“Will you shut the fuck up?” Jareth growled.
“See?” Raine said. “Prick.”
Valeria narrowed her eyes at him. “Do you always talk this much?”
“Incessantly,” Casimir grumbled, catching on to Raine’s plan. If they couldn’t get out of this with brute force, they might be able to with words. “He almost never shuts up. It’s quite irritating.”
“I have a lot to say,” Raine said. “So, ice queen. What do youget out of this? After you kill us, or take us to Andras, or whatever it is you plan to do…what next?”
She was silent, watching him closely. The soldier holding Raine pulled the dagger closer to his throat. “Do you want me to shut him up?”
Casimir tensed.
“Not yet. I’m curious to hear what else he has to say,” Valeria answered.
“What did Andras promise you?” Raine asked. “Do you get to be queen over all of Eorhan after this? Sounds like a lot of pressure to me.”
Her eyes flared.
“But I suppose when all you care about is power, you’ll do anything. Even raise a banished god and sacrifice your husband for it.”
Valeria went still. Her soldiers murmured amongst themselves, confused.
Casimir took over, pulling the queen’s attention from Raine. “Oh yes, ice queen. We know exactly what you did,” he taunted, raising his voice so the rest of her forces could hear. “What did you tell your people? That it was the only way to save your kingdom from the daemons? That you had no other choice but to join them?”
Valeria stepped toward Casimir, growing an icy dagger in her palm. “You think I’m after power?” she seethed, grasping Casimir’s hair and placing the blade at his neck. “Like I said before, it’s about purity. Half breeds like you are an insult to the fae. I should just take care of you right now.”
Raine cursed under his breath, but it was Jareth who spoke next. “Look at you, Valeria. Taking charge like the queen you are.”
Valeria released Casimir and whirled on Jareth.
“But you couldn’t take care of the problem yourself. Howdid you do it?” Jareth asked. “Did you kill Eros first before allowing Lomos to enter his body? Or did he do it himself?”
More soldiers paused at the statement, eyeing their queen. Those who held Casimir’s friends subtly loosened their grip. A man stepped forward, the general’s insignia on his silver armor, and watched Valeria closely.
But the queen didn’t seem to notice, fury in her eyes.
“If your father hadn’t been such a coward, I would have been able to do more,prince. My husband sacrificed himself for the greater good. He knew what he was doing. Hewantedit. Willingly gave up his body and soul for the cause.”
Jareth spat at her feet.
Valeria raised her hand. “Kill them.”
But her men didn’t move. Didn’t respond after hearing Valeria condemn herself before them. With a swift whistle from her general, soldiers surrounded Valeria, holding her hands behind her back.
“Unhand me,” she ordered.
The general stepped toward her, his long white hair blowing in the breeze as his icy blue eyes blazed with betrayal. “So, it is true. You lied to us. We trusted you. We followed you for decades because you promised you were protecting our people. You convinced us they were the threat. That the only way to survive was to side with Deidamia and Andras.”
Silence.
The general turned to Casimir and the others. “How do you know she did these things?”
“I saw it in my father’s memories,” Jareth answered. “He was a part of it too. Though in the end, he tried to stop her.”
The general looked at Jareth, searching for any hint of a lie. Of deception. With a deep sigh he turned around, placed his hand on Valeria’s shoulder…
And slit her throat.
