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Before I caught Julie, I knew my place and I thought I knew who I was. “Is the queen in?”
The guard nods. “Yes.”
I suppress a sigh, and I feel the tension roll off Theo and the others. Like me, they had been hoping she’d be elsewhere.
The guard turns and leads us toward the throne room. We have to follow. There is no turning back now. With each step, the fear that I am leading them to their death grows.
No matter how much I remind myself they were willing to die on the spire, this is different. And I shouldn’t care. When they are gone, things will be better. I will regrow my armor and forget what Julie told me.
The tunnel broadens and then we are walking into the throne room.
The queen stands at the edge of the pool, her arm swallowed by the inky water. She yanks her arm out. No water drips off her skin, but she licks her fingers her clean. “Fear…is there anything sweeter?”
I know it’s not me she is tasting, but that doesn’t stop my heartbeat from increasing. On the other side of the throne room is the walkway and the spire. We are so close.
They are so close, I correct.
I belong here.
But watching the queen no longer fills me with a sense of purpose. Instead, there is a creeping sense of horror. She just pulled someone Under and is feeding on their fear. I remember crawling out of a puddle and gasping for air. Fear clogs my throat, and it’s all I can do not to turn and run.
16
Julie
The throne room is just a cavern. There is nothing opulent or royal about it. There are weapons made of metal and bone hung on the walls, and a carved throne on one side. But my gaze is drawn to the monster made of fire.
The queen crackles and hisses as though she is burning. She pulls her arm out of what looks like a puddle and licks her burning fingers. “Fear…is there anything sweeter?”
Her voice has been embedded in my memory my entire life.
I step past Gerrard, who acts as if he is frozen. The spider monster that led us here stops a few yards in front. “We have brought you the fresh meat you requested.”
“I requested nothing. I do not want them here.” Her red eyes land on me.
I take another step forward. The scars on my arm heat like my skin remembers them being made even though I have forgotten. “Mom?”
The more she talks, the more I am sure. That is how she knew my name. It has to be her. Joe grabs my arm. “She’s not your mother.”
“She is. She was taken, and the monster tried to take me, too. Gran saved me.”
The queen stands straighter. Her entire body burns in an ever flickering, hypnotic dance. I blink to break the spell. Joe is kind of right. She’s not my mother anymore. She is the queen of Under.
I gasp as I realize what this means. “You pulled me through. You dragged me here.”
I pull free of Joe. Theo puts out an arm to stop me, but I dodge past him. Gerrard grabs me. I don’t know if it’s to protect me from her or her from me.
The spider guard moves closer to the queen. His six legs tap on the ground, while his front two are lifted in a mockery of human arms.
“I did. I’ve been searching for you since you were taken from me.” She walks closer. She has no hair, only fire. And while her voice is the one I remember, she is not the mother I was told about. The woman I saw in photos no longer I exists.
She is a monster.
The queen of monsters. She defeated Theo and claimed the throne for herself. All this time I thought my mother was dead, killed by monsters, but she’s been ruling them and condemning humans.
Including me.
The knowledge that my mother brought me here to suffer makes my chest tight and my legs weak. If not for Gerrard, I might slip to the ground. “I wasn’t taken from you. Gran saved me from being dragged here.”
