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Like a flash, Odette was back in my face. “STOP SAYING THAT!” she screeched. “You’re not his mate.”
I returned her stare evenly. “We are mated, Odette. That’s why he chose me, a dancer from the wrong side of the tracks. And I’m carrying the heir to the throne. You claim to have loyaltyto the kingdom, but that’s not true, is it? You’re just a jealous, spiteful fae. You have no right being the enchantress at all.”
Her complexion waxed at my accusation. “Shut up!” she hissed, her hand rising to strike me, but before she could, her phone buzzed. The sound seemed to ground her back to reality, at least temporarily. The look of madness faded from her eyes, and she lowered her lifted arm, awkwardly staring at me.
Then I saw it in her other hand.
Oh, gods… what is she going to do with that rope?
“Oh,” she mumbled, staring at the screen. “The king needs me.” She jutted her chin out and smirked at me. “See? He needs me. Not you.”
“He’s looking for me,” I sighed, wishing she hadn’t completely lost her mind. “What are you going to do with that rope?”
She tittered and held it up. “You already tried to off yourself once,” she laughed. “There are videos of it, even if the Royal Guards did everything in their power to erase them. No one will think twice if you do it again.”
“Nyx will!” I fired back, tears of frustration springing to my eyes. “He’s not as dumb as you seem to think.”
“I have to go,” she said, spinning away. “Don’t go anywhere.”
The heavy hemp rope fell from her hands as she whirled out of the dank subfloor in a twirl of smoke, causing me to sneeze in the aftermath.
“HELP!” I shouted, grateful she hadn’t thought to seal my mouth shut again. “HELP ME!”
I strained to listen for voices, for footsteps, for any indication that someone was nearby and able to help, but there was nothing. Wherever I was, I was truly on my own—at least until Odette came back to finish me off for good this time.
I won’t let her do this,I vowed to my baby as tears began to slip down my cheeks.I’ll get you out of here… somehow.
But the more I struggled against the paralytic spell, the more tired I became, my own magic drained.
I closed my eyes and willed myself to be calm, to think, to make a plan, but as the minutes ticked by, panic consumed me until I started screaming once more.
Chapter 19
Nyx
It took every fiber of my being not to trash my entire office as I waited for word from anyone on Maren’s whereabouts. While I had no definitive proof that she was missing yet, aside from the cell phone lying in the obscure spot and Jamery’s version of what had transpired, I couldn’t be certain of anything except that Maren wasn’t where she was supposed to be.
My nose wriggled, and my heart leaped into my throat as I realized that Odette was about to present herself. The plume of silver-gray reinforced my suspicions, and the redhead stood before me, bowing her head humbly.
“You text?—”
“Why weren’t you in your room?” I spat, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence. Her slate eyes paled with her cheeks, and she stared at me.
“I wasn’t home, Alpha,” she replied quietly. “You did tell me I didn’t need to be accounted for as long as I wasn’t in the castle.”
She’s lying!my gut screamed as I drew closer to her, but she didn’t flinch. “Where is Maren?”
“Miss Maren?” she echoed innocently. “I wouldn’t know, Alpha. I haven’t seen her since earlier.”
I ran a hand through my hair, every pore in my body alerting me to her dishonesty, but I had no proof… or did I?
I turned around, producing Maren’s cell phone from my pocket and unlocking it. I hadn’t thought to look through it until just then.
“What did you discuss with her?” I asked calmly, reading the text messages Maren had last sent. “How did she seem?”
“Fine,” she replied. “Why? Is she missing?”
I tucked the phone back away discreetly and faced her.
