Page 5 of Tarnished Queen

“If she’s not, I’ll kill you.”

Christo swallows. “Might put a damper on our budding friendship if you do that.”

“Is that what you call me barely deciding not to murder you? If so, you need to raise your bar,” I tell him. “Besides, I had a best friend. And your comrades killed him.”

He winces. “Then let’s hope Xena and Belle are where they’re supposed to be.”

For his sake—and mine—I hope he’s right.

3

BELLE

Hands are everywhere.

My arms. My legs. I feel straps around my ankles and my midsection, holding me down. But they hardly seem necessary. I barely have the strength to open my eyes.

“Heart rate rising,” a male voice says. “Blood pressure, too.”

“She’s waking up,” a woman agrees.

The strange voices are a shot of adrenaline to my system, but I keep my eyes closed. I have no clue what is going on, and I need a second to figure it all out.

It’s like I’m underwater, treading water and fighting for the surface, but I don’t know which way is up. I’m not even sure how I ended up here.

“Ma’am?” the male voice says, sounding far too gentle to be a kidnapper or assassin. But then again, I thought Xena Simatou was my friend, so what the hell do I know?

Xena.Her name is like a key, unlocking the part of my brain that makes sense of all of this.

Xena picked me up from Nikolai’s house.

Xena tricked me into going with her.

Xena was going to kill me.

“Her heart rate is climbing again,” the female voice says. “Ma’am? Can you hear me?”

I feel a warm hand close over mine, and I squeeze back without thinking. Mostly because I need a hand to hold right now. I need something firm to keep me grounded.

“Hello?” he says again. “Can you hear me? You were in an accident. You’re okay.”

Accident. A car accident.

More bits and pieces come tumbling to the forefront. I remember unbuckling my seatbelt and lunging across the car at Xena. She screamed and we fought, and then…

My eyes flicker open. The lights from the ceiling blind me.

“There she is.” I look over and see the male shape next to me. Slowly, he comes into focus. A middle-aged Black man with a thick, graying beard. “We’re taking good care of you. Try not to worry.”

“Just scrapes and bruises as far as we can tell.” I turn and see Elise sitting next to me.

Then I blink and realize it’s not Elise at all. This woman’s hair is too short and too red, her nails too dainty, her face too angular.

What I wouldn’t give to have my sister next to me, though. To know where she is, that she’s safe.

I hope she found Nikolai. My trust is shaken in almost everything, but I know Nikolai. He’ll take care of her. He’ll protect her.

The man pats my hand again. “But we have you in this brace until we can get X-rays. It’s a precaution.”

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