Rise of the Warrior Queen (Kaia and Silver) novel Chapter 25

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

KAIA’S POV

We both stood there in silence for a long moment, just staring at the book.

Then Silver finally broke the silence. “So… you think this guy’s real? This Hollow King? Or whatever his name is?”

I sighed. “I think… if someone’s using his mark now, then there are only two possibilities. It’s one of two

things. Either he’s actually real–or someone wants us to believe he is.”

Silver exhaled slowly. “Guess this little library trip wasn’t so boring after all.”

I gave him a grim smile. “Told you. Dust and legends might be the scariest thing of all.”

“Come on, we need to go,” I said, grabbing the book from his hand.

Silver looked up and brushed his hands against his jeans. “Go? Go where exactly? Are you taking me into another mystery again? If I have to fight off ghosts or stumble across cursed relics this time around, I’m charging you in snacks and lifelong trauma.”

I couldn’t help but smile a little, even though my chest still felt tight just thinking about what in the goddess’s name was really happening. “No curses this time. We’re going to see Elder Agatha.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Elder Agatha? Sounds like someone who’d hex me for walking on her plants.”

“She might,” I said with a small laugh. “But she’s not dangerous. She’s… gifted. She sees things–past, future.

even what’s hidden between.”

He tilted his head. “Like a psychic?”

“She hates that word,” I said, shaking my head. “Says people expect her to hand them lottery numbers or tell

them the name of their soulmate.”

Silver chuckled. “So she won’t tell me if I’ll ever rule the world?

I shrugged. “Not unless the spirits are in a really generous mood.”

He chuckled as we left. I looked around us and saw that the sun was slowly going down. That was when I

realized we had spent too much time in the old library.

Elder Agatha’s cottage was close–just around the corner. Just a couple of minutes more and we would be

there.

But my steps slowed when my eyes landed on the last person I expected to see around these parts–Laura.

She leaned against a large tree with a few other females from our pack–Tessa, Kira, and Del. Probably the

only females in this pack with the unnatural ability to cope with Laura.

They were talking and laughing about something, but when they saw me, the atmosphere changed immediately.

Tessa rolled her eyes and turned away, while the other two started muttering to themselves, their eyes on me. It doesn’t take a genius to tell that I was the topic of whatever they were discussing, but the only problem right now was that I couldn’t find a single piece of s**t to give to either one of them.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

If Laura’s behavior didn’t bother me, then why would theirs?

“Well, well,” Laura said, stepping forward with a smirk. “If it isn’t Kaia the rejected”

I rolled my eyes and kept walking. Ignore her. She has nothing better to do with her life. She’s just looking for attention,” I whispered to Silver.

He looked at me, then at Laura. “What’s her deal, anyway?”

I didn’t reply.

Laura stepped right in front of us, forcing me to stop.

“Didn’t think I’d see you walking around,” she said sweetly, but there was poison in her words. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere plotting and trying to figure out your next move on someone’s mate? Or do you have that figured out already?”

I stared at her calmly. “Move, Laura. We don’t have time for this.”

“Oh, I know. This is the path to Elder Agatha’s house, isn’t it? Which means you’re probably heading there” Then she said, turning to Silver, “Just so you know, she’s dragging you off to meet some old crone who thinks she sees the future. What is it this time, Kala? Asking if you’ll ever be worth anyone’s attention? If any man will ever want you enough to stay? Is that it?”

Her friends snickered, and I clenched my jaw but stayed quiet.

What do they think this is? High school?

Laura stepped closer. Too close.

“Silver, right? That’s the name she’s making the entire pack call you, isn’t it?” she said, smiling at him. “Did she tell you about her mate?”

My heart skipped as I immediately realized where she was going with this. “Laura, don’t,” I said in a warning

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But she didn’t listen. She kept going.

“She was rejected. Yep. Her one true mate looked at her and said, ‘No thanks. I’m good. Said she wasn’t good enough. Can you imagine that? Your soulmate–choosing to walk away?”

Silver looked at me, confused. I didn’t say anything. I just stood still, my back straight, my face calm like everything was okay–even if it wasn’t. Even if I was a mess on the inside and was doing everything I could

not to fall apart.

As if she could tell she’d hit a spot, Laura smiled wider. “No man ever stays with Kaia. Not even the one who was supposed to.”

She was making the whole thing sound even worse than it actually was. She was making it sound like there had been many situations like this, Like my life was full of rejections and broken relationships, when in fact, that wasn’t even the case. I’d never looked at any man before Gareth, and now that he was gons I had no intention of looking at any man ever again.

“You know, I was there when he rejected her,” Laura giggled loudly. “As a matter of fact, the whole pack was. Gareth just looked her in the eye and-”

“That’s enough, Laura! Stop it!”

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

But she wasn’t done.

“You know what people say, right? About her childhood? That she was once found in the woods one night during the blood moon? Alone and screaming into the night like something evil had touched her. Like she’d been possessed by some kind of demon, People think she’s cursed. That she brings bad luck.”

My jaw dropped open in shock.

How dare she? Laura was crossing every single line there was to cross. And I didn’t appreciate it one bit.

She turned to Silver again, as if she was doing him a favor.

“If I were you, I’d stay far away. Unless you want her bad luck rubbing off on you and making your life even

worse than it already is.”

Her friends snickered again, and a few people walking nearby slowed down, watching us.

For a moment, I just stood there. I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

And then I met her eyes.

“Are you done, Laura?” I asked simply.

Her smile faded just a little.

I took a step forward, looking her in the eye. “You want Gareth so bad? Keep him. You obviously need him more than I do, since you always needed someone to make you feel like you matter. But don’t you EVER

into my private life or anything that concerns me ever again–because you won’t like what I do to you. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

trespass

Her face changed. “What is that supposed to mean? What are you trying to say?”

“Oh, you don’t know? I wasn’t aware that you were hard of hearing, Laura, I said, taking another step forward. “You surround yourself with these girls because you’re afraid of being alone with your thoughts. Because in the silence, all you hear is your own voice–and you can’t stand it.”

Tessa shifted uncomfortably beside her, and Kira looked away.

“You think following me around the whole of Moonveil and making stupid comments makes you powerful?” I said. “It doesn’t. It just proves how small and desperate you really are,”

Laura’s jaw tightened. She opened her mouth, then shut it again.

“Now move,” I finished, stepping forward again. “Some of us actually have work to do.”

She didn’t move at first. But then her cheeks turned red, and she let out a loud and bitter laugh.

“You’ll hear from me, Kaia,” she snapped. “This isn’t over.”

“It never is,” I said quietly. “And that’s your problem.”

She turned and stormed away, her heels clicking angrily against the stone path. Her friends followed, all looking unsure, and their laughter suddenly gone.

I stood there for a moment. My hands were shaking at my sides, but I didn’t let it show. I wouldn’t give her that satisfaction.

Silver finally spoke beside me.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

“…You okay?”

I nodded once. “I’m fine.”

“So what exactly was that about?” he asked, but I didn’t respond.

He looked at me for a long moment. Then he sighed. “For the record,” he said, “I don’t believe in curses. And if someone rejected you that says more about them than it does about you”

I blinked, his words taking me by surprise. Then I looked ahead again

“Come on,” I said. “Agatha’s waiting.”

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