Roland’s lips parted, but no sound came out.
His face drained of all color
as if Coral had ripped the bones out from under his skin
and left him standing on nothing.
"Roland," Rose repeated, voice breaking. "What... is she talking about?"
Coral, dragged by the guards, laughed.
A brittle, manic sound.
The laugh of someone who had nothing left to lose.
"Oh, tell her!" Coral yelled as the guards dragged her across the marble.
"Tell her how you’ve been sneaking into Cherry’s chambers ever since she returned! Tell her how almost all the servants have seen you two kicking it in alleys so public that it’s so easy to-
"ENOUGH!" Roland roared so loudly the walls shook.
Even the guards froze.
Cherry, still panting from her exposed magic, stood at the throne, a mean and cruel smile plastered on her face.
She didn’t deny it.
She didn’t even look up.
Rose stared at Roland, her heartbeat echoing in her ears.
Her voice came out small.
Thin.
A ghost of the woman she was.
"Roland... please."
Her eyes shimmered. "Tell me she’s lying."
Roland swallowed. "Rose, I swear. I assure you. I didn’t do it. I swear. But then I don’t understand it. It’s like-
He paused and swallowed hard again.
"I never did any of this. I can swear it to you. But it’s like just hearing these accusations. It’s like a memory that I never had.... Uh.... It’s like....
And Rose knew.
Before he even opened his mouth again, before he even lifted his head
She knew.
"Oh Goddess..." Rose whispered, the breath leaving her lungs in a violent shudder.
"Oh Goddess no..."
Roland finally spoke.
"Rose, I swear to you I didn’t do this! None of what she is saying makes any sense, but then....
Rose stumbled backward as if he had stabbed her.
"But then WHAT?" she whispered.
He squeezed his eyes shut. "I’m having some memories."
"Memories?" She gasped, her chest heaving.
Her voice cracked with disbelief so sharp it could have shattered stone.
"Rose, I swear to you I have never done anything to understand. But it’s just that. I don’t want to lie to you." He said with pleading eyes. "I have NEVER done anything with cherry. Everyone knows I hate her!"
"You were with my sister, and now you’re telling me you’ve been having some memories? That you don’t understand?"
Cherry turned to look at Rose with a devious smile, and Rose knew her sister was reveling in it.
She wondered how she had never noticed how much her sister hated her
Roland tried to reach for her, but Rose slapped his hand away with a snarl.
Her eyes flickered red, and the fire in her blood rose again.
"You cheated?" Rose whispered in devastation. "With her?"
Roland lifted both hands, pleading.
"Rose, listen—"
"NO!" Rose cried out, stepping back from him as if he burned.
"Don’t you dare say my name! Don’t you dare speak to me!"
Her chest rose and fell violently, her wolf thrashing inside her, power surging up her spine like molten lava.
Cherry backed away.
Even she knew this was about to turn deadly.
Rose took one trembling step closer to Roland.
"I gave you everything," she whispered.
Her voice didn’t rise.
It didn’t need to.
It was the softest tone she had ever used and the most terrifying.
"I loved you even when you made me feel like nothing.
I defended you when my people doubted you.
I held this kingdom together for you.
For us."
Her breath shook.
"And you betrayed me with my sister?"
Roland’s jaw clenched. "Rose, please. This is a vast misunderstanding, I swear it and-
But his words were more than enough.
A scream tore through her, and a sound so raw and violent that the flames burst across the tiles, crawling up the walls like living serpents of red.
"I HAVE BEEN LIVING IN A HOME OF VIPERS!" Rose roared.
"My daughter tried to kill my daughter!
My sister conspired to kill my niece!
And the man I loved, my husband, betrayed me with my own blood!"
Her entire body blazed with her hair a crown of fire, her eyes twin infernos.
Xaden didn’t move.
He knew better.
The Flame watched quietly, respectfully, as if witnessing a goddess unbound.
Rose pointed at Roland.
"You."
Her voice shook the foundations of the kingdom.
"You will not speak another word. Not one more."
Roland’s mouth snapped shut.
Then Rose turned to Cherry.
"You," she said coldly.
Cherry swallowed.
Hard.
"You destroyed everything I had left. You ruined my lineage. You brought an imposter into my home. You lied to me. Used me.Trapped my real granddaughter in a cell."
Her breath hitched.
"You betrayed us all."
Cherry exhaled, without the slightest hint of remorse written on her face.
"He was mine first before he became yours." Cherry spat. "He belonged to me. I was supposed to marry him. He was going to my mate. Everything you have today was meant for me. Even your children. They were supposed to be mine."
"Yes! I let Bale attack Xaden’s family. I was the one who saved Uther and made him stay as a spy in my pack. Yes, I knew Jasmine was your granddaughter, and I couldn’t let her sit on the throne because I wanted it for myself. Because it belongs to me! And the bitch is the Luna reincarnated if you recall the legend."
There was a chilly silence in the room. "And if we all recall, the Luna is either going to be our messiah or our doom. Either way. I didn’t need that slut in my way. I poisoned you, Rose! You were so stupid. I have been poisoning you from afar. Everything that has happened has been by my hand. You have been so stupid. And if you think this is the end of the road for me, well, sister, you must be insane."
At that moment, Cherry turned to leave and would have disappeared if she hadn’t frozen.
She looked at everyone, and then black dust started to fall from her lips.
Her eyes turned to dust, and her body began to disintegrate into more black dust.
Standing behind her was none other than Eleanor.