Page 85 of Queen Takes Triune
He’d told her that torturing her alpha would give her the daughter she craved. Unfortunately, he’d been right—and Tanza’s soul had been corrupted by that horrible act. She’d been possessed by something demonic and evil.
I wasn’t going to argue that I wasn’t monstrous.
Because I was.
I could shift into a cobra queen and had poisoned—and ultimately killed—my alpha. Though I’d been able to resurrect him.
I’d drained Keisha Skye to death, literally absorbing her power into my own like she was nothing. A cup of water to the ocean that roared inside me.
I’d chopped Guillaume’s head off in Heliopolis.
Of course, I was monstrous.
But I wasn’t demonic or evil.
Nothing I could say would convince Marne otherwise. Watching her face, though, I realized that I didn’t have to convince her of anything.
Better than anyone, she knew what I was.
And she hated me for it.
She hated me—because she hadn’t been able to have an heir. Not just an heir to her house and power, but an heir to the Triune. Whatever Guillaume saw when he looked at me that had convinced him I would be called to the Triune… Marne saw it too.
That was the sole reason I was here, regardless of what she might claim.
“Don’t you like steak tartare?” Marne asked.
I deliberately leaned back in my chair, dropping my head back slightly so I could feel Rik behind me. He immediately dropped his hands to my shoulders. “No, thank you. I’m not that hungry, I’m afraid.”
She gave me a tight smile, her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched our interaction. “Very well. Violet, go ahead, dearest.”
The white Persian hopped up onto the table from her lap and settled down to devour the raw pile of meat on top of the salad.
“I’m familiar with your true mother’s history, though…” She frowned, her jaws tensing a moment before she shrugged. “I can’t say her name. I suppose that was part of her grand scheme to ensure you never swore allegiance to the Triune. Which is why I’ve summoned you to Rome.”
Gina stepped closer to the table and laid a heavy-looking envelope on the table between us. “I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, but her mother made sure she was sworn to the Triunes at birth, as customary for newborn queens.”
Triunes—plural? Because if I had to swear to one… Why not swear me to all? It sounded like something my politically-savvy mother would have done.
Esetta had gone to great lengths to ensure my freedom. If she’d been forced to swear me to the Triune when I was still an infant, I could totally see her swearing me toallof them so that I still had options.
“Oh?” Marne arched a brow but didn’t move to pick up the paper. “How convenient. A piece of paper can be easily forged, especially when it was never lodged formally to the Triune consiliari at the time of her super-secret birth.”
“It was sealed with the blood of two other witnesses,” Gina replied.
Marne waved her hand dismissively.
“Both queens,” Gina continued. “Or so I was told.”
Now that interested Marne. Eyes narrowed she leaned forward, snatched up the envelope, and broke the wax seal. “Her sister won’t convince me. Who else did she embroil in this mockery?”
Now I was just as curious. Another queen had known of my birth this entire time and acted as a witness? But who?
Marne pulled out a single sheet of parchment. As she read, her fingers convulsed on the paper, until she finally crinkled it up into a ball. She gave me a tight smile, though her eyes blazed with fury. “Of course. I should have known.”
She threw the wad into the pond beside our table.
I hoped my mouth wasn’t hanging open with surprise.
