Page 159 of The Sea Witch's Son

“Hush now, pet. The fun is about to begin.”

A cold voice sweeps through the room. Heels click against the unforgiving floor, the shape of her shadow unfolding on the wall behind her.

Lips painted in the darkest shade of red split into a wide smile.

“Well, well. What do we have here?"

The harsh lighting beams down on ravens taking flight. Covering every inch of her arms, the dark tattoo welds together at the base of her neck and continues down the bare stretch of her back. The harsh cut of her black dress sits high on her neck and low on her hips, offering a glimpse of toned flesh underneath.

“Mother. Welcome to the party.”

Calista bows and the rest of us follow suit. Even Jaafar manages to duck his head, although he looks rather pained to do it.

“Yes, I can see it is a party.”

Dark eyes peer out from a painfully angular face. Cruel cheekbones cut through any sort of feminine delicacy while small pinched lips do nothing to distract from the narrow slope of her nose.

The Dragon is not an attractive woman, but I would be hard pressed to find someone brave enough to say so.

“Maleficent.” Bowing so low her face nearly touches the floor, my mother steps forward with a smile, “You look well, dear friend.”

“Ursela.” A smile flickers across dark red lips, “I wish I could say the same.”

Swallowing the insult as best as she can, my mother returns to her spot beside me.

Calista continues to stalk around the chair like a predator waiting for its last meal of the day. Every click of her heels has Anton whimpering and fidgeting against his bonds.

“I am sure many of you are wondering why you are here.” Dark eyes narrow, flicking over every person in attendance, “And the answer is quite simple. There is a thief in Wolf Hollow.”

Confused looks are passed around the simple minds in attendance.

“You see, a shipment ofDragon Firewas stolen from me. A member of the board helped this man,” She swings a painted talon towards Anton, “Steal from me.”

“I-I didn’t.” Something close to a sob escapes his disfigured mouth, “I-I didn’t take it.”

“As you can see, Anton has already received his initial punishment. But now I want the person responsible for the drug samples that have gone missing for the last six months.”

“Why would one of us steal from you?” Queen Marie sneers, looking down her nose at the woman towering over her, “You have made your boundaries clear since the day you took over this town.”

“Indeed, I have.” Pressing a sharp nail against her lip, she sighs, “Which makes it so disheartening to realize there is a thief among us.”

“I-It wasn’t me.”

Anton’s throaty pleas break the tense silence.

Ursela rolls her eyes, “You would think he would have given up by now.”

I glance at the man tied to the chair. My mother was right, if he was going to plead guilty, it would have happened beforethe first eyeball was removed, never mind the second.

The Dragon claps her hands and two burley men slink out of the shadows.

“Guards. Please collect Gus Cartier from the crowd.”

A ripple of shock goes around the room.

“How dare you accuse my son!” Gaston steps forward with a roar, “Gus has nothing to do with your missing drugs.”

“Is that so?” The Dragon tilts her head, “Then explain to me how Jack Heart was able to buy stolen samples through an offshore account named KillTheBeast717.”

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