Page 34 of Black Hearted
Her mouth fell open. “An Ethereum lord? But … they’re evil.”
I shook my head, desperate for her to believe me. “He’s not. I promise. You have to believe me. Zane is on our side. You need to trust him, and you can’t hurt him.”
The thought of something happening to Zane caused a stab of pain in my chest, but I pushed forward. If I didn’t leave before I fully woke, I might be lost in my dream void for days.
“Zane will help you find me, and together, he and I will destroy the curse.”
I felt myself waking. The pull was stronger now.
“Check my nightstand drawer for a letter from Dawn,” I said urgently. “It’s all been a lie. Don’t hurt him, Mother. I …”
I love himdidn’t feel right. I barely knew him.
“He’s good.”
A tug at my navel told me I was out of time. I pulled myself from her grasp and ran for the door just as my feet began to disappear. A moment later, I was yanked from sleep.
I heard the sound of scraping metal and sat up screaming. My heart pounded frantically against my chest as I blinked rapidly, to no avail.
I was blind.
I clawed at my eyes, desperately trying to summon my magic to heal the loss of vision, but nothing happened. I was drained, and this place was barren—there was no life force for me to pull from.
I started to hyperventilate. It was terrible knowing that Queen Liliana was capable of causing so much injury and that, right now, I was helpless from stopping her from doing anything to others and myself. But I reminded myself this was only temporary. As a royal, I would naturally heal. It might take days, but my sightwould return. Even a short time without vision was terrifying, but I had to try to keep calm.
“I told you not to disobey me,” Queen Liliana said from somewhere in front of me.
“You’re insane,” I spat, kicking out but connecting with nothing. “I wonder how Dawn would feel if she knew just how deranged you’ve become.”
There was a whooshing of air, and then her hand gripped the back of my hair firmly. I whimpered as she forced me into a standing position.
Her hot breath spread over my neck as she said, “One of my spies sent me a raven. Your little Ethereum lord is here in Faerie, seemingly making his way to the Spring Palace, and then I’m sure he’s going to come look for you. I do hope he arrives swiftly, so I can carve his heart from his chest.”
Zane. Panic spiked through me at her threat.
“This is perfect,” Queen Liliana went on, “because by now, the curse will have taken effect on his magic.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused. What would Zane’s magic have to do with the curse?
Queen Liliana chuckled, a dark sound that sent shivers down my spine.
“I’ve been learning all sorts of new things about the curse,” she said, her voice dripping with malice. “Not just how to use your dagger to get to Ethereum, but I also uncovered an interesting tidbit of information buried in an old scroll.”
She paused, as if savoring the moment before delivering her next words.
“If an Ethereum lord were ever to venture to Faerie, the curse would begin to pull on the magic of his black beating heart, weakening him. By the time Zane arrives, he may be completely depleted of his magic, making him all the easier to target.”
I gasped. If he were to face off against Queen Liliana, Zane was going to need his magic. Fear for Zane squeezed my heart painfully.
“If you hurt him,” I warned, but I knew the threat was baseless—and so did she.
“You’ll do nothing,” she sneered. “And if Zane doesn’t make his way here, I’ll just go to Ethereum and cut out the heart of a different Ethereum lord. I’m not picky.”
I growled, bucking and kicking against her until her fingers wrapped around my throat, cutting off my airway. I went limp, submitting to her grip.
“If I were you, I would think long and hard about the decisions that got you to this point,” she spat.
“You don’t have to do this,” I choked out, struggling to speak with her hand still wrapped around my throat.
