My mouth was set in a grim line, but tears leaked from my eyes. Mother’s lips moved, and even though I did not know what she was saying, dread filled me. Was she saying goodbye? But she couldn’t. Not yet. I’d just found her!
“Bind her hands,” Jezebel hissed.
Two soldiers came up behind me, roughly jerking my hands behind my back. A rope bit into my wrists and I wanted to struggle, but I knew better.
“Don’t spill a drop of her precious blood,” Jezebel snapped, eyes on my shoulder, where a gnome had bit me earlier.
Green snakes slithered around my ankles, sending shivers up my spine. It took all of my willpower to keep from lashing out. Tears pricked the back of my eyes and I met my mother’s gaze. Even in distress she looked strong and independent. A true queen.
Jezebel leaned up against her, pressing her nose to my mother’s pale cheek. “Who do we have here? The fallen queen of the kingdom of men? And your bastard daughter? What were you planning? But does it matter?”
Time slowed down for me as Jezebel raised the knife. It moved in slow motion, an arc curving toward my mother’s neck. The knife came down, the shining blade splitting open my mother’s neck. The skin parted as her head lolled back. She jerked uncontrollably and spasms of crimson blood gushed from her neck.
I screamed, a hoarse kind of choking sound as I struggled against my bonds, trying, and failing, to run to my mother’s side. Her hands came up, closing around her neck as her body shook. But the blood spewed across her hands, dripped down her arms, and stained her dress. So much blood.
Jezebel continued to hold her dark hair in one hand, staring at her as though she were some kind of curiosity and not a human fighting for her last breaths. Mother’s knees buckled and at last Jezebel released her. She collapsed facedown on the ground, without honor or dignity.
Glancing at me, Jezebel lifted a foot and pressed down on my mother’s back.
“How dare you!” I screamed, shaking and sobbing. I strained hard as red magic engulfed me, but my bonds would not loosen. “How dare you slay my mother and desecrate her body!”
My vision went fuzzy as blind rage swept through me. I wanted the sword, needed it to come up off the ground and slay Jezebel. My fingers shook as I reached for it, but it was too far and Jezebel too close. In a moment she stood before me, smelling of moss, mushrooms, and iron. Up close she was even more deadly, and horrifyingly beautiful. Her scent clouded my thoughts but she took my jaw in her hands, squeezing as she forced me to meet her gaze.
She wanted me to watch, needed me to see as she lifted the blade and slowly licked the blood off it, her eyes never leaving mine. I gagged as she threw back her head and shuddered in pure, orgasmic ecstasy.
Then she brought down her fist and cuffed me across the head. The blow knocked my head back and my teeth bit down on my tongue so hard, blood filled my throat. My vision swam as I bent over, spitting and sobbing. Another blow knocked me to the ground. I fought to remain conscious, but her power was too strong and I blacked out.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The raspof a whetstone woke me. My eyelids fluttered against light and I squeezed them shut to ease the pounding of my headache. The events of the morning came rushing back, along with a wave of nausea. I took deep breaths to combat my panic, my throat raw and dry. Staying calm would allow me to think through my situation and figure out how to escape. When I thought I’d mastered myself, I opened my eyes.
I assumed only a few hours had passed, although my position did not allow me to see what direction the sun lay in. Hazily, I glanced around, turning my head from side to side to see better. I lay on my back, my arms tied behind me. I wiggled, maneuvering to my side to take the pressure off my aching wrists.
An arched opening rose in front of me, funneling into a dark tunnel. Curved walls jutted upward and ended a few feet away, leaving most of the cave enveloped in sunlight, open to the clear blue sky. A sky full of promise. I squeezed my eyes shut and whispered a prayer.Gods of Labraid, please see my plight, send a great bird, and deliver me from the snare of Jezebel.
The cave went silent and my head jerked up, eyes drawn to the shadows, where the sound had ceased. A pale stone used for sharpening blades glimmered from the corner, and beside it rose my persecutor, Jezebel, two knives in hand. Her sheer dress had dried, clinging to her shapely form, and her moss-green hair billowed around her shoulders. A blue light shimmered from her fingertips. If she’d been frightening before, she was even more so now. A chill rode up my spine and I fought my fear under the intensity of Jezebel’s gaze. Vaguely I recalled just how hard I’d kicked her when I fled from her the first time. Was this revenge?
My eyes slid to her blade and I licked my parched lips. “Please,” I whispered, unsure of what to say to persuade Jezebel to free me.
Jezebel strode to a stack of stones that stood at waist height. The top was flat like a table but long like an altar. Jezebel lay her knives down on it and faced me, leaning back against the structure. Her bloodred lips curled up into a sneer.
“Please. Please what?” Her tone was thick with animosity. “You want to know what will happen to you. Don’t you? My pet. Oh, but that’s not your name, is it? Aofie Mor?”
My limbs went rigid with fear. “Please don’t do this. If you don’t free me, you will invoke the wrath of the gods. They have given me a mission, a quest, and I must complete it.”
Jezebel smirked. “The gods have granted you a quest? Is that your excuse this time? Aofie Mor of royal blood. Did you know the only blood that can free me is the blood of gods? Royal blood is especially delicious, and I did not expect you to fall into my trap. It is clear the fates led you to me, for when I woke, I discovered I was free, thanks to the strength of your immortal blood.” She smiled, gloating in her knowledge. “It is not uncommon for gods to walk among the mortals and taste their pleasures, just as the lesser demons do, now that the dark angel reigns.”
I flinched. She also knew about my mother’s sordid indiscretion, and yet, what did it mean to be the child of a god? For I’d experienced nothing unusual that I was aware of. Even my magic was useless. Did their immortality and power and wisdom pass to me? Shouldn’t I be stronger? Yet I was tied up like a slave.
Jezebel picked up a blade and studied her reflection in it. “So, I thought to myself, a child with the power to set me free must have pure blood, the blood of the gods. It is rare for offspring of gods, angels, and demons to walk in freedom, for they are often hunted, killed, or captured because of their extraordinary powers. You, my dear Aofie, have the blood of the gods, which is why I won’t be killing you. However, you broke my ribs and left me with some nasty bruises, and for that, punishment is due.”
My heart sank as her dark eyes flashed. She had no remorse, no pity, and she’d killed my mother in front of me. Hadn’t I already been punished? I closed my eyes to shut out the memory of my mother’s death and the spurts of blood shooting from her neck. But I couldn’t. Torn between rage and grief, I gritted my teeth and glared at Jezebel.
She went on. “Now that I know who you are, child of a god, I also need your blood. So, don’t say please to me, Aofie Mor. I am a goddess, and your blood will help me regain the life that was stolen from me, and take revenge on those who banished me to this world of mortals.”
My eyes darted across the cave, searching for ideas, anything to help me escape. I had no doubt Jezebel would follow through on her threats, and her words raised new concerns. Offspring of gods were hunted, captured, or killed. Was my mother aware of that knowledge? Knowing that being a child of a god meant I had a challenging future? Was that why she left me with the centaurs? Because just as Jezebel had discovered, I was no mere human. If others made the same discovery, would they try to use me for their own purposes?
I had no doubt she would do exactly what she said she’d do, but I had to delay her. “Someone will hear me scream,” I said, jutting out my chin to let her know I wasn’t frightened. Outwardly, I was sure the movement was bold, but inwardly, my body screamed for escape. “We aren’t in the Vale of Monsters anymore. Anyone could hear and come.”
