Queen (Cats of Felidae Academy #4) - River Ramsey Page 0,17

she was focused on continuing to pretend like she was asleep. She knew if she alerted them to the fact that she wasn’t, she wasn’t going to get the information she needed. At least not until it was too late.

“It wasn’t the right time,” Bishop snapped. “I had to gain her trust, and I had to be sure.”

“The prophecy is pretty damn clear. If it’s not her, it won’t be anyone for another hundred years.”

“Regardless, it’s done,” Bishop said tersely. “She’s here, and when the others return, we can move forward with the ritual. It won’t take long. Once done, it doesn’t matter what the others do.”

Ritual?

Ella’s heart raced as the other man fell silent. She could hardly breathe, and her racing thoughts were filling her mind with so many terrible things, none worse than the reality that was currently going on around her.

“Quiet,” Bishop said suddenly. “She’s awake.”

“You take care of this,” the other tom said. “I’m going to make sure the others are prepared.”

Ella’s eyes flew open, and a combination of grief and rage filled her as she saw Bishop walking over to her. He was still wearing his suit, still looking as calm and casual as he had at the coronation.

“How much did you hear?”

“Enough to know that you’re a fucking traitor,” she hissed.

He didn’t react. If anything, he seemed bored. “I suppose it doesn’t matter now. There’s nothing you can do.”

“What are you going to do to me?” she asked hoarsely. “To our baby?”

Anger flashed in his eyes. “That thing is not my baby.”

Pain like nothing else cut through Ella, sharp as a knife. “How can you say that?”

He ignored her question, watching her closely. A strange look came into his eyes, one she couldn’t even begin to read. One she wasn’t sure she wanted to. “It’s still so hard to believe,” he murmured. “That a little insignificant stray could be the vessel of the moon goddess.”

Ella’s heart pounded even harder. “What the hell are you talking about?”

She tried in earnest to shift, now that she knew there was a way out, but whether it was panic or whatever drugs he had given her, she couldn’t bring her cat to the surface.

“That won’t work,” he warned, as if he knew what she was trying to do. He always had seemed to be able to read her thoughts, and now she knew it was just because he was studying her. Using her. She was nothing more than a pawn in whatever dark game he and his brother were playing.

Another horrible thought occurred to her.

Natalia…

Were they behind her disappearance as well? What had they done to her? She once never would’ve thought it possible that Bishop would bring any harm to his mother, but she never imagined she would be here, either. The one possibility was as devastating as the other.

“You’re not going to be able to shift, so don’t even bother,” he continued. “The drugs I gave you will ensure that for at least another twenty-four hours.”

Ella didn’t miss the implication that she wouldn’t have that long. “What are you going to do to me? You’re going to what, sacrifice me to Selene because you think I’m her vessel?”

He gave a laugh, and it was the iciest sound she’d ever heard. “What an imagination you have. No, nothing of the sort. You see, Felidae has certain articles of our faith in its archives, those which even the priestesses of the moon aren’t aware of. One of them is a prophecy that states Selene will one day choose to take a human vessel in order to renew her covenant with our kind. It can only happen upon a certain astrological alignment that only occurs once every hundred years, and you just so happened to be the Empress chosen at that time.”

“I don’t understand,” Ella said hoarsely. “I’m not her vessel. I’ve never even seen her.”

“I wasn’t sure at first,” he admitted. “The texts are a bit vague. There’s room for mistakes. We originally believed my mother was her vessel, but Selene chose another. In any case, I knew there was something unique about you from that moment I saw you in the water.”

Ella’s heart ached, broken into more pieces than she thought possible. “Even back then… You planned this?”

“Of course. Did you really think otherwise?”

His words cut even deeper. Mostly because they confirmed the doubts it had taken her so long to overcome. The insecurity that told her there was no way someone like Bishop would actually be