Page 108 of Treasured
Ciro, my trusted priest who’d advised me in the ways of Ithiar, the god of blood, for centuries.
Ciro, the priest who had Tethered Sebastian and that bitch.
Ciro, another who betrayed me.
Bitterness ran through me. More screams. I pounded the ice. I threw blasts of shadows at the walls. The prison shook. Icicles fell in haphazardous piles. My anger was a furious beast, demanding more, more, more. I screamed and cried and yelled until my throat was raw.
Pieces fell into place. Betrayal had occurred right before my eyes.
Fury pounded through my veins, unlike anything I’d ever felt.
I would make them pay for this—all of them. When I was done, no one in Eleyta would ever forget the name Queen Marguerite Coraline Amélie Montquartier.
I was the most powerful of them all, and they were fooling themselves if they ever thought otherwise.
Snowball Fights, Laughter, and Very Serious Conversations
LUNA
“I’m not an infant, Lulu.” Marius crossed his arms, glaring at me as we walked down the stone hallways of the abbey. Well, if pressed, I could concede that “walked” was a slight overstatement. We moved at a slow and leisurely pace, one I was certain wouldn’t break my little brother. He added, “We can move faster than snails stuck in a snowstorm. I promise I won’t break.”
“Marius, you’ve only been awake for four days,” I reminded him, taking another tiny step down the hallway.
He bounced on the balls of his feet. “Yes. Four long days.”
I frowned. “I’m not sure it’s safe. I don’t want to push you too hard.” What if the Wasting Illness wasn’t gone? What if it was hiding in his body, waiting for the opportunity to pounce?
Marius blinked a few times and then turned, looking behind me. “Vampires can go outside at night, right, Sebastian?”
I swiveled on my feet, glaring at my husband, who had been following us silently up until now. His eyes widened, and he looked between Marius and me, clearly trying to decide what to say.
Sebastian swallowed. “Yes, vampires belong beneath the moon.”
I growled his name through our bond, and Sebastian moved in a blur to stand beside me, pecking my cheek. Sorry, darling. I couldn’t ignore the question.
“See!” Marius jumped in the air and pumped his fist. “Let’s go.”
He had taken the news of my Making well. Too well, if I was being honest. Growing up in Ipotha, we’d always known vampires existed, but I would have thought he’d be at least a little upset about it. Instead, my brother had shrugged and told me he was happy I was here.
Honestly, I felt the same way. Seeing Marius like this—healthy and able to walk without having to stop for frequent breaks—made my heart sing.
“Please, please, please,” Marius begged in the way that only ten-year-olds seemed capable of doing. “I want to go outside and feel the air on my face.”
I rubbed my arms. “I don’t know. What if the weather’s bad?”
I was pulling at straws now. Marius knew it, too.
“It’s a flurry,” my brother said, pointing out the nearest window. “Barely any snow.”
Damn.
Sebastian chuckled, and I glowered at him. “Is something amusing you, oh Prince of Darkness?”
He shrugged, his eyes crinkling in amusement. “It’s a little funny, that’s all. Watching you get a taste of your own medicine.”
I gasped in mock indignation. Truth be told, I was a little stubborn. Nothing like this, though. Right?
“Fine,” I groused. It was clear this argument wasn’t going anywhere. “We’ll go outside,”—I turned to Marius and pointed to him—“but you need to wear a cloak, hat, and mittens. I won’t take any chances that you get sick again.”