Page 34 of Tale of the Heart Queen

It’s enough to shock my magic, cutting it off abruptly as the cliff pops apart and a giant piece cleaves off. I watch it dive in slow motion, crashing into the sea, water droplets splashing high enough to reach where I stand.

It takes a moment for the chaos to settle, and when it does, I stand waiting, wondering if anyone noticed. When the door to my room remains shut, I breathe a sigh of relief. Hopefully, the sound of the waves and the wind covered that up. And no one saw the entire sky turn red. My magic seems to be getting stronger since I left Aphelion, and I need to be more careful.

If I get caught tomorrow, I’ll have to decide if I want to risk using it.

Heading inside, I search my room for something I can use to access the throne room.

“Aha!” I cry out when I open a closet full of linens. It’s not a great plan, but it’s not the worst. I heave the lot out and dump them on the ground.

Immediately, I set to work ripping them up, attempting to be as quiet as possible. I begin tying them together to start forming a rope. Over the next several hours, whenever a knock signals a meal delivery, I leap up to answer it after shoving the evidence of my escape under the bed.

By noon on the following day, I’ve assembled a rope that I hope is long enough to serve my purpose. Another knock comes at my door.

“We have lunch for you,” comes a deep male voice. I look around at the disaster that surrounds me.

“I’m not hungry,” I call as my stomach grumbles. I don’t want to open that door. There’s too much to hide now—tiny threads and fibers cling to my hair and clothes, as well as the carpet and furniture. “Actually, I’m not feeling well. Please see to it that no one disturbs me until morning.”

“Very well,” North or West says.

If everything goes as planned, I’ll be long gone with the ark by the time the sun rises. Tonight, I’ll talk to Coral and get Nadir back. If she doesn’t know where the ark is then I’ll be almost out of time and back to square one.

I can’t let that happen.

She has to know.

CHAPTER 13

NADIR

THE EVANESCENCE—ZERRA’S PALACE

When I open my eyes again, I’m lying on something soft. A bed? Or maybe a cloud? My body aches, but it’s not the same bone-deep pain I remember the last time I opened my eyes. I blink, and the world slowly morphs into focus. Above me is an ornate carved ceiling made of a creamy material resembling vanilla ice cream.

Gods, I could go for some of that.

“Oh, you’re awake,” trills a melodious voice, and once again, the woman from last time comes into view. Zerra.

The Zerra?

“How are you feeling?” She purses her lips and creases her forehead like she’s exceedingly concerned about my well-being. Her hand lands on the center of my chest, and that’s when I realize I’m naked with nothing but a sheet covering me from the waist down. Her skin is like ice, and I attempt to shrug off her touch while covering myself.

Though every movement hurts like a bitch, I’m relieved to find I can move again.

“Now, now, don’t go straining yourself,” Zerra says. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” She slides her hand lower, stopping at my navel, her fingers dipping a little too low to be innocent. “In fact, it’s nothing I didn’t see when my ladies bathed you.” Her eyes flick down and then back up. “And it was very impressive.”

Oh, good gods. Did she just compliment my cock? I’m way too fucked-up for this. Also, I don’t want her touching me. Objectively, she’s a beautiful woman, but something about her makes my skin crawl.

“Who are you?” I say, though my voice is a croaked whisper and my vocal cords ache with the effort. I need to hear her say it again because, surely, I heard her wrong.

“I’m Zerra,” she answers and then blinks as if daring me to argue. Is she telling me the truth, or is she crazy? Or maybe the problem is me?

“Where am I?”

“You’re in the Evanescence,” she says, setting off a wail of alarm bells in my head. I’m skeptical, but the light and the air and mood in this place feel otherworldly and distant. It feels like I’m somewhere lost in another dimension or another world. I can’t explain it, but a shiver climbs over my scalp, confirming what I already suspected. We’re definitely not in Ouranos anymore.

“Am I . . . dead?”

If I am, then I don’t technically belong here. I never ascended to the Aurora throne. The Evanescence is reserved only for kings and queens—not princes who didn’t quite make the cut.