Page 70 of Cruel Queen

“Max is dead, Tanya, so leave his name from your mouth!” I scream.

Melvon is there, and he reaches for Tanya, pulling her away from me.

“Scared, Melvon?” I ask him, laughing. “You should be. Did I tell you who my daddy is?” I sneer. “Let me ask you, who is yours? Because I’m about to destroy every last vampire, so make sure you aren’t around when I do it, Melvon.”

“Talia, you wouldn’t,” Tanya says, shocked.

“I will.” Cinitta follows me as I leave. “They are all going to fucking die!”

ChapterTwenty

TANYA

The fairy with purple hair follows my sister. I just stand there and watch as they walk off.

Does Talia realize what she is doing?

She can’t destroy a whole race.

That’s what the queen did with the seers, and look where that got us. I go to follow her, to tell her that’s crazy, but Melvon pulls me back.

“She can’t,” I plead. “I have to stop her.”

“Did you see her?” he asks, standing in front of me and blocking my path. “Really see her? That is not your sister right now. That’s a woman pained beyond repair. She wants revenge. And revenge is what she will get. And you will not stop her because I can’t risk your life.” His last words make me pause. I stare at him and shake my head. My sister would never hurt me, not in this lifetime and definitely not in the next.

“She would never hurt me.”

“She may not, but she’s done something to our world already. I can feel it changing.” I understand what he is saying. I may not be as powerful as either one of my sisters, but I know that something in the air has changed, and it’s not for the better.

“We need to get back home to tell John and your sister what happened.” Melvon leans in and kisses my lips. It’s soft and tender, everything he is for me. “Don’t worry, okay?” He brushes my hair behind my ears before we turn and start our trek back to the wolves.

* * *

Straight away, I spot Tatiana.

She sits on the grass, her baby asleep next to her, watching her other little one play. I walk over and pick the baby up, cuddling her and keeping her close to my chest as my sister studies me.

“What happened?” she asks.

There was a time when she wouldn’t have had to ask those questions because she would’ve been there. She was the most protective of Talia. But things change, loves change, and I’m not sure how to tell her what happened. “You weren’t able to bring her back?” she asks. “What of Viper?”

“He’s dead,” I tell her. “She did it.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

“The castle has been razed to the ground.” She perks up at that, and her eyes fall on her baby in my arms.

“Did she do that as well?”

“Yes.”

“Shit. She’s angry.”

“She is.” Like I have never seen before. “And there is something else.”

“What?”

“Max is dead.” She freezes, doesn’t even blink, and stays like that for a good minute before finally asking, “Where is she?”

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