Tale of the Heart Queen (Artefacts of Ouranos #4)

Chapter 13

C HAPTER 13

NADIR

T HE E VANESCENCE —Z ERRA’S P ALACE

W hen I open my eyes again, I’m lying on something soft. A bed? Or maybe a cloud? My body aches, but it’s not the same bone-deep pain I remember the last time I opened my eyes. I blink, and the world slowly morphs into focus. Above me is an ornate carved ceiling made of a creamy material resembling vanilla ice cream.

Gods, I could go for some of that.

“Oh, you’re awake,” trills a melodious voice, and once again, the woman from last time comes into view. Zerra.

The Zerra?

“How are you feeling?” She purses her lips and creases her forehead like she’s exceedingly concerned about my well-being. Her hand lands on the center of my chest, and that’s when I realize I’m naked with nothing but a sheet covering me from the waist down. Her skin is like ice, and I attempt to shrug off her touch while covering myself.

Though every movement hurts like a bitch, I’m relieved to find I can move again.

“Now, now, don’t go straining yourself,” Zerra says. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” She slides her hand lower, stopping at my navel, her fingers dipping a little too low to be innocent. “In fact, it’s nothing I didn’t see when my ladies bathed you.” Her eyes flick down and then back up. “And it was very impressive.”

Oh, good gods. Did she just compliment my cock? I’m way too fucked-up for this. Also, I don’t want her touching me. Objectively, she’s a beautiful woman, but something about her makes my skin crawl.

“Who are you?” I say, though my voice is a croaked whisper and my vocal cords ache with the effort. I need to hear her say it again because, surely, I heard her wrong.

“I’m Zerra,” she answers and then blinks as if daring me to argue. Is she telling me the truth, or is she crazy? Or maybe the problem is me?

“Where am I?”

“You’re in the Evanescence,” she says, setting off a wail of alarm bells in my head. I’m skeptical, but the light and the air and mood in this place feel otherworldly and distant. It feels like I’m somewhere lost in another dimension or another world. I can’t explain it, but a shiver climbs over my scalp, confirming what I already suspected. We’re definitely not in Ouranos anymore.

“Am I . . . dead?”

If I am, then I don’t technically belong here. I never ascended to the Aurora throne. The Evanescence is reserved only for kings and queens—not princes who didn’t quite make the cut.

If they don’t find themselves banished to the Underworld for their misdeeds, most people—fae and humans alike—just cease to exist, their souls floating in the ether until they’re claimed by another body to do it all over again. Or at least that’s the theory. Fae live so long that we don’t tend to give much thought to the afterlife.

“Not in the way you mean,” she answers, “but you aren’t really alive right now either.”

“What . . . does that mean?”

“Ohh,” she coos. “Don’t trouble yourself with such deep thoughts. You’re still recovering and need rest to build up your strength.”

No, I don’t like that answer. Either I’ve been captured by a lunatic or I really am lying in a bed in the Evanescence. It’s hard to decide which is less disturbing.

I struggle to sit up, but she places a hand on my shoulder and easily forces me back. I’m as strong as a baby bird.

“Ah ah,” she scolds. “You’re staying here until you have some rest. I remember how you land dwellers require sleep. So inconvenient. Don’t worry—when you become mine, we’ll do away with such trifling needs. Being a demigod has its issues, but there are many perks, too. ”

I’m having trouble forming coherent thoughts, but did she just say “demigod” and “mine”? More alarm bells ring in my head, pinging around the inside of my skull like sharp iron burrs.

“Come,” Zerra says. “Dinner is ready, and we mustn’t be late.”

She grabs my wrist and tugs, dragging me into a seated position. My head spins, my vision tipping sideways. What happened to insisting I lie down and rest?

Once my mind clears, I use the opportunity to take stock of my surroundings. I’m in a large oval room covered in cream rugs, surrounded by cream walls decorated with a pattern that might be clouds. Long windows surround us like we’re inside a tower. Beyond the windows, I see only pale mist and wispy clouds against a light blue sky.

The Evanescence.

This . . . cannot be.

And yet, somehow, I know it’s true.

“Here are some clothes for you.”

Zerra lays out a pair of white pants and a shirt at the foot of the bed.

“I’ll just wait while you dress.”

She drops into a chair and props an elbow on the table next to it, blinking at me with her bright blue eyes. I lift the hem of the sheet covering my lap, and yep, I’m completely naked. I try not to think too hard about how I got this way. Zerra’s a god, surely she wouldn’t—

Except she’s watching me like she’s preparing for a show.

“Could you leave?” I ask. “I’m not wearing anything underneath. ”

She smiles with a raw mania carved into the lines of her face.

“Like I said, nothing I haven’t already seen.” She then gives me an exaggerated wink that I think is supposed to be sexy or cute, but it’s neither. It just makes me shudder.

“Yeah, well. I’m awake now and would prefer the dignity of dressing without an audience,” I say, trying to keep the growl out of my voice. Something tells me it’ll be best to remain on her good side and keep my temper. Not exactly my strongest quality.

Her smile drops into a pout. “Oh, you’re no fun,” she says, toying with the bow at her neckline. It’s then I finally take a proper look. She’s wearing a sheer robe, and I catch the hint of her bare breasts and pink nipples through the material. What the fuck is happening here?

