Chapter Eighty-Two: A Broken Vase
Andor –
The air was thick with the stench of death as I fought against the relentless tide of enemies, my magic draining my strength with every blast. I cursed under my breath as I accidentally incinerated a few witches amidst the chaos. But it was either them or me in this bloody battle, and I had no time to dwell on the casualties.
The Queen had enclosed me in a protective bubble, while the witches tried to pop the bubble to kill me, the witches were not here to keep me safe, but to toy with me, to break me before the queen. I could feel her seething anger pulsing through the air as she eyed me like a predator sizing up its prey. I rolled my eyes at her, my own temper flaring in the face of her arrogance.
The queen began an outburst about an ancient vase that I had blew up, some treasured artifact from her family's history. I should have been more respectful, but trapped in that confining bubble, I couldn't suppress my irritation. In a moment of impulsiveness, I let my frustration spill over in a snarky remark, an unwise move considering the circumstances. But in that moment, with my brain clouded by a mixture of fear and rage, I couldn't bring myself to care. Smugly I retorted, “At least I lived. Aren’t you happy? The vase was the cost for my life having been spared.” I knew that wasn’t true, but like I said my brain was missing a few screws when I said it.
I had never witnessed someone wielding such destructive power with their mind alone. Ashina's mother was a force to be reckoned with, and I instantly regretted not considering the consequences before speaking out. The room erupted into chaos as everything shattered and exploded without her even lifting a finger. I was petrified, unable to comprehend her erratic behavior and struggling to devise an escape plan. How could she not have overthrown Malcolm with such authority? In that moment, I realized that I was completely outmatched in the game of temperaments.
As the queen fell silent and fixed her chilling gaze on me, a wave of terror washed over me. I stood my ground, resolving not to show any sign of fear, despite my inner instincts urging me to flee. Jasper insisted that we concede to the queen’s craziness, warning of dire consequences, but my pride propelled me to stand firm. However, my taunting words only served to kindle the queen's wrath once more.
With a simple gesture, she effortlessly repaired the destruction she had caused, leaving me dumbfounded. "You mean you threw a tantrum and had the power to fix everything all along?" I challenged her, feeling the weight of my earlier foolishness. As she advanced toward me with that familiar malevolent grin, I knew I was in serious trouble. I frantically backed away, the thought of preserving my own safety consuming my thoughts. My wolf urged me to flee, but I stubbornly stood my ground, determined not to lose. The Queen’s lips once again started moving. I couldn’t speak I could only stare and keep backing up in my fear. “Do you think magic comes from nothing, out of the thin air dear darling son-in-law? Do you think it is so easy to fix that vase or anything else out of magic? It is not! I have to borrow from other vases, other elements, and the earth herself. Everything has a price, even magic. Now I will have to pay mother earth back some way for the gifts mother earth has leant me. Hoping that Hera in her kindness will not be angry at the abuse of using my power to simply fix an artifact. No, you don’t know! Do YOU?”
With a flick on her wrist, I looked up at a very tall, gigantic queen. I thought at first that the queen made herself a giant. That is until my tongue lashed out to eat a non-suspecting fly. Looking down at myself I put my miniature frog arms on my hips and tapped my small frog legs glaring at her.
I still had my wolf with me, even though I was now a frog. “Didn’t I tell you to run? No, Andor, you had to be an Alpha man! Look at us now! This is so humiliating!” My wolf moaned as the queen picked us up in the palm of her hand.
Playfully to annoy me the queen rubbed the top of my head like she was making a wish on some buddha statue. “Now, Now, little froggy lets go find and kill Malcolm.” I just sat on her palm obediently, what else was I going to do?
It was the sound of running boots that caught the queen’s and my attention. Greetings, Your Highness! Our fear is that something has happened to the princess, as Dean cannot reach her earpiece. Do you know where the princess is?”
With my small beady eyes, I hopped around the queen's palm, hoping to find Ashina. When the queen realized she hadn't seen the princess since she first ran through the doors, she gasped. My stomach churned with a bad feeling. As caught up as I was in my discomfort with her mother, with the mate bond, I should have felt something. I will forever blame myself if anything happens to my mate.
I looked up at my mate's mother with pleading eyes, putting all pride aside. My tiny froggy arms were stretched above my head as I bowed down to her, my froggy head on her palm. With the hope that she would understand, I conceded that I needed to be made whole again. I hoped my Spidey mate's bond would help find my mate.