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Reborn From Ashes: The King's Ruthless Queen

Chapter 2

Word Count: 1039 | Released on: Today at 17:45

nt, save for the scrape

had always claimed was his favorite. It made her look docil

Lady Lloyd, was inspecting a strip of

Imogene, her eyes narrowing. "You're late, Imogene. A proper mistress o

gized. She would have stammered about

she d

ovements were fluid, deliberate. She didn't

," she said. Her tone

He didn't even lower it. "Jam," he com

never done a day of hard labor in his life. The urge to grab the heavy jar of str

breath. Inh

r and placed it gent

at her, his gaze critical. "You look pale. Put on some rouge

knife. She sliced into a sausage. The serrated edge

Kenney added, spreading jam

er merchant father, had been sold by Kenney months ago to cover gambling debts, replaced with glass. Her

he said. "What

st, chewing thoughtfully.

lance, "that King Alaric might make an a

s testing her. He wanted to see if she would swoon

ng her meat. S

voice bored. "Why would a man like

nd when a King gets bored, he looks for... entertainment. If we could just

," she

ed, pointing a crust of bread at her. "Lace th

ussing her like she was a prize heifer at a county f

nd covered her hand with his. His

"You are my most precious treasure. You know that, don't you

physical lurch, a wave of nausea t

zed his hand, her grip surprisingly firm. She let her nails press just enough to l

said, locking eyes wit

ss of her nails, but he didn't pull a

a curtsy. "Mr. Lloyd, the dress h

"Go try it on, Imogene. It's the late

?" Lady Lloyd sni

" Kenney corr

y, a scent hit her. It was faint, clin

't her

helsea. She hadn't known about her until years later i

the dining room, h

, rich velvet, the color of a bruised plum. The neckline w

Madam," Sophie

es pitch,"

d picked up a pair of shears. The cold

s she approached the dre

provements

a child throwing a tantrum. She

der, making it cleaner, more severe. She remembered the portrait she had seen once in the Royal

d make sure she fetched the highest pr

he mirror, holding the alt

e steady. "Pack the sewing k

Chapter End

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Reborn From Ashes: The King's Ruthless Queen

rabb Fantasy

“The house was a living inferno, the heat devouring the air in my lungs as I clutched my five-year-old daughter to my chest. Emily was dead weight, her skin already cooling even as the room turned into a furnace of orange and black. Through the stinging smoke, I saw my husband, Kenney, crawling toward the door with a wet handkerchief pressed to his face. He didn't look back at the crib, and he didn't call my name; he was simply leaving us to burn. I lunged forward and grabbed his ankle, my nightgown catching fire, but he didn't reach down to save me. He recoiled in horror at the sight of my burning hair and our dead child, kicking me back with a panicked shriek. "Let go!" he shrieked. I died as a massive, flaming timber snapped from the ceiling and crushed us both into silence. I couldn't believe that the man I loved would leave his family to die just to save his own skin, but the rage I felt was colder than the death that followed. But then the burning stopped instantly, replaced by a cold so sharp it made my teeth ache. I gasped, jerking upright in my bed to find the velvet duvet cool under my palms and the nursery quiet, with Emily still breathing softly in her crib. I had returned to the winter morning two years before the fire, the exact day Kenney finalized the deal to sell me to the King for a promotion. As Kenney stepped into the room with a practiced mask of concern, I realized I was no longer the victim of this story. "A nightmare, my love?" he asked, reaching out to touch my shoulder. I flinched away, my eyes burning with a hatred he couldn't yet understand. Tonight was the Winter Masquerade, the night he planned to offer me to the King as a prize, but this time, I was going to turn his social ladder into a gallows.”