The Glass Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #2) - Gena Showalter Page 0,131

of fire at my mother, ensuring she came no closer.

I clashed eyes with the woman who’d given birth to me. She’d disobeyed my order because she’d felt she could do so without consequences. Because she believed she could defeat me and put Tempest, the only other Skylair heir, on the throne. I’d heard the whispers this morn. But I was still here, still crown prince, and I would enforce my rules. I would show no mercy, no matter who the offender happened to be.

“Your crimes will not go unpunished,” I vowed. Here and now, I had something more important to do.

The bruising faded from Ashleigh’s face. A bone in her calf popped into place, her skin weaving closed.

Leonora had kept her end of our bargain.

I removed a bracelet from my wrist—the yellow one reserved for my bride.

Furious protests erupted from my family.

Every life I’d led, every breath I’d taken, had led me here, to this moment. I didn’t hesitate. I slid the bracelet over Ashleigh’s wrist.

Just like that, it was done and it couldn’t be undone. The material was magically bound to her now—at least until she made a decision about our union. If she accepted me, it would remain on her. If not, it would fall off. But the action alone—the sharing of the bracelet—had marked her as my intended queen. In the eyes of all avian, we were now as good as wed. No one could touch her, not even a former queen or a princess.

They might not yet respect me as king, but they would respect our traditions. Was this as foolish as Raven believed? Probably. I’d given Leonora what she’d always wanted. More than that, I’d done it before I’d told Ashleigh that I was working with Roth and Everly, and we had bad things planned for her father. She deserved the truth before I asked her to share the rest of her life with me.

To accept, she had only to verbally agree to be mine.

I would hear Ashleigh’s acceptance, not Leonora’s. The phantom’s agreement meant nothing to me.

I worked my way to my feet, as careful as possible with my precious bundle. “Know this,” I announced as my family cursed my actions. “If she dies, you die. If anyone helped you do this, they’ll die with you. If she lives and you dare to touch her again, if ever you send someone to harm her, I will do more than kill you. I will personally introduce you to the Destroyer.” I flared my wings and took flight.

24

When one dream comes true,

find another, one that’s new.

Ashleigh

For years—days? hours?—I existed in a world of darkness and pain, trapped in the nightmare in which I’d been dropped, my mind constantly replaying my plummet down a seemingly endless void, my body jerking and cringing in a desperate gambit to escape. Again and again, I learned the void wasn’t endless, after all, and hit the ground, every bone in my body breaking.

I remembered Leonora’s laughter. How relieved I’d been to feel a slow spread of numbness. I remembered how that relief had evaporated as paralysis set in, stealing my ability to fight back. All the while, my would-be killers had taunted me.

What’s taking so long? Die already.

This time, stay dead.

I fought to live, I fought so hard. I couldn’t let Leonora win and ruin Saxon’s life again. But...what was that noise? Dragon screeches? A male’s voice? Yes, yes. A roar of utter devastation. Saxon’s roar. Over me?

My heart leaped in my chest. My family had come for me.

Words I didn’t have the strength to speak tangled on my tongue as strong arms gently gathered me and lifted me. Saxon.

The phantom purred. —I have what I’ve always wanted. It’s done. Soon, you’ll be gone.—The more she laughed, the more my thoughts cleared.

She had poured her magic through me, strengthening me and weakening herself.

Voices filtered into my awareness. Saxon was speaking with the healer. The one who’d healed me after Trio’s attack.

Saxon: “—do it. Cage her.”

Healer: “It’s only a temporary fix, and it’s going to put her on the offensive when she escapes.”

Saxon: “I don’t care.”

The healer mumbled something I didn’t understand, and I heard the phantom scream with rage.

As soon as she quieted, I heard the healer say, “You will sleep and you will heal the rest of the way, Princess Ashleigh.” His voice was like a summoning finger, luring me into a darkened room. “Sleep and heal.”

A wave of lethargy swept me up, but I fought it. Can’t sleep. Leonora