Page 7 of Treasured

Another stabbing pain, another dagger in my head. I didn’t speak.

One by one, the bloody shards fell to the ground. I focused on Luna’s steady movements as much as possible. Her fingers moved with precision as she methodically cleaned my knuckles.

When the last splinter was out, my skin tingled and stitched itself back together.

Come!

The queen’s summons returned as a shrill cry.

Luna winced. She pressed one hand against her temple, and the other gripped mine tightly.

Another strike to my heart. I caused this. She was in pain because of me.

She gritted through clenched teeth, “There must be some way to stop this.”

The Binding Mark connected us in many ways, including this. She could feel the summons, although I hoped it wasn’t nearly as bad for her as it was for me. If the gods were merciful, they would allow me to bear the brunt of this pain.

Another stab.

Come, Queen Marguerite urged.

Squeezing my eyes shut against the pain, I focused on the feeling of my wife’s fingers against mine.

“Summons are… special,” I said slowly.

“I remember.” She spoke softly, as though she knew I couldn’t handle loud noises right now. “How can we stop it?”

Another dagger to my head.

“Usually, one would… obey the call.” For obvious reasons, disobeying the summons was rarely done.

She snorted. “That’s not an option.”

No, it wasn’t. Not only had the queen—my Maker—tried to kill my wife, but we weren’t strong enough to face her. Not yet.

I’d vowed to kill Queen Marguerite Coraline Amélie Montquartier for what she’d done to Luna—trussing her up like an animal and placing her in a bird cage—but we needed time to prepare. We would only have one shot to kill her, so we had to time it properly.

Luna let go of my hand. Opening my eyes, I dropped to the ground. Letting my head fall back, I tried—and failed—to ignore the throbbing summons.

“There has to be another way.” Luna bent, picking up some fresh snow and wiping it under her eyes to clear the tracks of her blood tears. “We can’t go back.”

“No,” I agreed.

Dropping the snow, she paced in front of me. Her mouth moved, but no words came out as she thought. I’d already learned the best way to work with Luna while she was thinking was to let her be. She’d share her thoughts eventually.

Minutes slipped by.

Every so often, when the queen’s call was especially persistent, Luna pressed a hand against her temple and winced. All in all, she was taking this a lot better than me. Black spots edged at my vision as the pain edged on being too much.

I was a warrior, a master of the shadows, and a renowned killer. I should have been able to handle this, yet a simple summons from my Maker was taking me down.

Hatred for the queen boiled in me. I had never pushed the summons this far. In the past, when the queen called, I obeyed. I was her weapon, and she Made me to do her bidding, not to ask questions.

But that was before Luna. Before I knew what it meant to experience true, all-encompassing love. Before, my existence was gray and black. Now, I saw everything in color.

Luna was everything. I was meant to protect her, and here I was, incapacitated while she marched in front of me.

A black wisp slipped from her hands, wrapping around her arm like a bracelet. The cloak I’d made her wear billowed around her, and she tapped her hand against her thigh.