Page 75 of Treasured
The elf ran out of the throne room so fast she nearly slammed into the Favorite standing by the door. I hadn’t played with my pets in a few days. I had no energy left for them.
Everything was going wrong.
My ruby was dimming. Every day, it was less lustrous. Each time I touched it, less power ran through my fingertips.
It needed to recharge.
Standing, I descended from my throne and made my way to my private chambers. My black train swished as I moved, mimicking my shadows. The wind whistled, blowing through the cracks in the stones, and the hallways were empty. The guard outside my room opened the door silently, dipping his head as I passed by.
Ignoring him, I went straight to the enormous gilded mirror on the opposite wall.
The moment I caught sight of my reflection, I screamed.
* * *
The Freedom Revolution was crossing into its second month.
Two gods-damned months of this insanity.
Somehow, the humans were evading my army, moving during the day when vampires could not be out in the sun. There was no way they were working alone, though. Mortals lacked the strength and intelligence required to devise a plan like this on their own.
I would find the traitors responsible for this and destroy them all. I’d bathe in their blood and fall asleep to the tune of their dying wails.
Five generals sat around the large mahogany table in my boardroom, updating me on the war front. Their words washed over me, but I barely heard them.
I gripped the chair’s armrests so tightly that the wood cracked beneath my fingers. I scarcely noticed the tiny splinters embedding themselves in my hands.
This was all his fault.
Nicolas.
Had he been playing me the entire time? Each time I fed from him, took him to my bed, talked with him late into the day, had he been cataloging my secrets, knowing he would eventually betray me to the humans?
My heart ached, stung, and burned with the bitter pain of betrayal. Nicolas had shared my bed. My home. He’d been my Source, my confidant, my lover.
And now, he was my enemy.
Shadows coiled around my fingers, and I slammed my clenched fist on the table.
Immediately, the others stopped talking.
General Oak was the first to look at me. “Your Majesty?”
“Where is Nicolas?” I asked. “You haven’t found him yet.”
He sighed and rolled his eyes as if this line of questioning was beneath him. “My Queen, we have gone over this several times.” The other generals nodded in agreement.
“Queen Marguerite, this is greater than one human,” General Brimol picked up where Oak left off. “The so-called Freedom Revolution fighters are rebelling against our rule all throughout Eleyta.”
General Oak added, “Your lover—”
“Don’t speak of him like that!” I yelled. Anger coursed through my veins, and I gripped the edge of the table, flipping it over as I stood.
The generals scrambled out of the way as papers and ink flew everywhere, but none of them said a word.
I snapped, “Nicolas is nothing but a traitor, now.”
“Of course,” Oak said quietly.