His Red Queen

Chapter Three

"Evangeline, I have no time for your dramatics," Maven says. He glances over at me and I glare at him. He steps somewhat in front of me, causing Evangeline to laugh, white teeth showing between deep purple lipstick.

"King Maven," Evangeline beams. "I was supposed to be your queen." Her weapons are still in the air, both aimed at Maven and me. If Maven was actually the boy I thought he was, I would have easily stepped in front of him. But now, I let him guard me.

I let the electricity from the cameras and lights course through my veins, adrenaline rushing through my body, weak as it is. "It was his decision," I say moving from behind Maven. "If you have a problem, fight me. Maybe you'll win this time unlike with Cal!"

Ptolemus throws his spear in my direction, aimed to impale me in the chest but before the metal reaches me, Maven sends a line of fire in front of the two of us, flames blue and white, melting the spear.

"You both better watch yourselves," Maven threatens.

I watch terrified at the wall of leaping flames. The heat is so intense that I squint and back up. My back hits something and I turn around to see nothing. I try to run but Elane materializes in front of me. I ram into her and she falls to the ground with a thud.

"I want to see if she really is red," Elane smiles up at me from the ground. Maven is too busy threatening the magnetron siblings to even notice Elane's presence. Turning around, I catch sight of Evangeline smirking at me. She sends a small blade that she must have just created and it clatters to the ground next to Elane who grabs it quickly and whips her perfect red hair behind her back.

"Don't," I say, voice wavering. I form a ball of lighting, ready to show her not to mess with it. Lightning has no mercy. Elane's eyes go wide and she lunges at me but before she can cut me, purple lightning attacks the small blade in her hand, making her jump and fall to the floor. She shrieks in pain, her hand showing a veiny map of my lightning.

Behind me Evangeline screams, "Elane!" She stomps over, ignoring the dying wall of fire. "You're dead, Barrow." She shoves me against the wall. Maven watches, a blank expression on his face.

"Maven!" I shout as Evangeline sends an army of metal spiders with razor sharp legs crawling up my body. One of them cuts my arm and red blood shows against my tan skin. She smirks and glances over at Elane who is sitting on the floor, clutching her hurt hand.

Maven just watches blankly. As if this were the main event after his brother escaped. Maybe this was his plan; kill me after making me think I have a chance of survival.

"She really is red," Elane gawks.

Ptolemus pulls Evangeline away from me and in her surprise, her spiders fall to the ground, inanimate. I breathe a sigh of relief and a weak part of me urges me to run to Maven who looks like he is in a trance.

"Let King Maven have his little red. She won't survive him soon enough. Killing her will only be less fun for us later." Ptolemus tells Evangeline and she nods.

Maven snaps out of his trance and suddenly looks angry. "I want you all out of here. I swear if I see you again before you are invited back here, I will put an end to House Samos personally."

Evangeline, Elane, and Ptolemus stare at him bewildered before leaving. Elara walks towards us looking around at the burnt carpet and shards of metal on the ground. At the sight of his mother, Maven puts an arm around my waist pulling me closer to him.

He glares at her. "Mother."

"Love makes you weak, Maven." Elara shrugs. "You cannot be that afraid."

"And you, Mother can't do anything about it." Maven's eyes narrow, darkening a bit.

The dazed look on Maven's face from before makes sense now. Elara was in his head, reading his every thought, possibly controlling his moves.

Maven backs away with me. "Leave us, Mother." Before Elara can respond, Maven leads me down the hall towards my room almost too quickly and I am out of breath and stumbling by the time we reach my door. I used to be a runner but now I am a tired girl, desperate for survival, playing the role of queen.

"Was she reading your mind?" I ask. I sound small and timid. I hate it.

"Yes," Maven mumbles but quickly adds, "I'll keep her away from you. I won't let any of them hurt you anymore."

Because only you can do that, I want to say.

Elara has read my mind before, extracting details about the Scarlet Guard and my life before I found myself involved with the silver royals. Maven said he is a man of his word. Now is the time to test his statement. "Do you trust me enough not to have her read my mind?" I watch as he thinks over my question slowly as if savoring the words.

"No. But I have you in a position where trust does not matter. You know what will happen if you go against me, your king." Maven takes my hand in his, staring into my eyes. "Do you trust me?" A hint of a smirk plays at his soft lip. Lips that I once kissed on a boy I once trusted.

"No," I admit though I know he knows the truth. He betrayed me and used me to get inside the Scarlet guard. At any given moment he can go back on our deal and kill me. But I do not think he will. Having a red girl from the Stilts on his arm can sway the reds to his side for more support. And that is what scares me the most. He will use and betray them for his own benefit just like with me.

He puts a hand out to touch my wounded arm, his blue eyes sharp. "Mare, I want you alive. I want you here with me."

"You don't have to say it again."

"Mare." His voice breaks as he reaches out to me and I cross my arms. For a split second, I t hear the Maven I thought I knew and it knocks the very air from my lungs. I don't know if I want to believe that he is as terrible as he actually is. "Mare," he repeats, more demanding and tears prick my eyes.

My arm is still dripping blood and I wipe it on my red skirts. Remembering what he has put Cal and me through, I murmur, "King Maven."

A Skonos skin healer approaches us. She silently bows to Maven and me and I awkwardly do the same.

 "Heal her," he gruffly tells the skin healer. "I don't want to see a single scratch on her tomorrow morning." He storms off quickly.

All the adrenaline that was flowing through me, keeping me standing, wears off once I enter my room. I sink down onto my bed, exhausted and bone weary. The skin healer takes care of my bleeding arm first and within seconds, the red gash is gone.

She doesn't speak at all as she does her work, barely even making eye contact with me. It's probably a lowly job for her—healing a red. But she fixes everything from the bruises on my arms and legs, to the bags beneath my eyes from the silent stone cell. She leaves silently though I thank her.

I change into some nightclothes and crawl into bed, feeling small and insignificant but no longer in physical pain. I wonder if my family saw what happened. If the silvers made everyone in the Stilts watch in the arena as Maven said I will be his queen, exposing my true identity. I doubt that anyone wants a red queen.

As I close my eyes, trying to fall asleep but plagued by Cal's face when I chose Maven, I hear footsteps in the hall, along with familiar voices. I get up slowly, opening the door just a crack to see Elara and Evangeline.

"You won, Lady Evangeline. You should be here with my son!" Elara is furious.

"I am aware," Evangeline huffs.

I close the door completely as they pass by; I cannot risk them catching me eavesdropping. Pressing my head up against the cool wooden door, I hear one last thing from Elara.

"You know what happened to Coriane," Elara says. "Your time will come, my dear."

Silence from Evangeline as Elara's voice fades as the two of them grow farther away.

I lock my door and sit on the floor in shock. Coriane? As in, Cal's mother who died?

A sickening realization dawns on me.