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Backing away he shook his head turning to the witch. “I don’t understand. This isn’t right. Where is Mina?”
Evangeline frowned and sat up. “Who?”
“Be silent demon. Andrea, where is Mina? What is this foul magic?” Erik roared, grabbing for her arm.
The witch jerked backward, yanking her bicep from his grasp. “It is no such thing, Your Majesty. She is alive. She is a gift of the three goddesses, of Lumaria, a gift of the divine.”
“Erik, please,” Evangeline gasped, trying to lift herself from the coffin. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”
He backed away from her again, casting his eyes to the ground. He couldn’t look at her. She couldn’t possibly be real. After a hundred witches swore to him she could never be resurrected like he wanted, this foul monster couldn’t be her.
Andrea rolled her eyes and went to help the creature to her feet. “Forgive me, Milady. It seems he will not trust his eyes.”
“Erik, it’s me,” Evangeline called out. “Please. Look at me, my love. The last thing I remember was you putting me in the carriage. I don’t understand how we got here; I don’t even know where here is.”
He closed his eyes, shuddering against the pain that radiated through his chest. She couldn’t possibly be back, could she?
“You are in the Crimson Palace, Milady. The Old King is dead, and your Erik, is our new king,” Andrea explained calmly. “You are our Queen.”
Erik shook his head. “Where is Mina?”
“Who is Mina?” Evangeline asked, a heartbreaking sadness in her voice.
“She was the method in which I brought you back, Milady. Her blood has brought you to life,” Andrea said.
“What?” Erik hissed looking at the witch again.
“Mina was crafted so that you would care for her and bite her, Your Majesty. It is by your bite and love that I was able to draw enough energy to return her to life,” Andrea said. “I ensured her creation, and Maggie, my pupil was dispatched to Distova to ensure that she grew into a perfect mirror. She taught the girl how to act, think, and love. Then once you two met, she filled her mind with visions, and questions. She was made to love you. Made to rekindle your love for your Evangeline.”
Erik’s stomach churned, he was going to be sick. Pressing a hand to his chest, he swallowed around a lump in his throat. “You’re saying you created Mina so I would fall in love with her?”
Andrea laughed. “No. You were never meant to love her. You were meant to beattractedto her, todesireher blood.”
“But…he does…love her,” Evangeline said, standing upright at the periphery of his vision. “You’ve done your job too well, Andrea. You’ve made the mirror too perfect.”
A warning bell went off in Erik’s mind. Her tone had changed. Gone was the confused waif, now as he turned his eyes to her, she looked strong and regal. Her long black hair hung around her shoulders in a wild mane. Her lavender gown stretched to the ground, her long bell sleeves stretching down to sweep the ground.
It was a dress from the past, completely out of fashion, but she still looked like a woman who’d been bred to be queen, his queen. But she wasn’thisqueen. Not anymore.
“Now that you’ve returned, the girl is nothing. Merely a component for our spell that will be easily removed from our gameboard.” Andrea said.
Evangeline shook her head. “He was never meant to love her. My return will not be as we wish if she is to remain.”
“What are you talking about?” Erik narrowed his eyes, taking another step back towards the door.
“Hold him still,” Evangeline said, sliding her eyes past him.
Erik tensed, but before he could move hands took hold of his arms, and hips.
“Husband…husband…husband…” The Three whispered as they leaned into him.
He pulled his arms from their grasp with a violent yank. “Let me g—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Evangeline stepped up to him, grabbing his face between her hands. Her eyes flashed a bright violet. “You were never meant to love her, My King. You are mine, and you will remain so for as long as you live.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut off his words with a burning kiss. He felt her magic surge through him, and the world dimmed, his body going numb as she pulled away.
“Sleep now, my Sweet One. When you wake from this spell, everything will be the way it was meant to be. You and I will be together. Forever.”
As the darkness swarmed him he had one final thought.“M-Minnnnaaaa.”
