Charlotte chuckled. "You think a simple carrot would keep you in line?"
Tears streamed down Aurora's face. Charlotte's smile vanished.
"I am doing everything!" Aurora pleaded, desperation cracking her voice. "You returned my noble status, everything... I'm complying with all your demands! So why are you doing this to me?"
"Enough!" Charlotte's face twisted, her palm cracking against Aurora's cheek once more. The slap echoed through the room, followed by her ear-piercing scream. "If I fall, all your children fall! You will do exactly as I say, or they will suffer the consequences!"
Aurora's world shattered, her very foundations crumbling beneath her feet. Rage and agony wrestled for dominance, threatening to unleash the darkness within.
La Mort, the force she'd long struggled to contain, stirred ominously. But Sebastian's blood, that precious lifeline, held her at bay.
Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed to her knees, overwhelmed.
