Good Morning, Little Ones!

Thank you to Mel, Jill, and Dani!

.: 48 :.

I wonder how I was found so easily, but when the guards drag me out of the library, I realize like a true idiot, I left a bloody trail for them to follow.

I'm so angry at myself, for a moment, it chases away the fear.

We turn before we have to pass the place where I killed Alistair, and I consider it a small favor from the universe, even as I'm likely being dragged off for my immediate execution.

I have a feeling the Viper Queen won't let me out of her grasp so easily this time.

I'm hauled into the throne room, and this time, it is nearly empty. I'm tossed on my knees, and I wince as they hit the hard stone flooring. The guards move from my side, and I look up slowly. The room empties, and my air is sucked out of my lungs when I realize I'm left in the room with no one but the Viper Queen.

Her bright eyes are digging into me, and she taps one long nail against her bone-white throne.

"So," she murmurs. "You're back."

I swallow hard, sitting back on my heels to meet her gaze. "I am."

Her nails are tapping a sharp, staccato sound that is ringing through my ears, making my bones rattle. She takes a breath. "You denied me a death last time you were here." I try not to flinch under her intense, toxic gaze. Her eyes skate over me. "It seems, you have repaid that already."

I gaze down at my blood-stained clothes, and my stomach rolls. "I did a friend a favor," I whisper, my throat tight.

She hums. "Yes, so it would seem." She taps her nails again, and I see the snakes on her wrists blink slowly. "I'm glad to see that you've at least learned something since I let you escape last time."

I gape at her. "You what?" Even I can hear the disbelief in my shocked voice.

She smirks.

"You really think you'd be able to get away from me if I wanted you dead?"

I don't know how to respond to that. I stare at her, and she sighs, rolling her head a little. At her throat, the heavy ruby winks at me. "Oh Little Lamb, the things you don't know." Her voice is patronizing, and my eyes flicker to hers.

"I know enough." I grunt.

She taps her fingers again.

"We'll see."

My eyes flicker to her necklace again, and I hear her hum. "I was hoping you'd see sense," she says, drawing my eyes back to her face. "I was hoping you'd realize the trap you've been placed in and you'd run."

My palms start to sweat. "What do you mean?"

Her bright eyes meet mine, and there is no hint of warmth or kindness on her face as she speaks. "You've been prepped as a lamb for slaughter. You looked unto the soul of your butcher, and you welcomed him with open legs."

I flinch, each one of her words hitting me like an arrow. "What are you talking about?" I choke.

She gets up from her throne, stalking toward me.

"Edward was ordered to fall in love with you," she whispers. "We know the cost of the spell. We know it takes the sacrificing of a love greater than any other love." She stops, hovering above my face. "Edward was ordered into the world to find a love that would bring him to his knees, then to bring that creature back so that she might be sacrificed."

I feel like my chest is caving in on itself as each one of her poisonous words sinks deeper and deeper into me.

My body is shaking, and I can feel my knees start to give out in my denial. "No," I whisper. "No, it's not… he can't…"

She sighs. "We expected it to take longer. Love so rarely happens overnight." She pauses, her eyes flickering to me. "You must be something truly special for him to have brought you back already."

I'm going to throw up. I can't believe the venom from her lips—I can't—but part of me does. Nothing about Edward has ever made sense, and I've known from the beginning he wasn't being truthful with me, at least not fully.

But this?

"I tried to spare you this," the Viper Queen says. "A death from my beasts is painful, but so less painful than what you're going through now."

I look up at her. "Why?" I croak.

She tilts her head.

"I happen to like the balance of power as it is. My husband fears me, and though we are meant to be equals, his fear of me keeps him in check." She shakes her head, and her bright red hair dances around her like flames. "It's he who sent Edward away. He's been behind every move your lover has made. Every time he buried himself between your thighs, it was because my husband ordered it."

I'm going to hurl. I shake my head, turning away from her. "No," I croak. "No. I don't believe you."

She shrugs. "Shall we bring them in here?" she asks. "I'm sure Edward would love to tell you himself how he's betrayed your most vulnerable trust."

"Why are you telling me all this?" I gasp, denial and rage warring deep in me.

"Because..." she whispers, her hand coming down and grasping my chin. Her eyes are burning bright as she clutches my chin and the snake on her wrist hisses softly. "The deeper your heartbreak, the sweeter your blood will be." The snakes hiss, and I can feel a tongue flicker across my jaw. "My beasts will feast on you, and my husband need never know you survived. He'll be so sad to hear his plan has failed, but I'm sure Edward will be sent right back out to find a new love. Shouldn't take him too long. What can the love of a creature like him possibly be worth?"

I glare up at her. "You'll never know the power of his kind of love." I snarl, my voice shaking.

She looks down at me.

"Oh Lamb, don't you see? I have more power than you can fathom." She smiles at me, dropping my chin. "Now, the true question is do I let my beasts eat you here, or outside?"

She paces away from me as she talks, and I feel hollow and confused. A single tear falls down my cheeks, and I feel it land on my lips, the taste of salt and grief filling me.

Wake up.

I blink, looking up at the Viper Queen, but even as I look at her, I know she wasn't the one who just spoke.

Wake up. Wake up and remember.

There is no one around me, not a soul but the Viper Queen. The voice is familiar in a way I can't place, but my heart starts thrumming, anxious and excited. I can smell the sea, feel teeth as they sink into my neck. My fingers wrap around my throat, finding the place where the teeth marks should still be torn through my flesh, but have magically healed. We will trade secrets. I will take of your power, and in return, you will wake up!

I don't know if I'm hearing a memory, or if the creature deep under the sea is still calling to me. I feel the cold of the water slide over my skin, feel the rhythm of waves breaking on the beach, crashing in my chest. I am not a creature of the sea, but the sea has made its mark upon my soul in exchange for a bite of my power. The words thrum in me, urging my blood into action until I feel as if I'm burning from the inside out.

Remember, remember, REMEMBER!

And suddenly, I do.

Ruby red stone… silver eyes… golden wings… Edward's smile… soft fur… slivers of bone… the taste of the sea… sweet and tart apples on my tongue… Edward filling me… the purr of a cat… the caw of a black bird… fire… blackberries and pine… lips against my ear, whispering… Find me, My Love…

I gasp, falling forward, my palms hitting the hard stone floor as magic floods through my body, shaking me to my core. Things I remember but have never lived; things I can taste that I've never eaten; words spoken that have never been uttered to me.

I name you, your true name, your everlasting name.

Tears burn my eyes, and my fingers claw against the ground. I hear a door open, sense Edward coming into the room, but I can't look up at him. My magic is swelling, filling the room, unraveling me with it.

What am I?