part0031

“Well, well, well.” The smooth, silky voice infiltrated Kelia’s unconscious body and tickled her consciousness enough to wake her. “Look what the cat dragged in. You look positively dreadful. Being a Shadow does not suit you, Ms. Starling.”

“Luckily," she said, slowly feeling her body burn and groan with pain. She didn’t care; her body would heal. At least, it had healed this far. She had torn through countless Shadows until now. Until she had been caught. At least Drew was still alive. And, more than that, at least he was still not with the Queen. If he did not fall into a trap, if he still retained whatever freedom he had left, than everything would be worth it. “I don’t care what you think. My lover seems to find me quite attractive. Do you know him? His name is Drew Knight.”

The Queen stomped over to Kelia and kicked her stomach. Kelia doubled over in pain, but she couldn’t help but grin through the pain, even as a strong, metallic taste filled her mouth.

Kelia started laughing. She picked herself up and spat out the blood. “I see you,” she said. “I used to be you.”

This time, it was the Queen who laughed. “I’m sorry,” she said, stepping beside Kelia. Kelia could see her black boot and the dried blood caked to the tip. “Did you say you used to be me? How is that even possible?”

“I used to wear my emotions on my sleeves,” Kelia said. It was difficult for her to get the words out. Her stomach felt bruised; even breathing put pressure on her that caused her face to contort in pain. “I used to let my emotions control me. I suppose the only difference is, I can now see how naive I was. Drew was right.”

At the mention of Drew’s name, the Queen kicked Kelia in the back. Kelia grunted, her entire body straightening.

“You will not say his name,” the Queen snapped.

Kelia laughed again. “Fine,” she said. “I’ve said his name so often in the throes of passion, I’m starting to tire of it.” She flicked her wrist dismissively. It surprised her that her wrist did not shoot any pain in her body. It was probably the only part of her body still left unharmed.

The Queen roared. She stopped her pacing, her boots just in front of Kelia’s face. Kelia rolled back into the fetal position but found she could not bring her knees up any further than parallel to her waist. The Queen was strong, even if she was emotional. Kelia bit her lip to keep herself from whimpering.

“He doesn’t love you,” Kelia said. She spat out the blood lingering in her mouth. She did not know why she was still talking. She did not think the words would do anything to change the Queen’s mind; it would only infuriate her more. However, if Kelia was going to die here, she was going to get in some words first. Words that came out of her mouth in elaborate ribbons the way lace fell from a dress. “Why waste all of this time and all of this effort? Why waste devoted followers who see nothing but death when Drew will never love you?”

“Drew is confused,” the Queen said. “You have bewitched him somehow. Perhaps that earth witch he keeps around has helped you.”

“Emma?” Kelia asked. “The same witch who assisted with the wards on your island?”

“I can walk on land because of her, but don’t think she didn’t resent me for that. Did you know Emma and I are distant cousins?”

Were distant cousins, perhaps. She didn’t know…

“I don’t expect you to believe me,” the Queen murmured. From where Kelia lay, she could see the Queen walk up and down the cool stone floor, her slippers silent. “Why else would she help me? She is family.”

“If she is family, why does she hate you?” Kelia asked. “Why take up with the Shadow who broke your heart?”

“You think Drew broke my heart?” The Queen stopped and laughed again. “What a comical suggestion. Lord, no. Drew is a possession. He belongs to me. I want what is mine. And he is mine. Do you not understand the difference?”

“I understand love. I understand that Drew loves me and not you, and that ever since you were first created, you have longed for someone to experience a lifetime—a thousand lifetimes—with you. I did not understand it until now, but you are lonely. Powerful, yes. You have all of these creatures clamoring to you. They bow at your feet and look at you like you are some kind of goddess incarnate. They worship you. And yet, you want Drew. You want a partner. Drew is probably the only person you respect because you viewed him as your equal. And he walked away from you because he would rather be anywhere but with you.”

That last quip earned another kick. Kelia was forced to spit up everything in her mouth.

“Why do I even listen to you?” the Queen said. “You are a child with no experience.”

“You listen to me because Drew Knight loves me in a way he’ll never love anyone else, and as much as that angers you,” Kelia said, “you want to know why.”

“Do you have a death wish?” the Queen asked.

Kelia’s body groaned. She was in too much pain to be able to distinguish where the Queen was currently in relation to her own position.

She didn’t think she would survive much longer. Knowing this, she still could not stop her mouth from speaking. The words came out naturally, the same way she tried to gulp in air or open and shut her eyes.

“Hasn’t anyone told you?” Kelia asked. She was suddenly overtaken by a coughing spurt. Blood flew out of her mouth and splattered against the floor. “I am already dead. Drew turned me himself.”

The Queen made a sound that resembled a screech and a grunt. She dashed over to Kelia, using her unnatural speed, and grabbed Kelia by the throat before lifting Kelia up into the air.

“I can kill you right now, and Drew would have no choice but to love me,” the Queen said. “You are the reason he’s not with me. It’s you. ”

“Drew…left you before…I was even…born.” Kelia didn’t know if the Queen actually understood the words that came out of her mouth, of if they were as garbled as they felt.

The Queen didn’t seem to like it regardless; she squeezed Kelia’s throat tighter. Kelia’s mind began to get fuzzy. This was it. She would die. The Queen would not torture her in front of Drew. That would delay the inevitable. It would give Drew an opportunity to save her again, and that was the last thing the Queen wanted.

