Page 97 of The Heart of Nym (The Twisted Roots Duology #1)

A collective gasp from the subjects filled the room.

Inasha eyed them with annoyance, rolling her eyes and flicking her golden waves over her shoulder.

Nymiria's muscles felt as if they'd turned to stone under her skin, realization hitting her like a strong blow to the gut.

She turned her head just slightly, trying to decipher what Aziel must have felt by looking at him.

He didn't seem shocked or surprised, he just stared ahead with his usual placid expression, eyes void of all emotion.

"Did you know?" Nymiria asked him. "Did you know that it was her?"

Aziel gave a slight shake of his head, his sword lowered just a fraction.

It was a partial truth, one that he hadn't wanted to speak on until he was absolutely certain.

When Oran told him that he suspected something far more sinister happening in the palace, Aziel had made it a mission to uncover the truth.

He spent his days vanishing into the Otherworld during his rounds, doing research, and scouring over tomes and records.

The only reason he suspected that the Mimic who took Camalia's place could be Inasha, was because she'd covered her tracks.

She was the Witch Queen, after all. Her magic defied the forces of nature, so much so that it made it impossible for him to track her.

Aziel eventually began to speculate that only someone with something to hide would cast that strong of a protection spell, and what better reason to do it than taking over someone's entire life?

Who else could be so powerful, they could deceive the gods?

"You… disgust me." Nymiria laughed quietly, all of her energy drained as she looked over her mother's form.

"I knew you weren't the nicest person, nor the best parent, but—" She scoffed and shook her head.

"All of this? Everything that you've done—all of the people that you've tormented.

I don't understand it. I don't see how anyone could ever be this cruel. "

Inasha merely shrugged. "I could have done far worse, darling.

" No, she really couldn't have. Everything her mother had done were the worst possible things that could be done to someone.

"If I disgust you so much, then why are you hesitating?

You should be able to kill me right this second if I was as repulsive as you say I am.

But you can't, can you? Because, despite it all, I am your mother. And you love me."

Nymiria's eyes narrowed at that final sentence.

"I don't know you. How could I possibly love you if I have no idea who you are?

All this time, I tried to believe that there was some good in you, but I don't see anything good left.

I don't see the mother I once believed you to be.

" She snarled. "There was never anything good in you to begin with.

Your family corrupted the Seelie—you turned them into evil creatures, made them believe that the laws of nature were theirs to bend at their own will.

You darkened everything and then you just left. You left me with them."

"Thorn was supposed to protect you."

"How could he? How could he protect me from your people when he had no idea what was going on?"

Inasha's eyes widened in surprise. "You've talked to him?"

"Yes," Nymiria hissed. "Not only have I spoken to him, but I have also met my brother—the child you birthed when you were out here in Yaar trying to destroy everyone's lives, while you were making young boys your sex slaves and killing people just because you felt like it.

So, tell me, what was supposed to come of this?

What were you supposed to receive from this sort of life, mother? "

"Everything I could have ever wanted, Nymiria, and power that Dorid promised me—the power of a god.

" Inasha lifted one shoulder. Her nonchalance was sickening, to say the very least. Everything about this was sickening.

"When Dorid approached me about his little godling son, he wanted the little vermin exterminated like a rat.

But Camalia was too reluctant to kill the boy—she believed that he could do wonderful things and that he had a kind soul.

Which, she was right about." She flashed a loving smile in Aziel's direction, but nothing about it was loving at all.

It was a mockery. A taunt. "Aziel was such a sweet boy. "

Nymiria let out a low growl, her body rumbling as she lunged for her mother. "Don't you fucking look at him, you bitch—"

"Easy, now. Perhaps I have done some pretty awful things, but I am your mother and I will not allow you to call me names in my own home.

" Inasha smoothed her skirts and rose to her feet, her stride sinister and ominous as she walked across the dais, to the side where Aziel stood.

"When it was discovered that we could not kill Aziel, ourselves, there was a plan put in place to keep his power contained so that he would not be a threat to Yaar.

And during this time, Dorid and I grew to like one another.

Not romantically, by any means, but we discovered that we saw the world in similar ways.

He figured that I would benefit his kingdom more than his wife, so I used Blood Magic, killed that little whiny wife of his, and took her place. "

It was cruel. Nymiria was glad that she'd told Oran to run—that she commanded he leave to protect the others.

If he'd heard any of this, she wasn't sure his heart could handle it.

The last thing Nymiria wanted was for another life to be ruined because of her or this creature who birthed her.

They'd already cause enough turmoil as it was.

"You might be wondering why I chose Yaar. Our enemy."

Nymiria didn't really care. The why's and how's weren't nearly as important as Inasha believed them to be.

But, as always, this bitch loved to hear herself talk.

And the more she spoke, the more distracted she became—the less calculated she would be.

So Nymiria let her talk. She would let her tell her story, admire herself, and relish in her greatness so long as it meant that all of this ended with her dead.

Nymiria wasn't scared of killing her mother.

She wasn't even scared of the guilt that would probably never come.

All she could think of, all she saw, was Aziel still standing off to the side.

Every thought that plagued her mind, that fueled her anger, was knowing what her mother had done.

In knowing that, Nymiria could not let that woman leave that room alive.

"I figured that, eventually, this sack of shit would die.

" Inasha nudged Dorid's bloody body with her foot, but the man hadn't moved in quite some time.

It was a wonder he was still breathing with how much blood he'd lost. "I would come into power, and once Yaar was under my control, I would reunite the human realm with the Mystic realms, blast a hole through The Divide, and kill anyone who objected to the unity.

But," she rolled her eyes. "I discovered that Dorid Yaarborough was more fae than I once believed.

Turns out, the bastard could have lived to be the age that I am now.

And, I will be completely honest, I didn't have the time to wait for him to die.

I needed him gone immediately. Which was why I came to you.

" She pointed at Nymiria with a sharpened nail, the tip just as black as her soul.

"When Dorid took me as his new wife, he forced me to make an Unbreakable Vow.

Meaning that if I tried to personally kill him with my own hand, my life would end as well.

What a blessing it was that you showed up here.

Originally, I hoped that you would go on to lead the kingdom, but having you here was also acceptable.

I realized that I could use you, have these bastards make you hate them so that killing them wouldn't be too difficult for you and your precious little heart. "

"Aziel, here, believed that he could keep you from harm by offering himself to me.

But the amendments to our deal were made so complex that there was no way you would have ever been saved from the cruelty of this place.

I needed you where I wanted you, but you still somehow seemed to disappoint me.

As always. Too pure, too loving. Not enough fight in you to complete what needs to be done and even when you did, you'd sulk about it for days on end.

" She observed her from across the way, the way one would observe a bug or diseased rodent.

"How you came from me, I will never truly understand.

You would rather spend your life submitting to that cockless, pathetic lump of lard than to have a crown. "

Nymiria drew in a ragged breath. She could feel the heat rising in her veins, a dangerous heat that was all-consuming, making the inside of her stomach twist. "I would have preferred having a mother who hadn't tainted the entire Seelie court with her dark magic.

I would have preferred to have a good and normal life. "

"You were never destined for a normal life Nymiria—look at you. You are far from normal. You are a goddess."

"You never treated me like one."

"And allow you to become an entitled brat?

I may not be an affectionate mother, but I can at least say that I raised someone with a decent amount of modesty and decorum.

Besides, I didn't expect for either of you to be alive this long.

I hoped that both of you would be dead by now and I would have all of your power to myself.

" The moment Inasha took a step near Aziel, Nymiria felt every hair on her arms stand on end.

Aziel was quick to react, raising his blade fast enough to slice clean through the finger pointed in his direction.