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“He…” Christopher struggled to continue.
It was the sudden sound of the safety being clicked off that pushed Christopher to reveal everything in one breath.
“I don’t know! We managed to get De Luca here and she changed into a male and decided to try to remove the collar upon Arthur’s neck! It caused an explosion and we just woke up from the aftermath. Their bodies haven’t been found.”
I was pretty sure the last part was a lie. They had no time to even do an investigation since they just woke up themselves.
“How close in proximity were they to Arthur before the explosion?” the woman demanded.
“Right before him, Your Majesty. The blast mimicked a bomb. There’s no way they weren’t turned into ash. If you wished for us to offer protection to Arthur, we would have prevented the confrontation.”
“Unnecessary,” she dismissed with actual glee, like this was the best news she’d heard. “He was but a puppet to me. He can’t possibly replace Loki, but he listens to orders thanks to my collar which I ensured would destroy him and anyone who tried to take it off.”
The way she began to laugh was like an evil witch cackling in midst of the night.
“Excellent, excellent. It won’t be long before my implanted magic takes over. Then Willow will be my new puppet to control and bring down the entire Phoenix kingdom.”
“B-But, Your Majesty? Willow De Luca perished attempting to take off the collar. She’s but ash,” Christopher had the balls to say.
I briefly glanced at Arthur, noticing the flash of disappointment—the minor emotion flickered in his currently blue orbs.
What swarmed to overflow those spheres was immense anger.
"When a phoenix rises from the ashes, everyone else notices only after the flames ignite into existence,” the woman sang happily. “I’ve waited years for her actual death, and though it would have been easier for her to perish on that plane, this will have to suffice. It still ensures my plans go perfectly.”
“I-It does?” Christopher gasped with a prickle of hope in his voice.
“I told you my objective is retrieving Willow De Luca. I didn’t care if she was dead or alive. Dead makes my life a lot easier, for my implanted magic will spread through her body before it decomposes. Once awakened, that crazed state of mind will draw me out. Like a child calling for her dear mother, she’ll magically wish to be reunited, and that’s when my reign will finally begin. Then it won’t matter if I lost the reaper wolf. I’ve got something far more valuable.”
“Is…De Luca that valuable?” Christopher didn’t understand, and frankly, I didn’t either. Sure, Willow was on the queen’s shit list, but I wasn’t grasping her motives.
How would she even have control over Willow if she’s dead?
“Willow De Luca…or should I say Willow Alundra Phoenix, is the key to everything, Father,” the woman mocked the ‘Father’ part as she laughed. "All of you are so envious when the key of power was in your grasp. If you’d been smart, you could have even blackmailed me, the Vile Queen, and I would have done anything you asked to claim my beloved daughter.”
Daughter?
Arthur looked at me with the same confusion I surely carried upon my own face.
I may not have known Elphaba Phoenix, but the mere glimpse we got of her on Mount Marcy clearly confirmed she was indeed the mother of Willow.
Even without a glimpse of this woman, I knew she wasn’t the same person.
“Daughter?” Christopher gasped. “S-She’s your child?”
“Ah, it’s quite complicated, you see.” She couldn’t sound more spiteful in this moment. “You’re not worthy of knowing the backstory behind our magic connection. In fact, why are you still alive?”
Christopher coughed and a thumping sound reminded me of someone falling to their knees.
“Please! D-Don’t kill me! I can still be of service.”
“In what way?”
“Willow may be dead with Arthur, but I’m certain Saint Alexander is still alive.”
“The Dark Lord?” She sounded annoyed. “I’m disappointed that for the Vatican with so much apparent power and wealth, you can’t even keep a rein on your own god that you worship for power.”
“We were trying to shift our power play so all our eggs aren’t in one basket,” Christopher defended. “This De Luca girl has been brainwashing him, and clearly, he was so lost in his delusion that he thought he was mated to her. She’s a cunning businesswoman, but her death will force him to return to where he belongs. Then I’ll punish him in a way he’ll never forget.”
