𝐒𝐲𝐧 ┃𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

35. 𝑊𝑎𝑖𝑡 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑀𝑒

May 8, 2023

Queen

My shoulders slumped down in shame as his tone hit me like a whip. It hurt to hear him direct his anger toward me like this, but it was deserved. I fucked up...big time. An explanation was what Syn wanted, and I had one. But I doubted that it'd be good enough.

"Are you going to answer me?!" He snapped.

"Syn," I said calmly, placing a hand on his arm to relax him. All it seemed to do was enrage him even further as he pushed the chair away from me with a loud screech. "Can you please-"

"I know you don't give a shit about Hell, okay?! You never did and I hated that you were asked to take my place, but you could've said no if you were going to neglect it! This is my fucking home we're talking about, Queen!"

"I do give a shit, Syn!"

"You don't. If you did, you would have followed the rules. Do you know the world of shit you've put us in now?" He lowered his tone. "If this were to get out, we'd be fucked! Because you didn't write down exactly what you did, we now have a vulnerability, and anybody can pin anything on the Underworld."

"Calm down for a second and I'll ex-"

"Calm down?!"

"I can't talk to you when you're like this." I shook my head. No matter what I'd say right now he'd just get madder. I'd rather wait for him to calm down than risk us going off into a full-on argument. I headed to the door and twisted the knob but within the same second, he slammed the door with his palm, trapping me between my only way out and his angry eyes.

"You can run from anything else that has to do with me, but you're not going to do it right now. Not with this," he said lowly, his bright red eyes boring into mine. "There is no later for this. I need answers now because you not only risking your life but that of all the people who look up to me as their King."

An ache in my chest made my throat swell and I laid a hand over it. My eyes watered but I held back any tears as they wouldn't help me now. They'd only make Syn feel guilty for being angry about something he had every right to.

"Okay," I said in a small voice. "I'll tell you everything just please...sit down." He turned his back to me and walked back to the chair and took a seat. He rested his chin on his fist, bouncing his leg and staring off into the space on the bed as he waited for me to continue. I sat down in front of him on the bed and crossed my legs. I looked at him, trying to gauge his temperament but he didn't so much as glance at me.

With that, I took a deep breath and reached back into a place in my mind that I never wanted to see again. "You're right," I said to him. "I never wanted to be Queen of the Underworld and I could have said no, but I had just lost you. It felt like the one thing I could do to stay close to you, so I did it.

"I didn't know how angry I was at the world for taking you and Xavia until I sat on that throne. With all that power...I became a horrible person. A person that even you would despise. Everything I did was completely off the books because it made what I was doing feel more real. I destroyed lives. I tested God's patience in ways that no one should ever.

"It may seem like I neglected my duties and for that I'm sorry, but I didn't see it that way. All I cared about was the Underworld and the people in it. I didn't give a fuck about anyone else so if they got in my way, I dealt with it. I didn't take a break to..." I swallowed. "...write it down, Syn. After you were gone, I wasn't interested in peace and remaining amicable or reporting my crimes to 'greater authorities'. I wanted them dead."