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

Chapter 19

C HAPTER 19

NADIR

T HE E VANESCENCE

“ Y our mate. She killed you,” Zerra repeats after I don’t answer for several long seconds. Her expression turns simpering, and she assesses me up and down. “She thought you betrayed her to your father and, in a fit of rage, unleashed her magic and killed you.” She tips her head and purses her mouth into a faux pout. “Surely you remember something?”

She stares at me as I sort through my thoughts. Yes, I remember a bright flash of red and then nothing. I remember hands touching me and shoving me. It’s finally clearing in the haze of my mind. Being rolled over grass and a sharp pain in my feet and legs. Being dragged over the earth. Lor screaming my name over and over.

But I can’t see any of it. It’s like impressions on the backs of my eyelids. Muted flashes that are more about feelings than actual memories. Did any of it happen?

“And then what?” I ask, barely able to summon the words over the clog in my throat.

Lor believes what my father said. She thinks I betrayed her. Surely she would know he was lying. After everything we’ve been through, how could she ever think I’d do anything to hurt her?

“Then she got up and walked away,” Zerra says.

“You’re lying.” I try to make it sound like a statement, but it comes out far too much like a question for my liking.

“Oh, all right,” Zerra says. “She cried a bit. Felt a little bad. But then she dusted off her pants and ran. She said she was planning to track down the Aurora King.”

I narrow my gaze, sure Zerra has to be lying. Lor wouldn’t have just left after killing me. No matter how angry she might have been, she would never have done that. And if she were free, she wouldn’t go after my father first. She would have turned right around and run for her brother and sister. I’m sure of it. I know her better than anyone, and the Lor I know would have sought out her family above all else.

“That still doesn’t explain how I ended up here,” I say.

I’m attempting to piece through the shattered fragments handed to me, and I need as much information as possible.

Zerra’s expression turns to annoyance. “I invited you to dine with me, not suffer through an interrogation.” She plants her elbows on the table and gestures with her chin towards the seat next to her. “Sit down.”

I hesitate, and her eyes flash. The last thing I want is to dine with this woman, but I understand I’m backed into a corner right now. I survey my surroundings, searching for exits, but windows surround us on all sides. However, a window can be used as an exit just as much as a door. There is the issue of us hovering in the middle of nothing and the fact my magic seems to be blocked, but I just need to bide my time.

My gaze then snags on a surprising sight: three pedestals stand at the far end of the room, with three dark objects hovering above each one.

The arks.

Though I saw it for only a second, I remember the object the Mirror hurled at Lor.

“I see you’re admiring my collection,” Zerra says. “It’s been quite a feat to get my hands on these. And soon, I’ll have them all.”

My attention moves back to her. “How so?”

“That’s nothing to concern yourself with.” She pats the end of the table in front of an empty seat on her right. “Come and sit.”

After hesitating for a moment, I pad down the length of the table in my bare feet. My gaze pings to the arks again, and I consider how to trick her into telling me more. How does she plan to get the rest? This might be important for us to know.

The marble floor is cold, but the air is warm. As I approach, Zerra eyes me with naked hunger, and I repress a shudder. I pull out the chair next to her and sit. The position puts me closer to her than I would like.

“Hungry?” she asks .

“Not really.”

I’m starving, but I don’t want anything she’s offering.

“Come now. I was mortal once, even if it was a very long time ago. You haven’t eaten anything for days. You must be famished.”

She ignores whatever I’m about to say and starts to pile food on my plate: strawberries and cheese, a slice of beef, and a chicken leg. She pours gravy over the top, picks up a fork, spears a potato, and holds it out to me. Reluctantly, I reach for it, but she pulls it back.

“Ah ah,” she coos. “I want to feed my fiancé. It’s so romantic, don’t you think?”

I nearly choke on my tongue.

“Fiancé?” I croak.

I know this is a human concept—something to do with their type of bonding.

“Yes,” she says, grinning.

“I . . . don’t understand.”

Zerra pouts again and holds up the fork. “You know, I thought you’d be much smarter than this. But that’s okay. I’ve always preferred my lovers to be pretty and not much else.”

Then she uses her other hand to stroke my bare chest. I shove away from the table, the screech echoing through the hollow room.

