As Rowena walked through the areas leading to her chamber, guards stepped aside when they saw her, and servants cowered in fear, whispering to each other. She didn’t pay attention to any of them. She kept her eyes forward and her hands clenched at her side.

She reached her chamber and pushed the door open with force. They slammed against the walls.

Rowena walked straight to the vanity without stopping. On top of it sat a brush, a hand mirror, four small ceramic pots of cream, a wooden box with her hairpins, and a glass bottle of fragrance. Her breathing was uneven, her chest rising and falling too fast. She did not try to steady her hands as they trembled. She swept her hands across the vanity’s surface, and the items fell off with a noisy crash.

Rowena’s hands tightened into fists. She pressed them on the vanity, and a scream tore out of her throat. She did not try to hold it back. She screamed until she had no strength to breathe.

She stood there shaking, tears spilling down her face again.

"I will kill them! Every single one of them! Aveloria! I will destroy you!" She shouted.

Her voice echoed around the room. Her chest burned, but she kept going.

"I will destroy Lycanthria! I will tear it down with my own hands! Every wall! I will burn every building! I will burn every soul in it! I will leave nothing but ash and bones!" She yelled.

More tears streamed down her face.

"I will burn the whole world if I have to! I will burn everything for what they did to her!" She cried. "I will—" Her voice broke on the last word.

Slowly, she sat on the floor, her back against the vanity. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"Mother." She whispered.

Her mother was dead. She tried to imagine it. Alone in the cold dungeons. Her expression when facing death.

She pressed her face into her knees. "She must have been scared," Rowena mumbled. "She must have called out my name." Her lips trembled.

Another wave of tears hit her. Her whole body shook as she cried even more.

"Mother, I am sorry," she said through tears. "I am so sorry. I should not have left Lycanthria. I shouldn’t have escaped at the bonding ceremony. I should have been there with you. I should have come for you. I should have at least done something...as a Queen. I’m sorry."

She cried uncontrollably. Her breathing was heavy and uneven.

"I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry."

She said these words again and again until her voice got lower.

Zareth stood in the doorway for a few minutes just watching her. He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. He walked to where she sat on the floor. He did not crouch down to her size. He stood over her and looked down.

"You must feel like I have failed you." He said.

Rowena looked up at him. Her eyes were now red, and her nose was running. "Yes." She wiped her nose with her sleeves. "You have failed me."

Zareth did not react to her words. His face remained hard to read. Rowena pushed herself up to her feet, unsteady at first, then standing fully.

"You promised me she would be safe," she said, her voice shaking but clear. "The deal. The deal was that I stay here, I sit on your throne, I gain my powers, and I do whatever you need me to do. And in return, you bring my mother to Drakwyne alive."

Zareth said nothing.

Rowena took a step closer. "The last time I asked you about her, you said you had people watching her. You said you would get her out before anything bad happened."

"I did have people watching her," Zareth said.

"Then where were they?" Rowena shouted. "Where were your people when Aveloria ordered her death?! Where were they when she died?!"

Zareth’s jaw tightened. "The people I had watching her were also murdered. I’m as shocked as you are about everything."

Rowena shook her head. "I do not care about your excuses. The deal is off. I do not want any of this anymore. I do not want the throne. I don’t want the power. I do not want to be your puppet Queen."

Zareth remained still, but his expression hardened for a brief second before it disappeared again.

"That is not possible," he said.

Rowena let out a short, bitter laugh.

"Not possible?" she repeated. "You think I care about what’s not possible?" She pointed toward the door. "Leave my room."

Zareth did not move.

Rowena’s anger flared again. "I said leave!"

He ignored her.

"Fine. I’ll leave!" She snapped.

Rowena took a step, but he blocked her pathway.

"Move!"

"No."

"I said the deal is off. I don’t want to have anything to do with you again. So move."

Fury and irritation crossed his eyes, but he masked them quickly.

"Whatever we have can’t be called off." He said.

"Why not?"

"The agreement is sealed," Zareth replied.

"Then unseal it!"

"No." He objected.

Rowena stepped closer to him. Her face looked up at him.

"I don’t want to hurt you." She ground her teeth in anger.

