knew how sacred our mate bonds were. Also, I didn’t believe for a devildamned second that they would keep their word to release their prisoners to us.
“They are lying,” Finias stated calmly, but his jaw ticked, belying his barely contained rage simmering beneath the surface.
Ama’s teeth bit down on her soft bottom lip in thought. That wasn’t good. That wasn’t good at fucking all that she was considering it.
Do not let her do this!
“Shut it, boy.” Queen Ava snarled at her son, her face contorting in a disgusting manner that matched how ugly she was on the inside.
“Fucking worthless,” King Roarke added in complete disgust as he waved a hand at Finias, like he was dismissing his very existence from his mind.
“Do not talk about him like that,” Ama hissed out, looking furious as her energy crackled around her and her wings fluttered like she wanted to launch herself at Ava.
“How sweet. I suppose she believes they are in love,” Queen Ava mused as she glanced at King Roarke and chuckled.
King Roarke bit back, “You can’t love a monster,” a sneer on his face as he looked at Fin.
Finias looked completely unaffected by their words, but I had a feeling it was purely surface level. My parents had never said anything like that to me, but I knew it had to hurt, even if he had no love for them. I knew it couldn’t feel good to hear someone who was supposed to love and protect you call you a monster. Especially since it was his own parents who had abused him into being their weapon.