“Do not touch me,” I snarl, and her bright blue eyes darken into swirling pits of anger. Her nostrils flare and she sets the fork down, folding her hands on the table.

“You’re shy. I understand. But don’t worry. Soon enough, you’ll be craving my touch. Your ancestor was the same. ”

A thousand responses sit perched on my tongue, but I drag in a long breath, attempting to soothe my temper. I’ll do myself no favors by antagonizing her.

“My ancestor?”

“Yes, the first Aurora King of the Second Age. We were lovers for many years.”

“King Elias was your lover?”

“Not him,” she scoffs. “The true first king.”

I narrow my gaze, wondering what she’s talking about. If she’s being truthful, I do have to question my forbearer’s judgment.

“Who?”

“Herric,” she says, but that doesn’t tell me anything.

“I don’t know who that is.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” She pushes my plate closer, seemingly done with this subject. “Feed yourself then. I can’t have you passing out on me.”

I eye her narrowly as she fusses with her napkin, avoiding my scrutiny.

“What happened with him?”

She stops and pins me with a look. “Eat your supper.”

Leaving it for now, I pick up my fork, watching for any sudden movements. I slowly take a few bites and resist the urge to moan. I didn’t realize until now just how hungry I am, and everything tastes incredible, but I do my best to temper my pace. I don’t want her to get any ideas about starving me out.

She watches me intently as I eat and doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by how weird this is. At least I don’t have to make conversation.

“Better?” she asks when I’ve finished .

I make a noncommittal sound as she reaches out and picks up a decanter, pouring me a glass of wine. She places it in front of me and then leans forward as her hand slides up my thigh.

Red hazes my vision, and I leap up.

“I said don’t touch me.”

She rolls her eyes, which just really pisses me off.

Forget subtle exits. I pick up a chair and hold it over my head.

“What are you doing?” Zerra screeches as I storm towards a window and swing the chair with all my strength. It bounces against the surface, ricocheting and smacking me in the chest. I go flying, my back hitting the floor as I slide along the slick surface.

What the fuck.

With the wind knocked out of me, I lie still, trying to catch my breath.

Zerra appears above me, her eyebrows pinching together.

“What did you do that for?” she asks softly as if trying to lull me into complacency or speaking to an ill-behaved child. “I know this is all new, and it will take a little time to adjust. Besides, if you want to destroy my palace, you cannot do it with force. It requires a sacrifice. Worry not. You’ll learn all the rules soon enough.”

Before I can process what that means, her soft smile turns wicked as she wraps a hand around my arm and hauls me up. I try to wrest myself from her grip, but her hand is like iron. She drags me back to the table, and I’m compelled to follow. My bones creak, and I have no doubt she’d snap my arm in two if I continue to put up a fight .

“Sit,” she says, tossing me back into a chair with enough force to nearly tip it over. “I was about to explain our wedding preparations, and I don’t appreciate the interruption. It is my special day, after all, and the least you can do is listen to what I have planned.”

I eye her warily as she settles back into her seat. “Now, I thought we’d have two kinds of fountains. Chocolate and sparkling wine. What do you think?” She looks at me expectantly and blinks her eyes. “Hmm?”

“You’re asking me?”

“Yes. Of course I am.”

It’s clear she’s starting to lose her patience.

“The dress. Once you see the dress, you’ll be as excited as I am.”

I really doubt that, but I keep my mouth shut.

She claps her hands, and two High Fae servants materialize. They’re both stunning in the way of Fae, with long blonde hair that falls nearly to their ankles. They wear loose white dresses that I recognize as the ceremonial garb reserved for Zerra’s disciples. They also wear the same vacant expression as all of Zerra’s helpers.

Between them, they hold a dress made of folds of sheer white fabric, the train so long the end disappears out the doorway.

“Isn’t it divine?” Zerra intones, and there’s a beat of silence before I realize she’s speaking to me. “Isn’t it?” she asks again, her lips thinning to bloodless white.

I shrug because I have no idea how to answer the question—it means nothing to me—and I’m sure it’ll annoy her if I fail to demonstrate sufficient enthusiasm .

“It’s a dress,” I say dryly, like the complete asshole I am.

