“What is your name?”
The girl stammered, “R-Raven.”
Silence thickened as the queen just stared at her, and Sin realized why.
The queen simply raised her brows at the girl, and she crumbled. “We… we had no choice,” Raven trembled, stammered, her voice barely a whisper. She dared to look at the queen before glancing away. “Ursula promised us freedom, but…” the mention of her name had gasps echoing. “But those of us who resisted were… spelled into silence. Our minds were not our own when they willed it.”
“And who arethey?” the queen commanded.
“Jocelyn and Audrira.”
The queen’s gaze bore into Jocelyn’s as she asked Raven, “And were you one of those who resisted?” The words were simple, but the weight behind them demanded absolute truth.
Sin knew she wasn’t the one in power here, but she couldn’t help the step she took towards Jocelyn, as if to protect her, Max forced to hobble with her.
Raven swallowed hard. “Yes, and I was punished for it greatly, also being forced to do whatever they wanted.”
“And what was that?” the queen asked, uncaring about whatever punishment it was that she received.
Her voice broke as she continued, “We… we were to use magic that would lead Sin to the library, to a tome that would call to her and consume her soul.”
She looked down, her lips quivering with fear.
Queen Ecythis muttered an order for her to help with the injured, still staring at Jocelyn as Raven scurried away.
“Jocelyn also stopped me from opening that tome,” Sin said.
“All that tells me is she has no loyalty. What do I do with someone like that?” Silence stretched as Ecythis and Joscelyn held each other’s stare.
“I need her,” Sin said, unable to stand the silence a moment longer.
“You need her watched at all times. Like an uncivilized dog, if I dare let her live,” the Queen countered.
Sin swallowed hard. “If I am to help build this new rule with you,” Sin dared say, finally gaining the full attention of the Queen. Silently reminding her who helped her out of her cage. The only reason she will now sit on the throne.
“What are you doing?”Max asked Sin mind to mind.
Sin ignored him as she pressed on. “Then you will want the unity and power. And all free witches on your side.” Sin let the unspoken words speak for themselves, that all witches would be freed. “You’ll need an allied coven.”
Pride and understanding flooded the bond. Ecythis turned to face Jocelyn. Who still stood stone faced as she awaited her fate.
“You,” the Queen practically snarled. “Will be under Sin’s charge. Alive and where I don’t have to deal with you or look at your face. And if you betray us?”
The Queen didn’t have to finish the threat as the truth of it sank in—what fate would be hers, the same as that of the kings.
“Thank you, Your Grace,” Jocelyn breathed a relieved exhale as she said those words.
Ecythis never looked at her again when she turned away. Facing the now silent room.
“Today,” the queen’s voice echoed across the throne room, cold and unforgiving, “the people of this land will decide what kind of queen I will become.” Her eyes swept over the crowd, each person shrinking under her gaze. “Shall I be your trusted ruler, or your tyrant?” A ripple of fear passed through them, audible in the gulps and shifting feet of those who dared not meet her eyes.
One of the Iostrian soldiers appeared beside her, draping a bloodred regalia across her shoulders. The queen ascended the dais, each step deliberate, her now bloodstained robes trailing behind her like a scarlet river.
She paused for a breath, the world holding still as her fingers grazed the armrest of the throne. Then, with a slow, inexorable grace, she lowered herself into the seat, her eyes never leaving the people before her. The room seemed to contract around her as if the throne itself was drawing in the light, leaving only her figure—commanding, unyielding.
To Sin, it was as though the throne itself had swallowed her whole—accepting her rage, her grief, and transforming it into an aura that seemed to darken the entire room. The air thickened, heavy with the silent acknowledgment of her rule—a rule forged in death and blood.
Sin
