Page 105 of The Crown of a Fallen Queen
An all-consuming desire to please my king assaults my senses. I go from disgusted and panicked to anxious and willingin the span of one breath. I long to be his queen. To quench his thirst.
It’s unstoppable.
I make potent love potions, a talent that Alaric congratulates me for all night, as I suck his cock. Sing his praises. And disappear.
Chapter 33
Wedding March
SETH
Is it morning? Night? I wouldn’t know. Time doesn’t pass in this cell, but curdles. Folds in on itself until all that’s left is pain. I think I slept, but maybe I just fainted.
A bruise pulses along my ribs, while another throbs behind my eyes. The dull scream of muscles and tendons contracting into themselves sears my brain. I’m nothing more than cooked meat in a gilded cage. Every joint aches.
Only my face has been spared.
Because that’s the part Alaric wants intact when he parades me around as Devi’s kindred. Marries my girl. Claims his realm.
My mind mirrors the state of my prison.
Quiet.
Dark.
Hollow.
Until the flutter of wings breaks through the stillness.
Percy’s voice trembles. “Oh, pretty boy…”
I try to stand up, but it’s no use, so I push to my elbows instead. Sweat gathers on my forehead, my limbs shaking.Weakness seeps into every bone in my body. I’ll be surprised if I can make it to the wedding.
“Is Devi alright?” The question tears out of me.
Percy doesn’t answer, and the grayness of his skin gives me pause. She’s not alright—not at all.
“Don’t come too close,” I rasp as he flies closer to the bars. “What if you get trapped in here?”
“I’ll risk it,” he says, slipping between the metal rods.
His wings—gods—his wings are shredded at the edges.
“What happened to you?”
“I had to squeeze out of a cage.”
Bile burns my throat. “Alaric got to you too, didn’t he?”
He nods.
A black hole forms in my chest. I can’t protect anyone. I’m useless. And soon I’ll be forced to stand witness for the one thing I can’t stomach.
“Why didn’t she fight?” I whisper. “Magic or no magic, we could’ve fought.”
“She’s lost hope.” Percy lands near my face. “You can imagine what that feels like. Always trying, always ramming your head against the same invisible wall.”
Gods help me—I get it.
