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“Did you ever love me?” I asked the man before me, his hair graying and balding on the top. “Or did you only want me for my powers?”

The man who called himself king chuffed a laugh. “Let’s not pretend this was anything other than what it was. I wanted a powerful mage to be my queen, the fact that you were beautiful was only an added benefit.” His beady gaze leered over my body, making the layers of my dress almost nonexistent.

“And you wanted to be in a place of power. You got what you wanted. So why are you complaining?” He lifted his golden chalice to his lips, gulping down the wine like a disgusting pig. Dribbles of the dark red liquid dripped out and stained his ostentatious golden shirt.

Gold. Gold. Gold.

That was all my husband thought about. Gold clothes, gold curtains, even our fucking bed sheets were golden. If I didn’t see the ugly yellow brown color again, it still wouldn’t be long enough.

The Kingdom of Phrygia hadn’t been poor when I appeared, per se, but they weren’t rich. Not like the neighboring kingdoms that were readying their armies to take the little place over. It was probably why Midas didn’t think too far into my background before he agreed to marry me.

Lady Eva of Barrowhallow. A made-up name if anyone had ever heard it. And yet, all I had to do was charm my way into the right party, rub arms and flirt with the right aristocrat, and then I was being invited to the palace, twirling around the ballroom in a gown I’d sewn myself and jewels I’d glamoured to look real.

The king was smitten at the first look of me. Or at least in lust. When he learned of what I could do with my magic, he proposed that very evening. Years later, and here we were. The richest kingdom in the continent, no heir, and no closer to my revenge on the mages.

“We can’t go on like this,” My fingers trailed the satin tablecloth. “The mages are gaining more power every day. Soon, they will overrun the kingdom. Then the humans — you and your daughter included — will be nothing more than cattle to them.”

Midas waved me off as he had every time we’d had this conversation. “The mages serve the crown. You are making something out of nothing, Eva. Go back to planning your parties and flower arranging. Don’t you have a lover you’ve been keeping? Is he not keeping you satisfied?”

The nasty gleam in his gaze kept me from gasping at his question. It was no secret the king bedded whoever he wanted and often. Most nights, I didn’t even bother waiting for him to call for me, knowing he’d have whoever was the newest prettiest noble in the court in his bed.

But the fact that he knew of Ferdinand made my gut clench with anxiety.

“I won’t be brushed aside anymore, husband,” I snarled, placing my hand fully on the table before him. “You are a weak and greedy man, who cares more for getting your cock sucked than your people. I won’t let you be blinded by your pride.”

He threw his head back and laughed, pouring himself another drink. “And what are you going to do about it, dear wife?” He spat the word like a curse and not an endearment. “You were nothing more than a gutter rat slut before I picked you out of the crowd. You should be begging to suck your husband’s cock every day for deigning to allow you to call yourself queen.”

My magic burned underneath my skin, a snarling whirling infection that pushed and fought against my restraint. I could kill him right here. I could wrap my hands around that body part he loved so much and turn it into the gold he so adored. He’d never fuck me or any other unsuspecting young woman again.

Yet, it wasn’t enough. It would only end with my head on the chopping block. Too many knew of my powers. Too many would look my way if my dear husband died by magical causes.

No, it had to be subtler, something a low born would do.

I calmly sat on the chair beside him, poured a glass of wine, and pushed it toward him. “You’re right, husband. I have been nothing but wretched to you. I apologize. I just worry. You don’t hear the way they talk about me when your back is turned.”

Midas huffed, nodding. “No matter what I say about you, it wouldn’t do for them to be talking ill of the queen. I will take care of it.” He lifted the chalice to his lips and drained it once more. A loud wet belch left his mouth before he smacked his lips and leered at me once more. “Now, my love, show me how grateful you are to your husband.”

I smiled prettily at him. “Oh, I already have.”

The king stared up at me with a perplexed expression before his face turned red. His hand scratched at his throat as he fought against the poison that ran through his system.

I propped myself up on the edge of the dining table, lifting the goblet he’d been drinking to my nose before sniffing it with a grimace.

“You poison yourself every day with this trite and never noticed I’d added something extra to it this time.” I gave the barest of smiles before setting the cup back on the table. “You are a sniveling, worthless excuse for a man. The kingdom will prosper once you are gone and I’m their queen.”

He reached out to me, his eyes full of wild rage, foam and spittle spewing from his lips. I laughed as he pawed at me, his strength leaving him too quickly for him to do any damage.

I pulled a cloth from my sleeve and patted my cheeks with a sniff. “Snow and I will mourn you in public, of course. But I will dance on your grave, knowing weak men like you will never run this kingdom ever again.”

