The Ivory Queen
Chapter 74

***Aurora’s POV***

He glares at my hand, unwilling to cooperate and I snap.

“NOW,” I command with my Royal voice.

As if in a trance, Salvador takes the page and reads it. When he’s finished, he looks uncomfortable and swallows hard.

“What exactly happened that night?” He asks, his voice trembling.

I sigh. “Emiliano was taking me to meet Celina the night he died. The trip was a secret which is why he never mentioned it to anyone, myself included. He told me to wait outside while he searched for this box,” I say, lifting the wooden box for him to see. “Your mother hid it from him,” I whisper.

Mia and Salvador exchange glances. I take a deep breath and slowly release the air from my lungs.

Here we go….

“She hid it from him because she knew the rogues were waiting outside for me.”

“What?” Salvador asks, utterly confused. “What did you say?”

“Our parents were slaughtered in an ugly war against a witch named Tais and her sister,” Celina explains. “It’s the reason your parents fled Mexico and came here.”

“Karina reached out to Tais. We don’t know why but we can only assume it was to protect you guys from being killed. Tais has this vendetta against silver and gold wolves so we think Karina wanted to turn Aurora over to the witch in exchange that you not be harmed in the oncoming slaughter,” she continues. “But it backfired.”

“Stop,” Mia mumbles, her voice trembling.

I know this is hard for them but they deserve to know the truth. “Moon Goddess showed us what happened that night. Your mom hid the box to keep your dad inside while leaving me to fend for myself outside. I guess Karina didn’t count on him jumping in to save me.”

“I said stop!” Mia cries, holding her head in her hands. “No… No… No… Mom couldn’t… She wouldn’t-“

“I know it’s hard to believe-“

“Hard to believe? You just told us our mother is responsible for the death of our father,” Salvador snarls. “You are so full of s**t, Aurora! Goddess, I can’t believe I almost believed you! You’re sick, you know that? f*****g sick!”

My heart shatters. No matter what I say, I’ll always be the villain in Salvador’s story.

I sense Evan getting angry so I reach for his hand to calm him down. Evan looks down at me, his eyes flickering between hazel and lime green.

“I’m okay,” I whisper and he scoffs. “I can handle this,” I reassure.

His jaw clenches but he calms down for me. I turn back to Salvador and Mia.

“Ya know, I don’t get it! You came here to get answers but you refuse to accept the reality that sits right in front of you!” I huff. “Look, believe what you want, I don’t care anymore. I’m done. Go home if you think I’m lying!” I snap, trembling with anger.

Salvador gets up from the couch and prepares to storm out, making the guards take a defensive stance but Mia pulls him back.

“Mia, let me go!” he snarls at her but she refuses and yanks him back on the couch.

“Do you have any proof of what you’re saying, Aurora?” Mia asks, a stray tear rolling down her cheek. “Any evidence that proves without a shadow of a doubt that she did this to us?”

I shrug and get up from my seat. “You didn’t need proof to decide I was Emiliano’s killer all these years, why should you need proof to know your mom is the one responsible for it all?” I ask coldly. “I mean did anyone actually inspect Emiliano’s injuries? He had defensive wounds and I was free of harm! There was not a scratch on me! My birthday was not for another day when it happened so I had no wolf! You found my luggage and claimed I wanted to run away but no one seemed to notice his bag was packed too! All these holes in your theory and yet I was still blamed!”

“You were the only one there that night!” He screeches. “All the evidence pointed to you, you f*****g b***h!“

I’ve had enough. He wants a monster, I’ll show him a monster. Anger takes control of my body and suddenly Salvador starts screaming in agony. He collapses on his knees, his nails scraping across his arms and legs in a desperate attempt to soothe the stinging sensation on his skin.

“It burns! Everything f*****g burns!” He cries. “What the f**k are you doing to me!?”

I continue to manipulate the nerves on his skin, making it feel like his flesh is being seared off and his wails bring Mia to tears. I don’t have time to think about the power I just unleashed because Mia’s screams fill the room.

She gets on her knees beside Salvador and desperately grabs at him, hoping to relieve him in some way. Her every touch, however, only worsens his pain and he pushes her away.

When she looks back at me, her face pales. “Aurora, please! Stop-“

The pure rage surging through me turns on her and she collapses on the ground, begging for mercy. Memories of their torture fill my mind, nurturing the wrath I’ve kept locked away for years. All the cold nights I spent in that f*****g closet… All the nightmares that still haunt me to this day… All the pain I shoved away in a dark corner of my being… I wanted to make them feel it if only just for one moment.

“Aurora, this isn’t you!” Javier pleads with me. “This isn’t-“

“And who the f**k are you to tell me who I am?” I snarl.

“You are not cruel,” he says. “You don’t hurt people-“

His voice annoys me and I visualize a hand gripping his neck. Much to my surprise (and his), he starts to gasp for air, clawing at the invisible force currently crushing his windpipe. He turns red as he struggles to breath and crashes onto the floor.

Within a span of a few minutes, I have my three tormentors at my mercy and it’s intoxicating. I want more. I stop the sense attack on Mia and Salvador and put them both in telekinetic chokehold. A very sick and twisted part of me thoroughly enjoys the power I hold over them.

I watch the fear in Salvador’s eyes and smirk, savoring every second of it.

Oh how easy it would be to simply snap his neck and never cower in his presence again. I could just squeeze a little harder and he would cease to exist…

Evan and Celina whimper softly, feeling and sensing their mate’s fear and pain. It’s enough to snap me out of my vengeful haze and I release all three monsters from my grasp. Evan and Celina did not deserve to be punished for the crimes of their mates. Mia, Salvador, and Javier slump onto the ground, tears and spit covering their cheeks and chins. They take huge gulps of air and pant furiously, none of them daring to look at me.

I glance around the room and fill with shame as everyone stares at me with fear and horror. I was the monster again.

I open my mouth to explain myself but my words are caught in my throat.

Do not apologize, Reyna snaps. Not to them!

I take a few seconds to compose myself before removing the emotion from my face. Guilt fills the pit of my stomach but I quickly tuck away the feeling. This was not a time to be weak. Even though I felt disgusting for hurting them, I had to give them a taste of what I felt all those years for them to understand me.

“That pain you just felt… I felt it for years and not one of you had mercy on me. Not one! I am not the monster here. You are. For five years, you people tortured me with no solid evidence against me. You hurt me in ways I know I will never recover.”

“You-“ I point to Salvador. “All my fears, all my pain, every nightmare starts with you.” I turn to Javier. “And you? You’re the reason I’m afraid to let anyone in anymore, the reason I’ve struggled to open up to the people I know care about me!” Tears roll down my cheeks but I don’t care anymore. I’m tired of being afraid of them. “And you, Mia. I forgave you and I tried so hard to give you a second chance and what did you do? Huh? You lied to me. You had so many chances to confess but you kept it all to yourself. You lied!”

I straighten up my shoulders. “So I am not sorry for any of you fuckers. I’m done. Believe me, don’t believe me. I don’t care anymore. I said what I needed to say and I’ve warned you of the coming war with Tais. My conscience is clear and I am no longer responsible for you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve stomached enough of your presence for one night and I’d like to go lie down now.”

With my head held high, I swiftly walk out of the living room towards the foyer just as Oliver comes home. One look at him and I feel my knees give out. He catches me before I fall and presses me up against his chest.

No matter what, Oliver is always there to catch me…

He lifts me up bridal style as I begin to fall apart and he whisks me off to our bedroom.

“It’s okay, baby,” he murmurs, kissing away my tears. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”