4. Madelyne

four

Madelyne

I turn the corner leaving Luc’s wing and collide with an unsuspecting body. I stumble and Elphaba and Glinda flutter to keep me upright. “Oh, God! I’m so sor…” I rush to apologize. “Oh. Mom. Hi!”

My graceful mother stands perfectly upright. Obviously, I didn’t inherit my clumsiness from her. “Not, God, just your demon mother, wait… You have wings,” she gasps. “What happened?”

Because if anyone knows what it takes to earn wings, it’s my mother. So I fill her in on everything that happened yesterday. From my trip to Desolate Peak with Luc to her brothers kidnapping me.

“And then Oz broke in and rescued me… did I mention we're officially mated now? Anyway so then we locked Droxley and Bartleby up with Marjorkorie. Can you believe what a bitch that woman is?”

“I’ll kill them,” she seethes, cutting me off before stepping away from me, no doubt to go find them and follow through with her deadly promises.

“You’ll have to get in line. Between my guys, Luc, and now you, there’s no shortage of people who want vengeance. I’m afraid you’re already too late for Bartleby though.”

Eyes widening, she tilts her head in shock. “You mean he’s already dead?”

Biting my bottom lip I nod. It’s a memory I’d like nothing more than to forget, but I fear it will haunt me for the rest of my life.

“How? Who ?”

“Luc,” I murmur. “There’s more. So much more.” I hang my head at the realization that I will be the one to tell my mother how her mother was murdered. She deserves to know, and I need to be the one to tell her but fuck this is going to be hard.

“What’s going on, Madelyne?” she demands.

“Not here.” I glance around the hall.

“My suite then. There’s nowhere more secure. Father made sure of that,” she mutters the last part and I don’t miss the contempt in her voice. I don’t think she’ll ever tell me what she went through when she left us, but I know it wasn’t fun. Does it make me evil to be happy she suffered as Dad and I did? Am I a terrible person if it makes me feel slightly better to know she didn’t leave me for some great life without us?

Questions to ponder later, I decide as I send us to her suite. I’ve spent so much time here over the last few weeks, I know the layout of the room like the back of my hand. When the smoke clears, Mom’s in her favorite chair and I’m sitting in my usual spot on the couch across from her.

“You’ve gotten good at that. I have to touch anyone I want to transport with me, and I have never been able to direct our landing so precisely.” Her smile is bright and her eyes sparkle as she gazes at me like only a proud mother could.

I flush at her compliment. “Thanks. I’ve had a lot of practice,” I murmur.

She smirks as she watches me squirm. “Right. What was it you were going to tell me?” She arches a perfectly shaped brow.

My shoulders fall at the reminder of why we’re here and I instantly sober. “I didn’t tell you why they kidnapped me. Or what happened after Oz and I locked up your brothers.”

Her lips thin and her brows furrow. The air goes still and I think we both stop breathing for a suspended moment before she finally takes a deep breath, steeling herself for what’s to come.

“Tell me.”

Her words are resolute and I echo her deep breath before picking my story up where I left off.

“You know Oz saved me just as Bartleby and Droxley were about to bind themselves to me. But I wasn’t the only one they'd kidnapped.” The line between her brows deepens as I go on. “They stole Snowball. And a bunch of other hellhounds. When Oz and I found out where they were, we chained Bartleby and Droxley up in Luc’s torture room then went to rescue them.”

“How the hell did they get Snowball? She would have lit their ass on fire and then bit their balls off if they tried to get near her.”

“Apparently, Droxley has a power after all. He can control the hellhounds.” Her eyes widen at the implication. “We found Snowball in the Moaning Forest and were able to break the hold Drox had over her. After she led us to the rest of the missing hounds, I sent them all back to their homes. We thought that would be the end of it, leaving their punishment up to Luc. But when we got back, Bartleby was telling Luc this wasn’t the first time Drox had used his control over hellhounds…”

“You mean it’s not a new power? How long has he been able to control them? How does no one else know?” Mom leans forward in her seat as she peppers me with questions.

“Bartleby and Marjorkorie knew.” I point out.

“Of course, those idiots would know. But how did he keep it a secret from Father?”

“I don’t know. Self-preservation, I suppose.” I shrug. “What would Luc have done if he knew anyone could control his precious hounds?” I arch a brow.

“Fair point. Being his son would not have saved him… If I had the power, I might be spared but definitely not any of them.”

“Daddy’s favorite,” I cough.

“Hey, it has its privileges… Like not getting tortured and murdered,” she chuckles.

I know she meant it as a joke, but it reminds me of the scene I witnessed last night—Marjorkorie and Droxley chained up and Bartleby’s head sailing across the room—and I pale. I may have a little PTSD from the whole thing.

“ Madelyne, ” she gasps with wide eyes. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I forgot you’ve been to Father’s torture room,” she grimaces.

“I’ve seen the devil in his natural habitat, yes. It’s a memory I wish I could forget,” I mutter. “It was awful. I almost couldn’t get through to him. If I hadn’t been able to take some of his pain away… I don’t want to think about what could have happened.”

“You took his pain away?” she gapes at me.

“Well, not all of it,” I grumble. “Otherwise he’d have answered his door.”

“Okay, okay, back up. Dad was talking to Bartleby in the dungeon. What did he say that made him lose control? My father is unflappable. He would have never done anything to scare you. The only time I’ve ever seen him lose his composure is when my mom…” she trails off.

Biting my lips together and fighting tears, I nod. “They were behind your mother’s death. Bartleby told him everything and Luc went berserk.”

Mom freezes. Clearly not expecting that little truth bomb.

“I’m sorry… What ?” she shrieks.

Hanging my head, I murmur, “This is why I didn’t want to tell you in the hall.”

“Madelyne. What exactly are you telling me? My fucking imbecilic brothers killed my mother? They killed my wonderful, loving, caring empathetic mother who only ever treated them like her children? Is that what you’re saying right now? Is that really what you're telling me?” she all but snarls at me as she shoves out of her chair.

I gulp before looking her in the eye and nodding. “Droxley made a pack of hellhounds attack her convoy, distracting and killing her guards. And Bartleby… He… He shot her with an arrow dipped in crofolite. He said… He said she died instantly,” I stammer as her face contorts in pure rage. She looks just like Luc did right before he beheaded his son.

I don’t think I’ve ever noticed how alike the two are, but their reactions to this news are identical.

Guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree .

Mom even hulks out like Luc, growing a foot and turning a deep shade of red as she seethes. Sadly, there’s no Bartleby to take the brunt of my mother’s anger, so when she lashes out, her favorite chair receives the full force of her fury and shatters into a million pieces as she strikes it repeatedly.

Shit! I need to calm her down!

“Mom! Mom!” I cry trying to get her attention. When that doesn’t work, I know it’s just like with Luc. She’s not going to calm down on her own. I have to take away some of her pain like I did Luc. As soon as the thought flits through my mind, my powers instinctively reach out to her, slowly draining her until she shrinks to her normal height, her skin returning to its pristine paleness.

She heaves for breath as the haze clears from her head. I fall to the couch as her emotions flood my system, overwhelming me with their intensity.

Fuck. This is worse than last night. Did I take too much this time?

“ Madelyne! ” It’s muffled, but I can hear the panic in her voice as I give in to the darkness threatening to consume me.