Page 131 of Cherish

I’m not sure if I’m intrigued or revolted. I mean, who goes out of their way to deliberately sound like a rattlesnake? And is it a warning to her mother or the rest of the world?

Does it matter? Either way, something doesn’t seem quite right, even before I get my first glimpse into her eyes—and the dark sadness there that she doesn’t even try to hide.

She really is quite beautiful, but somehow that only makes the murkiness of her dark energy more prominent.

She doesn’t stop until she’s to the right of the Shadow Queen’s throne. I expect her to speak, but instead she just stands there, meeting each one of our gazes individually.

Judging from the looks on my friends’ faces, they aren’t any more impressed with meeting her than I am. Eden looks annoyed. Macy looks revolted. And Hudson—Hudson looks very, very cautious.

My mate enjoys few things more than matching wits with someone new, so his concern makes me even more nervous that something could go wrong here. Especially since it’s clear that the Shadow Queen loves this girl very, very much.

I can see it in the way she looks at her and in the way she moves quickly—very quickly—to put herself between her daughter and the rest of us, almost as if she considersusa threat toher. The idea is absurd, given some of the things we’ve heard about Liana, and yet…and yet it almost makes sense, too, as I get my first good look at her.

“What are you doing in here?” the Shadow Queen demands.

Liana holds up the bucket of purple popcorn like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I stopped by to say hello on the way to movie night.”

Her voice is ice-cold and contemptuous—and gets even more so when she looks us over. “So these are the paranormals you’ve been searching for? I have to be honest, Mummy. They don’t look so scary to me.”

The Shadow Queen blocks her path, refusing to let her get any closer to us. As Liana’s eyes shine black, I can’t help wondering if it’s for her protection—or for ours. “Go back to your room, darling. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

She ignores her mother, stepping around the queen to get a better look at us. “What do you want with them, anyway?”

When the Shadow Queen doesn’t answer, she repeats herself, this time posing the question to us.

Except none of us answers, either. Making a deal with the Shadow Queen is one thing—getting in the middle of what looks like a very delicate relationship between her and her daughter is something else entirely.

“Guards!” the Shadow Queen calls.

There’s an urgency in her voice now that is just as surprising to witness as the earlier softness directed at Liana.

“You can go,” she tells us in a desperate voice as the guards forming a semicircle around the throne shift into a barrier between us and Liana.

“Just like that?” Flint asks, sounding as surprised as I feel. It seemed like she was settling in to do a whole spider/fly routine with us before letting us go.

Liana looks between her mother and us, and I can see the moment she figures out this has something to do with her sister. Her mouth tightens, her skin flushes, and her eyes turn into black pools of hatred and rage.

“You’re going after Loreleiagain?” she demands, her voice harsh. “After what happened the last time, you promised you would stop.”

“I’m not the one going after her—”

“Even worse, you’re hiring them to do it,” she sneers. “More time, money, hope wasted because, as usual, nothing matters as much to you as your precious Lorelei.”

The Shadow Queen waves for the guards to stand down, then turns to her daughter. “That’s enough, Liana. Go to the movie room, and I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

“Don’t bother.” Liana gives her mother a look of complete and utter disdain, right before she turns the bucket of popcorn upside down and sends the kernels scattering all over the floor. “I’d rather spend another night in the dungeon than be with you.”

And then she storms out, leaving us alone with a bunch of Shadow Guards and a very shaken-looking Shadow Queen. If she was anyone else, I might pity her. As it is, I just feel sorry in general, for the whole awful situation. And for the rest of us, who are going to have to risk our lives for at least two people who don’t appear to deserve the sacrifice.

The Shadow Queen doesn’t have much else to say after we meet Liana, although I’d be lying if I said the whole interaction didn’t bother me at least a little bit. The last thing I want is to feel sorry for the Shadow Queen, but watching her with Liana and seeing how desperate she is to reunite with Lorelei… It makes it hard not to feel some sympathy for her.

Still, I’m more than ready to leave when the Shadow Queen turns to us and says, “My guards are waiting to take you wherever you want to go.” As she does, the fact that she looks a lot older than she did just a few minutes ago isn’t lost on me.

The thought of going back in that paddy wagon that brought us here has panic rising inside me. There’s no way I’m letting them tie us up again. And there’s no way inhellI’m letting them blindfold and gag us a second time.

My thoughts must show on my face, because the Shadow Queen gives us a thin blade of a smile. “You have my assurance that it will be a much more comfortable ride this time around.”

“Could you be a little more specific?” Eden asks.

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