Page 23 of Tortured Royals

Uriel stares up at Mirelle, tears streaming from his eyes. “My precious, my love,” he cries, sobbing so hard his back shakes. Mirelle keeps her gaze fixed on something high above him, not peering at the male, and a flicker of pain shines in her eyes before it’s gone again.

“My A-Ahalian Touizda, w-why would you do this?” Uriel stammers. “You must know I didn’t mean what I said. If I had known who you truly are, I wouldn’t?—”

“S-i-l-e-n-c-e!” Queen Vespera booms, her voice ringing throughout the cavernous room. “If you had known you were bedding my daughter, rather than the female she was disguised as, you wouldn’t have shown your truth. Now, daughter, let him see what we do to those who defy us.”

Mirelle’s jaw tightens, her gaze darkening as she lifts her hands, and Prince Callan curses again. He tenses like he intends to go to his sister, to stop what’s happening, but he doesn’t, and something tells me this isn’t the first time he’s witnessed a similar display.

I’m not sure what I expect next, and I gasp when white hot flames erupt over Mirelle’s entire body, swallowing her and leaving only a humanoid shape in her place. Her flames lick at the air, crackling and sizzling, and the light is so bright I wince. When she lifts her hand, flames shoot out toward Uriel. He screams the moment they touch him, the flames engulfing him in a matter of seconds. The white hot fire dances as his feathers burn, and the sound of Uriel’s cries fill the space, a seemingly endless song of torment that has my stomach twisting. It’s over sooner than I expect, and Uriel’s cries are silenced, the angel now nothing more than ash on the floor. Going by the queen’sglare, I’m guessing she’d instructed her daughter to keep the traitor alive for longer, but Mirelle ignores her mother’s gaze, stepping back from the front of the dais.

Queen Vespera’s smile falters only for a moment, and then she’s beaming out at us all again.

An angel at the back of the room throws up, but everyone else stays silent.

Annoyance fills Queen Vespera’s expression. “Well?” she prompts the crowd, and slowly, one by one, the angels start clapping. Soon the applause is like thunder in my ears, and the queen’s smile grows wider as she revels in it.

“I think I’m going to be sick,”Shade moans, and I reach up, stroking her feathers.

The queen leans back on her throne, her lips curving into a smug smile. “And now that’s out of the way, let us attend to our other party guests!” Queen Vespera calls out gleefully.

It’s not until Mirelle’s gaze lands on me that I realize she’s talking about us. Before I can act, white flames shoot from the princess’s hand, racing across the room and encircling me and my mates in seconds.

Mason, Nate, Alaric, and Dante form up with me, the five of us with our backs to one another. Prince Callan stands a couple paces away, his face a mask of stone.

“We’ve attended your party as you requested,” I say loudly. “What is this?”

Queen Vespera crosses one leg over the other and traces slow circles on one thigh with her long nails. “You have attended my party,” Queen Vespera says, “And should the need ever arrive to call on the allied realms for aid, I shall. But when you all walked into my office, I had no choice but to act.”

“Why?” Mason asks, squaring his broad shoulders.

Instead of answering, she flicks her hand, and a small dark cloud appears from somewhere behind her. There’s a buzzingsound, and then a recording starts to play. An anguished cry fills the air, and unlike when I heard Uriel, this cry has bile climbing up my throat. It’s not until I see the pain on Prince Callan’s face that I realize why. It’s because I’m listening to a recording ofhim.

His cry ends, morphing into a choked retching and coughing noise.

“Tell me again,”a cold and clinical voice demands. Instantly, I recognize Queen Vespera’s voice.“No one takes what’s mine, boy.”

There’s the crackling of flames, and Prince Callan’s scream rings out again, the sound filled with such pain that my body shakes with fury for my mate. Stepping forward, I place my hand on Prince Callan’s shoulder, and he flinches.

“Tell me again, what happened,”Queen Vespera insists.

There’s heavy breathing, before more screams.

“Tell her,”a different feminine voice says, and it’s more of a desperate plea than a command. Prince Callan’s gaze flicks to his sister, and I guess it’s her speaking in the recording.“Please Callan,”she says.“It’s been days. Why are you protecting him?”

Protecting him?My brows lower as I wonder who they’re speaking of.

There’s a long moment of silence, and when Prince Callan finally speaks his voice is a quiet rasp.“Nine Lives wormed his way into my mind.”

My heart stutters, my blood going cold as my gaze slides to my shifter. He looks just as shocked, his brows practically lifting to his hairline.

“The thief manipulated me so he could get to her,”the Prince Callan in the recording goes on.

Queen Vespera seethes.“You always were my greatest disappointment. To let a traitor infiltrate your mind isunforgivable.”There’s the sound of shuffling feet. “And to let him get to your sister.”She growls.“Take him!”

There’s the sound of something scraping along stone and the recording cuts off.

My chest heaves like I’ve just run up the stairs to get here, and my head is a mess of questions and fury. Nate’s face is deathly pale, and Prince Callan won’t look at me. He just keeps staring at his sister who’s bright with white flames.

“She tortured her own son,”Shade’s horrified words fill my head, and the fury burns hotter inside me. I can’t be sure whether Nate did what he’s being accused of. All I know is that this woman, this monster, had Prince Callan in her clutches, and she hurt him.Badly.

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