Chapter 45
Forty Five
Wynter
“Evilin?” The name is a choked whisper, a ghost of the fear I thought I’d conquered.
“Ah, my sweet Wynter. I’ve missed you.” She steps fully into the room, the secret panel swinging shut behind her with a soft click. Her eyes, burning with a triumphant, psychopathic fire, take in the studio—my sanctuary.
My heart hammers against my ribs, but the cold rage I’ve been nurturing for days rises to meet the fear. My eyes dart around the room, scanning for a weapon. A heavy sculpting mallet rests on a nearby work table. She sees me spot it.
Taking a chance, I lunge forward, my fingers brushing the rough wooden handle just as she kicks the table with a vicious crack, sending the mallet skittering across the floor, far from my grasp.
“I see you’re still as naive as ever,” she taunts, looming over me.
She kicks me hard in the stomach, forcing the air from my lungs and sending me sprawling onto my back.
Tears of pain and fury pool in my eyes, knowing this is it.
Kaden is gone. The door is locked. There are no witnesses.
It’s the perfect crime. A whimper slips through my lips as I look up at her.
The pure, undiluted anger in her gaze terrifies me.
Evilin reaches down, her hand wrapping around my throat, and pulls me to my feet with impossible ease. I claw at her grip, but she tightens her fingers, making it impossible to breathe.
“I can’t wait to see the life drain from your eyes just like your mother and father. They never saw me coming.” Her laughter is evil and dark as she shoves me backward, slamming me against the hard studio wall. The breath rushes from my lungs and spots dance before my eyes.
“It was you,” I gasp out, trying to pry her fingers loose.
“Of course, my dear. Money can make you do crazy things,” she chuckles, as if she didn’t just confess to murdering my parents. I dig my nails into her arms, hoping to elicit enough pain for me to slip away.
“You bitch!” she screeches, her other hand connecting with my face in a brutal slap. The taste of copper fills my mouth; she’s busted my lip.
“I see you’ve grown a backbone. Too bad you won’t be around long enough to use it,” she sneers. She pulls something small from her pocket, bringing it up so I can see it. I swallow hard when I see the small green tablet held between her fingers.
“What–” I try to ask but I realize my error of opening my mouth when she lodges the pill down my throat. Evilin clamps my mouth shut, pinching my nose closed as well. My lungs burn, desperate for oxygen, causing me to inadvertently swallow. The bitter aftertaste clings to my tongue, making me gag.
“Well, that was easier than I thought,” she chirps, pleased with herself.
“You see, it’s ironic how obsessed you were with that fucking apple tree, because its roots were used to create that little tablet.
I’m calling it Poison Apple, doesn’t that seem fitting?
” Her cruel smile widens when she sees the realization dawn on me.
Evilin pulls me from the wall and throws me onto the chaise lounge—my throne.
“Your poor little Prince will think you just died in your sleep.” She claps her hands together, then turns to the ancient mirror, preening, making sure she’s in perfect order.
Her smile widens. “Magic mirror on the wall…” she begins.
Her words are cut off by a sound like a thunderclap from across the room.
The heavy oak door to the studio splinters, then explodes inward off its hinges as Kaden, a figure of pure, unrestrained fury, crashes through it.
His eyes, wild and frantic, find me sprawled on the chaise.
I see the terror flash across his face, and then a rage so profound it seems to suck the very air from the room.
He tackles her to the ground. Everything becomes blurry, but I hear her cry out in pain, making me smile before I’m surrounded by darkness.