Page 9 of Queen of Nothing

I let the exhaustion pull down my eyelids.

I don’t just fall asleep, I’m plunged into it.

When I wake, the flashing red numbers on the alarm clock have only changed a little.

I slept for an hour.

My body needs more, but my mind is still too alert. Frazzled. Anxious.

A yawn splits me.

It lures in Serena’s gaze.

Now, she’s sat up against the headboard, her face buried in her drawn-up knees. She turns her cheek to her knees and watches me.

My tired murmur is hoarse, and my throat drier than Dubai air, “Aren’t you going to get some rest?”

We only have another three hours before we need to pack up and leave.

“I can’t sleep.”

My mouth flattens into a line.

I don’t pry. I don’t invite her conversation.

I shut my eyes, hoping to find my way back to sleep, but then Serena’s softly spoken words reach me, “I know why you left.”

A tired frown crumples my face.

I open my eyes. “What?”

“You left to get away from Dray—and your family.”

The frown loses strength.

Energy is withering in me.

I just blink at her.

She unfurls and shifts to face me. “I knew that if anyone was going to come with me, it would be you.”

My answer is a curt hum.

“I didn’t tell you the full truth, because I had to be sure you would run with me first. I had to be certain you wouldn’t change your mind and go back—with my secret.”

I bite back another yawn.

Lying on my side, the shrug I give is awkward and uncomfortable, and it sends pains shooting up my spine. I keep forgetting Asta left some marks on me. But they do make sure to remind me anytime I move the wrong way.

Serena stares at me for a long, hard moment. Then, her brows lift. “You don’t have anything to say?”

I scoff, bitter. “What do you expect me to say? You sold me on freedom, just to take it away. You’re no different to them, Serena. I can’t trust you.”

Slowly, her mouth purses—and then it holds, as though she bites down on the insides of her cheeks.

“I had no other choice.” A curt breath jolts her shoulders. “Oliver is the sort of man to put family and reputation first. He’s loyal to the gods, the covens, the Videralli, the Cravens—and if we married, he would be loyal to the reputation of the Vasiles.”

I turn my cheek to her and roll onto my aching back. I stare up at the ceiling that looks as though popcorn was tacked to it, then painted over.