The Bastard Princess

13.

I took a sharp breath at her words. It reminded me how much nasty she could be. She was ready to cross all the limits to secure her throne and eliminate me.

"Of course, you would not," I commented, looking her straight into the eyes. I instantly saw her clutching the armrest of her throne as her eyes narrowed on me. I was being hit across the face once again. Hot blood trickled down my nose instantly. I shot a glare at the guard before focusing on Cleopatra again.

"You speak too much," She muttered, "You should be grateful for not having your tongue ripped off... now," She sifted on her throne before standing up. Her warm brown eyes blazed over me as she climbed down from her throne and stood in front of me.

"She said she wanted to do something for Alexandria," The pharaoh spoke as she addressed the assembly, "but what more than evil is the devil capable of?" My breaths were labored as she stared me down. One of her feet rested on my thigh as a way of domination.

"Try me, sister," I commented, never breaking the eye contact. She inserted more pressure over my thigh as she internally grounded her teeth. She stared at me for some moments with one of her eyebrows cocked. I could see the wheels spinning in her head. She was thinking and I had the feeling that it was something bad.

The tips of her lips curled up slightly before she turned around and went back to her throne. After taking her seat on her throne, she announced, "The wolves have been our tough opposition for quite some time. They have interfered with every godly matter of our court, whether it's our dynamics with the moon or Isis," Cleopatra's nostrils flared at the latter bit. The whole court was silent, holding their breaths as their pharaoh spoke. The rage in Cleopatra's eyes seemed to be greater than the sun of the desert.

Meanwhile, I was processing her words in my head and trying to think where she was taking this. She was clever and I would hate myself if I failed to see through the web of trouble that she was weaving for me to get trapped into.

My heart was beating in my chest and the top of my dress was drenched with sweat, water, and blood. To me, it did not feel less than the judgment day. Cleopatra was surely sending me to hell.

"The wolves, they take pride in two things... their land and their mates," Uneasiness slowly rose inside me as Cleopatra spoke about the wolves. Even though she didn't mention their name, I knew who she meant.

Arles.

Zaeris.

These two names were enough to send a shiver down anyone's spine. Arles was the ruthless king of wolves who ruled Zaeris along with his mate, Nefret. They were both very powerful. One would never dare to step foot on their land and do anything against them.

"It's said that they are nothing without their mates," Cleopatra continued. I gulped silently when I realized where she was taking this. Cold sweat trickled down my forehead while I struggled to breathe. "Their mates are very important to them, especially for their King." She purred. A sly smile slowly climbed on her face. "A King is nothing without his Queen. Arles his nothing without Nefret... and YOU!" She pointed her finger at me, "You will bring me Nefret's head!"

Throwing my head back and breaking the grim silence in the courtroom with my laugh was not the reaction that the people in the courtroom and I had anticipated from myself. I felt Cleopatra's burning eyes on me while I laughed. I was more surprised when the guard did not hit me again.

"What's so funny, Arsinoe?" Cleopatra asked as she abandoned her throne and steered closer to me. I stopped laughing and looked her in the eyes before answering, "You are forgetting, my dear sister that Nefret is immortal. She doesn't need to pretend to be a goddess to convince her subjects of her power and superiority. She is the true queen of wolves. She is mated to a god. She cannot be killed," For this, she gave me a pointed look. I knew that my words had an effect on her but she was not showing it on the surface in front of the court.

"You are Psaltisi's blood. If you don't have her powers then of what use you are for Alexandria?" She spoke grimly as she placed her hand on my head. She took a strand of my hair and curled it around her finger, "bring me the head of Nefret and I will give you a place at the court," She leaned down and whispered. My head snapped to look her in the eyes. Was she serious? I cannot believe she had said that.

"She is immortal..." I tried to reason again.

"So what? There is always a dark portal to push people into," She winked at me before going back to her throne. I was frozen in my place. The dark portal. Anything that went into it never came out. It was in the underworld and very hard to access. Even if I somehow managed to take Nefret's soul and put it in the portal, there was no way I'd return alive after that. I would be sucked into the void the moment I step in front of it. But this was not my biggest concern at the moment. I was more concerned about breaking into Zaeris and getting Nefret's soul. It was the hardest part.

"If I do this successfully, you'll give me half the kingdom," I demanded. The room roared with laughter while I stayed silent. Cleopatra chuckled too. At this point, I was ready to do anything to get back what I deserved. I had just one life and I was ready to put it on the line to get everything that I was always denied.

"Beggars cannot be choosers. Though you seem very confident about this so we may look into the matter. Fortunately, the odds seem to be in your favor this time as the wolves will soon celebrate Calanthe for their mates. Such an auspicious occasion for you!" She commented with a mocking smile. I smiled back at her, reading everything between her words. I knew well enough that even if I somehow managed to do this, she will not grant me half the kingdom. She was never good at sharing, especially her kingdom.

For now, she had had the upper hand but she was not aware that the hell she was sending me to was the very place I had once crawled out of.

...

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-Benita