Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco

Author:Kerri Maniscalco [MANISCALCO, KERRI]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2022-09-27T00:00:00+00:00

FIFTEEN

The First Witch, Sursea, eyed me the way predators survey potential threats or prey.

Instinct took over, and I bared my teeth, the vicious smile indicating I might not be fully restored to my former glory, but I was not prey, either. I stared the witch down, my fury growing the longer I held her hateful gaze. She’d taken Wrath from me. She’d used me and Vittoria in her twisted game. And I would make her pay in blood and tears for her sins. Not now, but one day soon my face would be the one in her nightmares.

Her attention flicked to Wrath, her expression turning mocking. “Six years and six months have certainly flown by, haven’t they, your majesty? Time may move differently here, but it still moves. How many days was it, again? I seem to have forgotten.”

Wrath’s gaze shot to mine for a brief flash before turning back to our enemy, but it was enough to amuse the witch once more. Her laughter filled the quiet chamber again. Only this time it sounded as if she knew a secret. One she shared with my husband.

And I detonated.

“Bow down to the king.” My voice was cold. Imperious. I felt Wrath’s attention shift to me, felt the whole room glance in my direction, but I did not break my stare with the witch. She must have sensed the fire burning in my soul. Sursea arched a brow but slowly went to her knees, the leather of her gown creaking in the silence.

I turned my focus to the vampire, who drew back almost imperceptibly. I had little doubt my eyes were now rose-gold and burning with my barely leashed power. If he hadn’t cared who or what I was before, he did now.

“Do not make me repeat myself. Bow or you’ll burn.” I summoned a fiery rose and sent it hovering above Blade.

He clenched his teeth but went to his knees, inclining his head in Wrath’s direction. “Your majesty.”

I stared at their prone forms, not releasing them from their positions of forced acquiescence. Wrath didn’t utter a word, sensing my emotions and giving me the time I needed to regain control. Or maybe he was simply pleased and wanted to see what I’d do next; discover how else our sins aligned in unholy matrimony. He’d said he wanted an equal. Wrath might command ice, but I was all fire. And the First Witch really shouldn’t have stoked my fury. Had it been only Blade speaking for the vampires, I doubted I’d have reacted the way I did.

It was Sursea’s presence, her foul demeanor, the implication that she had a secret my husband knew, along with her sneer at Wrath, that drove me mad with rage. For hurting him, I wanted to hurt her tenfold. It was irrational. Absolute. A consuming need for pure vengeance. I suddenly understood my sister all too well. I wanted our enemies to suffer. For every year, every month, day, hour, and second of pain they inflicted on my loved ones, I wanted to return the favor until they begged for mercy or death.

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