Page 43 of Midnight Deception

“Of course not, Your Majesty,” I reply in my sweetest, over-the-top voice, dropping into a shallow curtsy.

Her eyes narrow in anger, but it’s gone in a moment as she sits forward and brushes her hand down her luxurious black dress. It’s figure hugging and gives her a very regal appearance. She doesn’t need her crown and jewels to make her stand out as royalty, her attitude alone screams entitled queen.

“The ball was entertaining last night,” she starts, her words weighted.

I’m assuming she means her little surprise at the end of the ball, which resulted in me being knocked unconscious when I lost control of my magic and tried to kill her before being dragged back to my rooms. Not my finest moment, and not exactly discreet. The rumour mill will be running at full force today, with everyone guessing who Nicolai is to me and why he was brought here. I’m hoping that no one else saw my spur-of-the-moment murderous intent, and I’m sure the queen will find a way to work it to her advantage.

However, instead of scolding me for my loss of control, she surprises me with her next question.

“What did Master Maliki have to say? He looked pretty put out when Atlas cut into your dance.”

That’swhat she wants to know? What the leader of the werewolf hating sect was talking to me about? Is this another bout of jealousy showing through, or is there more to it than that? I don’t miss the fact that she brought up Atlas, and his presence here is a warning sign. My eyes flick up to my mate. No doubt she’s already questioned him and wants to hear my answer, so lying won’t help me, especially when her lie detector is sitting in the corner of the room. The question is how much to tell her.

Humming, I push back some of my hair that’s fallen forward, the heat in the room making it frizzy and hard to control. “He wanted to warn me,” I finally admit, omitting as much information as I can.

“Oh? Go on.” Acting as though this news is uninteresting, she waves her wrist at me to continue, but she can’t hide her eagerness, as she sees exactly what I’m attempting to do.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I decide there’s no harm in telling her the absolute basics. “His sect wants me gone, and threatened that if I didn’t leave, he would kill me.”

After all, their ultimate goal aligns with mine. I want to get the hell out of here. I’m not about to tell her his theory that Atlas isn’t truly my mate, nor what he said about the queen not letting me go. I need more information before I confront her about that.

“That snake,” she hisses, the change in her instantaneous, showing just how volatile she is under that sedate mask she wears. I wonder just how many of her subjects have seen thetruenature of the queen.

“His whole group is becoming a problem.” Her expression turns contemplative, her frustration making her face pinched as she taps her fingers against the arm of the couch. “They used to be useful, but we’ve let them go untamed for too long, and now they are sticking their noses into things they shouldn’t.” She’s not talking to me but muttering to herself. None of this will be information she wants me to know, but she’s so outraged by what I’ve told her that she seems to have forgotten I’m here. Atlas probably shouldn’t be hearing this either, seeing as he belongs to the sect, and when my eyes flick to him, he seems conflicted, yet no one says anything or moves a muscle in case we bring the wrath of the queen down on us.

Her eyes clear, and I see she’s made a decision. Turning on the couch, she meets the gaze of her dark shadow. “We might need to deal with them soon. I want you to monitor them and report back to me.”

The male simply nods his head, his expression staying blank as he cracks his knuckles, almost like he expects her to order him to fight them immediately. This tells me exactly how the queen deals with her enemies, and it causes a chill to shoot down my spine.

“Anyway…” Her attention settles on me, and I see the moment she realises she just revealed more than she meant to. Clearing her throat, she sits forward and repositions her dress around her legs as she tries to brush it off as if it’s nothing, changing the subject completely. “Your dress last night was… spectacular. Almost the mirror of mine, in fact.” I can hear just how much she hates to admit it, the tightness around her eyes another tell-tale sign of her annoyance.

Her comment catches me off-guard. When I was marched here to speak to the queen before I was allowed to see my friend whom she kidnapped as a gift, I didn’t think that we’d be standing around discussing dresses. However, as I think about it, I guess it makes sense. She’s offended by my outfit and that it pulled attention from her.

