I’m shocked how quickly she came to his defense. I thought she hated him. “Then who?”
“Danger was much closer to home.”
Boone is the name that pops into my head, and I shiver. “As in your son would want to kill me?”
Her eyes grow larger and sad. “Yes.”
Tears make my eyes burn. I don’t want to think about what that monster did to me, but the memories come to the forefront of my mind anyway.
“He tried, didn’t he?” she asks, guessing my train of thought. Maybe I was wearing my distress on my face.
“Yes,” I hiss, curling my hands into fists.
She shakes her head. “I loved my son, but I wasn’t blind to his many faults, or his cruelty. He takes after his father, Lord Kurgan, a male I should have never let get near me.”
Lord Kurgan died in battle, killed by King Raphael.
“Why did you want to see me?”
“As you know, I’m sick. I don’t think I have much time left before this illness takes over completely. It has claimed the life of my sister, Madeleine, already.”
“She’s a specter trapped in the bowels of Bloodstone Institute. I saw her.”
“Yes, I’m aware. Who do you think helped trap her there?” She smirks.
“You did? Why?”
“Because my sister was a psychopath before she fell ill. She resorted to black magic to find a cure, which turned her and her friends into that aberration you met.”
“My father wants to free her.”
Queen Tatiana’s eyes widen. “You must not allow it! If she leaves her prison, nothing will stop her from killing thousands of innocents.”
“I didn’t think you cared about the loss of innocent lives.”
Guilt shines in her eyes before she looks away. “I did horrible things. I won’t deny that. But I wasn’t always this cold and ruthless. Once upon a time, I was just a young woman in love. That was before I was changed into a vampire by the Nightingales.”
“Who were you in love with?”
She looks at me. “Isn’t it obvious, my dear? King Raphael.”
I open my mouth, but no sound comes forth. “I… I don’t understand.”
“He was my betrothed. It was an arranged marriage blessed by Maewe, the Nightingale queen.”
“What happened?”
“He backed out at the last hour and broke my heart. I was distraught, consumed with anger and jealousy. You see, his reason for ending our engagement was that he had given his heart to someone else.”
“That’s why the war started? Because you were jilted at the altar?”
I can’t believe all this bloodshed and suffering was thanks to a broken engagement.
“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor Hell a fury like a woman scorned.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you need to stop the war, Sophie. I’ve already made my peace with King Raphael. We created the Accords, but unfortunately, too much bad blood exists between our people, and we can’t contain the hatred ourselves.”