“I could show you mine in exchange.” She tugs on the silk, and her robe slips open, revealing her perfect round breasts and flat stomach. Thankfully, she’s wearing panties, but they’re so small they can barely be called that. Wildly uncomfortable, I look away.

“No, thank you,” I say. “That isn’t necessary.”

I hear her moving, and I look over, careful to keep my eyes glued to her face. She stands in front of me with her hands on her hips, and then she taps my nose. I try not to flinch.

“Very well,” she says in a tired voice. “I’ll allow you your modesty for now. I’ll see it all soon enough.”

Then she turns and saunters across the room. When she opens the door, all I see beyond it is more of the same misty sky.

“Call for a servant when you’re ready,” she says .

When she’s gone, I wait for several seconds. Then I slip out of bed and tug on the pants. They’re loose and light and made of the softest material I’ve ever felt. The shirt drapes over me, hanging low in the front, exposing my chest.

I figure I have a few minutes before she starts to wonder where I am, so I explore the room. What I see outside the windows troubles me in more ways than I can count. There’s nothing but a blank expanse of swirling mist interspersed with the occasional cloud spreading in every direction. We’re not in any sort of building that I can discern.

I’m in the fucking Evanescence, and whatever doubts I have about that are erased in this moment. This is impossible. What am I doing here?

I rub my chest as a dull ache flares under my ribs. As I move about the room, my limbs and joints creak with the stiffness of disuse. What happened to me after we were taken from Aphelion?

I open the drawers and closets but find little but clothing and a few books.

I stare at the door Zerra vacated. My intuition suggests she wants something from me. Obviously sex from the way she is behaving, but what did she mean about being hers? A demigod. What does that mean?

I have to find Lor. What happened to her ?

But I appear to be stuck here and realize the only answers I’ll get are from the goddess herself. I run a hand down my face and take a deep breath before I open the door. I’m met with nothing in front of me. Just the same empty sky. Peering down, there’s more nothing. What would happen if I stepped off this edge ?

“Hello?” I call, and immediately, a High Fae female appears so suddenly, I jump. She’s wearing a long purple dress, and her thick red braid hangs over her shoulder while gentle curls frame her face.

“Are you ready for dinner?” she asks, staring at me with a blank expression. Not really, but I nod.

“Very well. Then follow me.”

She turns, and as she walks away, a shimmering pathway forms beneath her feet—transparent like glass. When I don’t immediately follow, she stops and peers over a slender shoulder.

“Come. I assure you that it’s perfectly safe.” Her voice is devoid of emotion, spoken with an airiness that suggests she’s not all here.

Then she continues walking, and I have no choice but to follow. Carefully, I step out onto the pathway. I’m not afraid of heights—I can fly, after all—but the uncertainty of my surroundings is throwing me off balance.

Just in case, I spin up my magic to generate my wings, but nothing happens. My magic is blocked. Is Zerra doing that? I try not to worry about the fact she holds that sort of control over me.

Placing one foot in front of the other, I follow the woman down the path until another building materializes before us. Made of creamy stone, it hovers in the air like my room, with windows on all sides.

We arrive at a set of double doors, and my escort flings them open.

“Her Majesty awaits you.” She clasps her hands in front of her and bows her head .

“Majesty? Is she a queen?”

“Of this place, yes.”

I peer at the doorway before I brace myself and enter another oval room rendered in hues of creamy white. In the center sits a large dining table groaning with food including colorful desserts and drinks as elaborate as art.

Zerra waits at the end, still wearing her sheer robe, hanging open to show off her . . . assets. My lip curls with distaste.

This is vile. And quite frankly, freaking me the fuck out.

“Feel free to tie that up,” I say, gesturing to her body. “I’m not interested in whatever you’re offering.”

Her smile is sly as she sits back and crosses one smooth leg over the other, picking up her wine and taking a long sip. She eyes me up and down, her gaze lingering around my hips, sending a frosty chill trickling down my back.

“Where’s Lor?” I demand. “Why am I here?”

“Lor?” Zerra says with a breathy laugh. “That silly girl?” The way she says it makes me want to commit an act of violence. Maybe upend this whole table, food and dishes and all. Except that seems too mild a reaction.

I want to splatter blood on these walls.

She stands up and slowly prowls towards me. Still, I keep my gaze on her face. I don’t know what game she’s playing, but I have no interest in it. Even if I weren’t already in love with Lor, this woman reminds me far too much of a snake slithering through oily grass.

Zerra stops in front of me, and the triumphant look on her face suggests she’s about to deliver a crushing blow.

And that she’s planning to enjoy it .

The last coherent moments with Lor come crashing back to me in a memory that sinks in my stomach like a stone. My father thanking me for helping him and telling him where to find her. But he was lying. Trying to rip us apart. But what if she believed him?

The last thing I remember is a bright red flash. Lor’s magic? I dig further into my memory. I hear her voice, and I hear her crying. What happened?

Zerra watches me with a simpering smile as I meet her gaze.

“Did you just figure it out?” she asks, and though I’m not entirely sure what she means yet, my ribs seize with fear.

“You’re here because of your mate . She’s the one who killed you.”