Page 56 of Heart of the Villain

No one said anything.

Marlena looked around the room, taking in all the faces who’d witnessed her outburst. There was a mixture of shock, fear, and pain.

Even Ivelle stared like she hadn’t known this version of Marlena had been hiding beneath her skin.

She’d been there all along… waiting.

Arlet’s fingers felt like they were searing the skin from her bones. Marlena snatched her arm away, looking her dead in the eyes. “Do not touch me.”

The look on Arlet’s face should have made her stop. The hurt running rampant across her features couldn’t calm the piercing cold rage burning through Marlena’s body.

No one will stand in my way of getting the revenge I deserve.

Twenty-Two Years Old

One last Saturnalia.

Marlena caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror of the Aeris foyer as she and Ivelle made their entrance. Her long blonde hair was pulled up in a coronet braid, with random pieces falling down from her shorter front strands framing her face. The makeup she’d chosen was dark around her bright eyes, making them pop in contrast with the red stain on her lips.

Marlena’s dress was unlike anything she’d ever worn before. The velvet was the color of fresh blood—the blood that will soon splatter the halls of this home. A single strap covered her shoulder, with another on the same arm falling around her bicep for decoration. The neckline cut low with tiny jewels sewn in, and the corset built in gave her a lift she was sure would get some attention. The fabric of the corset was see-through, giving a peep of the delicate skin underneath. The train of the dress spilled out behind her dramatically, her leg exposed from the slit that went from the floor to her hip.

Long black lace gloves covered the skin of her arms, cutting off just above the elbow, and her shoes were high heels with thin black straps that wrapped up her bare leg—nothing that would take away from the dress itself.

Marlena left nothing to the imagination, allowing her figure to be the center of attention tonight.

Distract.

Marlena wasn’t the same person she’d been last Saturnalia. She wasn’t the same person she’d been a week ago.

Something inside her had changed in that room with her parents.

Their blatant disregard to the way they’d treated her was enough to change her mind on their fate.

They deserved worse than rotting in a cell for the rest of their miserable existences.

Heads turned as the two strode in from the cool night air.

Marlena hadn’t spoken to her parents, Vega, Arlet… none of them since the incident with her mother and almost killing the guard last week.

No one had reached out to her to make sure she was okay, and Marlena was sick of being the one to come back with her tail tucked between her legs.

Never again.

Arlet was the only one she felt a little remorse for, finding she really missed having her around—that she really, really wanted to tell her about what had happened and what was about to unfold.

But after much consideration, Marlena had decided to keep them out of it. They would follow when the time came. It was safer for them to be on the outside of this.

Marlena was going to make sure she made the entrance of a lifetime into the grand ballroom. I will be remembered. She stepped up to the door, and Ivelle fixed the train of her dress. She’d fallen in perfectly behind her, accepting that she was destined to follow—and Marlena was destined to lead.

Ivelle was right where Marlena wanted her.

The guard at the door nodded an amicable hello. The soldiers of Tolevarre would look at her differently now—they would respect and fear her after she’d nearly killed one of their own.

Marlena didn’t return his hello; she only squared her shoulders and motioned for the double doors. They swooped open in a grand gesture, and a voice echoed over the crowd.

“Miss Marlena Caelum. Future Curia member of Amora.”

“And Aeris,” Ivelle added under her breath, allowing the announcer time to correct his mistake.