Page 52 of Rapunzel Unchained
The desperation on his face would have broken me, would have made me kiss him and forgive him for all that he had admitted to, until he uttered those last words.
“I wanted to protect you. From this world, even from yourself. I knew there was no way this beautiful creature could have done those horrible things, and I couldn’t bear to see your past-self tearing you apart.”
He continued to make excuses, to tell me how much he loved me, but I could barely hear it over the thundering of my pulse. All the hope and elation I felt about Adam breaking up with Rebecca, chasing me down here, and trying to make things right disintegrated into hot molten rage.
My hands curled around the arms of the chair, digging into the fabric of the furniture. “Protect me? You wanted to protect me?”
“Yes,” Adam breathed, hope filled his gaze. “Eva, please, tell me you understand.”
“Yes,” I drew out, a malicious smile curling up my face. “I understand perfectly. You wanted to protect me. Except you can’t, Arch Mage. You can’t protect me, because I don’t need protecting. You can’t protect me anymore than you can protect those sniveling, power-grabbing mages you bow down to on the council. You should have taken your ancestor’s warning to heart, because I’m not some innocent little damsel in distress. I’m the Evil Queen and I won’t let anyone stand in my way.”
I leaned forward, tipping his chin up with my finger. “Even you.”
Adam clasped my hand firmly. “Please, Eva. Don’t do this.”
I shook my hand free, releasing myself of him once and for all, even as my heart screamed at me to stop. “For all that you have done in the name of protection, I’ll give you this chance to walk away.”
“Eva,” Luke murmured, stroking his hand down my arm. “Think about this.”
Blake silently stroked my leg once more, but even I could feel the hesitancy in his movements.
If Zane was there, I was sure he would have advised me to be cautious, to think this through thoroughly before I did something I would regret.
Except I couldn’t. I couldn’t think past the sight of Snow before me. Her descendant. Her legacy. Adam lied to me, used me, made me fall in love with him. All things I might have been able to forgive, but I couldn’t forgive the blood running through his veins.
I knew it was hypocritical. I was doing the exact same thing that the mages did to the humans. And yet, I couldn’t find it in me to care over the rage and despair that tangled in my heart. I could offer him the only mercy I could give him at that moment.
“Leave. If I see you again, Arch Mage, it will be as enemies.”
Adam’s face fell, his heartache so palatable that it almost reached through my own turmoil. He pushed up to his feet and adjusted his coat, before nodding his hair falling over his eyes.
For a moment, I wanted to tell him no, stop, I didn’t mean it. But I had my pride.
Pride was a nasty thing that would destroy even the best of people. Pride made me let him walk out that door. The sound of it shutting destroyed my already splintered heart.
Zane’s demon turned to me in the remaining silence, grinning with unfiltered delight. “You’re right, this was fun.”
Chapter 26
The next few days were a blur. My goal was well in hand, and yet I could barely bring myself to care. I laid in bed, staring off into space, my eyes puffy and red from finally letting myself break down after the others left.
They’d tried to talk to me about what happened. They felt just as betrayed as I did, but I couldn’t just forgive Adam the way they could. They’d known Adam longer, loved him like a brother. They would get over it.
If it had just been the lying, I might have been able to forgive him eventually. I told myself that I shouldn’t punish the child for their parents or, in this case, their ancestor’s crimes.
Yet this dark ugly ball of hate in my very being couldn’t separate the man I’d fallen in love with and the very symbol of my hatred.
A thousand years. A thousand years, and Snow White still held onto the power she’d stolen from me. It might not be in the same kingdom, but somehow, they’d still found a foothold in the new world. A new place for them to conquer and mold for their own selfish purposes.
I sometimes wished I’d never left my tower. If I could, I’d put each brick back up until I could climb back inside of it and pretend like this never happened. That I hadn’t fallen for my enemy and then had my heart ripped out in the end.
Except I couldn’t and wouldn’t. I might not have Adam, but I wasn’t alone. I still had Zane, Blake, and Luke. They loved me as much as I loved them, and I wouldn’t give up that feeling for anything in the world.
They’d been giving me space while we waited for the designated day for our final stand. They still needed to keep up appearances, or someone would get tipped off about our plan.
Rebecca and Nick had taken to pulling all the stray pieces together. Gathering the rebels for more protests. Making sure that the press would know where to be when it finally came down to it.
This would be the final spark that would ignite the world into change. Nothing could go wrong. Which meant, I needed to pull the pieces of my broken heart back together and be the leader that they all wanted.
