Page 35 of Queen of Wrath

I couldn't imagine why someone would sell me out one time, and then stick his neck out for me the next. Of course, the two incidents had taken place many years apart, but still…

Jax couldn’t have changed. Not even after nearly two decades. His blind ambition and hunger for wealth still knew no bounds.

“I see my suggestion to flirt with him has come in handy.” Her smile widened into an unsettling grin. “Sounds like the man's practically in love with you.”

“There’s no way. We haven't even done anything. Besides, he has a beautiful wife. He only lusts after other women, and even then, he fools around only if he can get something out of it.” I had already been fooled by his false sincerity once. I wasn't about to be fooled again.

“When it comes to men, that doesn't matter. The fact that you guys haven't done anything yet, actually bodes in your favor,” Rowan explained, but I wasn’t paying attention anymore.

Something about Jax’s behavior recently didn't add up. He’d suddenly started acting differently toward me than the weeks before. Seducing him aside, which might have been responsible for triggering it, I’d felt something deeper than lust or infatuation coming from him ever since.

“The point is, his feelings for you can now be used to your advantage. We need to figure out a way to sabotage his operation without compromising your position. If we play things right, we can have you coming out of this smelling like daisies while Jax rots behind bars. But how can we go about doing that?” Rowan's eyes danced away from me as she pressed her fingers to her chin, and thought so hard that a vein in her forehead popped out.

My mind reeled along with hers. “Perhaps we can intercept the illegal potions every time they're being transferred out of the facility? If they can’t keep up with demand, eventually the business would go under.”

Rowan squinted down at the carpet and pursed her lips. “You have the right idea, but that would just take too long. Besides, we run the risk of getting caught. We need to somehow attack this thing at the source with a big enough strike so another one won’t be needed.”

I perked up as an idea flashed into my head. “The source is the potions themselves, isn’t it? What if I created something to counteract the potions’ effectiveness? Perhaps I could even cause them to have very specific adverse effects.” Goosebumps ran down my arms from the excitement. “Not only will people stop buying them, but it might even allow us to track down some of the buyers.”

Rowan looked over at Akil. “That might just work. But, of course, that would involve you having to go back in. It’s more dangerous now than it already was before…”

“I'm not afraid. I'll do what has to be done. You can count on that.” A new wave of invigoration came over me. I felt ready to take on the world again.

The Ransom family’s day of reckoning will come quicker than they can run away.

Aweek had passed, and I had been working tirelessly on creating a sleeper agent ingredient to sabotage the Ransoms’ illegal potions.

Throughout that time, I had created fifteen different potions that could possibly work, but the symptoms each produced were too mild, to say the least.

My fingers curled around the page I had scribbled on since last night, and I crumpled it up with a huff.

With all the strength left in my entire body, I chucked it against the wall, where it piled on top of countless other crumbled papers.

Failures. All of them. Had I truly lost my edge?

I used to be able to will these potions into existence, and now I couldn't even write one decent one!

“I need some fresh air,” I grumbled to myself while dislodging my skin from my desk, which had begun fusing to the wood. I rubbed my sore thighs and groaned. “I can go to the ingredients market. I might be able to find something of use there.”

I grabbed my coat and left for the market. It was already pretty late in the day with Solare hanging low in the sky.

The streets were dark as the tall buildings blocked out the light. Though, that hardly mattered to the people in this city. Dusk and nighttime tended to be just as busy as any other time here.

It had to have been nice to grow up in a place where you didn't have to worry about being out at night. Growing up so close to Diesel’s headquarters, we had had to be cautious going outside at night. Hell, we couldn’t even walk to school without glancing over our shoulders.

Diesel’s lackeys had always been on the prowl, looking for someone to abuse.

It must be better there now that Diesel doesn't live there anymore. And once I get rid of him for good, it would benefit even more people.

That was what I told myself, but that wasn't the truth. I wasn't considering how it would affect other people. The only thing I cared about was bringing anguish and destruction down on his head.

The young girl who had cared about doing good things had long since died. There was no point trying to grasp for a woman no longer in reach.

The violence in my mind was drowned out by the time I came to a boisterous part of the street right where the market began, the crowd sweeping me along before I knew what was happening. I was practically sailing through a sea of people as if I were a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean during a storm.

My eyes flickered around to the different shop stalls, but I couldn't stop at any of them. “Hey, stop shoving. I’m trying to?—!”

My struggle against the moving crowd was in vain until I felt a strong grip grab my arm and yank me out of the current.

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