All the Queen's Angels

Ch. 22: Catalyst 🥀

I dash into the darkened hall and gasp for breath, savoring the burn of the cold air in my lungs. Flashes of the nightmare return when I close my eyes:

Ambrose. The cliffs. Water presses down and the world is caving in and he's trying to hold it up but the air suddenly fills with the cracking sound of stone and then it's bone —his bones— and his neck snaps violently and the last thing I see are his eye sockets filling with blood as the world collapses.

I tear my eyes open, rubbing my ring finger and trying to calm the sobs that threaten to climb up my throat. I can't go back to my room.

My footsteps are deafening against the white marble floors. I pass the darkened living quarters of wedding guests and leisure rooms until a crash of glass shatters the eerie silence. Unthinkingly, I follow the sound to a sliver of light shining through a half-shut door.

Maybe it's curiosity, boredom, or a need to take my mind off my current affairs; I'm not sure. I peer into the candlelit room, the shadows flickering occasionally with an invisible breeze. But there's no one there.

The flash of broken glass catches my eye, but only when I see the blood soaking the carpet do I enter. The room was ravaged, mirrors upturned and pillows torn. Feathers rustle as I approach the only thing left upright: a mannequin in the middle of the room displaying a deep emerald suit. On the ground lie two emerald rings...I need to call the guards—

Click. The door falls shut, and I whip around to find Leander gripping a broken wine bottle. I look down at the floor. Not blood. I sigh with relief. He laughs humorlessly.

"Must you torment me on my wedding day as well?". Leander glares as he leans stiffly against the wall.

"It seems something else is already tormenting you for me," I reply.

"Well, I'd be a fool to assume you're here to console me. Are you looking for this, by any chance?". He reaches into his pocket and dangles my choker from the funeral. I frown.

"You can keep it."

Leander shrugs and pockets it before approaching me. Suddenly, he reaches toward my face. Though he only plucks a feather from my hair, I still recoil. He stares at me with dilated, bloodshot eyes.

"Why did you flinch?" he whispers, and the unexpected tenderness in his voice scrambles my thoughts.

"W-what?," I stammer, blood rushing to my cheeks. I'm not having this conversation with him.

"You flinched."

"And?".

"Vlahos, I would not hurt you—".

"Let's not say things we don't mean," I interrupt and try to walk past him, but he grabs my wrist.

"What kind of a monster do you take me for?" he hisses, anger creeping into his voice.

I whip around to face him.

"Oh, have I offended you? Tell me, Vincenzio, what breed of monster does this?" I snarl, pulling down the neckline of my nightgown to reveal the hickey.

"You wear it well."

"Bullshit. It brands me to you. No man will marry me now."

"I can keep you safe—safer than any of your suitors."

"There is no future for me with you in it," I snarl.

A single breath passes between us before Leander grabs my other hand and pins my wrists against the wall above my head. With his free hand, his thumb roughly strokes the fading bruise.

"How many hickeys will it take to convince you that you belong to me, Vlahos?" he murmurs.

"Let me go. One thousand and one kisses from you and I would still prefer the touch of Hellfire. No matter what you promise to give me, Leander, you cannot erase what you have already taken. Won't you feel shame for kissing Natalia with those filthy lips of yours tonight?"

Leander's eyes darken as he whispers against my lips, "How would you have me kiss her, hm? Show me how these wicked, lecherous lips of mine should brand her as my queen."

He slides his free hand up my neck and my lips part instinctively. His index finger lazily brushes my bottom lip as he tilts my chin up to look him in the eye.

"Let me go," I whisper.

And then he kisses me. Softly. His grip begins to loosen just as he breaks away.

"Would she like that?" he murmurs, gauging my reaction. "Or would she prefer this?"

Before I can speak, his lips are on mine again. He kisses me long and slow, his hair falling into his face and tickling my brow. I feel his hesitation as he reluctantly breaks away again.

"Just let me go, Leander," I murmur. "Move on."

"Just once. Kiss me once."

I swallow once, shivering at the vulnerability of his request whispered into the dark. Then I turn my face towards his.

Whereas before his lips were savoring the moment, memorizing the feel of my lips on his, this new kiss is rough, urgent, and smoldering. His presence is suffocating as he presses the lines of his body against mine. Slowly, he lets my hands slide down and releases my wrists only to grip the backs of my thighs. And suddenly I'm against the wall, and he's wrapping my legs around his waist as he traces my jaw with his lips.

He kisses me with a raw intensity of someone repenting, seeking forgiveness. I rake my hands through his hair and he guides my hands down his chest to his belt. But instead, I begin unbuttoning his shirt.

He suddenly jerks away, but it's too late. The unbuttoned shirt falls to the floor.

Leander's face darkens as he steps away. The atmosphere quickly becomes menacing.

"Get out."

"What?".

"Get. Out. Now." He doesn't even look me in the eye.

"What have I done?" I ask in alarm.

"Nothing," he grits out. "You served your purpose, and now I'm dismissing you. I'll see you at the ceremony."

My anger boils and overflows. I laugh incredulously.

"So you were just guilt-tripping me into sleeping with you before you're married to someone who will never share your bed," I laugh bitterly. "You were using me. Like father, like son."

"I AM NOTHING LIKE MY FATHER—," he roars. And that's when I see his reflection in the overturned mirror. I see his disheveled hair, his shaking form. And I see his back, torn and bleeding from countless vicious lashes.

I stand there in horror, but just as the silence becomes unbearable he speaks.

"This. For wanting what I can't have."

I swallow hard, steeling myself. I don't owe him any pity.

"I don't think we were ever meant to be together," I whisper.

And then I leave. I run blindly down the halls as they are slowly graced by the soft glow of dawn. Until the entire night catches up to me. I fall to my knees and stare at the sunrise, gasping and heaving.

I might have felt worse had I not already hated him. So now I feel bad that I don't really feel bad. But mostly, the lashes just remind me of Penthia, and the possibility that Ambrose could meet the same fate.

Something outside catches my eye and I freeze as I watch thousands of armed Forsythian soldiers standing in formation. Preparing for the wedding, no doubt.

By the time I return to my room, two guards already flank my doors.

I begin my preparations by tossing the dress the queen prepared for me into the fireplace and watching it burn.

...
A/N: yall I forgot what this chapter was about and my biology ass got scared when I saw the "catalyst" title 💀 anyways hope you enjoyed Leander being toxic I love it