Chapter 66

Chapter 66

AMALIA

W hen the shadows at the corner of the roof began to move and twist, Amalia thought she must be dreaming. Surely, this was all some horrid nightmare and here was the proof. Any moment now, she would wake up back in her bed in the palace. And all of this would finally be over.

But she didn’t wake.

Amalia watched in horror as the shadows coalesced before her eyes, morphing together to form the figure of a woman.

A Demon.

Kallista . Vee sucked in a quick panicked breath as the Demon formed from shadows and rose to stand before them.

Please let me wake up , Amalia thought, panicked.

Let it be just a dream.

Just another nightmare.

Now fully formed, Kallista cocked her head to the side, gazing around the roof with wry amusement. Her eyes trailed over each of the three blinding flood lights, raised high on metal legs, before finally settling on Vee.

“Cute,” she purred. “But I don’t need my shadows to hurt you, little Witch. ”

With a deadly smile on her face, Kallista stepped forward, toward the center of the roof.

“We can do this the old-fashioned way,” she cooed, advancing without fear, arms stretching out at her sides. “It’s been a long, long time since I’ve felt someone’s blood running through my fingers. I imagine I’ll quite enjoy it, tonight.”

Amalia screamed.

She couldn’t help it. The pain that suddenly took her, twisting her spine violently backwards, was such agony she couldn’t hold the sound inside. She’d screamed before she’d even realized what was happening.

“One more step and I break the princess’s neck,” Vee told Kallista.

Fear replaced the pain in Amalia’s chest as she felt Vee’s hold on her vanish. Vee should know that wouldn’t stop her. Amalia was nothing to Kallista, nothing at all. The Demon would never stop to protect her. She had no reason to keep her alive…

But… the threat worked. Eyes flaring with rage, Kallista stopped her advance.

“I can do it, too,” Vee continued. “You’ve seen it yourself, Demon. So step back, if you want her to live.”

Remarkably, the Demon did. Glancing quickly over at Amalia as though to ensure she was still alive, Kallista took a step backward, toward the edge of the roof. And then another.

“That goes for you too,” Vee said, pivoting.

Amalia hadn’t heard the Witches arrive. But they stood there now. Near the top of the ladder that Vee had made her climb.

Alice. Alice and…

Amalia swallowed a sob.

Alice and a nightmare , dressed in black leather.

Please, merciful Goddess, let me wake up.

“We won’t move,” Alice assured Vee, palms raised. “There’s no need to hurt her.”

Amalia’s chest tightened.

Alice had no reason to want to help her. And at her side, the Witch in the Blades uniform, blonde hair streaming down her back, that was the last Queen’s Blade, wasn’t it? The only Witch with an intact Blades mark left alive .

These Witches didn’t come here to save her, Amalia knew, with a sinking realization. That’s not what the Blades did. They had come to kill. And despite everything, despite the pain and the fear and the betrayal, Amalia felt more fear for Vee than for herself.

“Why don’t you tell us what you want,” Alice continued, speaking slowly. “And we can all help each other.”

“Are you okay?” the blonde Witch asked. It took Amalia a long moment to realize she was talking to her. “Did she hurt you?”

“No,” Vee told her, stepping between them, blocking her from view. “I haven’t hurt her. But I will. If any of you makes one move against me, I swear I will.”

“What do you want, Witch?” Kallista asked, voice cold.

Vee turned toward her, baring her teeth.

“Don’t call me that!” she snapped.

Kallista shrugged. “Why not? It’s what you are, isn’t it?”

Shaking her head, Vee curled her lips in disgust. “I’m a Wolf . Witches destroyed this city. Witches are the ones with their boots on our necks, holding us down while we starve. I’m not one of them. I’ll never be one of them.”

Kallista huffed a small laugh.

“What do you think that power is, that you tried wielding against me, hm?” she asked, quirking a brow.

If she was trying to get a rise out of her, it didn’t work. Vee simply smiled, all irritation gone from her voice in an instant.

“It’s mine , is what it is. I don’t care where it came from. It’s mine .”

A sound filled the air, like metal twisting. Someone was coming up the ladder. Alice and the last Queen’s Blade moved aside, careful not to move closer and risk Vee’s wrath, as someone emerged.

Someone with blood-red hair.

Vee threw back her head and laughed.

“Oh, you’re all really fucked, now, you know that?” she asked Kallista, grinning widely. “You might not be scared of me, Demon, but you should be scared of her.”

Amalia watched in horror as Fey, her mother’s murderer—her Broken Blade—stepped onto the roof.