Page 54 of Scourged

“Yes,” Mariah whispered. “You certainly did.” She loaded as much of her rage and anger and pain into her stare. The scars scourged on her soul rumbled awake, more threads of newly freed magic shaking loose and unraveling in her gut.

Instead of cowering before her, he simply smiled. “I suppose I underestimated you. You truly care very little for your well-being. Even after everything, you still have that ridiculously defiant look.” He sighed, smile broadening.

“I had hoped the fun we had with theuxosilmight finally do it. Tricky to obtain, but Lord Cordaro had a connection in Idrix. Quite skilled with poisons, those southerners. Perhaps, once this is all over, it might be time to lift the embargo and open the borders. I’d like to learn more about such magics.”

Embargo?“I think I would be interested in the same. If only to make sure every last drop of thatshitis wiped from the earth.” Her voice was distant to her ears, holding a confidence she did not feel.

Shawth huffed a chuckle again, before meeting her stare and scratching his chin. They watched each other, pompous lord and ragged prisoner, his stare sliding over her grimy skin and too-thin body.

“You could end it all, right now, you know.” His voice was quiet, and … almost genuine.

She’d be a fucking fool if she believed it.

“After that confession? Knowing that you wanted me dead, before my reign even began, and all the things that came after? I think we’re just getting started, Lord Shawth,” she said hollowly. “I’ve told you that I never wanted this. If I wanted to get rid of this magic and get myself out of this miserable prison, I would’ve done so already. I would’ve done it after the fuckingChoosing.” She snarled the last word, forgotten frustrations spilling all too easily from her tongue.

“Well, you see, my dear, I simply do not believe that.” Shawth’s voice carried a hint of sadness. “You cannot lie to me. The magic would not have Chosen you if you had not wanted it. The Goddess, or whoever else pulls our strings, must have seen your ambition.”

Whoever else pulls our strings?Mariah was reminded of Shawth’s mention of a new benefactor, and Ksee’s words describing something similar. She fully believed they’d abandoned Qhohena, led astray by … something.

“Ambition?” She clenched her fists beneath her blanket. “I remember coming to you and Laurent for your help in running the kingdom because I knew I couldn’t do it alone. It wasn’t the same deal you had with Ryenne, but you still would’ve had power.”

“Power? It would have been a mockery to call you Queen.” He propped his feet out in front of him. “Power is the only currency that matters in this world, and if you still possessed more than me—you, some little slut from the hovels of Andburgh—that simply would never do.”

“That is truly all you care about? Power?”

He laughed. “Don’t lie and tell me you do not feel the same! I can see the same drive in you, the same hunger. It’s how you have lasted this long, and it's why we simply cannot allow you to remain on the throne.”

Mariah hated that he was right. She hadn’t wanted this life—not at first—but no, she thirsted for that strength. The ability to change the world required power, and she had no desire to give it up.

“What of the other lords?” she asked. “You come to me seeking power, and I’ve never known you to be a man willing to share it. Do they support you in this little vendetta?” She supposed at least three of them did. Laurent had been instrumental in her capture, Hareth had offered his daughter aspart of her emotional torture, and Cordaro had helped secure theuxosil. But she still had to ask the question.

Anything to sow seeds of discontent. That was the only game she had left.

Shawth’s eyes glinted in the pale gold light. “Despite what they say, you certainly are a smart little witch.” He rubbed a hand across his chest. “The other lords are weak and soft. So long as they may remain the masters of their castles, they care very little about the politics of the continent. Except, of course, Lord Laurent … But his allegiance has been bought in other ways,” he said, a gleeful and malevolent grin spreading across his face.

The hair along Mariah’s arms rose.

“What do you mean?”

Shawth scoffed. “Oh, come now, Mariah! As if I would share those delicious morsels with you. I think I’ve shared more than enough with you tonight. Rest assured, though—when the veil is lifted, I cannotwaitto see what he has planned for you.”

Mariah’s spine locked as the temperature in her blood dropped. “He? Your new … benefactor?”

“You were paying attention.” Shawth chuckled. “Good. For now, let’s just say he is very,veryexcited to meet you.”

Fuck.

“Shawth, listen to me.” She pressed her palms into the mattress, leaning forward with a sudden, desperate urgency. “I cannot transfer the magic. It’s not a decision that’s up to me. And even if it was, you can’t force a new queen; the magic will choose who it chooses. You could be stuck with someone even worse than me.” She forced air into her lungs and filled herself with all the pleading she could muster. “But I promise, right now. I swear, in Qhohena’s name. I’m done fighting. It’s over. You’ve won. I’ll … I’ll be the figurehead that Ryenne was. I keep my crown, but you would rule.”

As the words left her lips, she begged desperately that her silent prayer be heard. That he would believe her, would call off his mad pursuit that would only end poorly for them both. She would find another way to change the world. There would be plenty of opportunities to undermine him, and even then, her life would last centuries, while he had only a few decades left.

Shawth’s grin stretched wider across his sallow face, blue eyes festering. “What pretty words you say, little queen. Such a shame I do not believe them.” He rose from his stool and dragged it back against the wall, away from her cell.

She must’ve prayed to the wrong goddess.

Mariah’s jaw hung open with her disbelief. “Why come, then? Why bother, even when I offer what you say you want?”

Shawth’s hand rested on the wall, and he turned back to Mariah with a wide smile that failed to reach his eyes and showed too many cracked, yellowed teeth.

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