The Glass Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #2) - Gena Showalter Page 0,154

at bay.

SAXON

Ophelia patted my shoulder, sending a shocking lance of strength through me. “Ready? The ball is soon to begin.”

The shaking in my knees lessened. After our conversation, she’d disappeared for a few minutes, leaving me standing in the field, frozen. Whatever she’d done had weakened her.

Though strain tightened her features, she transported me to a spacious chamber with a handful of torches, shelves, and countless jars filled with eyeballs that stared at me. Where was I?

As a clock began to tick down in my mind, midnight closing in, I surveyed the rest of my new surroundings. A bedroom? From the bed frame to the dresser, every piece of furniture was made of solid gold. Gold coins were stacked everywhere, even scattered across the bed in lieu of blankets.

A piece of yellowed parchment materialized atop a pillow, and I limped over to snatch it up.

Dear Saxy,

Clean up. Change clothes. Or not. Up to you. Either way, I’ll be collecting you anytime now for a final showdown between you and Leonora, with a bonus round between Roth and Philipp. Don’t try to escape. There are no doors. The only way in and out is magic. If you steal or destroy anything, I’ll know and I WILL collect.

Love,

O

I crumpled the parchment in my fist and tossed it into the hearth. There might not be doors, but the walls were stone. I would make a door.

Wait for her to collect me? No. With a snarl, I snatched up a golden brick and threw it at a wall. My body ached from the strain, but I still managed to crack a stone. Emboldened, I picked up another brick and hammered at the wall. The crack widened. The brick shattered into pieces, leaving gold dust all over my hands. I grabbed another brick.

I’d made my final decision. We would not be stabbing Ashleigh tonight.

I’d meant what I’d said. I would take her however I could get her. She would live. She would suppress the phantom because she would want a future with me. We would wed.

Whack, whack, whack. Ignore the pain. Whack, whack. Ignore. Whack. The. Whack. Pain. Whackwhackwhackwhack. Sweat poured from me as the crack grew. A hole formed. Not wide enough to fit through, not yet, but soon.

Panting, I lifted a new brick, unsure how many I’d busted—

The room vanished, a new one taking its place. A curse exploded from me. I’d been whisked into the ballroom. I stood on a ten-by-ten dais newly built in the center of the room, facing the empty throne that was on a dais of its own. It was clear the servants had been decorating for hours. Curly ribbons hung from the ceiling. Vines and flowers wrapped around pillars, and countless candles glowed with golden light, scenting the air with a rose-infused perfume.

Above the king’s throne was a large mirror, which let me see the double doors behind me. One of Everly’s mirrors?

I dropped the brick, chipping the wooden platform, and tried to walk forward. Once again, magic anchored my feet in place.

Inhale. Exhale. “Ophelia.”

The witch materialized in front of me, her strain less pronounced than before. “Yes, Saxon?” She scanned me from head to toe, noting my blood-and-sweat-soaked clothes, the gold dust seemingly glued to my skin, and pursed her lips. “Decided to attend the final showdown looking like death instead of man candy, did we? Well, okay, then. It’s your fairy tale. But I’d stop fighting your confinement, if I were you.” She patted my shoulder, just as she’d done before. “You’ll be pleased to know the Glass Princess is alive and well and soon to arrive. She accepted her engraved invitation.”

Another bolt of energy sped up my naturally swift ability to heal. Torn pieces of flesh began to weave together. I panted through the pain. “Ashleigh isn’t like glass. She isn’t weak. She’s the strongest person I know.” At birth, a phantom had possessed her. The equivalent of being dropped into a cauldron of boiling water. She could have hardened, like an egg. She could have softened, like a potato. Instead, she’d changed the water, like a coffee bean.

“Who said anything about being weak? I just paid her the highest compliment.” She sauntered off, calling, “Get ready. Here come your guards. Can’t you feel the excitement in the air? We’re so close to the grand finale.”

Footsteps sounded. I peered into the mirror above the throne, seeing the double doors open, ten armed guards marching forward. They climbed the dais to form a half circle