lily harper 04.5 - the bladesmith Read Online Free PDF Page A

have the audacity to lie to me!” she said as she pulled away and glared at me angrily.
    I shook my head. “Ah make it mah business tae be ah man o’ my word.” Neither one of us said anything for the span of a few seconds. I was the first to speak again. “Aye, Ah luved ye.”
    “Then why?” she started as she shook her head and appeared to be uncomfortable.
    “Ah had nae other choice,” I answered. “Yer greed an’ hoonger fer power were roonin’ away with ye. Ye were nae longer the sweet, innocent lass ye once were. Ye were nae longer the woman Ah fell in luv with. Ye were corroopted, and when ye chanced tae take mah life, mah only option was tae take yers.”
    A memory of the first time I had ever seen Persephone entered my head like a bomb. I could recall the fairness of her skin, her light blue eyes and the platinum blonde ringlets she wore piled high atop her head. She had been fashionably attired for the time in a blue and white plaid frock with billowing, wide skirts that grazed the ground when she walked. I could recall the graceful line of her décolletage and the ample neckline of her gown, considered brazen for the time.
    She worked as an emissary for Afterlife Enterprises, and her sole mission was to report on my comings and goings. She was a spy of sorts, but not a covert one. Of course, I immediately became captivated by her and her coy innocence. I found myself looking forward to her unannounced visits. Soon afterwards, the anticipation turned into an irresistible yearning.
    It came somewhat as a surprise when she admitted how much she looked forward to our witty exchanges just as much as I did. In no time at all, she was visiting me monthly, and then weekly. Her appointments were no longer sanctioned by Afterlife Enterprises. They became clandestine visits in which I would dispatch my most trusted henchman, Alaire, to meet Persephone at the gates of the Underground City. This was to ensure her safe arrival to my kingdom, the same kingdom in which I now sat, rotting.
    Being so taken with the coquette, it was simply a matter of days before I invited her to become my queen and rule the Underground City alongside me. Of course, she was very happy to accept my offer. I never knew if her poisonous greed already existed inside her, or if, like an illness, it developed over time, eventually taking root inside her heart and spreading its black tentacles until it tainted her entire being.
    As I gazed upon her now, I decided it mattered not.
    “Then my affair with Alaire was not the reason you stopped loving me?” she asked as her back stiffened and I feared I had gone too far.
    “Aye!” I said as I shook my head, looking at her like she had lost her mind. “O’ course, it had everythin’ tae dae with it!” I leaned forward, trying to extinguish the pain in my shoulders caused by my arms being pinned behind my back. “Yer dealins with Alaire broke meh,” I finished in a soft voice. I was no longer playing a part. I was now fully reliving everything that happened between Persephone and me. I could not look at her.
    “You were so cold, you turned on me,” she started, shaking her head. “Alaire was the only one who told me how beautiful and capable I was. He was the only one who reminded me I was a queen, and very powerful.”
    “He was mah lead counsel man,” I started to argue. When I finally brought my attention to her face, I found myself staring into the empty void of her eyes. “There was nae one closer tae meh than he,” I hissed before taking a deep breath as the unhappy memories returned anew.
    “I never loved him,” she stated as she shook her head. The pain in her eyes was nearly palpable.
    “Yer body luved him an’ that was enough fer meh,” I answered, dropping my eyes to the cold stone floor. “Once Ah learned o’ yer affair, Ah had tae face the truth aboot my leadership an’ mah kingdom. Ah had tae choose ’atween mah queen an’ my rightful place as ruler o’ the