Page 31 of Bewitched By the Voodoo King (The Bewitching Hour #7)

The longer I sat with my thoughts, the angrier I became.

He wanted me to be completely honest with him?

He wanted me to give away my darkest, deepest secret?

He wanted me to do all of this to get to him, to help his people, and yet…

He had lied to me. Not only had he lied to me, but he had also kept me at arm’s length until he wanted my body.

We were obviously married, so the physical aspect of it all wasn’t truly a complication… But the fact that we were married and he hadn’t told me. He expected transparency and honesty from me ?

My hands shook as I huffed out a laugh. I’d cried off all of my makeup as I waited for Rune to come back to his own room, but he never did. I sat waiting like a desperate idiot. And of course, the longer I waited, the more I was able to think rationally outside of the haze of lust and confusion.

If anyone should be mad, it’s me. I pressed my hands into my face and shook my head. If anyone should be trying to figure out what to do next, it should be me.

He was the Voodoo King, sure. But I was apparently his wife, and that meant something. It had to mean something, and he’d kept it from me. Which only led to more questions.

I splashed water on my face and shook my head as I stared at my puffy, swollen eyes in the mirror. I was tired of waiting. If he wanted to talk and figure this out together, he would have to come find me. I wasn’t going to be the one waiting around for him anymore. I’d done enough of that.

I straightened my shoulders and prayed to whoever was listening that no one would be lurking in the halls at this hour and snuck out of his room. I held my heels in one hand as I raced down the hallways looking for Adelle’s rooms.

A deep breath escaped me as I noticed her door ajar. She was probably awake or drunk. I could deal with either. I was just about to burst through her door and lay it all out at her feet when I heard Rune’s voice.

“You don’t get it!” He was angry this time. I shrunk back from the opening, but kept listening.

“You knew something was up, that’s why you didn’t tell her that she was your wife, and you both were already married upon the marriage contract being signed. I mean, come on, why on earth would her own family want to get rid of her so badly?”

I pressed my hand to my lips to keep from crying out. Adelle? It hurt when everything happened with Rune… but somehow it felt worse hearing Adelle say those words.

“I don’t know,” Rune sighed. “I guess they needed the money that bad.”

The money ? There was money involved?! The knife in my heart twisted deeper, and I swore there were spots in my vision as I swayed in the hallway.

But that still wasn’t the thing that hurt the most. No, what hurt the most was that I thought I finally fit in.

I thought, after all this time, I belonged .

The last person I thought would think anything different of me was Adelle.

But all this time… All this time, she knew something was up with the marriage contract—with me—and she knew I was married to her brother.

I stepped back, heart pounding, and then shoved the door open. Both Rune and Adelle turned toward me, their eyes frozen like deer caught in headlights.

“Don’t stop on my account,” I said, my voice ice-cold. “Please. Continue talking about me like I’m not a real person.”

Rune looked gutted. Adelle’s face fell.

“Maple—” Rune started.

“No. I don’t want to hear it.” My eyes landed on Adelle, I hoped she felt all the pain and anguish that was swirling around inside of me with that one look. “You let me believe we were friends. You let me walk into your home and your party like I mattered. And this whole time, you knew.”

Adelle’s lips parted, but I was already backing away, rage and heartbreak battling in my chest.

“Loyalty was expected from me . Sure, I’m a null.

” A cruel laugh escaped me. “But I am so much more than that, and I thought you both saw me. This whole time, I thought both of you saw the beautiful, brave, smart woman that I am.” For the first time in my life, I felt the words I spoke.

They flowed from me as if I had magic, and maybe I did—at least a little bit.

“I came here and didn’t know about the money or the marriage immediately, but I was hellbent on helping the people here.

I spent countless days and nights in the library trying to help you even though I knew magic wasn’t something I could do. ”

I shook my head. “You’re both ready to put me at the stake, but I tried and I didn’t have to.”

With that, I turned on my heel and left. I didn’t need to say anything else, and I didn’t want to hear what they would say to try to fix it. They couldn’t.

But at least I found myself through it all. I knew that if I was no longer welcomed here, I could make it out there. I could find a place where I belonged, where magic didn’t exist, and I didn’t have to pretend to fit in.