And for the first time since Nymiria had been taken captive by Yaar, that throne looked so damn small.
Nymiria held her dagger in her hand, her fingers laying against the braided leather upon the hilt perfectly, as she approached the unflinching woman in front of her. She was only a few paces away now, calculating her angle. Still, Camalia did not move. She did not stop smiling. And when Nymiria finally approached her with decades of rage pulsing through the tips of her fingers, Camalia’s skin began to bubble up.
Like festering sores, the flesh began to open. It split apart, rippling in sickening currents to reveal the face of the creature underneath.Nymiria expected evil. She expected a horned beast to appear in front of her once the shift began, but the thing she saw in front of her was not a beast at all.
It wasworse.
The scent of patchouli filled her senses, her mind transported back to a room in a palace that no longer existed, to a time when she was just a girl who loved to watch her mother ready herself for the day, lathering her skin in scented oils.
Blond hair.
Blue eyes.
Golden skin that glowed in the sunset.
The creature before her was certainly evil, but it was also…
“You’d really kill your own mother?” Inasha frowned, tilting her head to the side as her eyes fell to Nymiria’s dagger.
Adjacent to them, his sword still in his grip, Aziel’s posture straightened, eyes going wide as he looked between mother and daughter. The crying from the audience had silenced and now every eye in the room was wide with surprise, not a single whimper to be heard.
Nymiria’s pulse quickened, her skin instantly damp with perspiration. She couldn’t move. As much as she wanted to, her feet simply would not close the distance between them.
“Darling, I’ve told you a thousand times that staring is rude. The least you could do, after all these years, is greet me properly.”
Nymiria shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes as she stared down at her mother. “I… I don’t understand.” She whispered weakly.
Inasha rolled her eyes and released a heavy sigh into the air. “What isn’t there to understand? I vanished ten years ago, I am here on the most powerful throne in the world today—I’m sure you’re smart enough to piece the puzzle together.” When Nymiria didn’t say anything, her mother lifted herself to her feet and took a step forward. “I have been alive a very long time, Nymiria. Good gods, I was seven hundred years old when I gave birth to you—I have hadyearsto hone my abilities and dabble in other practices. One of them being Mimicry, the other being witchcraft. And, darling, I became the most powerful witch there is.”
A collective gasp from the subjects filled the room. Inasha eyed them with annoyance, rolling her eyes and flicking her golden waves over her shoulder. Nymiria's muscles felt as if they'd turned to stone under her skin, realization hitting her like a strong blow to the gut. She turned her head just slightly, trying to decipher what Aziel must have felt by looking at him. He didn't seem shockedor surprised, he just stared ahead with his usual placid expression, eyes void of all emotion.
"Did you know?" Nymiria asked him. "Did you know that it was her?"
Aziel gave a slight shake of his head, his sword lowered just a fraction. It was a partial truth, one that he hadn't wanted to speak on until he was absolutely certain. When Oran told him that he suspected something far more sinister happening in the palace, Aziel had made it a mission to uncover the truth. He spent his days vanishing into the Otherworld during his rounds, doing research, and scouring over tomes and records. The only reason he suspected that the Mimic who took Camalia's place could be Inasha, was because she'd covered her tracks.
She was the Witch Queen, after all. Her magic defied the forces of nature, so much so that it made it impossible for him to track her. Aziel eventually began to speculate that only someone with something to hide would cast that strong of a protection spell, and what better reason to do it than taking over someone's entire life? Who else could be so powerful, they could deceive the gods?
"You…disgustme." Nymiria laughed quietly, all of her energy drained as she looked over her mother's form. "I knew you weren't the nicest person, nor the best parent, but—" She scoffed and shook her head. "All ofthis? Everything that you've done—all of the people that you've tormented. I don't understand it. I don't see how anyone could ever be this cruel."
Inasha merely shrugged. "I could have done far worse, darling." No, she really couldn't have. Everything her mother had done were the worst possible things that could be done to someone. "If I disgust you so much, then why are you hesitating? You should be able to kill me right this second if I was as repulsive as you say I am. But you can't, can you? Because, despite it all, I am your mother. And you love me."
Nymiria's eyes narrowed at that final sentence. "I don'tknowyou. How could I possibly love you if I have no idea who you are? All this time, I tried to believe that there was some good in you, but I don't see anything good left. I don't see the mother I once believed you to be." She snarled. "There was never anything goodin you to begin with. Your family corrupted the Seelie—you turned them into evil creatures, made them believe that the laws of nature were theirs to bend at their own will. You darkened everything and then you justleft. You left me with them."
"Thorn was supposed to protect you."
"How could he? How could he protect me from your people when he had no idea what was going on?"
Inasha's eyes widened in surprise. "You've talked to him?"
"Yes," Nymiria hissed. "Not only have I spoken to him, but I have also met my brother—the child you birthed when you were out here in Yaar trying to destroy everyone's lives, while you were making young boys your sex slaves and killing people just because youfelt like it. So, tell me, what was supposed to come of this? What were you supposed to receive from this sort of life, mother?"
"Everything I could have ever wanted, Nymiria, and power that Dorid promised me—the power of agod." Inasha lifted one shoulder. Her nonchalance was sickening, to say the very least. Everything about this was sickening. "When Dorid approached me about his little godling son, he wanted the little vermin exterminated like a rat. But Camalia was too reluctant to kill the boy—she believed that he could do wonderful things and that he had a kind soul. Which, she was right about." She flashed a loving smile in Aziel's direction, but nothing about it was loving at all. It was a mockery. A taunt. "Aziel was such a sweet boy."
Nymiria let out a low growl, her body rumbling as she lunged for her mother. "Don't you fuckinglookat him, you bitch—"
"Easy, now. Perhaps I have done some pretty awful things, but I am your mother and I will not allow you to call me names in my own home." Inasha smoothed her skirts and rose to her feet, her stride sinister and ominous as she walked across the dais, to the side where Aziel stood. "When it was discovered that we could not kill Aziel, ourselves, there was a plan put in place to keep his power contained so that he would not be a threat to Yaar. And during this time, Dorid and I grew to like one another. Not romantically, by any means,but we discovered that we saw the world in similar ways. He figured that I would benefit his kingdom more than his wife, so I used Blood Magic, killed that little whiny wife of his, and took her place."
It was cruel. Nymiria was glad that she'd told Oran to run—that she commanded he leave to protect the others. If he'd heard any of this, she wasn't sure his heart could handle it. The last thing Nymiria wanted was for another life to be ruined because of her or this creature who birthed her. They'd already cause enough turmoil as it was.
