Page 44 of Forgotten Queen

Chapter XXI

Iswungaroundather words, breaking contact with the tree and shattering the little bit of progress I’d managed.

“Um, run that by me again. Was that a joke?”

“Did it sound like a joke?” Hecate asked in a confused tone.

I wasn’t fooled. Hecate had a habit of revealing bits of information in a careless way, like telling me Cole was the King of Hell, all the while being completely aware of what she was doing.

“You’re saying I have tomarryCole?”

The enchantress shrugged. “It’s a boon if the ruling couple is joined in such a way, but it’s hardly required. The crown follows power, not matrimony.”

“Then wouldn’t that makeyouqueen?”

Hecate laughed at that. “It doesn’t work that way. My power is not the kind meant for ruling.” She turned to face the tree. “Alas, I could spend a hundred days trying to give new life to this tree, but it would reject every attempt. Soteria, this isyourdomain. Even the king himself would fail here.”

“What if I can’t? I know you all seem to think I’m the reincarnation of Cole’s old queen, but I’m justme. A shifter reject.” The old wound surfaced, an ache of longing, of not being good enough. I didn’t know if it was worse for no one to ever expect anything of me except to serve as a punching bag or to face impossible expectations. They’d thickened in the air, the people always watching and observing. On the occasion Daphne and I had gone back into town, it was impossible to miss. As much as I loved the city, I’d begun to feel like a failure just by walking around.

“Do not doubt yourself in this, Soteria.” She slid her hand over mine, drawing it to the tree. “You have more power than you know if you’d only claim it. It is crucial you do. This tree is like the realm. Dead. Decaying. But it was not always like this, and you can stop it from descending into rot for eternity. The path of souls has been disrupted, the cycles malformed.” At my look of confusion, she shook her head. “It will make sense in time. For now, spend your days here. Practice your magic. Learn the people and they will grow to love you as this tree will grow anew once you harness your magic.”

Her hand slid off mine. I pressed my hand into the withered bark, trying to draw at tendrils of magic as if I could force new life into the tree. Frustration gnawed at me. Failure. The taste of it was bitter on my tongue.

Bitter and familiar.

“You will learn, Soteria. But I fear you must do it quickly.”

I flicked my eyes to her. “Why?”

It was rare for Hecate to avoid my gaze. Now, the witch focused her attention on the tree, as if it held all the answers. “Consequences, Avery.Everythinghas consequences. That which came to pass a hundred years ago haunts us. As does what occurred a month ago. I can only hope we will all be prepared.”

With that, Hecate left me in a puff of purple smoke. Another ominous end to a conversation. I should make business cards that said AVERY WARD: RECIPIENT OF VAGUE BAD NEWS AND REINCARNATION OF THE FORMER QUEEN OF HELL.

I refocused my attention on the tree. Although Hecate seldom gave me complete answers, she was probably my most reliable source of information. And if she said I needed to learn to master this skill, well, I wasn’t doing anything else particularly useful with my time in Hell. I spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon focused on the tree.

There was something to the tree, something I couldn’t grasp. Daphne found me hours later, sweat pouring down my back as I pressed my palms against the nearly petrified bark over and over, trying to create new life where there was none.

But failure remained my constant companion. It dogged me all day, and when I fell asleep, once more alone in that massive bed, I wondered if Cole was as disappointed in me as I was in myself.

But when I awoke, he wasn’t there for me to ask either.

Instead, there was a letter slipped under the edge of the door with my name on it.

Chapter XXII

Irosefromthebed in a hurry once I spied the letter by the door. Could it be from Cole?

It had been days since I’d seen Cole. Apparently, my urging him to return to his unspecified kingly duties had been taken a bit too seriously.

I kind of missed the grump.

Scratch that. I missed him like I’d miss a limb, constantly reaching for it and somehow handicapped by the phantom loss. Even though everything told me it was unwise to want more from Cole, that there were too many secrets, too many unnamed threats for me to explore whatever attraction there was between us, it was no good. My chest ached anyway.

I picked up the letter and flipped it open so quickly I cut my hand on the stiff paper. The wound sealed in seconds, but blood decorated the edges of the parchment. I didn’t care.

Disappointment sliced through me as I read it.

It was immediately obvious the letter was not from Cole.

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