Page 56 of The Queen & the King

I shadow into one of the cells and wave my hand to merge them all. The Titans occupying them now have nowhere to go but toward me.

The first lunges at me, then another and another, hoping for a chance against their jailor. The person who defeated them not just once but twice. They mob toward me, and I keep my hands at my sides, allowing them to attempt to overwhelm me.

Their bodies block my view of Melinoë, but her voice still rings out. “Hello, handsome, want to play?” The question is followed by the sound of bone shattering.

Perses throws a punch, and I lean slightly to the side, causing it to go wide. The kick from another Titan hits another as it passes through me. I glance down at myself and raise my hand, looking at my fingers. I’m not just controlling the shadows. I am a shadow.

I grab the closest Titan, my shadow hand moving through his chest, grabbing his spine, and yanking it from his body. He opens his mouth to scream, but nothing comes out. I look at the spinal column in my hand. My lips curve in a grin. I’ve never had this ability before. I movedthroughthe shadows and darkness inside the Titan’s body.

Perses slams into me, but he passes through my body harmlessly.

With this new power, there is a whole new range of possibilities.

I slide into the shadows, my body now incorporeal as I wail on the Titans. My strikes are methodical and cruel, purposefully causing the most damage possible and inflicting the most pain I can at once.

Mellie’s laugh echoes off the walls as she continues down the path of destruction. I catch sight of her holding a spiked baseball bat that she’s using to break the knees of Titans. She’s not even avoiding their blows. She’s almost leaning into the hits, hoping to get hurt.

Titans fall one by one, the darkness inside me in complete control. Some blows might land, but I don’t even feel them.

A solar flare erupts in the middle of the cells, the surprise forcing me out of my shadow form. Fucking Titan.

Helios flashes to Mellie. A Titan has sunk his teeth into her thigh, but she’s only laughing. Helios’s face is hard, his entire body emitting penetrating beams of light, cutting the Titan in half to force them away from Mellie. Several curse at him and call him a traitor, reminding him of his loyalties, but his only focus is her. He lifts her into his arms and pauses to look at me, pinning me with a bright stare of condemnation.

“She would be so disappointed in you.”2

1 The Nightmare & The Daydream Chapter 31

2 The Nightmare & The Daydream Chapters 32 & 33

Thirty-Five

Persephone

ONCE AGAIN, I HAVE BEEN DRESSED UP FOR ADONIS.This time, the deep wine-colored velvet hugs every curve, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. The hem falls just above my knees, and my feet have been pushed into high black pumps. I brush my fingers over the velvet, feeling it tickle the pads of my fingers.

“Persephone! Hurry!” My mother chastises me from downstairs.

I quickly do another turn in the mirror, looking at the outfit. While I absolutely hate that it is supposed to be for Adonis, I do love how my body looks in this dress. It feels right. I feel likemesomehow. Strong. Confident. Empowered.

I decide that the best way to get through this date is to set it in my mind that I chose to wear this dress for myself—no one else. Then my traitorous mind wonders how Hades would react to seeing me in this, but I push that thought away.

I take a steadying breath, ready for my mother’s snide comments, and then I leave my room to head into the belly of the beast.

It surprises me how well I am able to walk in such high heels. It seems I’m seasoned in wearing these stunning stilts, my steps not faltering once as I walk down the corridor to the stairs.

My mother gives me a cursory look, briefly taking in my garb. She tilts her head and gives me the smallest look of disapproval, which disappears as quickly as it came. She pulls her face into a smile and says, “Now, don’t you look lovely?”

I blink, then blink again. Unease fills my whole body at her compliment.

She grabs a long black trench coat from the closet and hands it to me. “Let’s hurry. It isn’t proper to keep your future husband waiting,” she chirps. When she is closer, I can still see the faint cracks on her cheeks. Obviously, she has worked hard to cover them.

“Mother?” I say, pulling on the trench coat. She brushes my hands away, wrapping it around me and tying it tight. “I’m not sure this is right…” I bite back a groan of pain as she pulls the straps tighter. “I’ve only met one man.”

When did I become such a good liar? Why don’t I feel any guilt? Maybe because I know she is also lying to me.

Mother laughs cruelly. “Did you expect an abundance of suitors?”

I wince. “What?” Even though I didn’t take her compliment on board, even the ghost of it makes these words sting even more.

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