Nazreen

Chapter Thirty-One

I'm not talking to Emilio.

As a fact, there was nothing that could get her to change her mind about this. The hunter had been a dick, so now he lost all perks.

That was how things would go. End of story.

Need she revisit her old Pal, the Queen lessons?

As said by Annaliese, opinions don't matter unless they're your own.

I don't feel stupid and dumb, so fuck you Emilio.

Who did he think he was anyway?

Didn't he know she'd be a Queen in a few years? Even if she didn't feel like it...

Another lesson, when they kiss the ground you walk on, kill them.

He'd gotten too comfortable, so fuck him.

She couldn't kill him, supernatural bonds considered, but she was entitled to this anger.

He's a dick.

Why couldn't he see that she'd done something great for a change?

He wanted her to be strong. Hadn't she proved that she could be strong?

Again, he's a dick.

Another Queen lesson. Some things were always going to be out of her control. Queen material was learning how to manipulate them in her favour. So yeah, Triumph had been scary. That hadn't been in her control, nor had her audience with Ronan. But she'd made something good out of it. She'd stabbed him! If that didn't scream strong, then she didn't know what did.

And so what if Emilio's not proud of me? Annaliese'll be thrilled.

Whose opinion mattered more?

Self-explanatory.

Annaliese said to never let anyone back her into a corner. Triumph had been the corner. She took Emilio's dagger and slashed her way out of that corner once and for all.

Why can't he see that?

Ultimately, everything came down to one rule. Arguably the most important rule right now. The rule that had the biggest sway.

When they start to get too comfortable, put them in their place.

Emilio had made it perfectly clear that he'd gotten too comfortable. She didn't feel like femme fatale-ing him today. She saw he'd enjoy that.

Instead, things had to go back to what they were.

In other words, Emilio was getting the silent treatment. For good. The next words she'd speak in his presence would be a fuck you when he dropped her off at the wall to Castle Solum.

She could hear him in the next room along, vampiric hearing and all. He was pottering around, muttering to himself. It was mostly about her. Angry mutterings about how stupid she was. About how reckless she was. About how he'd had to save her ass again and so on and so forth.

Well, soulmate-ship be damned. He wouldn't have to save her ass again soon.

She meant it this time. The second this mission was done, she was going home.

Back to Castle Solum.

For good.

The broken can be fixed with little more than just a screw.

In what's finished don't start over, may the shadow forge your hew,

What you are is not who you are, who you are is down to you.