Then I take a long sip of my wine, staring into the cup, before draining the entire thing and reaching for the decanter on the table. At this point, I’ll have to drink this entire place dry.

“Yes but isn’t it special?” she needles. “It’s the dress of my dreams. I never got to have a wedding, you know. I was dragged up to this godforsaken place and forced to live here.”

“Forced by whom?” I ask. I’ve never heard anything to suggest her words are true.

“The Empyrium,” she says with a petulant sigh.

“Who?”

She turns her eyes back on me and obviously doesn’t want to bother explaining anything else. She just wants me to shut up and do what she asks.

“They’re the supreme beings who oversee Ouranos and all the worlds around us.” She waves a hand as though they’re there hanging above her. My eyes flick up as though I’m really expecting someone to be there. Get a grip, Nadir.

“I thought you oversaw Ouranos,” I say, causing irritation to flash in her gaze. This is clearly a sore spot. Then I remember what Nerissa said back in Aphelion about some higher authority having created the Artefacts. The Empyrium. Who are they, and what is their role?

“Not exactly,” she answers in a way that tells me she’s done with my questions.

Fine, I don’t care unless it might get me out of here. I tuck this into my pocket for now—I’ll revisit the topic when the time is right .

“Where is Lor now?” I ask. “Can you see her? Do you know?”

It’s the wrong thing to say because her fingernails dig into the wood of her chair arms, causing the entire frame to creak under her weight.

“Why are you asking me about that horrible woman?” she snaps. “She killed you!”

“Do not speak of my mate that way,” I say, my voice as cold as an icicle hanging precariously over our heads.

“Why are you defending her?” Zerra asks, incredulous.

She cups her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice and then says in slow, deliberate speech, “She. Killed. You.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ll allow you to speak ill of her. I’m sure she had her reasons.”

“Are you kidding me?” Zerra says, and now I’m kind of enjoying myself.

“Forget her,” she says. “You are marrying me now.”

“I don’t think I can do that. Surely you know what a mate bond is. You’re the one who blessed us, after all.”

She scoffs at that. “I didn’t do anything.”

That brings me up short again.

“You didn’t? But mate bonds are blessed by Zerra.”

“You think I give two shits about who fucks who on the surface?” she asks. “Mate bonds are the dominion of fate. I just made you all believe that so you’d worship me, hoping I’d bestow them on you.”

“So you’re not the divine, and you don’t control the mate bond. What is it that you do up here?”

I see the moment she realizes she’s revealed too much, her eyes widening before she clenches her teeth .

“This line of questioning is over.”

She pushes up and saunters to where I’m sitting, plopping herself on my lap. It takes every ounce of restraint I possess not to dump her into a heap at my feet. I’ll need to stay on her slightly less crazy side if I want to escape with my head still attached to my neck.

“Please get off me,” I say, trying to keep my tone polite, but she ignores me, leaning in and pressing her breasts to my chest.

“We don’t have to wait for the wedding night, you know,” she says with a wink, dragging a finger along my jawbone and then pressing it to my lower lip. My head jerks as she slides the tip into my mouth, and then I do shove her off. Screw this.

She topples to the side, landing on her ass in a satisfying tumble of limbs.

“You bastard,” she hisses, scrambling to her feet.

Well, it was satisfying for me.

Faster than lightning, her hand streaks out and circles my throat. She squeezes and then starts to lift me up. I can’t resist. I claw at her arm, but I might as well be trying to fight a mountain.

“That’s enough,” she says, bringing her face close to mine. “This is your home now, princey-poo, and you are mine. Keep speaking to me this way, and I’ll cut out your tongue,” she warns. “Soon, we will right the wrong done to me so many years ago.”

Then she hurls me to the ground and claps her hands. Two of her little minions appear again. They stare blankly at me before Zerra crooks a smile .

“Don’t worry. Before long, you’ll forget your mate. You’ll forget everything. That’s what this place does to everyone.”

Her eyes flick towards her two helpers as her meaning becomes clear. These were High Fae who lived below once, but they’ve been here long enough to become these empty shells.

Icy dread trickles down my spine.

“Take him to his room,” she says, waving her hand. “He can come out when he learns how to behave.”

As I’m dragged away, one thing is absolutely clear: I have to get the fuck out of here.