All The Queen's Monsters (The Queen's Slave, Book 3)

Ten: The Black

"The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword."

-The honorable Ned Stark

A Z A L E A

"Strangers"

By: Shockline & Haley Maze

The fire danced over the coals and I followed it, enraptured by the beauty of the flames, flickering in and out of the air, not unlike the lightning burning it's way through me. I wrapped the blanket around me, feeling the chill in the coolness of the cave, relishing the newly found two hours I now had in my human form. In the weeks we'd spent here, it had steadily lengthened. First to thirty minutes, then an hour, and now here we were. I didn't know why, though I suspected my power had something to with it. I was not inclined to allow myself the satisfaction of stretching Hade's curse, but I found myself suspicious of it. Killing him would be a challenge, perhaps, but what I wondered as I sat before the fire, was where is he now?

Footsteps skittered a long the dark tunnels, and I bit my lip on a smile as the woman hesitated, seeing me in my human skin. I didn't look up, catching the slight scent of cedar and lilac, a charming concoction.

"My lady," she started, interrupted by my snort of amusement.

"Please, I've never been much of a lady." I waved her over, sadness twitching in my heart at the sallowness of her skin and the way her clothes hung from her form. I wondered if this is how I once looked to Elizabeth, like an emaciated bird, hopping from place to place forever in search of something more. "What is it?"

"The young woman.....we have fed her and cleaned her wounds, but she is asking for you." My jaw clenched, fury still roiling beneath my skin. With my humanity mixed with my wolf, it was harder to maintain my control. It was not I that spared her.

I sighed and stood up, turning my back to readjust the blanket, pausing at her sharp inhale as I slid the fabric down to my waist for a moment.

"W-who did that to you?" She whispered. I looked over my shoulder, barely catching sight of her pinched features.

Wrapping it around me and securing myself, I turned to meet her gaze, my words hollow though accompanied by a small smile to ease her. I had never regretted asking for the whip, though the pain I remembered as it sliced through my skin was as imprinted as the scars themselves.

"I did." I answered evenly, entering the darkness of the tunnel. I traversed the dank hallways with ease, ripple down my spine that wanted me to raise my hackles as a I rounded the corner to our makeshift infirmary. The caves had been occupied long before us, but we managed to scrounge up some supplies, including a few cots and some old blankets.

Cara lay on one such cot, bundled in blankets and covered in bruises, her face a patchwork of them. I didn't allow myself to feel sympathy for her despite knowing what she'd gone through. I watched her breathe for a moment before clearing my throat. Her eyes flew open with a harsh gasp as she scrambled to see. Subconsciously I murmered an endearment in Romanian, puzzled as to why it left my lips so fluidly.

She caught my gaze, all the breath whooshed out of her as she relaxed.

A smile twitched at my lips.