“You’re good friends.” I shook my head. “And you may rot in here because of it.”
“You bastard,” Meria hissed.
“Most definitely.”
A bastard for having lost control again. I’d been sucked in by my desire for Sia, and the result was in front of me. More destruction because I’d lost control.
This was all my fault.
When I reached her cell door, her face appeared in the small window. Shadows hung heavy under her eyes, and I saw fear in their green depths. The sight of it made a beast rise inside me. I wanted to tear the door off its hinges and take her away from this horrible place.
The sight of her in distress, in prison, made me want to vomit.
Weak.
I was so damned weak to be falling for her ploy. She’d played me, but it was my fault for falling for it. I’d known better, and I’d still succumbed.
I stopped in front of the door and drew in a deep breath. The scent and feel of her magic washed over me. Just like Dain had said, it had changed. And it matched the signature at the bomb sites perfectly. A hole opened up in my soul, cavernous and deep.
“You’re an excellent actress,” I said.
“I’m not!” She gripped the bars in the window. “Please, believe me, Lore. I had no idea what was going to happen.”
I shook my head, still disgusted with myself. “You asked me to trust you, and though I had my doubts, I did.”
“That has nothing to do with this!”
I’d known she was hiding something, but I’d wanted her so much that I’d ignored my misgivings. She’d clouded my mind, and that was my fault. My weakness.
“What about your ears? All along, you lied about them. Do you deny it?”
“I—” She swallowed hard. “I had to, I didn’t…” She looked at me, a pleading expression on her face. “Please believe me.”
I wasn’t surprised to hear her admit it. Nothing about her could surprise me now. “I was a fool to have ever believed you.”
“You weren’t! I never misled you about this.”
“Of course you did. Your ears are proof of that.” For centuries, I’d kept control of myself and my kingdom. As soon as she’d arrived, it had all started to unravel. I’d agreed to a partnership with her, and it had all somehow gone so wrong.
“Your magic feels exactly like the magic that was all over the greenhouse. You can’t deny it.”
She shook her head. “I can’t, but I didn’t mean to do it.”
“You didn’t mean to?” I laughed bitterly. “A worthless excuse. And I’m the one who brought you here, because I’m a fool.” I was angrier with myself than with her, and that was what burned the most. “I wanted to believe you. I wanted you. And that was my mistake.”
“Please, Lore. You have to believe me.”
“No, I don’t.” I couldn’t look at her anymore. I’d gotten what I’d come for. Dain was right. She was the witch with the deathly magic.
And I was the one who’d let her into the kingdom.
21
Sia
* * *
I watched Lore walk away, a fierce pain stabbing me in the chest.
The betrayal in his eyes…
It had nearly broken me.
He thought I’d done this on purpose. That I’d played a long con on him.
I sank to my knees, unable to believe how wrong this had gone. We’d misunderstood everything.
And now I was locked up in the prison from hell. My poor friends were locked up, too, in a place that made Lore’s prison tower look like the Ritz.
This was a nightmare.
“It’ll be okay.” Meria’s voice sounded from down the hall.
“Yeah,” Eve said, but I could hear the doubt in her voice.
I turned so that I could prop my back against the door. A shudder ran through me, followed by a sob. I bit it back. My friends were clearly trying to make me feel better, which was above and beyond the call of duty considering the fact that I’d landed us in here.
“I’ll get us out,” I said. “Somehow.”
“I’m not sure about that.” The soft voice sent a rush of fear through me.
I turned to the corner of my cell. Vusario stood in the shadows, his dark cloak hanging from his shoulders, and his cold eyes on me.
Surprise flashed inside me. “How did you get in here?”
He ignored the question and waved a hand. Magic sparked on the air. A pleased smile crossed his face. “There. Now no one can hear us.”