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A beautiful woman with snowy-white hair and piercing blue eyes glares at me from several feet away. She’s dressed from head to toe in black beads; even the ornate crown atop her head appears to be made entirely of obsidian. Iron and jewels, it looks more like a weapon than a crown. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Then again, I’ve never been held captive by the queen of my imaginary dream castle.

This all feels like a cruel joke.

“Come closer, and let me have a look at you.” Before I have the chance to move, she’s instantly standing close enough to reach out and touch me.

Her bony fingers grab my face and squeeze, turning it this way and that. I swear I can feel ice forming on my cheeks beneath her fingertips, and am shocked to see the hatred brewing in her eyes. I have no idea what I’ve done to merit such a response from her.

“I really don’t see what all the fuss is about.” Her striking eyes lock with mine, and what I see behind hers is emptiness.

Sometimes the most beautiful things are the scariest… if you look closely enough.

I couldn’t get any closer if I was looking into her soul. And yet the way she’s peering into my frightened eyes, I feel that’s exactly what she’s trying to do.

“Could you not have at least cleaned her up? Honestly, Riven. She’s dripping dirty water all over my circle.” She drops her hand from me and begins moving around the room.

“Apologies, my queen.”

Riven?

I heard that name mentioned earlier.

That must be his name.

“And do you not have apologies for your queen, girl?” She questions, looking back to me.

“You’re not my queen.” I lift my chin defiantly. “I don’t even know you.”

One minute, she’s pacing the room, and the next, she’s right back in my face, her sharp nails digging into my throat as she wraps her bony fingers around my neck and squeezes.

“Tsk-tsk. You have much to learn, you little fool. Because I am the queen.” The room shakes as her voice drops.

“I don’t know who you are or what it is exactly that you want from me…” The rest of what I’m trying to say is cut off as she tightens her grip and I struggle for air to breathe.

“Majesty,” Riven speaks up as he rises to his feet. “Do you not need her alive? For the Gathering of the Twelve?”

The last part is almost a whisper, and I don’t think I was intended to hear.

“So I do,” the queen says reluctantly. “So. I. Do.” I can feel her grip on my throat slowly loosen. “For now at least.”

She reaches down, running an iron-tipped nail down the side of my exposed neck, near my jugular, and when she lets me go, I fall to my knees.

Not because I’m bowing but because I’m choking to catch my breath.

“Take her to the bathhouse. Clean her up. If I wanted my castle smelling like wet dog, I would have invited the Brothers Lycan to the party tonight.”

Her evil laughter echoes down the hall as she walks away, leaving us alone.

Lycan. As in werewolf?

“Yes, Majesty,” he mutters and pulls me to my feet, interrupting my terrified thoughts.

Before he has the chance to remind me to keep my head down, his smoky eyes meet mine, and in that moment, I know… it’s him.

Chapter 7

Riven