Page 22 of Blood of the Fairest

I swallow hard. "Look, I don't know who you are, and I didn't imprison you. Sorry you went to all this trouble getting Thor over there to kidnap me, but I'm not the real Reinhilde."

Considering that I'm on the verge of hysteria from being abducted again, I'm proud of myself for explaining so clearly. A single beat follows where I almost hope my calm words did something for me.

"How disappointing. That's not even believable enough to be called crafty."

"I'm not lying."

"We both know your lips have known little else but lies and pricks."

Seriously, is nothing going to be easy for me in this fairy tale clusterfuck I somehow fell into?

"Okay, yes, apparently the real queen is a total maneater, and not in the fun femme fatale way. But I'm a completely different—" I start to protest.

The monstrous voice cuts in. "Tip her."

The Huntsman moves at once, delivering a swift, brutal kick to one of the chair legs to send me toppling. I'm in the middle of shrieking in surprise when my head is plunged into the ice-cold water of one of the deep puddles, my chin banging against a stone somewhere in the process.

Water floods into my mouth and up my nose. Reflexively, I try to force it out by coughing, but that just makes everything worse until I'm thrashing in the water, desperate to get air.

As soon as my lungs start to burn, the Huntsman yanks the chair back upright, leaving me coughing up water and shivering.

"I offer you the choice again," the faerie drawls. "Free me now, or die."

"You fucking—I told you, I'm not the queen!" I snap, my temper slipping through the lingering panic of nearly drowning.

"Your mannerisms have changed since we last met," the smoky voice notes before metal clanks again. For a second, I'm worried I'm going to see what this horrific faerie looks like if he's approaching the bars, but the sound stops. "But for all your tricks, you cannot escape my wrath—and as Wrath, I owe you the punishment you have earned through your sins against myself and so many others."

"Except I didn't earn anything." I whip wet hair out of my face and spit out more water, dragging as much air into my sore lungs as I can. "Listen to me. You have the wrong woman. I'm not her. I've never done anything to either of you to deserve this."

The faerie sounds almost bored. "I doubt this northerner would agree. After all, you went back on your deal with him, and now his headless friend and all his headless kin are rotting in the earth."

Oh.

Oh.

So when that blond boy made that threat, he was talking about the Huntsman killing me.

I peer up at the silent, vengeful man beside me. Utter contempt is etched into his handsome face as he glowers down at me, a silent agreement with everything the monster just said.

"I'm sorry about your friends. Really, I am," I tell him, hoping he'll see how earnest I am. "But the real Reinhilde did that to them, and I'm not her, so⁠—"

"Such pathetic attempts," the monster sighs. "Again."

I scream when the Huntsman pushes my chair over. Once more, I'm left to gurgle and hold my breath for as long as I can in the freezing, murky water of a massive puddle. They leave me under for longer this time—so long that my head fills with fuzzy fragments.

My heartbeat throbs in my ears along with that awful voice.

Do you see now why you should have done exactly what I told you to? You'll listen to my messages from now on, sweetling.

Just as my consciousness flickers, the world flips. I cough up water again and fight for oxygen, my head spinning.

"My patience is nearly gone, Reinhilde," that merciless voice warns.

I don't realize I've started crying until I have to sniffle before answering. My throat is raw.

"I-I'm not Reinhilde. I woke up as the queen yesterday, but I'm not her. I'm⁠—"

"It would be more believable if you claimed you had no memories at all," the monster in the shadows scoffs. "Enough with the fake sniveling. Free me."