14
MAX
“You’ll need to eat these,” Aoife calls, shaking a glass vial of rose petals. Since being removed, the petals have turned a sinister shade of red, the veins now putrid black.
What kind of flower is this?Baris warning is blaring in my skull.
More guards bring in the sand, and I watch it warily.
“What’s all this?”
“Protection.”
“For me?”
She scoffs delicately. “No. For the palace.”
The sand shines like gold, shimmering with each load thrown into the room. It’s so dense my feet don’t sink below it, and I walk on uneven steps over to Aoife’s side.
She hands me the petals with a small smile and a chill runs over my shoulders.
Aoife hasn’t been the nicest of hosts. I know she cares for Kaden, but there is still the feeling that she’s not on my side.Seti’sHell, she might not be on Kaden’s either if she had to choose.
Those petals smile at me as I shake the jar. Do I risk it? Ingest something that could kill me?
No, it wouldn’t kill me. Even Baris didn’t think that was the case. But Aoife would make things difficult.
Licking my lips, I catch Reid’s eye. We’re not close enough to have our own language—not like I was with Tay or he is with his siblings—but he understands my look.Be careful. Watch me.
“What will it do?”
The queen sighs bored. “We’ve discussed this. It will purify your intentions. If you survive, your blood can be used in the potion that will break Kaden’s curse.”
“If she survives? Mother?—”
“Silence, Malvolio,” she demands. Knitting her fingers together, she glances to me. “If you survive, we can proceed. But that is a bigif, Dark Queen.”
Take the petals and risk death?That’s a huge ask.Don’t, and Kaden remains a beast, but I live.
It’s for Kaden.I would destroy the world for him, and he for me. There is no choice when it comes to saving him.
Popping the cork of the jar, I let the petals fall into my mouth. The bitterness of ash, sorrow, and salt explodes across my tongue and I cough, gagging.Absolutely disgusting.
The petals don’t come out—they absorb right away, diving deep like a worm. Tossing the glass, it shatters at Aoife’s feet and I wait.
Her smiles turns feline. Looking to the Fae at my side, she says lightly, “You should move away. This may hurt you.”
“Go,” I direct them. The room starts to spin and I blink against the dizziness. “Stand back. I wouldn’t forgive myself if you were hurt.”
I don’t see if they’ve left, the room turning too quickly to adjust my vision. The gold blurs and I fall, palms slapping against the sand. It burns into my hands, living flames so hot, I scream.
Scanning my hands, tiny blisters appear. It looks as if I’ve played with fire. Just like when I was little, my hands are burned from stray sparks, flesh melting away. My body starts to shake, as adrenaline and shock hit my system. A fire rages overhead—I’m not sure where that came from—and the heat is so intense, it singes my skin. Lashes of fire crack the air and I roll away, feeling some touch my back.
Right above my scars. From when I was a child, burning wood pieces of homes flew into the air, and landed on my back. Fresh agony so harsh, robs me of breath, but I shout, tears leaving my eyes. Rocking forward, I hold myself and just scream as I brace for more.
The stream of fire stops and I cough, fingers digging into the sand for stability. I take one cleansing breath of cool air, something to steady my heart and get ready to attack Aoife. She did this—she must of?—
Tiny daggers draw over my skin. It’s gentle at first, nothing more than a prick of awareness. Then they grow heavier, as they carve into my flesh.
