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Alaric growls. “Let us end this, my queen.”
Elizabeth’s gaze snaps to him. She reaches out and takes something from his outstretched hand. When she turns back to me, a poisonous smile turns the corners of her lips up.
Leaning forward, she whispers, “No one could ever truly love someone as pathetic as you.” She laughs, but it is cold and cruel. “She blamed you for the consequences of your insolence. You were why I came for them. Why they suffered. You were the reason for their deaths. She knew that—and she hated you for it.”
Searing pain pierces my side. It twists. Scraping against bone. I try to scream, but I cannot find the air.
As she rips her hand away, my body jerks. Crimson dapples her dress in an angry slash.
I drop, my knees hitting the frozen ground, then I crumple, unable to move… unable to breathe. My head hits the hard earth, and stars explode across my vision.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
ALARIC
The sightof the lifeless girl in Clara’s arms twists my insides. She reminds me of Rosalie, not in her appearance but rather in her fragile nature. A flower easily stripped of its delicate petals by rain. Clara is more like a rose hidden within a cage of thorns to protect it.
Elizabeth steps up to Clara, a look of disgust and ire twisting her delicate features. No human has ever gotten under her skin the way Clara has managed… as far as I know, with the memories I possess.
I almost do not recognize my queen.
My queen… she is still that, even if she is the one who cursed me.
I bend down and pick up the dagger. It is only steel, yet with each step, the tip dug into my side like a barb caught in the fabric of my shirt.
“This is the least of what you deserve. Did you honestly think you could win againstme?” Elizabeth hisses. Her eyes shine with power in the dimming light. The glow casts a reddish hue across her cheeks.
Her hand lashes out and grabs Clara by the hair, forcing her to her feet. Clara gasps but does not scream or cry. She is forced to release her hold, and her sister’s lifeless body tumbles to the ground.
I take a step forward. A growl is on my lips before I can hold back.
Nothing can be done for her now… she is not Rosalie.
Lavender and red eyes snap to mine.
“Let us end this, my queen,” I say.
The sneer on her face transforms into one made of ice. She leans to whisper in Clara’s ear. “No one could ever truly love someone as pathetic as you.” She laughs, but it is a cold and harsh sound. “She blamed you for the consequences of your insolence. You were why I came for them. Why they suffered. You were the reason for their deaths. She knew that—and she hated you for it.”
The cruelty of her words takes me aback. Elizabeth’s hand snakes out to take the dagger from my hand. I realize Elizabeth’s intention too late. The weapon is already buried in Clara’s side—the same place she’d held against my ribs. Slowly, Elizabeth twists the blade, savoring her agony, before ripping the blade free. The vicious jerk causes blood to splatter across her dress in an angry slash.
A single drop lands on the back of my hand. I stumble a step to the side, as if struck by some unseen force. White hot agony crashes over me like a wave. I double over and gasp for breath. It pierces like shards of glass. Searing my every nerve ending.
My vision wavers. I collapse to my hands and knees. No matter how hard I try, I cannot find my voice. Cannot breathe. I think I will be sick.
The dagger slips from Elizabeth’s hand and lands with a dull thud. Fresh, bright blood glistens on the shining metal, contrasting against the white dusting of snow. I try to say her name, but the sound does not come. Her gaze remains intent on Clara.
I wrap an arm around my abdomen, pressing against the talons of the curse and the teeth of the oath bond as they claw and scrape against me. Each cut, burrows deeper. Pulling and shredding me into pieces from the inside for an eternity.
Just as I think it will cleave me in two, the pain gradually recedes, condensing beneath my sternum, bearing down on my lungs. The pressure builds… then releases as one magic prevails and the other vanishes like fog in the heat of day.
Air flows into my lungs. The winter chill is harsh at first, easing with each breath. I squeeze my eyes shut. When I open them again, the world is no longer shaking, and the roaring in my ears has silenced.
It takes immense effort to raise my head. A hand stretches out over the ground. My gaze travels up the arm to warm, brown eyes watching me. They shine impossibly bright, brimming with tears that overflow when she blinks. Clara’s chest rises and falls with an unsteady rhythm. It slows.
Her eyes lock onto mine. Beseeching. And she is pale. Too pale. Clara’s fingers twitch, straining to reach.
For me.
