The first emotion that washed over her face was fear. It was such an intriguing and interesting emotion—I reveled in it. My vision clouded for a moment, but I glared, sending it reeling back slowly. I turned my heated gaze back at Pageti, who was nearly cowering at her feet. The second emotion I saw on her was hatred. I also reveled in that. Good, I thought. She should fear me and hate me, if she knows what’s good for her.

“Guards!” I shouted loudly. She flinched back at the noise, her eyes widening. I had never used my power to pressurize her or stop her sharp tongue. She had always naively believed that she was protected since she was my cousin—oh, how idiotic she was to believe that.

“Artakama—” she started.

The jewel-encrusted door was flung open before two heavy-set guards filed into the room. They had glaives in their hands and armor covering their bodies. The emblem of Da’al, a snake coiled around the sun, was plastered on their chests. Their capes were a rich, deep green color, symbolizing that they were part of the Queen’s first guard. There were always at least two Guards that assisted me and followed me around.

“Your Majesty, is something the matter?” one of the Guards asked. He had thick, black hair and deep-set dark eyes to match. He shifted his feet as he turned his gaze to Pageti, who was suddenly pale and filled with hatred and fear. His grip on his glaive tightened.

I breathed through my nose before stiffly turning to Pageti. “You’re forgetting who I am.”

“Artakama—”

“You’re forgetting who I am,” I said, sharper this time.

“Queen Artakama—”

“Know your place,” I said coldly. I must have seemed insane at that moment, or extremely cruel, but it didn’t matter. My reputation was already tainted with so much blood and insanity that it didn’t matter if more was added to it. “You will address me as ‘Your Majesty.’ You will not disrespect me anymore, and do not even dare utter my sister’s name with your mouth,” I hissed at her. I exhaled piercingly before turning back towards the two Guards, who had a look of understanding on their faces. It wasn’t hard to know what had just transpired. I focused my attention on the Guard that had spoken. “Yes, there is a problem. Thankfully, I’ve solved it.”

Pageti’s eyes glowed with animosity, but her shoulders relaxed at that. She breathed out a stray sigh of relief. She wouldn’t be punished—she would be let free with a warning.

Or so she thought.

“Take her to the dungeons for three days. Give her no special treatment.”

“Artakama!”

One swift glare was all it took for her to wither away, her eyes wide in disbelief. The Guards weren’t any gentler and grabbed her shoulder, yanking her backwards. They manhandled her coldly and carried out their duties. They were completely loyal to me, and anyone who disrespected their Queen was an enemy. The look on Pageti’s face—the outrage, the fear, the hatred—it eased a part of me that was tense about the whole situation.

“Do not forget who I am,” I said one last time as she was pulled away. The door slammed behind them with a loud, resonating thud. Once she was gone, I was alone to face the shadows that were churning in the room gleefully. I wish I could have told the darkness the same thing. I was the Queen. I was not to be trifled with.

I walked over to my dresser, where I snatched the gold-encrusted comb sitting on top of it. I brushed through my hair slowly, my hands shaking. My skin had been a creamy white complexion with rosy cheeks, but ever since becoming Queen and Empress, I had lost weight, my skin had become dull, and my hair had lost its shine. When I stared at my hollow, dead black eyes, I didn’t see the young, bright girl I used to see. I had never considered myself a great beauty, but when I stared at myself now, with my sharp cheekbones and sunken eyes, I found myself uglier and more tainted than the murkiest of waters. Even with the events that had just transpired, there wasn’t a fire in my eyes. They were still dull.