Page 94 of The Dawn of the Cursed Queen

My chest heaved because I knew the evil bastard would.

“Someone said they saw her on the back of a toruk headed east again. I was following that.”

It wasn’t a complete lie, just twisted enough that he wouldn’t sense it.

“A toruk?” Isaiah said. “Wasn’t that a gift for Mera?”

Kaden nodded. “It was.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

Kaden looked at his brother and then back at me. “It means that fate is keeping Dianna one step ahead of us all.”

“Mera has to know, Kaden.”

My blood chilled. I had lied to save her, but I may have damned her.

“I know, but we will worry about that later. It’s time to go home.” Kaden slapped me on the back before raising a hand and opening a portal. Before we stepped through, he said, “Clean that up, Isaiah.”

Isaiah scoffed, but I watched him raise his hand. The blood on the floor seeped back into the bodies before they rose, their eyes swirling red. I had a second to process what Isaiah was capable of and what he was going to make them do before Kaden pushed me through the portal, and it closed behind us.

WE ARRIVED BACK AT NISMERA’S PALACE, PASSING A FEW GUARDS before Kaden pushed me into an alcove.

I smacked his hands off me and fixed the front of my shirt, adjusting the buckles across my chest. “Hey, I get it. I’m even hotter as an Ig’Morruthen, but this isn’t going to happen,” I said to him.

His face darkened, and I wondered if he was about to split my head in two. “Shut up,” he snarled and slapped me across the head.

I felt my eyes flare red, but I just chuckled. “Listen, all I’m saying is everyone is a little gay. We’ve all sucked dick before. We’re immortal. It’s normal, but I won’t be your willing sex slave like Dianna.”

“Cameron, if you don’t shut up, I’ll kill you here and now.” He held his hands close to my face in half-clenched fists, his claws extending.

I put my hands up in mock surrender. “Well, what’s the secret meeting in a dark part of the castle for then?”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” he sneered, too damn close to me.

“About which part?” I smiled back. “You have to be more specific.”

“You leave bodies across every fucking world you touch. You think I wouldn’t know? Wouldn’t smell it on your fucking breath?”

“Then I suggest backing up,” I said, not backing down for a second. My blood thrummed in my ears, my pulse quickening. Kaden took a step back.

“How careless are you trying to be? Ig’Morruthen or not, she will have your head. She is too close to a summit and will not tolerate any fuck ups.”

“Oh, it’s so sweet you care.” I threw him a closed smile. “Since you showed me how to feed once and left.”

His brows furrowed, his lips turning upwards. “I thought the instructions were pretty clear. Feed, erase their memories, and be gone. Not drain.”

“I’m starving,” I practically yelled. Kaden slapped a hand over my mouth, pushing me back further.

“Shut up,” he hissed.

I just waited. He dropped his hand when he realized I wasn’t saying anything back. “I’m starving. I can’t even change forms. Did you know that? I have zero idea how to do it. That’s what took me so long to even get to River Bend.”

Kaden shook his head, rubbing a hand across his brow. “It’s not my fault you’re defective.”

“You’re a dick,” I snapped. “And a terrible maker. No wonder Dianna left the second she had a chance.”

His eyes bled red before he punched me square in the gut. I didn’t even have time to breathe before he grabbed me by the back of my neck and shoved me out of the alcove. He dragged me down the hall, the guards watching. He stopped in front of Nismera’s war room, and his hand tightened on my collar as he leaned in close to whisper, “I’d suggest you tell her the truth. Otherwise, you can say goodbye to Xavier.”

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