Witch Queen Read Free Page B

“Whatever this plight is, this infection that’s spreading in you, it is evil. I can feel it in my soul, and
I know my intuition to be true, just as I know that the sun rises
in the east every morning. It’s not right. It’s a sickness…a
terrible sickness. Can’t you see that? Can’t you see what it’s
doing to you?”
    “Of course I can.”
    He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to
the side. His pale alabaster skin seemed to radiate a sickly glow
in the light.
    “It made me a better man, the man I’d always
wanted to be. I fought it at first, you know.” He dragged his
fingers through his hair, and the familiar gesture nearly sent me
to my knees.
    “I fought for you,” he continued. “I fought
it until there was no more fight left in me…until I was a breath
away from death. But once I accepted the darkness, everything
became clear. I knew it was the right thing to do. Just like you
will, Elena, when you embrace the darkness as I did. It’s
wonderful. You’ll feel wonderful.”
    He smiled at me again, and black liquid
oozed from the small cuts and cracks in his once sensual lips.
    “Come here, Elena,” he purred. He reached
out again, and I felt myself leaning towards him.
    “Don’t,” hissed Leo, and I froze, stupefied
at what I had almost done.
    Leo’s breath tickled my ear as he grabbed my
elbow and squeezed harder than necessary.
    “It’s you he wants. You can’t let yourself
get close to him. Our Jon is gone. It’s too late.”
    I’d learned to listen to Leo’s instincts and
to trust my own. Our Jon is gone . His words resonated in my
mind. I knew it to be true, but my heart refused to believe it.
    I braced myself as I stared into those
liquid-black eyes.
    “You know I can’t follow you, Jon. Not
anymore.”
    The words stung my throat as I forced them
out. I felt that my soul was dying as I stared at the creature who
was once the man I loved. The man I love .
    Anger flashed across Jon’s face, and his
haggard features twisted grotesquely. He shook his head and smiled
slowly.
    “Ah, Elena,” he tsked. “You disappoint
me.”
    With a flick of his wrist, he drew a long
silver sword from the sheath at his waist.
    “I didn’t want to have to do this. I was
hoping you would surrender to me without a fight. I thought our
love would be enough, but you’ve always been infuriatingly
stubborn. It’s a fault that will be cured soon enough. It’s not
without regret that I’m going to have to kill you and your
friends.”
    His words hit me like a punch in the gut,
and I strained to keep it together. Cold rippled through my soul.
This might be the end of us. I might never get him back.
    Jon’s eyes sparkled with primal fury as he
paced with his weapon drawn. “The way I see things, Elena, you have
two options. The smartest would be to accept my offer and come with
me. The second option is that I kill all of you.” He raised his
brows. “What will it be?”
    Will and Leo moved in next to me.
    This is it , I told myself. This is
the day Jon dies. This is the day he is lost from me
forever.
    I tightened my grip on my short sword. I was
shaking all over with an overpowering anger at the high priest. I
swore that one day I would make him pay. I would make him pay and kill him.
    And yet, even as I stood there clenching my
weapon, I knew with all certainty that I could never hurt Jon. Even
in his demented and infected state—I could never hurt him. Not
ever. There had to be another way…
    I clenched my jaw and took a careful step
forward.
    “The Jon I know would never threaten to kill
or hurt me or his friends in any way.” I angled my body forward and
added softly, “I know you’re in there, Jon. Fight it.”
    For a brief moment, I saw a flicker of
recognition on his face, but it disappeared so quickly I thought
maybe I had imagined it.
    Jon’s face wrinkled in a smile that didn’t
reach his eyes.
    “That Jon was weak,” he said. “Clearly that
Jon was weakened by his love for