The Glass Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #2) - Gena Showalter Page 0,102

my weapon in order to grab her wrist. “Do not harm her.”

“Why shouldn’t I take her from you, the way you took your love away from me?” Her voice cracked. “Tell me.”

“She’s a better person than either of us has ever been.” Those words... I had a sudden and startling realization. With bone-deep certainty, I knew I’d gotten this all wrong. Ashleigh and Leonora weren’t two halves of the same whole, one with memories and magic, one without. Ashleigh was not the foundation from which Leonora had been built. She wasn’t a clean slate, with a different upbringing; she was a different person entirely. The two females shared no commonalities. One would never have been—or be—the other.

Two females, one completely separate from the other, shared a body.

I didn’t know how it was possible; I just knew it had happened.

I’d been so blinded by hatred, so confident I’d found the one responsible for my pain, I’d rationalized obvious tells. Ashleigh hadn’t been the one to hurt me. But I’d been the one to hurt her.

Guilt returned with a vengeance, bringing shame along for the ride. More guilt and shame than any one person could ever hope to carry. Ashleigh had deserved none of my wrath, but she’d born all of it.

The house of rage, wrath, and vengeance I’d built inside my mind began to crumble, layer by layer. Guilt flooded in. An acid-tinged rain burning everything it touched. I owed my princess reparation I could never repay, and the knowledge tore up my insides.

I needed to beg for forgiveness I didn’t deserve.

A sound of animal pain got trapped inside my head at top volume. I would apologize. I would spend my life making up for what I’d done, and I would find a way to neutralize the witch, or whatever the creature it was that lived inside of her.

Unlike memories, I doubted Leonora could be erased. But we might be able to remove her.

Having accepted the truth, my thoughts aligned, my mind working at a faster clip now. Could Leonora be a goblin, perhaps, able to possess a body for the span of its life rather than a few stolen minutes? Goblins could absolutely be removed; they could also be killed.

If Leonora was a goblin, though, she was the strongest one I’d ever encountered. Half goblin, half witch?

I would ask around, learn what I could and present Ashleigh with the idea. How would she react?

For now, I would make Leonora as miserable as possible, forcing her to fade on her own. “You owe me restitution, witch, and you will pay it. You will clean the entire stable. To start.” I dragged her into the dirtiest stall. “You will do everything one-handed, so that you aren’t able to use your magic to burn the place down.”

“Clean? Me? I’ll do no such thing.” She uttered a shrill laugh that set me on edge. “As your fated queen, however, I’ll be happy to supervise our servants.”

I spun her around and yanked the ribbon from her hair, then used the satin to tie one of her arms to the back of her gown. “You won’t be leaving this stable until you’ve finished cleaning. For every day you refuse to work, I’ll shorten the length of your chains. Yes, you will be chained.” She might be powerful, but she wasn’t infallible.

“You wouldn’t,” she gasped out.

I grinned slowly, contentedly. “Watch me. Or, allow Ashleigh to emerge. Let the princess do the cleaning for you.” A temptation the selfish creature couldn’t resist?

Long, torturous moments passed, her breaths the only sound. “What is it you like about Ashleigh? Her inability to run a short distance without fainting? Her lack of combat skills? No, wait. It must be her lack of magic.”

I wanted so badly to yell my defense of the princess, an insult to her an insult to me. My, my. How quickly things have changed. Knowing I would only fuel Leonora’s stubbornness if I spoke up, I crossed my arms and remained mute.

She puffed a frustrated sigh. “Very well. I’ll allow your precious Ashleigh to return—for now—but I’ll be back, and we’ll settle our differences once and for all.” That said, she collapsed, her eyes rolling back into her head.

I flew over to catch her before she hit the ground, then eased her down the rest of the way. As she slept on, I remained crouched at her side, my nerves on edge. What would I see when her lashes parted? Hated blue or adored green?

Seconds passed, each