Page 58 of The Fate of Eternity

She tilts her head, assessing me. “You don’t seem mad about it.”

“She deserved it,” I reply, recalling the time Vallie bit me and the other time she tried to crush me beneath a sheet of ice, plunging me into the frozen depths below.

“So what’s running through your head if it isn’t guilt?” she asks, and I rub my lips together, giving myself a moment to figure out the right words without giving too much away.

“She was a constant burden, but my actions only served me when I wanted to be more than that.”

“More than what?”

I shrug. “More than selfish. More than me. More than a broken fae.”

The ache in my chest at the truth of my words hurts like a bitch, but saying it out loud also comes with a wave of relief I didn’t know I was chasing.

“That’s a lot of more you’re after.”

I shrug. “I’m not seeking more from anyone else, just myself.”

“It must be exhausting.”

It’s something, but I can’t deny how much I want it. To be something, to be someone, to be fucking heroic when the grounds on which I was born were anything but.

“If you could have all of the mores that you wanted, where do you think that would lead you?”

“To be the person I was always meant to be,” I answer without missing a beat.

“A thought that has always amused me is who I’m meant to be. Maybe I was never meant to be a villain to many.” Is that what I am now? A villain? My gut twists, hating the thought of it as she looks away, staring at the door instead. “I always wanted to be a leader; I wanted to be more than myself, but it was never my fate.”

I can only assume that’s why she wound up inside a crystal, but I keep my thoughts and lips firmly shut.

Our conversation is drawn to a complete halt when the turn of the lock echoes through the room, drawing my attention to the four soldiers piling into the cell. Their eyes are set on me and I know my time has come. I’m ready to face whatever they want to throw at me.

I don’t bother to stand, determined not to look like a fool while I’ve still got the magical binding drawn tight around my wrists. Silently, the soldiers take great pleasure in hauling me to my feet, and my gaze travels toward the woman who has fed me more knowledge than I was expecting, but her cell is empty.

“Wait. Where did that woman go?” I ask as they head for the door with me in tow.

The guy on my left scoffs, entertaining me for a moment. “What woman?”

“The one that was in that cell,” I bite back, confusion and panic shooting through my body as I blink at the empty space.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. You’ve been in here alone. Did you bang your head or something?” he grunts, thrusting me through the door with more force than necessary as the guy on my right huffs.

“How about she shuts the fuck up so she can get on with her punishment.”

28

ADRIANNA

My confusion is short-lived as I’m tossed to the floor in a familiar room. I grunt as my knees smack against the harsh stone beneath me, my hands doing little to break my fall.

I expected to find myself in front of The Council, but I didn’t think it would be in the same room where they used Nora as a threat against me, attempting to force me to become a fated mate in their desperation for control.

Fuck.

Wetting my lips, I look at the audience I’ve been granted. It’s only natural my gaze lingers on Kenner first. He may not be a member of The Council, but his presence is always too close when I find myself in trouble, usually because it’s his doing. The smug look on his face is nothing new, but how defenseless I feel is.

My nostrils flare as irritation threatens to get the better of me, so I turn my attention to the next person: Mrs. Holloway.

I can see where Raiden gets his arrogance; she’s smothered in it. Her pencil skirt falls just short of her knees, elongating her legs as she stands tall, her silk shirt tucked in, and her brownhair curling around her face. She’s a total vision of demure, but the curl to her lips tells an entirely different story. She’s been behind the frenzied vampires this entire time, which was a shock to Raiden too, but as I stand before her now, I don’t know how I didn’t see it before.

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