From Slave To Queen (Athena and Michael) novel Chapter 30

Chapter 30

“Mavka is down there.” I point with my finger. “She’s not well, something’s wrong.”

“I know.”

-331

He crosses his arms as if what I’m telling him bores him immensely, and I seem like a hopeless idiot. Drystan steps forward and tries to take me by the arm to drag me back to my room, where no doubt, they think I’ll stop asking stupid questions.

“Get off!” I slap his hand away and see the subtle flash of anger in his eyes, but it quickly fades and he resumes his usual elegant and composed demeanor. “What’s wrong with her? What did you do to her?”

Cassian doesn’t seem at all worried about my accusations. He shrugs, and I don’t know what infuriates me more–his perfectly arrogant face looking at me with boredom, the way he treats me like a fool, or both things mixed into a cocktail I’m forced to swallow every day I’m here.

“Answer me.”

A mocking laugh slips from his lips.

“I didn’t know the roles had been reversed.” He steps closer to me, pressing his chest against mine, forcing me to tilt my up to look him in the eyes. “I was under the impression that I gave the orders, and you obediently did what I told you. Clearly, we need to work on that a bit more. I don’t think you’re afraid of me enough.”

face

His hand, bare and with nothing preventing direct contact with my skin, caresses the curve of my bare neck down to my collarbone in a threatening way. I’ve heard others say that a man’s touch can make you burst into flames on the inside. His is not like that. It’s cold and makes you shiver from the inside out, like the icy edge of a knife against your skin.

“Come with me.”

“No!”

I have no time to resist, to anchor my feet to the ground or grab hold of the first thing my fingers find, as he grabs my elbow and drags me back into that suffocating darkness. We go down the stairs quickly; I stumble several times, and if it weren’t for his grip, I would have tumbled down and broken a bone. He moves effortlessly in the dark until we reach the cell. The door gives way with barely any effort; he pushes us both inside and throws me to the ground beside Mavka. She remains in the same position as before, her golden eyes fixed on nothing.

“This is what happens to those who disobey.”

His lips almost graze my ear as he speaks, making me tremble from head to toe.

“What’s wrong with her?” I ask in a shaky voice.

“She’s empty.” He paces the cell. “Her mind is blank. She’s broken.”

“Broken?”

I look into his eyes, which shine with satisfaction at seeing he’s getting what he wants: to scare me, to make me fear him so much that I’ll never oppose him again.

“I can alter things, to put it in a way you’ll understand.” I feel a surge of anger. “Where once there was a beautiful, slender

Chapter 30

body, now there’s a pile of organs and tissue; where once there was a sturdy, immovable mountain, I leave a small pile of sand; and where there was a complex mind, a hollow shell.”

The confession sinks in slowly. I alternate my horrified gaze between him and Mavka, who now seems to be nothing more than a memory of herself. I don’t know her well, but every time she entered the grand hall, she exuded power. Her appearance was always impeccable, and her eyes shone–not like this. No, this is not her.

“Do you feel compassion, my dear beast?” He taps his chin with one of his long, pale fingers. “You surprise me.”

“You’re horrible. Why did you do this to her?”

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