Page 99 of A Requiem of Fire and Ice

She sighs. “I suppose my plans are falling apart already, and I doubt you will let me out anytime soon.”

“You can rot in here for all I care, Kate.”

Kate laughs. “I thought you would say that.”

Taking a deep breath, she begins, “Ice elemny hearts crystallise when you rip them out of their bodies, and they beat to the rhythm of the emotions they had when they died. Panic, fear, sadness, worry, hate…even nothing. They’re beautiful, the way they pulse in the palm of my hand.”

“And of Pandora? You wanted her crystallised heart?”

“Not just her heart.” Her silver eyes shine. “I wanted her wrath, but the only way to get it was to draw out her memories, then let her meet and kill someone who caused her endless suffering before I kill Pandora herself. It wasn’t part of my friend’s plan, but I never enjoyed working in a team.”

“Who’s your friend?” I say.

Kate arches her brow. “It doesn’t matter anymore. She’s never going to wake up. Forget it. This secret, I will keep.”

I never understood Kate at the best of times, but now I’m far from understanding a fucking word she says. She talks about crystallised hearts as if she has a damn collection somewhere. And now she wants my hunt’s heart? This menace of a woman I have imagined having my hands around her throat. Her?

“Can I see her?” Kate says.

“She’s mine,” I seethe.

Kate beams a cruel grin. “Look at you, Reen. Even without knowing, you’re following the path laid out since the beginning.”

Air elemny give me a fucking headache.

“I’m assuming she has her memories back,” Kate sighs. “That’s unfortunate. I suppose my plan wouldn’t have worked this time.”

“What plan?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Every fuck I gave King Ragan holds no merit now.”

My eyes widen, and I cock my head to the side. “You fucked King Ragan?” I push off the mirror and take a step toward her. “For how long?”

She smirks. “Since you rejected my offer. He was so willing to get inside me after the Queen hid herself in her tower after birthing Emmerton.” Kate laughs. “And she must have felt everything.”

My brow twitches. Nothing anyone says can stop me from wrapping my arms around Kate’s head and jerking it to the side until I hear the satisfying crunch. Her head hangs to the side, a crumbling mess of shattered bones. Her wide eyes stare vacantly, but even in death, she holds her cruel smile of satisfaction.

Pandora thrusts the door open and says, “Why did you kill her? I had more questions!”

“She fucked King Ragan, so my mother felt everything he did to her.” I roll my shoulder and tweak my neck. “Besides, she was obsessed with my obsession.”

Pandora eyes Kate. “You’re right. Even without the answers, I can put the pieces together about what she said. And now that I know, I am disappointed.”

“How so?” I say.

“She banked on unlocking my memories because she wanted my heart. However, I unlocked them independently and gained my revenge, so her plan wouldn’t have worked. And I thought your obsession with wanting to kill me was crazy. She was on another level.”

“No one can kill you but me, Pandora.”

She barks a laugh. “And they say romance is dead.”

Chapter 42

Freaks [Surf Curse]

Pandora Hart, July 20th

It is later in the evening. My thoughts drift to whether Prince Reen will stick to his word and take me out to explore. The supposed date I keep emphasising, even knowing it’s not a date.