Page 143 of The Mad King and the False Queen

Magda tried to steady her beating heart. The fact that he didn’t even know her real name was like another blow to the face. She didn’t know what to do, and she felt as if her emotions were in one big knot that was about to explode. Before she unleashed her anger, she said, “Get away from me.”

“Please let me explain,” Ravi pleaded. “I never meant for you to find out about this.”

“Because you thought I was leaving for Azurem?”

Odie continued growling, his aggressive stance focused on Ravi.

“Ravi, they’re coming!” Laila called from her cell.

Magda and Ravi were once again alerted to the officers racing down the corridor. In a matter of seconds, they would see the unconscious guards and investigate. They were barely hidden behind the crates if the officers decided to enter the jail.

Ravi continued, “Keeping this lie from you has been killing me inside, and I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

Magda’s stomach twisted. She wanted to cover Ravi’s mouth before he could admit anything and taint her image of their entire relationship together. She couldn’t believe that he would have any terrible, dark secrets. She didn’t want to believe that he could betray her. And above all, she didn’t want to believe that another woman had his heart.

“Who is she?” Magda demanded. It was the only question that mattered to her at that moment.

Voices could be heard directly on the other side of the cracked door.

“Shhh…,” Ravi said, pressing Magda’s body against the crates and covering her mouth with his hand so she couldn’t speak. His other hand pushed her stomach into the wood, preventing her from moving.

“Don’t touch me!” Magda yelled, pushing him back against his chest, causing Ravi to stumble back from their hiding spot, and clatter against even more pails. At the same time, Odie snapped at Ravi, causing Ravi to scamper farther away.

Magda wasn’t afraid of getting caught. She wasn’t afraid of facing Queen Sanyal or Princess Kiran—she was a guardian, and she wouldn’t let anyone intimidate her. Ravi had used her.

Suddenly three officers barreled into the room, running toward the sound and spotting Magda, Ravi, and Odie. “Hold it right there!” they yelled. “This room is strictly off limits!”

Two officers moved to grab Ravi, yanking him away from Magda and wrenching his arms behind his back. “Let me go!” he shouted as they twisted his shoulders so that his arms were unmoveable.

Another officer grabbed Magda by the upper arm, yanking her toward the door. “You both are charged with trespassing on the property of the Guardians of the Soul and with poisoning two officers.”

Odie began barking, not knowing who to attack first.

“No, Ravi!” Laila screamed from behind the bars.

“Get your hands off me!” yelled Magda.

The officer didn’t budge. “You both will rot in the dungeon until after the ball when the royals decide what to do with you.”

Magda looked at all of them with fire in her eyes. No one could suppress her incredible fury in this instant.

Then another officer grabbed Odie, picking him up. “And you…we’ll see what to do with you, as dogs are not welcome here.”

Absolutely not. After everything Magda did to get Odie back, she was not losing her dog again. All at once, the rage consuming her heart and mind threatened to release in all directions. She gave into the magic, letting the golden flurries sparkle at her fingertips, and the yellow haze spread across her irises.

“No!” she screamed, throwing up her free hand.

Suddenly, the stone floor in front of her buckled. Flying out in the direction of her fingertips, the stones that were covering the ground were flung from their places in the earth, as if she had cut directly forward into the rocks with a sharp blade. Some of the rocks flew upwards in the direction of the cells, pitifully smashing against the iron bars and cracking into dust.

What was that?

The gold power lingered around her shaking hand, until it withered into nothing.

“You have Soul magic?” Ravi’s eyes widened.

Upon seeing the display of magic, the officer holding Magda only became more violent, yanking her arms behind her back. “I’m bringing her to Queen Sanyal. Lock him up with the dog for now, and run some tests to make sure he doesn’t have magic either.”

“No, please, don’t hurt him—” Magda screamed, attempting to not be separated from Ravi. But the officer was already dragging her away, pulling her out of the jail before she could wrench one of her hands free from his grasp to unleash the magic once more.

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