Page 69 of Rapunzel Unchained
My magic burned underneath my skin, a snarling whirling infection that pushed and fought against my restraint. I could kill him right here. I could wrap my hands around that body part he loved so much and turn it into the gold he so adored. He’d never fuck me or any other unsuspecting young woman again.
Yet, it wasn’t enough. It would only end with my head on the chopping block. Too many knew of my powers. Too many would look my way if my dear husband died by magical causes.
No, it had to be subtler, something a low born would do.
I calmly sat on the chair beside him, poured a glass of wine, and pushed it toward him. “You’re right, husband. I have been nothing but wretched to you. I apologize. I just worry. You don’t hear the way they talk about me when your back is turned.”
Midas huffed, nodding. “No matter what I say about you, it wouldn’t do for them to be talking ill of the queen. I will take care of it.” He lifted the chalice to his lips and drained it once more. A loud wet belch left his mouth before he smacked his lips and leered at me once more. “Now, my love, show me how grateful you are to your husband.”
I smiled prettily at him. “Oh, I already have.”
The king stared up at me with a perplexed expression before his face turned red. His hand scratched at his throat as he fought against the poison that ran through his system.
I propped myself up on the edge of the dining table, lifting the goblet he’d been drinking to my nose before sniffing it with a grimace.
“You poison yourself every day with this trite and never noticed I’d added something extra to it this time.” I gave the barest of smiles before setting the cup back on the table. “You are a sniveling, worthless excuse for a man. The kingdom will prosper once you are gone and I’m their queen.”
He reached out to me, his eyes full of wild rage, foam and spittle spewing from his lips. I laughed as he pawed at me, his strength leaving him too quickly for him to do any damage.
I pulled a cloth from my sleeve and patted my cheeks with a sniff. “Snow and I will mourn you in public, of course. But I will dance on your grave, knowing weak men like you will never run this kingdom ever again.”
Drawing in a deep breath, I screamed and stumbled away from the table. I thought of what my mother looked like that day in the square after the mages had gotten their hands on her. Her lifeless eyes staring at nothing, her mouth open in a silent scream. The tears flowed freely then, and I crumbled to the ground.
Guards rushed into the dining room, their swords drawn, eyes frantically searching for the source of my screams.
“Your king,” I shouted, pointing a finger at the already dead man, his face squished into his porridge. “Someone has poisoned your king!”
A guard coddled me close to him, while they called for a doctor. I sniffled and wailed into the guard’s chest, playing the grieving widow while, on the inside, I crowed with victory.
No longer would I have to simper and play the docile bitch for a hairbrained king. It would be me on the throne and then real change could begin. The mages wouldn’t know what hit them.
“This has gotten out of hand.” Adam’s voice filtered through the dining room.
My brows furrowed. Adam? What was he doing here?
The vision of my triumph melted away only to be replaced by a scene of his office. All five of my mages sat around the room. Anxiety, rage, and sorrow painted their faces. I would have expected Zane to be the worst of the five, since it was his demon who had stabbed me.
Right, I had been stabbed. I glanced down at my body. The gown I’d worn in the palace had been replaced with the dress I’d been wearing before, blood decorated the front of it, marring the violet color an ugly brownish red.
Was I dead? I didn’t feel dead. Though, I suppose I wouldn’t know how being dead felt. If being dead felt like any of my other dreams where my magic pulled me out of my body to spy on who I really wanted to see.
“You think?” Luke snapped, jumping to his feet. “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t locked her away again.”
“We agreed it was for the best.” Adam tried to placate his friend.
“No, you decided,” Blake snarled, Izzy growling at his feet. “You decided what was best, like you always do. No one else’s opinions matter when it comes to the great Arch Mage.” He spat the words as if they burned his mouth.
“They have a point.” Zane stared down at his feet, his glasses in his hands. He lifted his head, and those beautiful hazel eyes hardened on Adam and Gage. “We should have been working with Eva from the beginning to find a solution. Instead, you made it us against her.”
“The way it should be,” Gage interrupted. “It’s always been us against the world. Why should a woman be any different?”
“Because she’s different,” Zane roared, jumping to his feet. “And if you don’t see that, you are a fool and a coward.”
Gage stepped up to Zane, towering over the cleric. “I am not a coward.”
Zane laughed, a bitter sound in his throat. “You can face down death every day and still be a coward, because you refuse to open yourself up to others. You do more than hide behind your mask every day.” Zane's face swung toward Adam. “And you, behind your position.”
Clearing his throat, Zane placed his glasses back on his face. “Unless it was unclear before, I stand by Eva’s side. I choose her.”
