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“She’s the Vile Queen! She has armies of men. Cynical bastards who are trained in vicious ways so they have no mercy on their prey. The Vile Queen has existed longer than this child. She was probably alive long before Roberto took his reign in the business realms. With her aid, it should be child’s play to get rid of one pesky slut!”
I could see the anger in Christopher’s eyes as he clenched his fists.
What a fucking fool.
“See, what the real problem is,” Arthur began as he leaned his body back against the wooden surface, “is that you use your emotions and pride to answer questions rather than using that pea brain of yours.”
There was another tsk of his tongue before he opened his eyes once more and they were pitch black like a demon had possessed him entirely. Christopher froze in fear, but Arthur paid no mind as he continued as if he didn’t look like he was going to shift into something quite horrifying.
“Not once did you ask why the Vile Queen needs De Luca. You did no research as to why this woman—who has managed to take the business world by storm and catch even royal attention—is now being sought for by the Vile Queen herself.”
“She obviously wants her dead like the rest of us!”
“Maybe,” Arthur offered. “But what if she’s the key the Vile Queen needs to checkmate all of you?”
The question suddenly made my eyes widen while Arthur’s words began to echo in my mind again and again.
What if the Vile Queen needs Willow to checkmate everyone? To dominate everyone in all aspects?
“The Vile Queen needs those with immense power! Do you really think such a vile woman who despised her own heritage would need such a pitiful woman for whatever vengeance she’s after?” Christopher elaborated with the intention of being right. “She experiments on anyone just to lead them to the path of perfection. To create the ultimate creation that could accompany her to victory. A flawless woman like De Luca who goes around acting like a male one minute and a female the next is simply a walking definition of why so many youths and adults are lost in this world! Innocent beings of God who are being influenced and manipulated by this apparent ‘role model’ who is nothing but an abomination in the eyes of our Lord and Savior.”
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you,”Arthur hummed, and there was that sinful power that made goosebumps crawl on my pale flesh.“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.”
Christopher was left speechless as Arthur let his head hang back while he smiled sinisterly.
“Matthew 7:1-5. Funny how a man of God crucifies someone without crucifying their own actions.”
“T-This is dif—”
“What makes you and Willow De Luca any different in your objectives?” Arthur inquired while his head still hung back. “In fact, what makes you different from anyone who has goals, dreams, ambitions? Anyone who’s been wronged, abused, and shamed for things outside of their control? The entire time, I’ve been giving you hints, Christopher. Little pieces for you to understand why Willow De Luca is going to be the most sought-out woman in the underground by Christmas morning. Yet, you don’t want to see it.”
When he lifted his head back in place, strands of purple that shifted into a black descended down his shoulders to the bench’s surface while his eyes were now mismatched—one black and one red.
“She’s the reason why I decided to change sides. That woman, Father Christopher, is your only way out of this mayhem of deception. Otherwise, the very Vatican you’ve spent your whole life worshipping is going to crumble to the very ground like the rest of this city that’s close to being nothing but ash.”
“W-W-What?!” the man stuttered in horror before he shook his head. “You wouldn’t betray us! You won’t betray the Vile Queen.”
The way Arthur laughed this time made me twitch in annoyance, but I fought to ignore the itch in the back of my mind.
“Do you believe my loyalty to the Vile Queen is absolute? The woman would forsake her own child by blood if it meant she’d get a seat of power. What am I? An orphan upon this Earth who had to struggle to obtain every single strand of power in my possession,” he snarled as his eyes darkened with immense scrutiny. “I’m but a puppet, Christopher. Just like you. I’m a beloved pet who had to become the Queen’s backup plan when her beloved right-hand man returned to where he rightfully belongs.”
Is he talking about Loki?
“I’m the fucker who does the cleanup when the rest of the team fucks up, and well, you’ve fucked up enough to make your own Dark Lord turn against you. That’s a rather big task to clean up.”
Christopher paled at the reminder, and it seemed to dawn on him that Arthur’s energy was oozing out of him at a dangerous level. The air was thick with energy, enough that it probably made Christopher feel like it was an air bubble in space that was running out of the very oxygen he needed to survive.
“NYC is burning. The Vile Queen’s favorite puppy has returned to his destined owner. Stocks are plummeting, and the next Master and Disciple on the High Council have been determined. Roberto De Luca is nowhere to be found, and I’m sure his pack is struggling with no commands, and let’s not forget the Forbidden and how they’ve grown rather expeditiously since our last talk. Did you also forget the Coven, with whom you still have an alliance, pissed off the fae by trying to kidnap one of their princesses? It’s so amusing that her guardian is a fae prince. And not just any prince, but one of the highest fae princes in the North who may rise into power because of the bullshit y’all tried to pull off.” Arthur seemed to be on a roll, and I was beginning to realize he knew a lot more than what he was letting on. “Should I keep going about the fact the pureblood involvement is going to be a big pain in you guys' asses if that leader pulls anymore strings or that Ruby Phoenix’s involvement could potentially trigger a shifter war? Or do we want to save that part for another time when the world is close to an apocalypse?”
He knew damn well he wasn’t going to get an answer, so I assumed he’d continue any second now, but I didn’t anticipate his next words.
“You’re not someone who’s fun to speak riddles to, so why don’t I talk to your Dark Lord? I’m sure Saint can appease my appetite for conversation,” he offered and chuckled again, which really was grinding my fucking gears. “Or should I call you Dark Lord Alexander?”
He glanced directly my way, and the shadows didn’t bother hiding me any longer. It wasn’t because Arthur’s attempt to call us out had any effect on them. It was because I had nothing to hide, especially when this confrontation would only feed my desire for mayhem.
I stepped out of my spot like I was about to part the Red Sea—my hands casually in my pockets while my outfit of black emphasized the lethal aura that danced around me in warning.
If it could rattle like a snake, it would. Just to let the world know that anyone who blocked my path of vengeance would face the ultimate price.
