“That’s bullshit.”
“Is it?” She brushed several blond curls off her shoulder.
“Yes.”
“She took her place willingly in the end. Don’t bother denying it. She told me.”
“She told you because you lied to her. She thought she could trust you.”
“Her trust in me has nothing to do with her decision to become queen. She made her own choice, and she will pay the price for that decision.”
“She made the choice because she loves Levi.” I wasn’t one to glorify love, but what Allie and Levi had was real. She didn’t really have a choice.
“Love?” She laughed. “Do you even know what that word means?”
“Maybe.” I knew it when I saw it, like with Allie and Levi, but it wasn’t something I could define, nor something that ever seemed worth worrying about.
“No you don’t.” She shook her head. “Love doesn’t exist.”
“Man, who hurt you?” I needed to keep her talking. Everyone had a weakness, and I had a feeling I’d just found hers.
“Can I show you something, Jared?”
“Do I really have a choice?” I wasn’t really in the position to negotiate.
“For this you do.”
“Why for this?” I tugged against the chains again even though I knew it wouldn’t do anything. Whatever magic she’d used had weakened me. I hadn’t even known what weakness felt like before.
“Because I say so.”
“Lovely.”
“So what will it be? Want to see something?” Her eyes twinkled. She was entirely too excited about this.
“Sure.” I was chained naked to a wall. She might say I had a choice, but we both knew I didn’t have one.
“Keep your eyes open.”
“Okay…”
There was a strange buzzing and haze, like a shifter was shifting. I watched, half expecting her to change into an animal, but instead in Tiffany’s place was a woman at least thirty years older. Instead of curly blonde hair, it was short with a spattering of gray hair.
“Uh. So you can shift your appearance?”
“Yes, it takes effort. Way too much effort.”
“Then why do it?” Somehow this had to all tie back to why she didn’t believe in love.
“Because I can’t let him know it’s me.”
“Who’s he?”
“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” She shifted her weight. “You’re smart, aren’t you?”
“I thought you said I’m not good at anything but fucking?” It was weird talking like that to someone that looked to be the same age as my dad, but it was still her. The bitch who was messing up everything.
“Revenge is sweet.”
“Revenge. So whoever broke your heart will be hurt by all this?”
“You’re getting warmer.” She grinned.
“Is this what you really look like? Your real age?”
“Yes.”
“You hate the Laurents.”
“I do.” She nodded.
“Robert. This is all about Robert.”
Her smile grew even bigger. “It is.”
“But why? What did he do to you?” I knew Robert could be an ass, and we already knew he’d messed around at least once. I really hoped this time it happened before he met Helen.
“He let me love him.”
“That’s his only crime?” I pushed. Sometimes that’s the only way you can really get answers from someone.
“You’d understand if you actually had a heart,” she sneered.
“Me? After all the crap you’ve pulled you’re accusing me of not having a heart?”
“I had one, and I suppose it’s still in there somewhere.” Her face fell. I was right. This was her weakness.
“What did he do?”
“Robert? What do you think?”
“He dumped you?”
She laughed dryly. “I’d have taken dumping. What he did was pummel my heart.”
“Pummel? That’s a harsh word.”
“It’s the right one.” She crossed her arms. “He told me I should have known. That of course the future king couldn’t be with someone like me. Like me? Crazy, isn’t it? His grandmother was a witch. How was I different? And we all know witches are more helpful than a useless human!”
“Pterons don’t usually mate with other paranormals. You know that.” I knew that Levi’s great-grandmother was part witch, but it wasn’t something anyone was proud of.
“No, you only sleep with them and use them up just to break them apart.” Her eyes set on mine, making me wonder if she was talking about me or Robert.
“I never meant to hurt her, and I didn’t know what she was.” My guilt over everything with Casey kept me talking.
“You’d use anyone. It doesn’t matter.”
This wasn’t about me. She wasn’t going to distract me by playing with my guilt. “So all of this is revenge because Robert dumped you?”
“Partly.” She let her hands fall to her sides. “I’ve been setting the wheels in motion for years.”
A light bulb went off. “Casey.”
“Exactly. It wasn’t hard to drug Robert.”
“It’s impossible. He’s a Pteron.”
“Just as you are. Yet here you are chained to a wall like a helpless little animal.” The air shimmered, and the young Tiffany was standing in front of me.
“But this was physical.”
“So was his. I didn’t get into his mind. I just blacked him out to get what I needed.”
“But that’s still impossible. All of this is.”
“You’re going to say that now?” She gestured to me. “Do I need to remind you again of the situation you’re in?”
“No.” I shuddered remembering how badly she’d just hurt my balls. “I get it.”
“Then you should understand I’m powerful. I could have been such an asset to Robert. We would have been the strongest ruling couple ever.”
“Did he love you?” I had to ask. So much turned on one small little word.
“Yes.” She looked off. “No. I don’t know anymore.”
“How come he didn’t recognize you?”
“I don’t look like I did.” She paused. “I guess I didn’t explain this well. How do you think I managed to get to know Allie? Did you think it was random? No. I took the identity of a girl who was going to be living next door to her.”