Chapter 53
The next morning, I was yanked out of the cell roughly and stood in front of guards that towered over me as Amara glared, stroking the fur that adorned her neck. Her dress was black with shimmering jewels that looked utterly ridiculous on her. A silver crown sat on her head, and her lips were slathered in black lipstick that had smeared on her teeth. Gone was the sister I thought I knew, and in her place was a sadistic, cold-hearted bitch that got off on fucking monsters and hurting others.
“Wash her, but do not touch her cunt. She is a virgin and must be presented as one to the Minotaur King. The ice-blue dress will work and use the glitter to entice him with her beauty, add extra to her parts that we want him to admire the most. No makeup, only a thin coat of gloss to plump her lips, so he sees how welcoming her mouth is. She must be perfect. Her hair should be down, and her breasts should be pushed up since she doesn’t have much to work with. Be certain that they add the drugs, but not the pain agent. I want her to feel everything he does to her.”
“Yes, Princess Amara,” the guard said, pushing me forward.
The cells were all filled with women in different states of decomposition or degradation. Irina hadn’t made a sound all night, and when I’d peered into her cell, something had been slithering out of her mouth. I looked away, knowing without having to touch her that she hadn’t made it through the night.
At the stairs, we turned into a large room where beasts chewed grizzled meat, chomping it while grease and bits slipped down their chins. They were grotesque creatures, ones who consumed the flesh of their victims willingly. The large guard pushed me into a room, giving instructions to the women who stared at me with emptiness in their eyes.
I was washed in ice-cold water and stood naked in front of an older woman as she looked me over. Another stood behind me, brushing my hair until she was satisfied with the sheen and texture before adding a light sprinkle of glitter to it. A short, thin dress was slipped over my head, and then more glitter was added until I looked like a Winter Queen Barbie doll. They dabbed mascara on, and then a thin coat of lip gloss. Something pushed into my arm, biting as I jumped and looked at a needle emptying into my bicep.
“Slip these on,” the woman ordered, staring at me before she shook her head.
She handed me thin silver slipper-like shoes, and I bent down, feeling the air on my ass as I did. I stood up, staring at the guards who had watched the entire thing, and frowned as I noticed one had drool dribbling down his chin.
They led me through a long, winding hall filled with decapitated heads behind glass, lit up and on display. Some were mummified, while others were flesh, but all had a horrified look on their faces.
Amara held her hand up at the end of the hall of trophies, and I stared at her blankly. She smiled and shook her head.
“You never noticed how unhappy I was around you after I discovered what you had done to me. Selfish, narcissistic people often never see what they do to others, even those closest to them. My sources say that you were almost charged with Jasper’s death and somehow escaped the charges. How convenient for me, being it would have ruined my fun.”
“Your sources?”
“Suck enough dicks promising them unlimited power, and men become nothing but bitches. What do you think I was doing there? Running that worthless store so you could all get paid? Or sitting on the council listening to the self-absorbed pricks? I was building alliances for this kingdom. I fucked so many cocks, Aria, pretending to love all of them. They’re weak creatures, grown lazy in their leisure in the new realm. Garrett proved that when he grew jealous that they touched my flesh. He broke their necks, and I made it look like a sacrifice to the gods. Even poor Jasper couldn’t escape his fate from my husband. I watched you, you know? I watched you sitting on the balcony, crying because you missed me. You never realized that everything I did, I did for myself. I hated you from the moment I discovered you had taken everything from me. I could have been powerful, and yet I am not. What I lack in magic, I make up for in intelligence. I guess I took yours, because you covered for me perfectly nearly every time I got in trouble, but then you refused to continue, and I hated you even more.”
“That’s called selfish, and you’re a bitch,” I growled as I was pulled out of the cell by force and stood before her.
“It’s called self-preservation, Aria. That realm is about to become the hunting ground for this kingdom, and we will grow much more powerful than any other kingdom in the Nine Realms. The Kingdom of Unwanted Beasts will rule them all.”
“God damn, I really wish mom would have swallowed you.” I watched the anger igniting in her eyes and smiled. “You can throw me to the wolves…or, in this case, whatever the hell they are, but I won’t fall, and I won’t break. You will, though, Amara, that much I promise you.”
“I’m glad she didn’t, or I’d never have met Garrett and become his princess. I will be queen here one day, and I will ensure that it is prosperous.”
“Who the hell are you, Amara?” I demanded.
“The same little girl who slept in your bed and slowly made you think you were going insane with nightmares. The noises that kept you up as you feared our mother returning, that was me too.”
“You’re sick. I held your secrets, and you held mine.”
“Careful who you let in, Aria,” she smirked as she started walking away. “Most of us just want to destroy you.”
“Wow, could have used that advice in the womb,” I snorted, wincing as the guard grabbed my wrist, pulling me away from her. “Bye, sis! So glad to see you again, chat later?” Bitch.
The room we entered was large and already filled with people. They drank from expensive champagne flutes while dressed in silk pants and matching tops of every hue of the rainbow. There were creatures from different realms, or what I assumed was different since this was the Kingdom of Unwanted Beasts, and most unwanted creatures were sent here.
I was placed in handcuffs, then watched as they attached the cuffs to a hook that had been lowered from the ceiling. I was raised up on a hook, and a light was shone onto me, causing the glitter to sparkle in the burning heat of the room. People turned around, staring at me as I hung like a slab of meat on a butcher hook.
The Minotaur King turned, rubbing his hooved hand over his mouth before nodding. I swallowed bile as he shook his hooves into hands, clapping loudly at the assembly, stopping their endless chatter.
“Tonight is a time of celebration and new alliances. My daughter-in-law, Amara Hecate, has brought me a gift: her own sister, Aria Primrose Hecate,” he exclaimed, and the crowd clapped before he held up his hand for silence. “The High King and the King of Norvalla have both decided to join us tonight, let us welcome them to a new era. Norvalla is here to sign the papers of a new, stronger alliance for our people than we’ve ever secured before today. The High King is here to witness the signing of the alliance between our two kingdoms, how fortunate that it comes at a time during great revelry. Are you ready to celebrate with me?”
The crowd cheered as a male in armor stepped out from the protection of his guards. He was huge, his armor as black as midnight with something etched into the chest plate. His crown was etched in firestones, sparkling as the light caught them. The mask he wore was created from a skull, held together with a silver material that made it look evil and deadly. His boots clicked across the floor as he moved, following the Minotaur King until they both stood before me.