Drawing in a deep breath, I screamed and stumbled away from the table. I thought of what my mother looked like that day in the square after the mages had gotten their hands on her. Her lifeless eyes staring at nothing, her mouth open in a silent scream. The tears flowed freely then, and I crumbled to the ground.

Guards rushed into the dining room, their swords drawn, eyes frantically searching for the source of my screams.

“Your king,” I shouted, pointing a finger at the already dead man, his face squished into his porridge. “Someone has poisoned your king!”

A guard coddled me close to him, while they called for a doctor. I sniffled and wailed into the guard’s chest, playing the grieving widow while, on the inside, I crowed with victory.

No longer would I have to simper and play the docile bitch for a hairbrained king. It would be me on the throne and then real change could begin. The mages wouldn’t know what hit them.

“This has gotten out of hand.” Adam’s voice filtered through the dining room.

My brows furrowed. Adam? What was he doing here?

The vision of my triumph melted away only to be replaced by a scene of his office. All five of my mages sat around the room. Anxiety, rage, and sorrow painted their faces. I would have expected Zane to be the worst of the five, since it was his demon who had stabbed me.

Right, I had been stabbed. I glanced down at my body. The gown I’d worn in the palace had been replaced with the dress I’d been wearing before, blood decorated the front of it, marring the violet color an ugly brownish red.

Was I dead? I didn’t feel dead. Though, I suppose I wouldn’t know how being dead felt. If being dead felt like any of my other dreams where my magic pulled me out of my body to spy on who I really wanted to see.

“You think?” Luke snapped, jumping to his feet. “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t locked her away again.”

“We agreed it was for the best.” Adam tried to placate his friend.

“No, you decided,” Blake snarled, Izzy growling at his feet. “You decided what was best, like you always do. No one else’s opinions matter when it comes to the great Arch Mage.” He spat the words as if they burned his mouth.

“They have a point.” Zane stared down at his feet, his glasses in his hands. He lifted his head, and those beautiful hazel eyes hardened on Adam and Gage. “We should have been working with Eva from the beginning to find a solution. Instead, you made it us against her.”

“The way it should be,” Gage interrupted. “It’s always been us against the world. Why should a woman be any different?”

“Because she’s different,” Zane roared, jumping to his feet. “And if you don’t see that, you are a fool and a coward.”

Gage stepped up to Zane, towering over the cleric. “I am not a coward.”

Zane laughed, a bitter sound in his throat. “You can face down death every day and still be a coward, because you refuse to open yourself up to others. You do more than hide behind your mask every day.” Zane's face swung toward Adam. “And you, behind your position.”

Clearing his throat, Zane placed his glasses back on his face. “Unless it was unclear before, I stand by Eva’s side. I choose her.”

“We do, too,” Luke stated, while Blake nodded in agreement.

“And if you continue to fight against her, you’ll have to fight us too.” Zane’s eyes narrowed, a hardened edge to his expression that I’d only ever seen on the demon’s face.

“We don’t want to fight her,” Adam interjected, dragging his hands through his hair before throwing his arms up with a sigh. “We fucked up, alright?! Eva was right from the beginning. The council, sans Nick, was never going to compromise enough to let the humans be free. I thought I could change them, that I could get through to them.”

Adam shook his head and flopped back into his chair, his fingers rubbing his temples. “Why did I think I was the one who could make a difference when my grandfather couldn’t get them to budge?”

“At least, you’re trying.” Gage turned away from Zane. “The last person they sent me to assassinate wasn’t even some high-powered mage. It was just some nobody with barely a blip of power.”

“What?” Luke’s brows furrowed. “Why would they choose someone like that?”

“I looked into it.” Gage pulled his small square from his pocket, flicking across the screen before holding it up to them. “They’ve been sending me after human sympathizers. Anyone who might cause a problem in the future.”

“Culling the herd before they can rise up against them.” Adam nodded with a serious tone. “I wouldn’t put it past them. I don’t know if my grandfather was aware of these, but I will get with Nick to put a stop to any executions that don’t have just cause.”

“What about the other council members?” Luke brought his arms crossed over his chest as he stared Adam down. “They won’t just let Eva live. Not after they find out that Beatriz died by her hand.”

Adam and Gage exchanged a look before turning their attention back to their friends.

“We’ll decide together,” Adam announced, earning an approving round of smiles from the others. “But first, we need to take care of Eva.”

My vision grew dimmer as Gage moved toward the door. “I’ll take care of her. After all, that knife was meant for me.”