Chapter 35 #2
‘Twat,’ I cried, slamming my bound fists into his chest. A chest that morphed, curved.
I stepped back, blinking furiously as Cai’s features slid from the face I so desperately wanted to punch, till the king no longer stood before me, but a woman.
Her short, white hair cropped close to her pale head.
Watery eyes stared gleefully into my own.
I’d only ever read about Illusories – Anomalies with the ability to take on another’s form. They were rare. Oh, so rare. Any who emerged were highly prized, often falling into the clutches of the most depraved.
The blood flooded from my veins as a high-pitched giggle carried through the trees, and I turned, my chest cleaving as a woman, thin, pale, her long white hair unbound, skipped between the trees.
She disappeared behind a trunk as her guards strode forward and more Evellum chains encased me.
My chest froze as I glanced around. Where were her other guards? Were they already tearing through The Alliance? What about Matthias? Pablo? I bit my cheek, focused on the pain rather than the panic.
‘Boo!’ The empress cackled as she leapt from behind the tree. A chain wrapped around my neck, my waist. I tried to kick out as it slammed against my ankles.
‘Do you know?’ She bent to the ground, grasped a handful of sodden leaves and flung them into the air, spinning as they cascaded around her.
‘I’ve never been blessed with patience. When I was eight…
or was it nine?’ She stood before me, and my heart stuttered as her fingers trailed over the ruby around her neck.
I raised my hands, tucking my own under my top while she was still distracted.
‘Anyway, I couldn’t bear waiting. So tedious.
What about you, Mrs Asmar?’ She narrowed her brows, peered behind me. ‘Where’s her puppy?’
‘If you lay one finger on him, I’ll—’
‘He’s not here then?’ Her brown eyes widened and I swear tears glistened within.
‘He’s…’ I straightened my shoulders. ‘He’s in The Alliance. And if you hurt—’
The empress pouted before shrugging and brushing down her orange dress with a leather-gloved hand. ‘He’s safe, then. For now. I’ve no desire to face that lot. Not now I have you, Mrs Asmar. I’ll have him. One day. I’m not one for patience, though.’
‘You’ve already said that.’ I raised my chin, gripped my skirts to halt the tremors. At least The Alliance was safe. But why? I may be a Deviant, but why would she be content with a single queen when the opportunity to take over every Shuteran land lay just half a mile from here?
Her brow furrowed. ‘Don’t lie, Mrs Asmar. I can’t abide liars.’
‘Your Imperial Majesty?’ The abbot’s simpering face came into focus as his eyes darted around the tiny space. ‘Perhaps we should leave before her absence is noted.’
Clutching her necklace, she looked over her shoulder to the abbot, sighing loudly.
‘I suppose you’re right. We should—’
‘Traitor,’ I screamed, slamming my heels into the ground as Matthias’s brother stormed between the trees and Ifan took his place by his empress.
The curse died on my lips as I peered at him and my guts churned. The mountain of a man had crumbled. His skin, pale and hollow, took on a tinge greener than his eyes. His hand twitched next to the hilt of his sword as black trickled from his nostril.
‘Don’t be too angry with him, Mrs Asmar.’ I think the empress wrinkled her nose as she looked at the youngest Elmswood, but the swirling anger made it even more difficult to see. ‘Those Asmars are rather easy to trick. Isn’t that so?’
I peered closer, watching as beads of sweat rolled over Ifan’s clammy forehead. He was dying.
‘What have you done to him?’ I whispered.
‘Oh, it wasn’t me. My Illusory courted him.
Persuaded silly little Asmar that he’d be a great warrior, and so, when Eiriulf arrived with ink and needle in hand, the snivelling little lump couldn’t rip his shirt off fast enough.
I knew he’d make amends for all those nights I was forced to sit and wipe the snot from him. ’
Ifan coughed, his hand catching the thick tar he spat up.
‘The Gods will destroy you for this, you evil fuck—’
The back of the empress’s hand silenced me. ‘Don’t vex me, Mrs Asmar. I’m not gifted with patience.’
The abbot pointed a shaking finger at me. ‘Her neck, your Imperial Majesty. Look at her neck.’
The force of her slap had sent the ring from under my dress. I gripped it tight as the empress squealed. ‘Is it the one? Please tell me it’s the one?’
‘It’s nothing,’ I said. ‘Not even real ruby. A gift. A joke—’
‘The temple, Imperial Majesty,’ Eiriulf said. ‘Time is not our friend.’
Rolling her eyes, she tutted. ‘Gods, have you ever tried being fun?’
Her gaze swung onto me.
‘Will you be a good little girl and give me that ruby?’ She sniffed, wiping a smudge of onyx from her nose.
‘Fuck you,’ I said, spitting into her face.
‘Dirty Asmar. I was hoping you wouldn’t be as vexing as that damned husband of yours. No matter. Ifan?’
He raised his head before taking a faltering step towards me and trembled by his empress.
‘I’m afraid stubborn Mrs Asmar intends to hold us up. Remember what I said?’
He nodded numbly, refusing to meet my glare.
‘Don’t kill her. Not yet anyway.’
Ifan stepped forward, ripping the chain over my head as I struggled beneath his grip.
‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered into my ear, before pain tore through my skull and the world descended into darkness.