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She spun around and leaned close to my face, forcing me to only look at her as her eyes locked with mine.
“Then you’ll take the members of the High Council out one by one, and they’ll begin to realize how immortal you are. How diabolically powerful you are compared to the rest of the world. You’ll force men to bow, ensure all those fuckers who belittled me repay for their judgment and mockery. I’ll not only get my revenge through you, but you’ll make me proud by proving to them all that I was right along. That my tactics of empowerment work. You’ll be evidence that I’m not insane. And once we dominate the mundane world, we’ll move on to the Fae.”
She laughed manically and this time when she gripped my cheeks, her nails dug into my flesh.
“But you have to endure the pain, Willow. With pain comes pleasure, and the only way you get to enjoy everything I wish to give you is by enduring the madness a little longer,” she assured me while slowly licking her lips. “You’ll do that for me, yes?”
“Yes,” I replied and let the next word slip without grasping it. “Mother.”
Her smile couldn’t be bigger as she squealed and removed her hands, which encouraged the blood from the piercing of her nails that began to roll down my flushed cheeks.
“That’s correct, Willow. Your mother will always take care of you. She wants the best for you!” She spun around in elation, her hood falling and revealing the long strands that held a hint of curl in them.
Before my eyes locked onto her again, she carried a chainsaw in her grasp. The manic look in her expression only confirmed I was about to be in a whole lot of pain.
“Let’s not delay in making you the best child this world will witness,” she happily exclaimed before pulling on the string that ignited the saw to begin its roaring sound of approaching wrath. “Then, you and mommy will make a pack so grand and lethal that no one will dare disobey anything we say.”
The lights further dimmed then, and the sight of the smiling woman only morphed into one so disfigured, I couldn’t find the words to speak. My eyes were as wide as they could be, taking in the discolored flesh of red, orange, and pale peach while lumps, bumps, and swollen pimples practically decorated her face.
It was as if her skin had burned under a furnace, and she was pulled out before it could completely melt away, but the vision was traumatizing enough to make me want to scream.
“Let’s begin.”
My scream pierced the air, seconds before a set of hands force me to remain still upon whatever I laid upon.
“Willow.” Dimitri's voice filled my ear as I realized his arms were wrapped around me so he could pull me against him.“Breathe, Everlasting. You’re safe.”
The command was gentle as he continued to hold me tightly so I wouldn’t race out of whatever room I was in.
“The…the Vile Queen. She’s…gonna saw my limbs off. I…I…I’m supposed to do it one last time. Endure it one last time,” I rambled the words out and hugged him as tightly as I could.
“Shh. You’re safe. Breathe. Focus on breathing with me.”
I wasn’t sure my words mattered to him — his concern focused on my need to breathe, which may have been a good priority to have. I decided to listen to him as I began to time my breathing with his, and by the time I calmed down, my body felt utterly drained.
I didn’t have to worry about falling because Dimitris held me against him, even as my head fell back. It felt like my body just needed a moment of staying completely still while my heart fought to calm down from its racing rhythm.
The sound of doors opening swiftly echoed through the air before a feminine voice spoke with anger.
“Why did no one inform me of Willow coming to Faerie?”
“Unless you plan to clean up the potential tornado you’ll cause if you keep your energy levels like that, I’d calm down, Elphaba,” Roberto surprisingly spoke like she shouldn’t be so angry. “At least you made it on time.”
“You,” she began and I heard her stomping heels. It made me frightened for a moment, and my body involuntarily tried to curl up.
“Walk slower, Queen Elphaba,” Onyx hissed. I felt like it wasn’t his intention to sound so venomous, but then again, I wasn’t really sure what was happening around me. “The sounds of your heels are triggering her.”
“What did you do to her?” Queen Elphaba demanded. “You all should be on your way to the execution site. Not in Faerie.”
“Wait. What do you mean?” Milo pressed. “We still have a few hours.”
“The time was changed,” Queen Elphaba announced, sounding out of breath as the heels came to a dramatic stop. I was surprised by the sudden warm hand that pressed lightly on my cheek before I felt like I was being offered to another. “Willow? Sweetheart.”
I managed to open my eyes just slightly, my vision blurry but catching the similarities of the woman who held me.
“Mom?” My voice croaked as I watched the lines of relief form on her face before she pressed me into a hug.
“Willow. You’re supposed to tell me when you’re going to Faerie. The Phoenix family has as many enemies in the mundane world as in the Faerie lands, especially with our long history being founders of the shifter and magic community.”
