Page 41 of This Blood That Breaks Us
I did. I didn’t know why. There was a lot of that. Doing things because I had to. Because there was no other choice or because the demon witch made me feel like I wanted to.
I didn’t want to follow Her to Her en suite bathroom, but I did. It had a large pool-like spa with warm moody lighting. The water was already steaming.
“Why am I here for this?” I looked up at the ceiling.
“I like to have company.”
“Looked like you had plenty of company before.”
“Do I detect jealousy?”
“No.”
“Good. Because you don’t need to be. We can be as close as you desire.”
“Glad you said that. Let’s stay at least twenty feet away at any given time.” I stepped back a few feet.
“You don’t trust me.”
“Why the fuck would I trust you?”
I’d been raised never to call women obscenities. Mom hated cussing, but she’d gone ballistic the one and only time I’d called my teacher a cunt during junior year—she had it out for me and deserved it, but the queen was a cunt if I’d ever seen one.
I wasn’t buying it. The sweet, innocent act might be working on Luke, but not me.
“Can you pass me a towel?” She said.
I quickly handed it to Her and was ready to bolt. I’d done what She asked. I’d come to visit Her. But something was keeping me here.
Her gravity faltered, but it wasn’t the same pull that made me pray to Her in the church. It waned like a flickering light. Her body moved slower, and She struggled for a moment as She went to step out of the tub. Her foot slipped, but She caught Herself on the edge. I would have thought it was another one of Her shows, but I saw a shift in Her eyes. Her jaw hardened, and I reached for Her hand. I kept my attention solely on Her emerald eyes and handed Her a towel.
“Cecily.”
Her brow furrowed as I aided her out of the tub. Deep green stained her irises. “I don’t know who you’re referring to.”
“Liar, and a bad one at that.”
She scowled, but it was softer. Poutier. She took time to towel dry her hair. Her movements were slow like she lacked strength in her hands and arms.
“Luke was right.”
She moved to walk again, but I stepped in front of her. “Oh no. Not so fast. Tell me what you know about me and my brother.”
With her head down, she tried to walk past me, but I caught her arm. When our eyes met again, the green was fading.
“What’s wrong, princess? You don’t want to talk to me?”
Bright emerald seared through. “Queen. I’m a queen.”
“Not a good one.”
“Why are you being this way?”
“If it keeps your eyes that color, I’ll do anything. I’ve got questions that beg to be answered.”
“You’re not like your brother.”
“No. I’m not. I’m nothing like him. The sooner you realize it, the sooner we can understand each other.”
