AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What ails you?” The queen runs her gaze over my face, her scrutinization like needles pricking me. “Give me your hand.”
The second her skin touches mine, heat skitters along my arm. The pain from her magic joins the ache in my head and I grit my teeth to stem the tears stinging my eyes. Shereadsme until I’m gasping for breath, my body trembling.
My magic flares to life, ready to defend.
“Please stop,” I say.
I’m very close to taking hold of her life force and killing her. If it wasn’t for the fact that Darius and I are outnumbered, I would. I’ve never used blood-bending to control more than two people, and in a room full of individuals, my death is all but guaranteed.
“My queen.”
The man wearing black steps forward, placing himself beside the throne. He doesn’t touch my mother, but he does lean close.
“If you kill her, you won’t find what you’re looking for.”
My mother blinks as though coming out of a daze brought on by her magic. “Yes, of course. I saw what I needed and my suspicions are confirmed.”
“What are you talking about?” I ask
My breathing is jagged and I hug my middle to fortify myself, wishing it was Darius holding me. Foreboding coils around me at the way my mother’s blood flows in her veins, similar to the way a serpent travels, winding and with purpose. I can almost imagine it hissing when it reaches her heart. The organ thumps faster with each passing moment.
It’d only take a second for me to make it explode.
That thought echoes in the recess of my mind when the crowd begins to murmur. Two of the soldiers lining the walls disappear through a side door, only to return with a prisoner between them. Nox, beaten and bloodied, limps to the dais while leaving a trail of blood droplets behind him.
I flinch every single time one hits the marbled floor.
My gaze shoots to Darius, who’s expression of shock mirrors my own. I scan the crowd for Baxter and Lucien, but they’re nowhere to be found. If they’re here, I can’t see them. Not that it matters, since neither of them are inclined to help me save Nox.
All of my strategic thoughts from earlier disappear, leaving behind nothing except a grim determination to do whatever’s necessary to ensure my lover isn’t harmed further.
“What do you want?” I ask, directing my question to the queen.
My harsh tone has her quirking a brow. “Alice, what has gotten into you? Daring to speak to me that way?”
I take a menacing step forward. Satisfaction rushes through me at the stuttering of her heart. “I dare, mother. And not without the means. Tell me what you want in exchange for Nox’s release?”
The queen and her advisor share a look. Something passes between them, but all I can discern through their blood is that it’s significant. Something that makes their veins flood with anticipation.
It chills mine.
Reece positions himself right next to my mother and meets my gaze. “Where is your signet ring?”
“What?” My brows snap together. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The man’s robes ripple like a wraith, threats of death seeping from him. “The ruby ring. Surely your lost memories don’t include that?”
“Why do you want it?”
“The reason is none of your affair,” he snaps. “Your queen wants it. That is all you need to know.”
We eye each other, sharing looks of distrust and skepticism. A grunt of pain from Nox shatters my focus on the advisor. I spin to face my lover, finding him doubled over, the guards gripping his arms to keep him from plummeting to the floor.
“If you touch him again,” I say to the soldiers, my words rushing from me, “I’ll kill you.”
“The ring, Alice. Do you have it or not?” My mother sighs as though watching a boring comedy act. “I’d hate to kill one of my subjects, but I grow weary of this exchange. Give me an answer.”
“I don’t have it,” I say slowly, “but I know its location.”
