Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 171176 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 856(@200wpm)___ 685(@250wpm)___ 571(@300wpm)
The queen stared at him for a long moment.
“Be that as it may, Aurelia, you are still the foundation of this company.” She moved the crates around to get at the right product. “You’re the backbone. Without you, it doesn’t exist.”
“Of course it does,” I said in annoyance. “That coating can be applied to anything similar.”
“It takes three to five uses for the addiction to kick in.” The queen bent to grab the product. “We thought it was two at one time, but it doesn’t happen quite that fast. People would conceivably be fine if they just did it once or twice.”
“Unless they did it within a twenty-four- to forty-eight-hour window, depending on the person,” I replied. “Then that coating, which I think has some sort of poisonous element, builds up like I said. It took me three doses for a fatal attack, but I hadn’t had anything in my system already.”
The queen stopped in front of me with her hand out, offering the product. She was looking at Weston, though. “I’m going to have her take this. You’re okay with that?”
“That? Yes. Granny’s? No.”
The queen shook her head yet again with a small, disbelieving smile and finished handing it off. I popped it into my mouth.
“My point being,” the queen said, “that they don’t get addicted right away. They keep taking it because it is, by far, the best on the market. It’s the best high, the most fun, the best . . . stress reliever. It’s the product you make that keeps people coming back until the hook.”
“I take full responsibility for that.” I clasped my hands in my lap, part of me having known it would come down to this.
“She doesn’t feel remorse,” Hannon said.
Surprise evident in her tone, the queen asked me, “You don’t feel bad that you were making drugs?”
“No.” I felt Weston’s frustration come through the bond. “My life is not a fairytale. I was making products that were less dangerous than some of the medicines you sell. If people want a vacation of the mind, I’ll make it for them, no problem. If they want to relax, or need something to chase away sorrow, I’ve got it. The only thing I feel bad about is that coating. That and the stupid fucking butterfly.”
The queen braced her hands on her hips, shaking her head as she looked down at me. She was not as scary as that golden-eyed monster, but still plenty intimidating. My wolf was on edge in her proximity. “I really don’t know what to say. I find it difficult to believe you had no idea about any of this. I can’t fathom it. The maker of the drugs didn’t know it was hurting people?”
“All due respect, love, but if you saw that village, you’d get it,” Hadriel said.
“Yes, I intend to further question the group that went.” The queen narrowed her eyes at me. “Weston, I don’t know what to say. I understand this is complicated, but she made the drugs. She made them. She kept people coming back, they got hooked, and some of them died. There must be consequences.”
“I accept that,” I said.
“She means it,” Hannon replied, looking hard at me.
Anger and something akin to violence kindled through the bond, but it didn’t show on Weston’s face. I tried to send calming feelings back at him. I’d already told him I’d accept what came, and Hannon was right—I meant it.
“I will, however, give you time,” the queen told me. “I expect you to show us how you make that product, and let you try to figure out how Granny makes hers. I will be watching you, but I will allow you to try to do what is right. Is that fair?”
“Very,” I said. It was all I’d been hoping for, actually.
“How do you feel?” The queen couldn’t hide her curiosity about my product.
“Can I have one, and I’ll tell you how I feel?” Hadriel raised his hand.
“It hasn’t kicked in yet. It’s a slow-release product. It seems more natural when the stress melts away incrementally, like soaking in a hot bath.” I summoned my courage and stood. “It is time for me to demand some answers of my own. There are things you need to atone for, as well.”
The queen towered over me. She didn’t back up or seem threatened in any way. One of her eyebrows arched. “Things I need to atone for?” A little smile played across her lips. “How so?”
“You have been profiting off Granny’s drugs. I highly doubt it costs that much to make, yet you sell the elixir needed to stave off the addiction at a cost only the rich can afford. And multiple doses are needed for it to work. You judge me for making drugs, yet you have your hand out, just like Granny. Additionally, you broke the laws of my kingdom. Her product is now legal there. Your people unlawfully crossed the shores under false pretenses, abducted one of their citizens, and kidnapped her from her home shores. You are not innocent. None of your people have clean hands. How do you plan to atone for all of this?”