Page 45 of Scourged

Something on Anniliese’s face cracked just a little bit further. A hint of the tortured soul beneath shone through, bright and raw and desperate for freedom.

Before it was shuddered away behind the mask of a Royal princess. She lifted her chin, staring down the bridge of her nose.

“Tell me what Qhohena’s magic feels like.”

Mariah cocked her head. Part of her wanted to push back against this spoiled puppet, but she couldn’t shake that brief, honest look she’d pulled from Anniliese. Something tugged Mariah toward a different response. Her own extension of honesty, a step towards the change some squashed part of her still longed for. She inhaled once, breathing in the cold air, letting it settle her before she opened her mouth to speak.

“It feels—felt”—she winced, the correction burning her throat—“like threads. Woven into my soul. A part of me.”

Anniliese nodded, some of that superiority falling away. “And what does it do?”

Mariah smiled sadly. She rubbed idly at the slender black and gold cuffs on her wrists. “I think I had only barely learned the true extent of it. So, I don’t think I can offer you a proper answer.” She met Anniliese’s honey stare, finding a reflection staring back at her.

Another broken soul, caged and thirsty for freedom. This girl had been used just as much as Mariah.

She just didn’t know it.

Anniliese watched her for a few more moments before bending down and picking up herallumelamp. “You’re never going to abdicate, are you?”

Mariah chuckled, shaking her head. “Don’t you understand? I can’t.”

Anniliese only watched her.

Mariah sighed. “The lords think themselves all-knowing, but they’re ignorant fools. A queen has no power over her own abdication, no more than she has power over her Choosing.”

Anniliese’s face hardened, mask slipping back into place until it settled into a scowl. “You’re wrong. High Priestess Ksee has told us it's possible. She says everything you say is a lie.”

“Is it?” Mariah snorted. “Yes, trust Ksee. I don’t think she’s held communion with her goddess in over a decade.”

Anniliese huffed. “You’re a disrespectful animal.”

“A title I bear proudly.” Mariah flashed a grin. “Anything else I can do for you, Anniliese?”

The girl sniffed. “I have tried to help you. I felt sorry for you, and I tried. But it seems you’d prefer to remain here, in what is as good as Enfara.”

“At least it’s quiet.”

Anniliese let out a final, frustrated humph before turning on her slippered feet and striding away down the hall, the light bobbing away with her steps.

The second the light vanished, Mariah dove for the space between her mattress and the wall. Her fingers slid across cool metal, grasping gently to avoid the sharp edge of the blade.

Several thoughts struck her at once as she withdrew the paring knife.

First, she felt the spark of life reignite in her belly. Glimpsing who Anniliese truly was, the girl trapped beneath the pretty shell, had awoken the raw desperation that burned through Mariah. She had a chance to change everything—her life, the life ofeveryone—if she were to be freed.

Second, talking about her magic had reminded her of what lived in her soul. There was a reason these lords hadn’t wantedher to ascend, why they’d taken her before the rite of coronation could be completed. There was a reason Lord Laurent had told his son that a bond with her would result in a forfeit to her life.

Perhaps it was just a threat, but it had worked: if Andrian hadn’t been so afraid, if there hadn’t been such a delay, then maybe, right now, she wouldn’t be here.

Third, she realized exactly what she had to do if she ever wanted to escape this place.

Her fingers clenched tighter around the handle, and for the first time in weeks, Mariah drifted to sleep with a smile on her face.

Chapter 17

The version of Andrian who strode down the dungeon hallway was the cruel stranger, the coldness behind his eyes nothing like the ice Mariah had learned how to melt.

“Of course, you’re still dressed like a little whore. How fitting.” His lips lifted from his teeth in a sneer.

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