A Thief of Nightshade(78)

Aubrey swallowed the urge to turn her back on the Queen. “I have no say in what’s fair and what’s not in your court, now do I?”

Saralia’s mouth turned in a smile, but her eyes narrowed. “Oh, we’re brave now, are we? It’s no wonder you caught the eye of a Prince,” she cooed. “Though, there wasn’t much to choose from in your world from what I saw. Do you want to know what I learned while I was there ...

while I walked through your soul?”

Aubrey smiled back with equal insincerity. “Enlighten me.”

“You aren’t a very brave woman, more of a craven child, really. You can’t deal with life or your emotions, not after your father told you to stop crying while he abused you. Yet, you couldn’t seem to help yourself when things didn’t go quite as you’d planned at the masquerade.”

Something died in Aubrey’s soul as Saralia said those words, something that had kept her holding onto the notion that love always wins in the end. Perhaps it was the finality in the Queen’s tone, or the not–so-gentle reminder that her Prince was here and yet there would be no salvation for her, that this wasn’t one of those stories. She wasn’t even certain what she’d expected the Queen to say, but it hadn’t been that. Then, just as quickly as that something had died, something new flared to life ... something dangerous.

Something she’d never allowed herself to feel before–anger.

“Aubrielle Wright, did you sincerely believe it would be that simple? Did you really think that you could just waltz into this world and that your determination would be enough for you to take whatever you please? As I said before, there isn’t anything extraordinary about you.”

“It’s Sellars.” Aubrey leaned in and glared defiantly at the Queen. “Let’s talk about the extraordinary. How does it feel to know you’ve lost the only thing that made your life worth living?”

“You don’t—”

“I don’t know anything about your life? Is that what you were about to say?”

Aubrey painfully found her legs. “But I do.

I know because I’ve seen traces of who you must have once been in Given and Oberon ... in your own flesh and blood.

You traded everything for power only to find out too late that a life without love isn’t worth having.”

Saralia tilted her head and took a step closer. “Well then, I suppose that makes giving yours up a little easier. I wonder, is this making you feel better? If it is, then by all means, assert away. Tell me how shallow and trite and meaningless everything associated with me is. I sincerely hope that by seeing me as the embodiment of all evil, you will find peace when you take your last breath.

Judging by how sickly you look, that moment isn’t too far away now. I doubt you’ll live long enough to see the sun rise tomorrow, to see my new King willingly accept his crown.”

Aubrey surprised herself with a laugh. “That’s not at all what I said. If you were purely evil, then you wouldn’t have a choice in your actions—wouldn’t know any better. You know what you’re doing is wrong and yet you haven’t the will to do otherwise.”

Though Aubrey’s memories had faded, though her days and years had dwindled, she could still recall her father and the abuse she’d endured–the acts that had made her a prisoner ever since. And just like the wounds from the Time Wraith had worn away her memories, that abuse had eaten into her life ... had stolen away the moments that she’d deserved to enjoy.

My father knew the difference between right and wrong, and he chose to do the things he did to me. It was never my fault.

That knowledge and the fury that accompanied it gave her new strength. She glared at the Queen. “Given was in your home until she was five years old. I hardly believe that you woke up suddenly one morning to decide that she wasn’t worth keeping. Tell me, who is it that she reminds you of? Did you love her father?”

In a move equally startling as it was impossible, Saralia walked through the ice bars as though they were phantom columns. Aubrey readied herself for the strike of the Queen’s outstretched hand, but instead Saralia pulled her delicate fingers in to a shaking fist and held it in the air.

“You know nothing,” Saralia hissed.

Tears formed in her eyes but did not fall.

“You arrogantly assume that you know even the slightest thing of me. I was wrong, you aren’t stubborn. You’re na?ve.”

Aubrey prepared to fight back as Saralia’s hand shot forward, but instead of striking her, the Queen grazed Aubrey’s cheek with an almost tender stroke, a tear finally spilling over the Queen’s dark lashes and onto the snowy white skin of her face. It glistened as it fell and shattered with the tinkling of a glass shard as it hit the floor. “You don’t remember Brooke or Samantha, do you?”

Those names ... they sound so familiar ...

“Saralia, I know what your Time Wraith has done to my memory. These games are good for nothing but your own amusement.”

“And your little brother Harrington, what about him? You couldn’t have forgotten him, could you?” Saralia’s eyes darkened further. “You could have stayed in your world, where you and the Oran would have been safe, where you would have had your family and friends. You chose to take the risks you took, to come to Avalar. Now you’ll die in Cedrick’s possession, completely unaware of who you are or why you’re here. Though something that is no longer human can’t truly die. So you should be thanking me.