Zareth stepped aside. She walked to the bedside drawer.

"What do you plan to do? If you walk away from Drakwyne, where will you go?"

"To Lycanthria," she said without hesitation. "I will go there myself and kill every last one of them."

"That’s a death sentence. You have been declared an outlaw long ago. The moment they find you, they will arrest you and put you in the same dungeon where your mother died. And then Aveloria will kill you, too."

Rowena’s voice rose again. "Then at least I will be dead trying. At least I will not be sitting here like a coward while my mother’s body rots in an unmarked grave or worse, devoured by vultures."

Zareth moved closer to her. "Listen, Rowena—"

"I want her body!" She snarled.

His expression wavered. "That’s impossible. I can’t possibly order men to retrieve her body." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"I want to give her a proper burial. I want to say goodbye. Is that too much to ask?" Her voice broke slightly on the last three words.

"No, Rowena."

"If you can’t help me, then I will do it myself."

"You will do no such thing," he groaned.

Rowena’s eyes burned with defiance. "Watch me."

She tried to go to the closet to grab a trunk. Zareth snapped his fingers. And she only took two steps before her legs stopped moving.

Rowena looked down at her feet. She tried to take another step, but her legs wouldn’t move. Then she stared at Zareth.

"What are you doing?" she demanded.

Zareth closed the distance between them.

"Let me go!" Rowena shouted. She struggled, trying to force her legs forward, but nothing happened.

"Release me right now!" she screamed.

Zareth did nothing. She raised her hand to slap him, but he caught her wrist before her palm made contact. She tried to pull away, but his grip was firm. He closed the inch left between them and pressed her against his chest.

"You will only do what I tell you to do, not what you want to do. What I tell you to do," he said in a low tone.

"I will not." She seethed her teeth.

"You will. You will stay in Drakwyne. You will sit on the throne. You will reign as my Queen. And you will learn to use the power inside you."

Rowena shook her head immediately. "No."

Zareth’s grip on her wrist tightened, hurting her deep in the bones.

"Listen, I do not waste time on things that serve no purpose. If something becomes useless, I discard it. I find another. I move on."

The words landed heavily. Rowena went still. She knew what he meant. Her mind flashed back to her last discussion with Draven. He had told her that if the Witch Queen wanted another vessel, Zareth would not hesitate. She was not a Queen to him. She was a tool—a vessel. And vessels could be emptied.

Rowena’s defiance faltered. She stopped struggling. Zareth noticed the change. He loosened his grip on her wrist but did not let go.

"I have come too far to have you fall apart now. I have made promises to people who don’t deserve it. I have put my name behind you. So you do not get to walk away because you are sad." He said.

Rowena’s lips trembled. She bit down on it.

"I am sorry about your mother. Truly. I did not want her to die. I gave orders to protect her, but they failed. And that’s on me."

He let go of her wrist. "If you want to be angry at someone, be angry at the one who ordered her death. Aveloria. She killed your mother."

Rowena said nothing.

Zareth went on. "If you want revenge, then do it properly. Do not throw yourself at Lycanthria’s gates like a fool with a death wish. You do not run into their territory without power. Become so powerful that no one can touch you. Become so powerful that Aveloria begs for mercy before you take her head."

Her shoulders dropped slightly.

"That is what should drive you now. Not grief. Not sadness. Revenge. Every time you sleep and wake up, see yourself killing Aveloria. I’ll help you achieve it."

"So when do I become so powerful enough to get my revenge?"

"My sources have agreed to my terms. They will reach Drakwyne soon." Zareth replied.

"How soon?"

She wanted a better answer—a date.

Zareth studied her for a moment before speaking again. "A week or two." He snapped his fingers again. The weight on her legs disappeared, and she could move.

Zareth stepped back. "Get enough rest. You will need your strength for what comes next."

His tone left no room for argument. He turned and walked toward the door. He opened it and stepped into the hallway.

Rowena sat at the edge of the bed. A single tear streamed down her right cheek. Her breathing was still uneven, but calmer than before.

"Aveloria," she whispered.

Rowena wiped her face with the back of her hand. She stood up abruptly and then ran towards the door.