No, Kelia was quite certain the Queen would kill her now. Despite this knowledge, her mouth formed a triumphant smile. At the very least, Kelia knew without a doubt that Drew loved her. He would move on when she was gone, but there would be a part of him that belonged to just her, and that made all the difference.

“Put her down, Katrina.”

That voice. His voice. Of course he would come, but she wished he hadn’t.

The Queen’s grip on Kelia did not waver. Kelia’s eyesight blotched with dark spots. It wasn’t as though she needed the air to breathe, exactly, but she could feel her throat caving in. In seconds, it would be crushed, and Kelia would be ash.

“And why should I do that?” the Queen asked. She did not even turn to look at Drew. Her focus was on Kelia and Kelia alone. Kelia was flattered. She tried to look at Drew, but it was getting more and more difficult to see.

“Because I’m asking you to,” Drew said with surprising gentleness.

Kelia’s stomach twisted at the sound. Why was he being kind with the Queen? Why demean himself?

“Let her go,” Drew continued, “and I will love you.”

Kelia felt the Queen’s grip waver. No. Drew would not actually choose to stay here, would he?

“I will do whatever it is you ask of me, if only you would let her go.”

Still, the Queen hesitated, her grip still slowly squeezing the life from Kelia. Her entire body now felt fuzzy, and she was slipping under…

Until her throat was released.

Until her feet hit the floor.

Until Kelia collapsed into a heap on the stone.

Heavy footsteps fell across the room, which she knew belonged to Drew.

“Drew,” Kelia managed to get out. Her throat felt like it was on fire. It burned to even think, let alone attempt to speak.

Perhaps damage inflicted by other Shadows, or maybe just the Queen herself, did not heal as quickly.

“Please,” the Queen croaked out. She sounded nothing short of pathetic. “Do not lie to me. I’ve waited just shy of a hundred years—”

“And I am sorry to have made you wait,” Drew said. Kelia thought it sounded as though his voice was forced, like this was a lie, but pain was starting to numb her sensibility, and she could not open her left eye. It was hard to distinguish what was fact and what was fiction. “I just needed to sort myself out.”

“I will make you pay for my pain.”

“In the worst way, I hope.” Now, there was a smile to his voice, a tone she recognized and had, at one time, made her feel warm and special. Now, she wanted to wretch, and not just because her insides were spinning. “Darling, do you remember when I would kiss the inside of your knee? Do you remember what it would do to you?”

Kelia clenched her teeth. Why could the Queen not kill her? Even if this was all a farce, Kelia did not want to hear it.

“What shall we do with her?” the Queen asked.

Kelia turned her head so she could look at them.

It was the worst thing she could have done.

Drew had eased himself behind the Queen and had one arm wrapped around her waist while the other brushed her hair aside and exposed her neck.

“Trivialities we can discuss at a later time,” Drew said dismissively. “You know I haven’t taken blood from her the way I have from you. Something inside me did not want to pollute my body with another—”

“Then why run from me, Drew?” the Queen asked. “Why keep yourself away from me for nearly a century?”

“Like I said. To take care of things. To prove to myself that I loved you. I thought I could not love forever. You showed me I can. I thought the distance would give me clarity, but it’s now, seeing you, that I realize what I’ve been missing all these years. I’m sorry for your pain, my darling. Forgive me?”

“Of course, my darling, of course.”

Kelia could not be sure, but it sounded as though the Queen was speaking through a sob, perhaps two. She scowled. Where was the fearsome bitch who controlled Sea Shadows? What happened to her? Could she really fall so easily back to Drew? Was she just that pathetic?

“Come now,” Drew purred.

Kelia’s stomach continued to tumble. She could not help herself when she started to heave. It was the last thing she wanted to hear; Drew speak in such a way to anyone who was not her, but especially the Queen. There was nothing in Kelia’s stomach, which made vomiting more painful, but it was as though the sound echoed through her mind. She could not get it out of her head. Part of her was ready to start banging her head on the floor to make it stop.

“Drew…” The Queen stepped away from him. “I can’t… I need her to die. I need her to die now, don’t you see? I cannot have her alive when she threatens our reunion.”

“She is of no consequence,” Drew said. “Dirt on our boots, nothing more. You worry for nothing.”

“If she is nothing, then why do you want to keep her alive?” There was an edge to the Queen’s voice now, as though he was getting suspicious.

“I don’t,” Drew insisted. “However—”

“Then kill her now.” The Queen crossed her arms over her chest. “If you love me, if you truly meant what you just said, you will kill her now. I had wanted to do it slowly, to punish her for the pain she caused me, but now, I would prefer if she is gone as quickly as can be done.” A beat. “Do you hesitate?”

“I’m sorry,” Drew murmured.

Kelia knew he was not going to kill her, but she did not know what to expect as this played out.

“I’m sorry I did not do this sooner,” Drew said. “I’m sorry I did not do this when I had the chance, but I will rectify the situation now.”

He whirled on the heel of his boot so he faced the Queen, and he ran toward her like he was a shadow trying to escape being touched by the sunlight. The Queen was slow to respond only because she had not expected it.

Kelia almost felt sorry for her.

Drew flattened his hand and slammed it into her chest so quickly, Kelia did not even have time to blink. In less than a second, he pulled out her heart—a black organ that looked as dead and decrepit as Sirens floating in the sea—and squeezed it until it crumbled in his hand.