Page 101 of Death of a Mortal

My chest heaved. At one point, I would have feared the repercussions of speaking like that to a royal, but I was so far beyond that point now.

She did nothing more than take a steadying breath in response.

My scalp tingled again, and I felt suddenly calm. I vaguelythought this should alarm me, but the thought quickly vanished from my mind.

“As I started to say, I understand you’re grieving, Naci, but you must understand I am not the king. Right now, I am not your enemy. I wish for you to listen to what I have to say.”

“What could you possibly have to say that I would want to hear,Your Majesty?”

I could tell she was affronted by my tone, but she fixed her face and pressed on.

“It…appears that you are fae. Have you realized that by now?”

I snorted. “Oh no, I thought the darkness that poured from me was divine intervention. Fae? How utterly shocking.” In all actuality, I had come to that conclusion, but it still seemed crazy and impossible, and I couldn’t wrap my head around it.

“Such a sharp tongue. It’s unbecoming of a female.”

“I amnota female! I am not one of you. I am not a fae. I am awoman. I want no association with you.”

“You are notafae, youarefae.” I noted her subtle correction, ever the critical queen. “The sooner you accept this, the easier this will become.”

“Easier? What exactly becomes easier? The pain from the bruises formed on my back from sleeping on this cold, hard stone? The pain from the blisters on my wrists from the shackles that sting with every move I make? Or the pain from your husband taking everything from me that I have ever cared about? Which,exactly, will become easier if I call myself a female?”

She considered me for a long moment. “I can see the time is not yet right to tell you what you are. We will try again soon.” She turned to leave the dungeon.

“Wait!” If she knew what I was, maybe I could and should put aside my bitter anger. Just for a moment. “I’m listening.” I had all the time in the world after this moment to rage.

She smiled a satisfied smile that made me want to reach throughthe bars and strangle her. I was playing right into her hand, but I didn’t even know what game we were playing. And I certainly had no other cards to play.

“My dear, it seems you have always been fae. You were born one of us, but something bound your fae heart to mortality and shielded you from the fae you were born to be. I sensed something about you as soon as I met you, but I couldn’t be sure. You were…unique.”

I was so godsdamn tired of being called unique. I didn’t want to be unique. I wanted to be a plain, normal mortal with an alive sister. The way I was in Briarstead.

Gods, things were dire if I were wishing for my life back home with Cassius and Aemilia.

The queen’s face changed as I thought of that life, almost as if she could see what I was thinking. As if she felt…bad for me.

I must have imagined it, because in the next heartbeat her face was stern once more.

“I don’t want to be fae, I don’t even want tobe. I have nothing worth living for.”

The fact that I said that out loud caught me by surprise.

“Dear, of course, you want to live.” Spoken like someone who had never truly lost anything. In that moment, I wished her all the pain I had ever felt.

“Tell me what I am, or leave me be,” I snapped. My already near nonexistent patience had worn out. Staring at the wall seemed more appealing than having the queen here one moment longer.

“You seem to be an elemental, a Veythryn, and an Umbrathren all wrapped into one. That’s rare. And the combination of your specific powers? Even more so.”

My fiery heart dropped.

Chapter 24

Dawn is the End

The queen leftme to my thoughts in the dungeon.

I could comprehend the words she spoke, but I couldn’t make them make sense. Not for me. Like they were about someone else that I was observing from afar, and this someone was a dark abomination.