Lahat ng Kabanata ng A Queen Among Darkness: Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

It’s not long before we come to a stop and for a second I fear trusting an unexplained ball of light was a really dumb fucking move. “There’s a wall, but it’s not dirt, it’s stone,” she says. I reach my hand out and feel in front of me, and sure enough the wall is smooth. I feel the wall start to silently move back and a crack of light streams into the tunnel. I peek through the crack and can see a giant hall of some sort. The room is filled with women with sparkling flecks of gold covering their skin. From what I remember Izzy telling me, these must be irshiusts. Some of them are surrounding something, and it’s not till some of them shift that I notice what, or who, they’re surrounding. It’s Izzy! My heart begins to thunder furiously in my chest and every impulse in me is telling me to run to her, but I force myself to stay in place. Looking closer I can tell something is wrong. Her gorgeous olive skin looks grey and sickly, I can see her hair sticking to her face, but she’s not sa

I push my magic forward with all my might, feeling as though I’m trying to push through solid steel, but I only feel her magic give a fraction before it pushes back at me. “You’re pathetic. You can’t protect them; you can’t even protect yourself. Hiding away for centuries, too scared to face me. To face your failure. You’ll die as the only High Priestess to never ascend. You’ll be erased from history, and I shall rise a Goddess,” she says maniacally. I tune her out and continue to channel everything I have into my magic, but I feel my feet begin to slide back against the marble. “Just give up, Isolde,” she mocks pushing her magic towards me with all her strength, “I have an endless supply of magic at my disposal. My power is infinite. I have everything, what do you have?” She gloats. Her words have images filtering through my mind like a Rolodex being spun out of control. Images of happy moments shared with my family, followed by the flames that burned them alive. Images and memorie

With slow measured steps I walk through the ash and charcoal debris of what was once my home, the only piece of it left intact being the library, still preserved by my magic. Smartest decision I ever made. “Are you okay?” Valeria asks as she comes over, placing a hand on my shoulder, “You can rebuild it, can’t you?” I nod, “Effortlessly, but that’s not the point.” “I know,” she says softly, wrapping her arm around me, “Did you ever rebuild your family home?” She gently asks. I shake my head, “I couldn’t. I would have never been able to step foot in it again. It would have been too painful.” She nods in understanding and gives me a squeeze, “You don’t have to rebuild it if you don’t want to. We can go somewhere else,” she suggests. “I want to do this. This is our home,” I say as I squeeze her hand on my shoulder, “I won’t let her take that from me too.” I step out of her grasp and bring my magic forward, instantly it flares around me like an ignited flame, and with ease I push m

I couldn’t sleep a wink. One would think now that I have nothing to fear or worry about that I should be able to slip into the best night's sleep of my life. I suspect anyone who would think that has lived a very easy life. The fears that kept me up at night may be gone, but that defence inside me is still up. I spent all night watching Valeria sleep peacefully in my arms, terrified if I let my eyes close, I’d wake up only to find myself back in that cell awaiting my execution. I know everything is over and the truth is out there, and soon every makkari will know the truth, but it hasn’t sunk in as much as I thought it had. You don’t live in fear for two centuries and lose all those survival instincts in mere hours.It wasn’t so bad though. Watching Valeria sleep, knowing she’s safe in my arms helped relax me, while simultaneously filling me with guilt. She won’t tell me just how much pain she’s in from my rejection, not that I blame her. She puts on such a brave face and it’s eating

۩ISOLDE۩ I’ve never been so sucked in, in all my life, and this is coming from someone who used to wear corsets as part of everyday wear. They weren’t as bad as people make them out to be, and they provided incredible back support. But there is no support in this dress. I’m afraid if I bend over my breasts will fall out of my dress, though Valeria might enjoy that, but maybe not in front of guests. I apply another coat of mascara and spray a little more hairspray over my hair and give myself a final assessment. This is the most dressed up I’ve been since my first date with Valeria, but it feels good knowing it’s for our marking ceremony. I wanted her jaw to drop, so I’ve chosen a strapless A-line dress with a sweetheart neckline and a slit up to my hip. The fabric is a metallic chiffon in a gorgeous gunmetal colour that gathers diagonally across my body. It looks like my body is coated in liquid metal. My hair is slicked back leaving my face and shoulders completely unobstructed, an