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At the sound of the female voice, Finn and I both whirl around to find Posey standing there. She gives me a wicked grin with all teeth.
“Posey,” Finn greets, sliding his hands into his pockets with a practiced air of relaxation.
“Finn, you’re not necessary for this conversation, so I suggest you keep your gaze averted while I speak with Daphne, woman-to-woman.”
“Posey, you’re crazier than I thought if you think for onesecondthat I’m going to take my eyes off you.”
“If you think I’m the bad guy you’ve all dreamed me up to be, then why haven’t you tried to kill me yet? Oh, that’s right. I have a God Killer bladeandthe Scepter of the Dead, and you’re too busy waiting for Xavier to finish scratching his balls to come up with a way to face me. So many clever things I can do withall those soulsbecause your husband wanted to save your life instead of those he vowed to protect.” Posey giggles. “Oops! I’m sorry,notyour husband. Your lover.”
“What do you want, Posey?” I ask through gritted teeth. I glance at the mortals, then in the direction of Essos and the others.
A blade appears in her hands. “We’re glamoured, just like Zara and Helene are in Zara’s house. As far as your friends are concerned, you two are standing here watching the sun rise as the mortals you swore to protect eat each other in the streets. Are you having fun yet, Daphne?”
“I wouldn’t call this fun, no.”
“You never did have a sense of humor.” Posey sounds bored. She’s wearing a bright yellow sundress and doesn’t have a hair out of place. She looks almost friendly, only there’s nothing to hide the gleam of insanity in her gaze.
“Are you here to indulge in another villain’s monologue, show off just how wrong we are about your plans, and make us second-guess ourselves left and right?” Finn edges himself between Posey and me.
She must see exactly what he’s up to, because shelaughs. “Fates,” she giggles to herself. “I guess I can’t really use that curse, since you now know we’re actually talking aboutme. No, I have a one-time limited offer for Daphne. She can avoid any more bloodshed.”
“How?” I ask. Whatever she says, I’m not going to like it, nor am I going to agree to it, but I feel like I need to at least hear her offer. I can use it as a metric for just how out of her mind she is.
“How, she asks,” Posey says, speaking to Finn. She turns her focus on me. “Step up and be a queen, but bemyqueen. You’ve seen just as much bullshit with this family as I have. You’ve seen the utter lack of respect toward women, and more than that, how the very heads of the family—the God and Goddess Supreme—shirked theirresponsibility, not only to the citizens of Solarem but also to the mortal realm you pretend to love so much. How can you stand here and look around at what the ruling families have wrought and not beangry? I know the vicious monster you keep chained in your dark heart. I know that you want recompense for all they have done.”
She walks in a circle, waving the dagger around as she talks with her hands. Finn keeps himself between us, never letting there be space for her to lunge at me.
It’s unhelpful to point out to her thatsheis the one that did this, but I can’t help myself.
“If you want to put the blame at Octavia and Titus and their children’s feet, fine, but you can’t do that without taking blame too.Youraised the dead.Youpulled down the veil. Essos did everything right—he jumped through every hoop you tossed his way to get me back, and he did it while also running the Underworld.”
“Your Essos wasn’t as innocent as you like to think he was. He might play the weeping widower well, but he fell right back into Ellie’s bed the second time just as quickly as he did the first time I put her in his path. He’s weak. He will always be weak. But you…you havepower, real, raw power that comes from being more than just a concubine to a king.”
“You would know, wouldn’t you?” I ask, my tone haughty.
This seems to be the thing that spurns her into action, because she lunges for me then. Finn intercepts her, and the thought that he could be damaged for my recklessness stills my heart.
Posey swings the blade with menace but manages only to slice a gash down his forearm. “I rescind my offer, you stupid bitch. I think this time, I’ll carve Essos’s heart out in front of you and make you watch as I eat it.” She turns her back, showing us just what she thinks of us as a threat.
To my utter horror, she uses her power to force the cars acting as a blockade apart. Several undead heads swivel toward the sound.
I turn toward Posey, already calling forth my vines. I have no way of holding on to a Fate, or even thinking that my powers are strong enough to do so. Finn didn’t attempt it, but I’m going to try, and if we can grab her now, we’ll just…figure it out.
My vines don’t even break through the ground before she simply vanishes. Her shield over us must be gone as well, because now not only can Essos see us again, but the zombies have scented Finn’s blood.
There is a zombie hoard headed right for us.
“I didnotsign up for this shit,” Finn mutters in disbelief.
I throw up my vines, ensnaring several zombies, but they fall forward and rip their bodies apart to crawl toward us. When I was a mortal, I knew I didn’t have a shot at surviving the zombie apocalypse. The only way I could have done so was if someone else tripped and fell, letting me get away.
“Daphne!” Essos calls. My name echoes, and I can see people looking out their windows to see who would be stupid enough to shout.
Finn and I back up slowly. We can transport ourselves out of here, no problem, but the barrier protecting the mortals is gone, and I’m not leaving without fixing this situation as best I can.
Essos is by my side before I know it. He takes in Finn’s bleeding arm before his gaze sweeps me for any sign of injury.
“I’m fine, but these mortals won’t be,” I tell him.
