Chapter 62 Zadyn
ZADYN
Ashark smile spreads over her face.
Gods, she looks just like Serena. I can see Sorscha’s features there too, in the color of her hair and the wide set of her amber eyes.
“We finally meet in this lifetime.”
Serena takes a slow step forward. “You know me, know me? How?”
Without breaking their stare, she purrs, “Marideth. Always a pleasure.”
My head whips toward Mar, who’s gone pale as if she’d seen a ghost.
“Queen Margot,” she gasps, dropping into a deep curtsy.
Queen Margot?
“I’m sorry—queen?” Serena’s gaze collides with mine, wrought with shock and confusion.
Did you know who she was?
No, I swear I’ve never seen her before.
“Former queen,” the female corrects, waving a dismissive hand.
“But you—you’re dead. I watched your pyre burn.” Mar staggers forward, a slight tremble in her voice.
“What you saw, Marideth, was what I wanted you to see. Sometimes our minds play tricks on us. Tell me, what do you recall from that day? Was it summer or winter? Was it raining, or was the sun beaming down on your face?”
Her mouth opens as she grasps at straws and comes up empty. “But everyone thinks you’re dead…why did you…”
“Being queen was never in my cards. But my past is not the reason you are here now. I would appreciate if our little run-in remained between us. The last thing I need is Derek attempting to track me down.”
“Derek is dead,” Serena snaps.
The stranger looks surprised for the first time since we arrived, her throat bobbing as she swallows.
“I see.”
“What are you doing here?” Serena asks.
“Please, sit.” Margot’s bejeweled fingers reach across the table, spreading the cards out in a half moon as Serena cautiously slips into the open seat. I keep close, lingering by her shoulder and eyeing her mother’s doppelg?nger with suspicion.
“You seem to have found yourself in quite the predicament.” She begins to pluck a few cards from the spread, placing them down strategically before Serena.
“Well, I almost got married. So I took a page out of your book and ran.”
A melodic laugh spills out of her. “I’m not responsible for what the version of me you know did in another lifeline. That was a different person entirely.”
“You faked your own death and left your family bereft and broken. You’re no better than my mother. You’re exactly the same in every lifeline. So again. How do you know me.”
“I’ve had the gift of sight for as long as I can remember. I am able to see all versions of my line, in other worlds, other dimensions.”
“Is there another one of me running around somewhere?”
“No. There is only one of you. Ever and anywhere. And you—” Margot points a manicured finger at me. “I knew your parents. Heard what happened. Such a shame. Nice people.” Her voice lacks any sort of empathy despite her condolences.
I clutch the back of Serena’s chair with an iron grip.
“He is loyal to you, isn’t he? But then again, aren’t they all?” She pauses, glancing over Serena with a mix of curiosity and wonder. “You are not what I expected.”
Serena snorts. “Did you think I’d show up here with flowers and a Mother’s Day card?”
“You’re sharper than the visions I’ve seen of you. You were weak. Soft. And now you’re…a warrior. You’re a leader.”
“I’m no leader.”
She gives Serena a sardonic smile. “You’ve got an army of friends you’ve won with love. That is the most dangerous kind of leader there is. The kind who inspires action in others. They would die for you. Some of them will before this is over.”
“If you know something, I suggest you spit it out,” Serena growls. “Why am I here?”
With a loud sigh, she says, “You have been resisting your path.”
“Did you get that from the cards? Maybe they can clarify some things for me. Like how to close the portal in Hyrax.”
“Do not waste your time on what does not concern you.”
“Oh, but this does concern me. It concerns all of us.” Serena palms the table. “Kylian Triori has control of the portal. He wants to conquer the kingdoms. He will do whatever it takes to get his way. Even if it means destroying this world in the process.”
“Ah, but you”—Margot leans in—“will prevent that.”
“I intend to kill him before it comes to that.”
“No. You will not. You will try, but when the moment comes, you will falter.”
The color leeches from Serena’s face. She shoves back, her chair screeching against the floorboards.
“You are wasting my time.”
“So blind,” Margot tuts, shaking her head.
“What are you talking about?”
Her gaze lands on me. “Your friends should go. You may not want them to hear what I’m about to tell you. It’s quite…personal.” She torques a perfectly arched brow.
My fists clench. I have no intention of leaving. I know what a trigger Serena’s mother is for her. And it’s obvious this female is just as cold and calculated. So I don’t feel bad for scowling at the face that has caused her insurmountable suffering.
“It’s okay.” Serena pinches the bridge of her nose. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“I’m not leaving you,” I bite.
“Run along, shifter.” Margot lifts a hand to shoo me, then breaks into a laugh. “What—you really think I’d harm my own daughter?”
Serena twists in her seat, peering up at me with pleading eyes. “Zadyn, please. Let me hear what she has to say.”
Fine. But I’m not going far.
Fine.
I turn sharply, towing a shell-shocked Marideth from the room with me.
My foot taps a steady beat against the wood panels in the hall. “She’s been in there a while.”
Mar slides her gray eyes to me.
“I’m going to check on her—”
Long, slender fingers wrap around my arm. “Don’t. She needs to do this alone.”
I know Mar is right, but I’m concerned.
Since Margot wasn’t exactly shy about spilling Serena’s secrets, I had to explain everything to Marideth while we waited.
I told her all about Serena’s past and the people here that resemble the ones she knew—Sorscha, Jace, Derek, and now her mother, I guess.
She was shocked, to say the least, but she swore to keep it between us.
Knowing how much Serena trusts her, I’m not worried.
“And don’t you dare eavesdrop,” she hisses.
I hold up two hands in surrender. “I’m not.”
I’m actively doing my best not to listen through the walls. But it’s not easy. I finally breathe again when the door opens, and Serena steps into the hall.
“Hey.” Her eyes look glazed when she looks at me. “Are you alright?”
She nods absently, staring at me with a strange expression on her face. As if she’s seeing me for the first time. “I’m good. Let’s go.”
“What’s wrong? What did she say?”
“Nothing. She was just fucking with me in typical Dianna Avery fashion. Were you listening?”
“No. I wanted to give you some privacy.”
Without further explanation, she stalks down the stairs.
“So that was your mother…” Mar finally says.
“Unfortunately. Some alternate version,” she mutters. Mar shakes her head, her brows knit together.
“Do you think we should tell Sorscha about this?”
“No. I don’t. She faked her own death to abandon her daughter and husband. Sorscha is better off without her. Trust me.”
“She would want to know—”
“Then tell her, Mar.” Serena cuts her off, perturbed by whatever was said in that room. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to snap at you. She just gets under my skin like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Trust me, I feel the same way about my mother.”
The rest of the trip back is quiet and tense. I keep one eye on Serena at all times, wary of the drastic shift in her mood. She refuses to look at me. I keep pleading with her in my head, look at me, let me in.
But she doesn’t. She sets her jaw and seals herself up, leaving no opening for me.
“You guys go ahead. I’m going to take Furi out for a ride,” she says as we reach the grounds.
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
You can tell me.
I need to be alone right now. Please just give me an hour.
“Of course,” I breathe.
Furi lands a moment later, kicking up a brutal wind. Serena mounts her with fluid ease. I stand there staring long after she disappears, a black dot skating past the moon.