Page 24 of Kingdom of Ashes & Bone
Devastation met my gaze.
In a few seconds, the queen had razed the entirety of the mud quarter, reducing it to a hollowed out, charred pit. She couldn’t burn the mud homes, but she could burn the people and everything inside of them. Bodies lay strewn everywhere, skin black and blistered from the heat and flames. Any scrap of cloth was on fire. Flames licked intensely at whatever it could, whether that be food, blankets, or skin. The dragon was nowhere to be seen.
That’s why the queen had revealed herself—there would be few survivors to tell tales, and if anyone did, they wouldn’t be believed. Who would believe filthy little mud rats, after all?
Cries and moans filled the air, a cacophony of pain and suffering so overwhelming I had to take a step back.
“That hurts much more, doesn’t it?”
I jumped as the queen whispered in my ear, falling to one knee as the pain in my body doubled at the sudden, unexpected movement.
“This is what you deserve for coming into my home and trying to upset the balance. You can’t win. You will never win. Mud rats always lose. And if I ever catch a whiff of you near my boys or my palace again, it’ll be your mother, father, and brother next. Oh, how I’d love to slit his throat while he thrusts inside me. I will have more sons, and there won’t be any mud girls left to spread their legs for them and poison their minds against me.”
A crazed laugh broke from my lips. “You’re aging! How much longer do you think you’ll be able to have children?”
Perhaps it wasn’t the smartest thing I could say, but I was past caring. The queen was obviously going to kill me. Might as well make it count.
Her pale skin flushed pink. “I should kill you, but if I did it now it would be over too quickly. I want you to suffer. I want my boys to watch you cry out in pain, and get on their knees to beg me to stop. And then I won’t.I’ll go slower, fingernail by fingernail, until you have no voice left to scream, and your eyes glaze over with insanity. Only then will I release you back to my boys, as a living husk and reminder of what happens when they think they can get around direct orders.”
My jaw dropped. “Damn.”
Her eyes narrowed. “As I said, I don’t have the time now. I must be presentable for the ball tomorrow. If you are still here in the next coming days, I will hunt you. I will imprison you. And then the fun will truly begin.”
She took a step forward, and I took a step back. It was crazy that Zephyr wasn’t her true son; they were two fucked up, crazed peas in a pod.
“Goodbye, mud girl.”
The queen walked away, leaving me with the ruins of all my hopes and dreams. The king had been right; I couldn’t save them. I couldn’t even save myself! All I’d done was bring on more pain and suffering. Why hadn’t I listened to him? Why had I been so headstrong and stubborn? I’d thought I could do what the king himself had failed at.
Stupid little flower. All flowers die.You can’t even eat them. Weak, useless little things.
I fell the rest of the way to the ground, barely able to catch myself with my arms.
Shock. You’re in shock.
It was all over. The queen had won.
Crawl back into the tunnel. Lay down and die. Let the demons eat you. Let Zephyr and Shava find you. You don’t deserve to live after what you’ve done.
A shrill scream sliced through the air, drawing my attention. Painstakingly, I lifted my head, watching as the little girl I’d seen on the day of my reaping ran by me, screaming with her dress on fire.
I wasn’t done. I might have made a mistake and underestimated the queen, but I could fix this. I could still help.
Adrenaline fueled my body and pushed aside the pain as I leaped up, chasing after her. I plowed into her and gathered her into my arms, both of us rolling on the ground and coming to a rough stop. The flames were gone, beat out by our antics. Both of us gasped for air, breathing hard.
“Are you all right?” I croaked. Smoke was everywhere. If the heat or fire didn’t get everyone, the smoke just might.
“I want my momma!” the girl wailed, wrenching away from me and running off again. I didn’t have the strength to chase after her, and the rush of adrenaline was gone, leaving me numb and exhausted.
It would be easy to just close my eyes and let the world take over. Whatever happened to me, happened. I was tired of trying. Tired of caring. Wouldn’t it be nice to just sleep?
My eyes closed and I yawned even as the world went to hell around me. Vaguely, I registered the shrieks and cries of demons, and more blasts of heat. Was the queen destroying the demons now? That would be like her …
I wanted to care. I wanted to help.
I’d helped too much already. My help caused this mess.
The pain in my side reached a crescendo. I hadn’t heard anything crack when I hit the tunnel wall, but maybe I’d just missed it. It would be fair play if I suffered the same injury I’d accidentally given Zephyr.
