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“Don’t tell me what to do,” Cinder says in a sing-song voice. “I’ll ask again…”

She stabs him in the side opposite where he’s already bleeding, and Silla gasps in horror.

“Cinder, please!” she screams. “He’s done nothing wrong. If you do this, you are a monster.”

“Sister, dear,” Cinder laughs. “My mind is deteriorating. I’m not even completely sure this is real. Your name is Kal, isn’t it? Let’s start with something easy. Who is your mother?”

Blood roars in my ears because Cinder has to know that Charming had a sister. I beg the Gods to spare him, but I think they’ve become deaf to the prayers of those who live in Forbach.

“I’m an orphan,” Kal bites out. “I grew up in an orphanage.”

“Boo hoo. Doesn’t anyone have a happy childhood these days? My father was a pedophile, Drizella’s mother is a bullying narcissist… Gods, it would be refreshing if someone had a decent childhood,” Cinder snarls.

Silla’s jaw drops at her admission. “Wait, what? You’re not saying your father hurt you, are you?”

“I was his first victim,” Cinder says, rolling her eyes. “He was a prominent man in the community, was invited into everyone’s homes, and was a predator. I don’t know if your mother knew, or if she was just after his money. I hated you for years because you took my vengeance from me. I had dreams of killing him, and I didn’t have a chance to.”

“I’m so sorry,” Sila breathes, tears slipping from her eyes. “I had no idea.”

“Of course not. He was so loving, wanted to know everything about you, and married someone with two beautiful daughters,” the queen scoffs. “The man was the ultimate predator.”

Cinder twists the knife inside of Kal as if to remind him she’s here, and his light blue eyes well with tears from the pain as he grunts.

“Your Majesty, don’t play with your food,” Ayden tells her. “Let him go, purge this pain you so obviously feel.”

Oh Gods, the psychotic golden retriever is playing at being a therapist. What else can we do though?

“Don’t psychoanalyze me, Ayden. You’re gorgeous, but you can’t handle this level of crazy,” Cinder yells.

“Try me,” he says, rolling his eyes. “I pull the wings off butterflies for fun. Let the boy go.”

“I want to fuck in warm blood, Mistress,” Lana coos. “Kill the boy. The king has cooled too quickly. His cock is still hard. I wonder if it still works.”

Cinder laughs manically, pulling the knife out of Kal. “How many times have you fucked my husband, you little whore? I thought you loved me!”

Oh, this is going to be a lovers’ quarrel and a blood bath. Cool, cool. Fuck me.

Cinder wrenches Kal’s head back until he’s gritting his teeth as he looks at her.

“Do you have anything to tell me before you die?” she asks, canting her head to the side.

There are no good choices as Kal bravely says, “No. Long live the Underground and the new queen.”

There’s a bated breath before Silla breathes, “No…”

Cinder swipes the incredibly sharp knife across Kal’s throat, and then I hear a very male scream that can only be Falcon. It looks like we’ll be fighting our way out of here after all.

Long live the new queen indeed.

Twenty-Six

KENZO

My throat hurts. Why does it hurt?

I watch in horror as my brother’s blood sprays from his throat. His mouth is open, but even from here I can see the fierceness in his blue eyes. I’m supposed to be protecting Kal, not the other way around.

Fuck, why did you have to be so loyal? Why couldn’t you have given up a name, something? A part of me says it wouldn’t have mattered. Things were always going to end this way. I can’t protect the people I love, and this is the Gods reminding me.