Page 69 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

Kaden seemed to relax. “As long as you’re not in trouble, I don’t care.”

“I’m fine. Imogen will be with my legion now.” Isaiah went to the far corner of his room, and Kaden followed, their voices trailing off as they moved deeper into his other room.

Isaiah had slaughtered them for me, and now I was stuck in his massive bedroom. What if I’d been rescued from one horrible situation only to be fed to an even bigger monster? A door closed, and I heard the padding of bare feet draw close, followed by a feminine voice. Oh, gods. Isaiah appeared back in my line of sight, and I tracked him through the blank windows of my eyes.

“Where was Kaden going so fast?” the female asked. Her walk was carelessly seductive, her mauve-colored tail swishing behind her.

“Probably off to see a witch, Veruka.”

She made a noise in her throat. “What’s with the elite guard? Is this a new thing you want to try?”

Isaiah chuckled, coming to a stop before me. “No, that’s not why I called you. She needs to be cleaned up, and I need another set of battle garbs for her. Black like mine, preferably. She will be with my unit now.”

Veruka stopped at his side, placing a hand on his bare shoulder. I knew she was an elf from her pointed ears, mauve skin, and fangs. That also explained the tail.

“She’s pretty. Is this your new plaything, then? Since you’ve been avoiding me.”

His eyes cut toward her. “Jealousy doesn’t suit you.”

“Then pay attention to me,” she all but purred, and I wanted to be anywhere but in this room.

“Neither does begging.” He shrugged her hand away. “Now, clean her up.”

I heard Isaiah’s feet disappear into the other room, leaving me alone with Veruka. Her eyes met mine before she said that cursed word, and my body moved.

TWENTY-FIVE

CAMILLA

I sighed and flipped through another book as if the answers I needed would be in there. My mind wandered once again to that damned brute of a celestial and what he’d said the other night, and I sighed, the sting still present. I had no friends here, and I was a fool even to consider there could be anything between us. A fool to wish it. What was wrong with me? Why did I always find myself attracted to the ones who were completely wrong for me? Dianna and now Vincent? I placed my head on the table and sighed again.

“Did you hear?” Hilma asked, her heels scraping against the floor.

My head snapped up. “Hear what?” I closed the book, and with a flick of my wrist, sent it back to the shelf before collecting two more. They streaked through the air, coming to rest on my workstation. I dragged one close and opened it while waiting for her to speak.

“Nivene’s soldiers went missing along with that dark-haired council member. Now, no one can find Nivene either, but a certain blonde celestial is still alive, and guess who she is following?” Before I could say anything, Hilma cut me off. “Isaiah.”

That had my brows shooting up. “Isaiah?”

She nodded. “Yup, he moved her to his unit, and no one is saying anything. Not that they would. They don’t call him Blood Scorn for no reason. You know he made a guy burst into goo once because he stepped on his foot.”

I swallowed. “Lovely.”

Hilma nodded again. “Yeah, and Nismera won’t do anything about it. No one will. He is far too high in the ranks.”

“Oh.”

“You don’t seem to be impressed.”

“Sorry, my mind is elsewhere.”

Like on muscled celestials with long hair who acted as my personal shadow but didn’t speak to me. Or maybe it was the overbearing High Guard general who bothered me for information about the sister he apparently knew was the problem. Or maybe it was because I was a prisoner in a palace run by an insane goddess. But I said none of those things.

I slammed the book closed. “I can’t find even a hint of a mending spell strong enough to put that medallion back together.”

Hilma shrugged. “I’m sure you will figure it out. Listen, don’t tell the others I said this, but even Nismera knows you’re her strongest witch now. If anyone has this, you do.”

I forced a smile, not knowing if I wanted to fix anything for that lunatic. “Thanks, Hilma.”

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