I know Luna designed it for me, and when I’d seen the queen’s dress, I thought they looked similar, hers the dark counterpart to mine. Her reaction now, though, makes me wonder just where Luna had found her inspiration. Had she been deliberately trying to get a rise from the queen, and I unwittingly flaunted that in her face? From what I’ve learned of Luna, I don’t think she would have done that, at least not without giving me a heads-up. With my dress sparkling and dazzling like the stars, I have to admit that my outfit pulled more attention. That was something I hadn’t wanted but knew was inevitable, and a part of me is smug about the fact that I outshone a queen.

The queen raises a brow impatiently, and I realise she’s waiting for a response. “Thank you. Luna had it made for me,” I comment with a small smile, a hint of pride slipping into my voice. I wish the other witch was here. I feel like I need backup for this conversation.

“Yes.” The queen wrinkles her nose at the name, but her eyes flash with victory, and I see I just stepped right into her trap. “Luna…” She extends the name and clucks her tongue in disappointment. “I’ve already had words with her about that.”

A terrible feeling fills me as I start putting things together. This is why she brought up my dress, because she knew it would lead us to this conversation. It also explains why Luna isn’t here, especially when she’s been present for all of my other meetings with the queen. Has she been punished somehow? From the corner of my eye, I notice Kano flinch beside me, but he says nothing, which tells me what I need to know. Luna was hurt because she helped me last night, because she dared to make me shine under the queen’s dark rule.

All pretence of pleasantries drops, and I widen my stance, ready to fight or flee if necessary. Star struggles in my chest, braying to be let loose, and while I long for her comforting presence, I know the queen will take my wolf as a threat. Even the darkness within me wakes, paying attention to what’s going on around us, ready to step in if needed.

“Where is she?” I demand, my voice hard.

Snorting, the queen waves a hand dismissively, giving off an air of indifference despite the gleam in her eye. She knows she’s hit a nerve, hurting me by hurting the other witch, and that brings her joy. “Oh, she’s fine and will be back in no time. Don’t worry about her.” Pursing her lips, she looks over my defensive stance, and a slow smirk crosses her face. “Did you like your gift?”

Finally. I knew this was the real reason she called me here, to flaunt that she’s got one of my loved ones. Not only that, but the way she presented him and speaks about him is done on purpose to get a rise out of me, and it’s working.

A gift. As if you can just give a person as a gift. Nicolai isn’t an inanimate object you can pass around and possess. He’s a living, breathing male and a large part of my life. Anger bubbles up within me, and I have to take several deep breaths to calm myself enough so I can speak without snarling.

“Where is he?” I wanted to ask the second I stepped into the room, but I knew she wouldn’t tell me. She likes to play her little games, so I simply let her. However, I can only go so far, and I’m out of patience.

Jutting out her chin and giving me a look that radiates superiority, she crosses her arms over her chest. “You’ll be taken to see him once we’ve finished our little chat.” Tilting her head to one side, she examines me with an exaggerated expression, her brows raised. “You don’t seem very grateful that I went through all the trouble of getting your friend for you. He was in a terrible state when we found him,” she says innocently, giving me a sickly sweet smile and batting her eyelashes.

Usually I’d get frustrated at this obvious baiting, but honestly, she’s right. The last time I saw him, I thought it might be for the last time. My chest aches with remembered pain, tightness banding around me and making it harder to take a breath. A slight tugpulls in my chest, and without meaning to, my eyes fly up and meet Atlas’s. He seems just as surprised as I feel, especially that he’s trying to comfort me in front of others, but it helps settle me, the tight feeling around me loosening enough so I can take a deep, calming breath. The ache is still there and will be until I know what’s happening with Nicolai, but I also need to be able to function to make sure he’s okay.

Dragging my attention from Atlas, I meet the queen’s stare. “He was dying,” I whisper, my voice croaking with emotion. Showing this vulnerability to the queen is dangerous, because she knows all she has to do is threaten his safety and I’ll jump through whatever hoops she tells me to.

---