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Cinder screams in anger, the sound piercing and angry. I’m surprised she hasn’t tried to call the guards, but the writing is on the wall. We’ve been busy, after all.

“You know nothing,” she growls, throwing herself at Silla.

I tense, pulling a knife from my belt, waiting for an in.

“There’s a knife in her boot,” Gray breathes in my ear as Cinder connects with Silla’s body, knocking her to the ground.

Silla stabs Cinder in the neck with the poisoned hair pin, throwing it toward us so it can’t be used against us. Ayden lunges for it, pocketing the pin, his eyes on Silla as she catches the knife as her step-sister attempts to stab her.

“You’re a rapist!” Silla screams, pushing the knife away from her chest.

“No, no what? I’m not,” Cinder’s voice becomes small and confused. Little footprints run, and Ayden’s eyes lift to track Lana racing away.

“Bitch, you’re mine,” he growls, giving chase.

“I hope the little psycho makes it hurt,” Gray chuckles, his tone amused. I think the nickname is actually a tone of endearment.

“Yes, yes you are,” Silla says, bucking and twisting her body until the knife is pinned over Cinder’s head. “Power and psychosis have warped your mind. It’s time for your reign to end.”

My feet start moving before I even realize it to help her. Dropping to my knees, I shove my knife into the space between Cinder’s ribs.

“I wish you a painful afterlife,” I curse her, driving the knife upward toward her heart. “I wish your death could be more painful, but I do not take pleasure in loss of life. Even for those who are depraved clitheads.”

Silla’s lips twitch in ill-disguised amusement, her hands pinning Cinder’s arms, her knees tightly clamping down on her body. Every desperate twist is met with a denial of movement until my knife punctures her heart. The poison is beginning to dull the sharpness of her eyes, her body losing its strength in her last moments. In theory it doesn’t take long, but time feels suspended as I kill the false queen. She’s never been mine, and I refuse to recognize her.

“Drizella, please,” are the last words she breathes as I yank the knife out of her body after twisting it inside of her for maximum damage.

“Stand, Mistress. You don’t need any more blood on you, my love,” I murmur, rubbing her arm. Forcing her hands to relax, she allows me to pull her up to stand next to me. Life is draining quickly out of Cinder’s body, her eyes quickly dimming.

“Ding, dong, is the queen dead?” Ayden calls out as he walks back into the room.

“Almost there,” Grayson tells him. “Did you get the girl? She seriously creeps me out.”

“The little black-haired demon is dead. I snapped her neck and shoved her in a closet.”

Cinder whimpers, and Silla’s hands fist.

“Now, now, Cinder don’t be dramatic. You’re the villain in this story, regardless of what made you like this. Let us all heal from your special brand of torture,” Ayden tells her as he arrives by our side. As Cinder takes her last breath, her eyes wide open as if in surprise, he desecrates the body by spitting on her. “I believe we have things to do now, friends to bury.”

I turn slowly, to look down at my brother’s body, shuddering. Ayden is right. The rightful queen has to take her new place now that the rest of her opposers will be taking their last breaths. Picking up my phone, I start to place calls to those that I know in the newspaper and television industry, offering them an exclusive for making their way to the castle immediately.

History happens while you’re asking questions, so hold them until we’re done. I’ll come back for my brother’s body after we’re finished. There’s no one who will touch him, I wish to bury him on our estate before I disappear. Silla will have enough work on her hands than to attempt to mend my broken heart.

SILLA

It feels surreal. The halls are still, all of the servants having gone to bed early. Life is never easy when I’m under this roof, and I hate that I have a reputation for Cinder’s worst nights. I somehow brought it out of her, and now I think it’s because I remind her of Marcus Tremaine.

Goosebumps break out along my skin, making me shudder as I think about the horrors my childhood home held. It explains so much about how twisted Cinder became, but she was leading a realm of people who needed her. My step-sister deeply failed them.

Walking out of the deathly quiet castle, I’m met with a dark sky filled with beautiful stars. There is beauty in the darkness, you just have to look for it. Ayden links his finger through mine, sending me his strength.

“I wish this had gone differently,” I whisper as we walk through the front courtyard.

“Me too, Kitten. He was so young, but damn brave.” Ayden sighs.

Kenzo strides past us, the phone up to his ear as he speaks quickly. He’s getting shit done, but there’s a tension in his body that belies the confidence in his tone. He will crack, fall, and scream, but I don’t want him to do it alone. There’s a veil of grief and sadness around him, making me wish for a crystal ball and a time travel device.

Why don’t these things exist yet?