The Glass Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil #2) - Gena Showalter Page 0,71

him, then swung my fist. He caught my wrist, his fingers like a shackle, and we glared at each other, both of us breathing heavily.

He expected that to stop me? I released the flames only where he touched me. He hissed as blisters formed. Still he didn’t release me.

“We will not part. Do you hear me?” I would not lose this sense of belonging.

“We will part.” The finality in his tone... “Knowing how desperately I crave you, however, I’m certain I won’t be able to stop myself from chasing after you.”

Oh. Ohhhh. He wasn’t planning to get rid of me permanently. Just chase me. Was this to be a sexual game, then?

“That is why I will be wedding someone else,” he announced. “I will remain true to my wife. My vow to protect her will allow nothing less.”

I shoved a fist into my mouth, halting my cry of distress. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

“You and I,” he continued as my new world collapsed around me, “are not good for each other. To survive, we must separate.”

Wed someone else? Give her what belonged to me? “No. That is unacceptable.” He thought he’d seen the worst of my temper. He hadn’t. “If you do this, Craven, I will make you sorry.”

His expression gentled, and he offered me a sad smile. “I’m already sorry. Had I never met you, I never would have known what could be. I would never know what I could have—what I would be missing. The fact that I feel this way for a woman who isn’t destined to be mine...it’s madness.”

The words already sorry reverberated in my head, each repeat like the lash of a whip.

He wished he hadn’t met me.

He wished he hadn’t met me.

He wished he hadn’t met me. Me. The most powerful witch in all of Enchantia. The jewel of any kingdom.

The one who hadn’t yet drawn forth his amour.

My fury intensified, overshadowing everything else. He thought he couldn’t survive with me? Well, I would teach him the error of his ways. Soon this male would learn he couldn’t survive without me.

* * *

The battlefield returned to focus, and like Leonora, I stuffed a fist into my mouth. The horrifying truth was suddenly so clear. I hadn’t been the one in that bedroom with Craven. But the fire witch had.

—Did memories of my life break your brain, little girl? Well, don’t you worry. When the barrier falls once and for all, I will take ownership of this body and nothing will ever bother you again.—

A cocoon of ice enveloped my lungs, freezing and burning at the same time. I was a host. An evil phantom possessed me. She had twice murdered Saxon and his family. She planned to steal my life.

Two heads, one heart. Born twice in one day.

I laughed without humor. I was born an infant...and then a host. In a way, it made Leonora my family. There was no doubt now—she was my evil stepmother.

Because of her, I had harmed Saxon at the funeral, exactly as he’d claimed. And I might... I might have...

Acid-tinged tears welled, scalding my eyes. Tremors invaded. Nausea roiled. My body might have been used as a weapon. I might have murdered two innocents. Milo’s father...and my own mother.

A whimper parted my lips, the first of many, and a herald to my sobs. I slung my arms around my middle and hunched over, bawling so violently I vomited.

Whoosh, whoosh. The hated noise failed to elicit a reaction from me. What did another beating or punishment matter? I deserved to suffer.

Someone gathered my hair with gentle hands, holding the strands out of the line of fire. I didn’t have to wonder who. The scent of coming rain filled my nose. Saxon’s scent.

Such a simple act of kindness. But it had come from Saxon, an enemy, and it only made me bawl harder. How could I have hurt Momma? Even if Leonora had taken control of my body, I must have been present somewhere in here. I should have found a way to stop her. Instead, I’d let her pick up a dagger and...and...

Another sob, followed by a round of dry heaving. Was Craven a phantom, too? Was Saxon his host, and he just didn’t know it? Or was he an actual reincarnate?

—Oh, he’s a reincarnate, just as you are. He’s also mine, and I won’t share him. Soon, I won’t share this body, either.—

She’d offered few words, but there was a wealth of information to unpack. I was a host, yes,