What did they mean? I knew who I was, didn't I? I was Rosalia Mallory, a girl left on the doorstep of our town's foster agency to find a new home. From there I went through three homes before at the age of 16 instead of having to live in the group h...
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Hunter's POV:
Keeping my eyes locked on my mother I can see when my words have the desired impact as she pales visibly and a look of fear enters her eyes. "You cannot hope to defeat me, son," Her words seem to console her since some of her malice re-enters her gaze and she fixes me and those on our side of the room with a smug, indulgent smile like that of a mother chiding her children. "Especially considering the dire state of your Queen," All too aware of Rosa's presence against my side where she's still impaled by the weapon keeping her weakened. "Surely you don't intend to do what your grandfather did and rule alone? Surely you learnt that is not the way to do it. You could never succeed so why keep fighting?"
Why not give up now? That's what she's implying but I refuse to even consider it. To even consider that Rosa wouldn't live to see what happened after my parents - sorry parent - was removed from the position of power she currently held to humiliate and degrade those whom she thought were lower than herself. Why not just give up and maybe I'll let you leave to stay with the whore you seem incapable of leaving. My mother's voice flits through my mind and for a second a small part of me considers agreeing to her terms. A small, insignificant and weak part that must still be a part of my childlike innocence that years of watching the bloodshed and corruption carried out by my elder siblings and parents hadn't killed. But a stronger, wiser part of me that's grown from those very experiences can see the lies and deceit woven carefully into her words of empty flattery. Empty promise.
I would if I believed you, I responded quietly to her, seeing how she frowned at my words. Unsure as to my response. Sighing I secure Rosa tighter against my side and she shivers, moaning once and pointing towards the floor where Laurel's sending more Shadows to torment us now that the barrier the witches had previously erected had collapsed when Rosa had been injured and unable to carry it on. Anger boils through me and chases away any remnants of me that had been willing to accept what my mother had said, calling over to her in an angry voice with words that are full of disgust. "You see why I cannot even try to trust you? You spend one minute trying to convince me that you'd let us go but the next you and Laurel send Shadows to attack my partner?" Disgust ripples through the group on our side of the room and I hear discontent whispering from many of those around us. "How can you expect us to trust you and the veracity of your words if you cannot even stick to what you propose? It doesn't make sense."
"It does," She cuts over me and I stand, fixing her with an incredulous expression that showed I didn't either trust or believe her. "I said I'd let you go but I didn't realise that you were so close that..." She frowns between us and I see that next to me Rosa's eyes are narrowed in a glare fixed on my mother. "So close that to pull the two of you apart would cause you great pain," Switching my attention from Rosa over to Ash and Eris the two of them are looking at me with expressions of terror and fear. Following Ash's indications, I can see that he's seen that my mother is wearing an expression that makes my heart drop. What was she planning?
