From Slave To Queen (Athena and Michael) novel Chapter 102

Chapter 102

She leaves without letting her smile fade, only pausing once to wave her hand in my direction as a farewell. She descends a few steps and the crown of her head disappears. 1 feel a movement behind my back, and before I can react, Eleazar’s lips whisper in my car.

“I guess there are wounds in the heart that can’t be seen.”

For some reason, that makes me feel furious. I don’t want people thinking my heart is broken–because it’s not. I won’t deny that maybe a small spark of emotion ignited in it, and Cassian himself made sure to douse it with a bucket of cold water, but it wasn’t love. No, love isn’t like that.

heart is intact

I turn, lifting my chin so

so I can look him in the eyes bener.

“I don’t believe that he says mockingly.

“I don’t care what you believe.

Without breaking eye contact, he takes a step forward, and his chest brushes against mine. I have to tilt my head to see him properly.

“You think I can’t read you, but I know you care too much about pretending Cassian doesn’t affect you.” He licks his lower lip. “And he does. A lot,

You have no idea?

He tilts his head to be closer to my height. His nose grazes mine, and the scent of apples tickles under my nostrils. One hand grabs my elbow, and the other presses against the small of my back until we’re so close not even a pin could fit between us. Panic and the urge to run activate inside my body. To my dismay, no one but Cassian has ever made me feel safe in their arms. Eleazar won’t be the exception.

“I kissed you, would you feel something” His lips hover mere inches from mine. “Or would you be imagining hin

What am I’A damn game between the two of you!”

“Ti’s a shame he met you first,” he says, ignoring my questions. “When I saw you for the first time at h his table, I knew you’d be his downfall, and I think I wasn’t wrong. He’s going mad trying to reach you.” The hand on my elbow slides up to my wrist, his fingers pressing it as if he’s monitoring my pulse. I wonder what would happen if you allowed yourself other options. Would you be my downfall too? Would you lead me in war! Destroy me! I think you were born to bring chaos”

“Stop talking, Eleazar,” I say through clenched teeth.

“In just a couple of months, you’ve brought him to ruin. You don’t even realize the power you have

“I don’t have any power.” I try to pull away. “You just want to find a way to hub him, and you think I’m the answer”

“You have power over him. You’ll come to realize it1

“You sound like a madman”

“I thought those were the ones you liked.

His lips try to brush mine; however, I’m quick and take a step back. I hurry away–1 don’t want to be near him any longer. I look for the stairs to descend to the cabins and enter mine, slamming the door shui, I lean against it and take a deep breath.

I don’t know what I hate more–whether it’s the fact that Eleazar seems to want something more from me or that a pair of blue eyes crossed my mind when I felt the threat of other lips on mine.

A hysterical laugh escapes me. I bury my fingers in my hair and pull at it. I look at myself in the cracked mirror and keep laughing, caught in the irony. I don’t know what I did in another life to deserve such a sentence, because without a doubt, the desire of a vampire is not a good thing. They are vile, obsessive, insatiable beings, and I’m afraid I don’t have enough to give.

“You don’t even realize the power you have.”

I don’t feel powerful On the contrary, there are other words that fit better ruin, chaos, disaster, death.

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Chapter 103

Chapter 103

Cassian

I don’t remember if the castle has ever been this silent–inaybe it always was, and I just didn’t care. Now I do. The silence / unbearable, the BORI

form of torture. I’d almost prefer to hear her shouting and insults over this perpetual silence that’s accompanied me for two weeks. Sometimes E find myself cursing the day our paths crossed–I never imagined someone like her could awaken longing in me. I’m familiar with some emotions, most of them twisted, but this one is different. I’m thirsty all the time, and I no longer know if it’s just for blood or if I crave a specific presence. My thurst is insatiable, and I fear I’ve found the only person who can keep it in check, even if that makes me weak

She haunts me when I least expect it, appears out of nowhere and vanishes just the same. I try to hold onto every detail and relive them when I’m alone in my room. Sometimes she shows up there too, and her skin brushing against my fingers feels too real to be a dream. Am I going insane!

Without Drystan as my voice of reason and with Ank punishing me with the whip of her indifference, my cruelry demands release. I’ve attended a few meaningless meetings hoping to catch a trace of Elara’s whereabouts–or. Failing that, of the Voss family–and I always end up exploding at the edge of my patience. I can’t say I haven’t caused destruction during these past two weeks I’ve reverted to bring the unpredictable, volatile Cassian I once was. Before Elara, I was bored with monotony. With her, the fun of earning her next sarcastic reply had reignited me. Now I’m furious, irritable, uncontrollable.

“Sir, no one seems to have seen her around the Twisted Forest

hear my teeth grinding

I didn’t tell you to search around the Twisted Forest. I want you to go in the banshee camp and don’t stop until you get the White Banshee and her mentor to tell you where the hell Elara is,”

“But it.” The Diluted one hesitates. “It’s nearly impossible to survive the Twisted Forest.”

Realizing there’s nothing he can say to make me reconsider, he walks off with his head down certain he’s walking straight into death. I’ve never been a good man, not even a kind one–and I’m afraid that if there ever was a chance for that, died long ago. With some resignation, I reach for the decanter, which mostly contains blood if we overlook the small splash of alcohol that doesn’t come close to dulling my senses. I pour myself a glass and sit down, staring at the candle’s flame.

“Ank” I say solemnly

I suppose I never tire of our little game. I ask and she limits herself to ignoring me–at best, giving a vagur answer. At worst, I get nothing but suspicious glares. Ank doesn’t forgive my action. Sometimes, I don’t either, even though I know why I did what I did. My father became weak–and that’s not something I want for myself, especially not because of a woman. Yet maybe it’s already too late for that. If I looked in the mirror, I’d probably see someone pathetic and miserable begging for the return of his human. My human.

Fated

I keep thinking about that word. The first time we ruet, I felt something strange that I’d never experienced in all my years of existence. It wasn’t something foolish and romantic like love–it was something stronger. I felt she was me, and I was her. Different species, but cut from the same Boch. I felt Hara was my destiny, and I was hers

“Ank” I repeat.

Knowing it’s best to make an appearance, Ank appears in the flame of the candle sitting on the desk. Her lips are pursed, and her arms are crossed over her chest. She sits down, slowly melting the wax, and crosses her legs, tapping her foot as if waiting for something.

“Have you seen her?”

“The answer is still the same, she replies sharply.

Something escapes my mouth halfway between a laugh and a snort. I lean back in iny chair, getting comfortable, and try to appear calm and in

“Do you really think I’m that stupid?

“Do you really want me to answer that? she shoots back,

fe were anyone che, I’d likely have retaliated by now. But I suppose Ank isn’t just anyone. Her close relationship with my mother makes me feel Keertan attachment to the little fire salamander Still, her incessant refusal to give me the answers I want keeps fraying my nerves. I let the airout

my lungs slowly, through my terili

Tcan’t find her without your help” I decide to strike differently—maybe a blow of honesty and vulnerability will be more effective with her. “My men can’t find her. No one knows anything about her. I’ve tried myself, and failed. I know she’s alive–but I can’t find her if you don’t help me,

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Chapter 103

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