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A flash of surprise darted across her face before she slipped back into arrogance. Cocking her head slightly, she idly ran her gaze over Liam and Zeke, her eyes stilling and narrowing as she reached Noah. Pushing to her feet in a smooth, unhurried motion, she glided silently down the low, carpeted steps until she stood before him. I squeezed my eyes shut as she reached for his face, shoving calm down the bond at him and sending a desperate prayer up to the gods that he wouldn’t react to her.
“Why do I recognise you?” she murmured, her finger tucked under his chin to tip his face up towards her.
He shot her an ugly smile. “I’ve just got one of those faces.”
“He was at the treaty meeting with me,” I snapped, trying to draw her attention.
She frowned and pouted a little as she tried to place him. “Perhaps. But that’s not it, is it.”
With a flick of her fingers, his shirt suddenly ripped open, revealing his bare chest to her. He flinched back as a cool finger brushed across the scar over his heart, a low rumble of a growl sounding as she touched him.
“How did you survive, little wolf?” she asked in fascination as she examined the spot where her spear of ice had impaled him.
Noah’s gaze darted to me, clearly unsure how to respond. As she followed his gaze, her pale, cold eyes clashed with mine and I saw the exact moment that she grasped that there was more going on here than she’d realised.
Striding towards me, her eyes narrowed dangerously as they began to spark with anger.
“What have you done, Cordelia?” she demanded. “Whatexactlyhave you been up to in the time you’ve been away?”
I raised a single brow at her tauntingly, expecting the solid slap that sent my head whipping to the side. Mikael’s grip on me tightened briefly as he steadied me, using the moment to discreetly slip the bindings off my arms.
I spat blood at her feet, making her cringe with disgust.
“Me?” I rasped. “I mean, do I need to do anything? You seem to be ruining everything yourself quite nicely. What’s this I hear about the people turning against you? Or are half of your guard just taking a vacation?”
Another slap left my cheek burning, hot blood filling my mouth as my lip split further, sending a small spray of red across the floor. Fear and fury poured down my bonds as my mates were forced to watch my pain, the strain of holding themselves back obvious as I tried to send reassurance in return.
The Queen’s composure trembled visibly as rage bled into her face, but the note of fear there made my spirit soar even as she smirked unnervingly.
“Even if you have decoded the prophecy, you’ll never fulfil it. Your pathetic god remains pitifully impotent, and you will all die wondering why you ever trusted in him at all.”
I grinned widely at her, my teeth bloody. “Your arrogance will be your failure, Mother. You spent many years trying to break me, and yet here I stand, stronger than ever and ready to see you fall.”
Her musical voice filled the room as she threw back her head and laughed loudly. She panted gently as she reeled in control once more, a sly glint in her eye as she spoke again.
“Daughter, your power is drained and you are tied and bloody before me.” She reached out to grab my chin, sinking her nails into my flesh as she pulled me closer with a sneer. “And I know just how well I broke you.”
The hairs on my arms began to rise as I felt her power pulse out around us, goosebumps rushing over my skin as she released me and raised her arms out either side of her. Outside of the long windows that lined the outer wall, the sky was rapidly darkening. Clouds rolled in, slate grey and heavy with rain, and the sun was rapidly blotted out as the roiling blanket covered the world.
The Queen’s eyes flared with triumph as she conjured the storm, the challenge in them clear as the first rumble of thunder reached us. Fear sliced through me as the sky lit up with a sudden flash of light, the trembling boom of thunder following within seconds and triggering memories that I hated to relive. Dark thoughts of being strapped down and helpless as the storm raged high above tried to invade my mind, threatening to drag me down, and the familiar sound of my mother’s cackling laughter only heightened my struggle. Bound before her, powerless and at her mercy, my past had taught me to now only expect pain.
“Your fears make you weak, Daughter,” she hissed gleefully, soaking in my damage as I resisted the terror trying to overwhelm me.
I squeezed my eyes closed as another roll of thunder echoed around us, my pulse erratic as the static of the storm prickled over my flesh. I was losing control, giving into the hurt from the years of abuse I had suffered, and I couldn’t see a way out.
I jerked in surprise as a sudden pulse of heavy, unadulterated lust hit me, making my core curl in response even as my body thrummed with fear. Sucking in a breath, I desperately tried to centre myself, even as lightning flashed behind my closed lids and another burst of arousal flew through me.
This time, as thunder crashed overhead, my mind slid to a different memory. Clearer and more intense, memories of the night of my first storm in the Pack Lands played out in my minds-eye. Rather than vague recollections of terror, this memory was fresh and real. It was my mates, our connection, our pleasure. It was safety.
Calm swept through me as my fear fell away, the shadows retreating back into the darkest parts of my mind. Awareness of my bonds returned as I felt Zeke’s triumph, realising that he had deliberately pushed those feelings toward me down our bond when he realised that I was lost in a fog of suffering. Relief and love poured towards me from all three of my guys now, bolstering my inner walls and giving me the strength to straighten my spine and open my eyes.
Shocked confusion rippled across my mother’s face as I met her eye with a cool composure.
“You can’t hurt me anymore,” I said simply, lifting my chin as I held her gaze.
Time seemed to hang still for a long moment as she stared back at me, but I refused to back down. I was done with her and her games; I was done letting her have the power. It was time to finish this.
Without warning, her face twisted in rage and her arm darted forwards, slamming a blade deep into my side. I cried out as I crumpled, my knees slamming to the floor as she yanked the dagger that I hadn’t even realised that she was holding back out of my flesh. Thunder roared, shaking the windows hard enough to make some of the glass panes splinter, drowning out my cry of agony and the growls of my mates as the guards held them back.
