Page 11 of The Queen of Ash and Magic

Julianna turns me to face her and lifts my face. “My family,” I say quietly.

“Which one?” she asks. “Eyrx mentioned that your father killed Unika?”

“They all did it,” I say. “Mom, Dad, and Aldric.”

“Dear Gods,” she sighs. “How did Unika die, Lysa?”

“Uhm… Dad wanted to take me for the first time and Unika protected me. He beat her until she went limp and my mom made me leave the room,” I answer quietly.

“What? He was going to rape you? How old were you?” Eyrx asks.

“Six,” I say. “He did it anyway the next day. Unika just wasn’t there to protect me that time.”

“What?!” Eyrx roars. Julianna gently touches his arm, and he huffs as he runs his hands down his face.

“Was it just the once?” Juliana asks.

“No,” I say. “He did it a lot. Aldric started helping him when he was sixteen. The last time was a few days ago before I fell asleep.”

“You slept for days?” she asks.

“Yeah… Uhm… It’s complicated,” I admit.

“Tell me,” she urges.

“After the celebration, Dad and Aldric were drunk. I knew they would come to torture me. They took turns on me, but my mom came in at some point. When my dad was taking me, Aldric fucked her while she held me down. Aldric ended up… uhm… helping Dad by taking my throat instead of finishing with my mom. After I was throwing up, she started beating me with something. A metal rod, I think. Petra snuck in to help me clean up. When she helped me lay on my cot, she gave me a little bit of a potion to sleep. I woke up to my mom having me move rooms. Petra came to help me clean up again and change clothes. Then, I woke up to Eyrx coming into the room,” I explain.

“That’s why you asked if you had to service anyone,” Eyrx says with a sigh. “This doesn’t change anything, Juli. We…”

“It doesn’t, but he is stable. She needs to rest before we ask that of her. She needs her energy,” Julianna says.

“Fine,” Eyrx frowns.

“Lysa, there is food out here for you. Eat and relax. We will give you a week to relax, but then we will get to why we brought you here, okay?” Julianna asks.

“Are you going to kill me?” I ask her.

“Not if we don’t have to,” she says, and I nod.

Chapter Four

Lysa

One Week Later

If this is aprison, where in the fuck have I been my entire life? This place is incredible. Everyone is nice, even when they’re trying to be hateful. They respect me more than anyone in my family does. I am fed three times a day. The food is warm and filling. It doesn’t even have mold.

Every morning, I wake up and clean before breakfast is brought in. After I eat, I clean the room, sit on the balcony, and read. I eat outside as well because it’s always warm. I go back in and kneel while they clean, but they never have anything to clean. Julianna comes in to bring me my dinner and asks random questions about my childhood and my life in general. When she leaves, I eat my dinner, take a bath, and read until I fall asleep.

Today has been no different. I have been here a week now and I have a lot more strength than I did before. I think I have evengained a little bit of weight. You can’t see my bones as easily now. I am sitting on the balcony reading but abruptly jump up and kneel when I hear the balcony door come open.

“I’m sorry,” I say as I bow my head when I see Eyrx. This is the first time he’s been here since the first day.

“Get up,” he says. “Why aren’t you letting the servants do their jobs?”

“What?” I ask. “I…”

“Their job is to clean, but you keep cleaning. Why?” he asks.

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