The Glass Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #2) - Gena Showalter Page 0,37

or Leonora, the one who knew all? Maybe a combination of both? Would she completely forget our conversation the way she’d completely forgotten our argument in the garden? And green-eyed Ashleigh had absolutely forgotten it, her confusion genuine. That wasn’t a manipulation on her part. I just didn’t understand how or why or what it all meant, my emotions all over the place. Fury? Yes. I felt it. Hatred. That, too. But I thought uncertainty might be beleaguering me most.

If her present life had somehow detached from her past lives, she could—in theory—have two streams of consciousness living inside her head. One ruled at times, one ruled at others. Something that didn’t bode well for me.

How could I continue to punish the innocent side of her nature? How could I prove myself to my people, if I didn’t punish her?

My people needed me, despite what they might think. I’d learned from my mistakes...mostly...and I would be a good ruler for them. I would fight to give them a life of peace and prosperity.

The life I’d denied their ancestors.

I must continue on this path, no matter what. I couldn’t flounder with my duty anymore.

I had to.

So I would.

When Leonora or Ashleigh awoke, I would be ice-cold. I would be like the Craven of old. Methodical. Driven. Unrelenting.

Merciless.

True restitution would begin, the witch’s pain my birthright, no matter her incarnation.

6

When her heart is made of vengeance and ice,

she won’t kill you quick, she’ll kill you thrice.

Ashleigh

Usually when I slept, I didn’t dream. I would remain dead to the world, all mental lights snuffed out, leaving me in the dark. But this time, I did dream...about Leonora.

* * *

Six months ago, I was a nameless spirit. Then I invaded the body of a royal witch, and everything changed for me. And for her. Her name was Lady Leonora.

Now my name was Lady Leonora, and she was the nameless spirit.

Before her, I’d invaded other bodies. Many others. I’d scoured the land for the perfect hosts, stealing precious moments from their lives. But never had I decided to keep one.

Until now.

The day I’d taken over the first Leonora, the powerless laughingstock had become a feared warrior, revered by her people, and I’d loved it. So, I’d decided to stay awhile. When her parents doted on me, love shining in their eyes, I’d decided the witch would be my forever hostess. What was hers, was mine. Even family and foes.

Tonight, I would meet her big bad. The being she’d feared most. I knew because I’d followed her before ghosting inside her and taking over. Her big bad? King Craven, the most vicious avian in all the realm. So powerful he’d crowned himself their king. No one was strong enough to usurp him.

Of course the twenty-one-year-old witch had feared someone like him. She’d been cloistered since birth, all because of the prophecy that was spoken over her—“The Little Cinder Girl.”

Her adoring family believed the fairy tale would bring great turmoil to their kingdom. Fearing for their angel’s safety, they’d refused to allow her to leave their village. Fools. Deny fate the perfect end, and it would make you suffer, twisting the tale until you got it right. I’d seen it happen.

Because the naive original Leonora had never manifested a magical ability—or if she had, the ability had been so abysmal, she hadn’t even known what it was—she’d been ill prepared for conflict and no match for my possession.

I wielded control over fire, so, once I’d wrested control of the body, “she” had displayed a supernatural ability at long last. The ability to create fire—my ability. The rest of the world simply assumed her magic had finally manifested. But I knew better. Now, everyone considered her—me—the most powerful witch to ever live, and a true Cinder in the making.

I fluffed my hair. For the first time in my existence, I had a name, a family, a prophecy, and a purpose. I even had a bright future. Before, I’d had no identity at all. One day, I’d simply opened my eyes, surrounded by smoke and flame, a spirit trapped in the land of the living, confused and alone. Nothing but a blank slate. Even then I could start fires with my mind. I’d had no need to eat, and no way to touch anyone else. I’d desperately wanted to touch someone.

Having no idea what I was, I’d followed oracles and scribes, impatient to be seen, to glean any tidbit of information. When I’d discovered I could possess their bodies,