The Queen They Were Ordered to Kill
1060 Words
“I did.”
Two words.
They shouldn’t have been enough to destroy her.
But they were.
Mara stared at Lucian.
For several seconds, she couldn’t understand what she was hearing.
The room seemed to tilt beneath her.
“You…”
Her lips trembled.
“You killed my mother?”
Lucian didn’t look away.
“Yes.”
Something inside Mara cracked.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to hit him.
She wanted to run until Blackthorn Manor disappeared behind her.
But another, more terrifying part of her wanted him to take it back.
She searched his face desperately.
For a lie.
For an excuse.
For anything.
Nothing came.
Only guilt.
Raw, unbearable guilt.
Mara pressed a trembling hand against her chest.
Her heart hurt.
Not because she had just discovered that her mother’s killer was standing in front of her.
But because she realized how much she had already begun to trust him.
That was the part she couldn’t forgive.
Not him.
Herself.
How could she have looked at the most dangerous man in the kingdom and felt safe?
How could his arms have felt like home?
How could her body have recognized him before her mind did?
Mate.
The word whispered inside her again.
Mara squeezed her eyes shut.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“No, no, no…”
Lucian moved toward her.
She immediately stepped back.
“Don’t.”
He stopped.
Mara’s eyes burned with tears.
“You knew who I was.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my family.”
“Yes.”
“You knew what happened to my mother.”
His jaw tightened.
“Yes.”
“And you still brought me here.”
“I didn’t bring you here.”
“Then why did you look at me like you already knew me?”
Lucian’s expression changed.
For the first time, uncertainty crossed his face.
“Because I did.”
Mara swallowed.
“How?”
He said nothing.
Her voice broke.
“How did you know me?”
Silence.
Selena watched them with a satisfied smile.
Mara suddenly hated that smile.
She hated Selena.
She hated Lucian.
She hated the manor.
She hated the mysterious pendant hanging around her neck.
Most of all, she hated the part of herself that still wanted Lucian to come closer.
That part made no sense.
If he had killed her mother, why did her soul recognize him?
If he was her enemy, why did his touch awaken something buried inside her?
If he was responsible for destroying her family…
Why did the thought of losing him hurt?
Mara wiped her tears angrily.
“Tell me the truth.”
Lucian’s eyes softened.
“I will.”
“No.”
Her voice became stronger.
“You’ve had twenty-two years to tell me.”
She pointed at him.
“I don’t want pieces anymore.”
Her breath shook.
“I want everything.”
Lucian stared at her.
Mara stepped closer despite every instinct telling her to stay away.
“Why did you kill my mother?”
Lucian’s face became unreadable.
“I was ordered to.”
“By whom?”
He hesitated.
Mara’s heart sank.
“By whom?”
Before he could answer, Selena laughed.
“You still don’t understand.”
Mara turned toward her.
Selena’s smile was cruel.
“Your mother wasn’t killed because she was weak.”
She looked at Mara’s glowing pendant.
“She was killed because she was protecting you.”
Mara froze.
“Protecting me from what?”
Selena’s eyes darkened.
“From him.”
Mara slowly looked back at Lucian.
Her mind screamed at her to believe Selena.
But her heart screamed louder.
Don’t.
She hated that voice.
She hated that she couldn’t tell whether it belonged to her…
or to the wolf awakening inside her.
Lucian stepped forward.
“Mara, listen to me.”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“You can believe me.”
A broken laugh escaped her.
“That is exactly the problem.”
She touched her chest.
“I want to.”
Lucian went still.
Mara’s tears finally fell.
“I don’t want you to be the man who killed my mother.”
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
“But if you aren’t…”
She looked at him helplessly.
“Then why did you say you were
Lucian had no answer.
And that frightened her more than anything.
Because for the first time, Mara understood something
The truth wasn’t going to save her.
The truth was going to destroy whatever was left of the life she thought she knew.
She looked down at her hands.
The silver markings were spreading across her skin.
Her wolf was waking.
Her past was returning.
Her family was alive or had been alive.
Her father stood only a few feet away.
The man she was beginning to love had confessed to murdering her mother.
And somewhere inside her, something ancient was whispering her true name.
Mara closed her eyes.
Then she heard it.
Not from Lucian.
Not from Selena.
Not from her father.
From inside herself.
Remember.
Mara opened her eyes.
A vision exploded through her mind.
Her mother was running.
She was carrying a baby.
Mara.
Behind her was Lucian.
Young.
Blood-covered.
Holding a sword.
Her mother turned.
And instead of running away from him…
she smiled.
Mara gasped.
“No…”
The vision changed.
Her mother placed the silver pendant around baby Mara’s neck.
Then she whispered:
“He will come for you, little moon.
Mara stared in horror.
“Why?
Her mother’s final words echoed through the darkness.
“Because he was the one I trusted to save you.
The vision disappeared.
Mara stumbled backward.
Lucian caught her.
This time, she didn’t pull away.
She simply stared at him through tear-filled eyes.
“You killed her
Her voice trembled.
“But she trusted you.
Lucian’s face crumpled.
“I failed her.”
Mara’s heart broke all over again.
Because suddenly, the question wasn’t.
Did Lucian kill my mother?
She already knew the answer.
The question was worse.
Why would her mother trust the man who killed her?
And Mara knew she wouldn’t rest until she discovered the truth.
Even if the truth destroyed Lucian.
Even if it destroyed her.
Even if it awakened the queen everyone was terrified of.
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