Page 51 of Queen of Vengeance

My focus wasn’t on Zane, however.

My eyes gravitated toward Jax, who stood before the Key Portal, watching me from the top of the stairs as if he knew what would happen.

He didn’t open his mouth or say a word. It was as if he knew what was going to happen.

“Jax?” I could barely breathe, but I managed to utter his name.

The way he looked at me was cold, as if he was looking at some stranger off the street.

It was only then I realized… he never cared about me. It was all a ploy to get me here today. He was trying to smear my name so that no one would believe me when I told them what he did.

Guards dragged me away, and only Zane yelled for them to stop.

“What are you going to do with her?” He had to be physically restrained by another guard.

“The punishment for attempting to transport illegal contraband is usually only a year, but lately, they’ve been putting people away for ten, sometimes twenty. Who knows. They'll put her away with the potions she brought for the rest of her life.” Anno folded his hands into his sleeves.

Zane’s face went white upon hearing that.

I looked back up at Jax, who looked tormented by that information, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

There was nothing any of us could do about it.

I could plead my innocence to the gods, but no one would hear me.

No one could save me.

But I promised Mema I’d come home. She’ll be waiting for me.

Hot tears began pouring down my cheek as they dragged me away.

How could he do such a thing?

19

LEA

Three months later

Azapping sound stirred me from my restless sleep.

My eyes opened to the dimly lit dungeon that had become my home.

I pried my face from the damp stone floor, wiping away the dirt on my cheek.

My eyes followed up the stone walls as if they were trying to claw me out of here.

I dreamt I had left here… I knew it was too good to be true.

Disappointment weighed on my soul.

My nose filled with unsavory smells.

The thing I had to combat the smell was my small mint plant growing out of the crack in the wall.

My ears filled with the sounds of moaning prisoners and the dripping of water from the ceiling. They were sounds that I had become accustomed to by now, but there was one sound that I could never get used to.

The loud zapping sound that woke me up ripped through the stone walls again, causing me to jump. It was the sound of the guards' torture prods.

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