Kelia didn’t hesitate. But she should have.

She started eating while the Queen took the crispy golden bread from a silver tray that radiated heat as though the rolls were fresh from the oven.

The Queen broke the bread, but didn’t actually eat. Shadows didn’t desire food the way humans did.

Each bite melted in Kelia’s mouth. The taste warmed her tongue. She consumed faster than she could enjoy, but she did not mind it. She needed to fill her belly first, and then worry about the actual taste of the food once she was not so desperate with hunger.

"Are you enjoying it?" the Queen asked. Her elbows rested on the table, her fingers steepled. She peered across the table at Kelia like a cat that was clearly up to no good.

Kelia turned to the potatoes when her stomach twisted. She paused, waiting to feel what seemed to be upsetting her stomach, but after nothing more happened, shook her head and continued to devour her food. She was so focused on that one task that she had completely forgotten the Queen had asked her a question.

"I do not even remember what it’s like to be human." The Queen took a long sip of wine from her goblet. "Your food offers little in taste or sustenance to me."

Kelia chewed as she cut another sliver of meat, but paused as she suddenly realized what struck her as odd. This island was too empty for Shadows. Where was their blood supply? Could their desire for blood be magicked away?

"I have grown accustomed to blood from the purest of resources, you see," the Queen continued. "But it is so hard to find pure people anymore, unless we consume the blood of children, and while I do pride myself on my vicious nature, I cannot seem to indulge in that. I do not want the responsibility of caring for Shadow children. My God, that would be a travesty."

Kelia wasn’t certain how the Queen expected her to respond to that, so she did not respond at all. Instead, she continued to eat. When she remembered to drink, she would wash down her food with her wine before filling her mouth with more potatoes, meat, and bread.

She didn’t think she would ever stop eating. Aside from some scraps and an apple from Navven, she’d been five days without food. It was enough to weaken her sensibilities, and if she planned on escaping this island at some point, she needed to be at her healthiest. She would not survive otherwise.

"I cannot even remember when I was born." The Queen inhaled deeply. "I remember nothing of my past, before this life I was forced into. The East India Company took advantage of me, you see. They turned me into this monster. But what used to be a prison is now my freedom. I have so much power running in this body that I do not know what to do with myself."

Kelia burped suddenly. The sound came out of her mouth before she realized what had happened. She felt her cheeks turn pink, especially as the Queen tittered to herself. Even her laughter sounded posh and elegant. How had she burped? Kelia would never burp like this, even in front of people she did not care about. She did have a sense of pride, after all.

"When I was transformed, I took a new name," the Queen said, still smiling. "Tatiana de L'obscurité, Royale. Queen Tatiana of Royal Darkness. If they wanted to damn me with this curse, I would be the wickedest Sea Shadow who ever lived, and that meant with them as well. The East India Company could not control my feelings or my thoughts, so I bided my time until the moment was right, and I unleashed my power on them. I let them know we could work together as equals or I would take over. They could not match my power."

Kelia's stomach churned once more. This time, it was deeper, more guttural. She paused again, waiting for her stomach to settle. She had satiated the majority of her hunger, so she was not completely desperate for food, but she had intended to finish what was on her plate.

A servant came by and filled up her goblet before disappearing, leaving Kelia and the Queen alone with their food once more.

"Do you know who helped me break free of the chains that bound me to the company?" the Queen asked, slowly coming to a stand. She walked around the table and, when she reached Kelia's side, squatted down on the balls of her feet.

Kelia swallowed the food that was in her mouth, surprised that the Queen would be informal with her—kneeling down, practically on her knees, the hem on the gown filling the space around her.

The Queen reached up to cup Kelia's face with her hand, and Kelia stiffened under her touch.

"You really are quite beautiful," the Queen said. "In your own unique way, of course." She dropped her hand but only to start playing with errant strands of Kelia's hair, wrapping the locks around her long finger and gently tugging until it pulled at Kelia’s roots. "I remember I used to want blonde hair when I was young. I thought only the pretty girls had fair hair. But I was wrong."

Kelia's stomach shook. She could not describe it in any other way. She struggled to hide how much her stomach was bothering her.

"I found Drew on his ship—the Wraith," the Queen continued, slowly unwinding the strand of hair from her finger. "He was weak, but he was captivated by me. Even now, I still remember the look in his eyes when he saw me. The ship had crashed to shore. The men were dead. He was the only survivor. The East India Company had been after him for years. He was a pirate, slippery like an eel, intelligent like a dolphin." She smiled fondly at the memory, dropping her hand to her lap. "I needed to feed. I had fed on everyone else, but I wanted Drew's blood to enjoy, not to use as mere sustenance. So I kept him for myself, against the Company's wishes, without their knowledge. I fed him. I took care of him. If it were not for me and my generosity, he would have died that day."

"How did the ship crash to shore?"

Kelia did not know why she needed to hear the answer. She did not expect any words to come out of her mouth now that her stomach was in such pain.

"Why do you ask me this, princess? What is going on in that head of yours?"

"Drew is...an excellent captain." Kelia had to pause, waiting for a particularly painful wrench in her gut to ease, if only slightly. "I am sure that...such a thing does not change, even...over a course of...a century. What...what caused the ship to crash?"

The Queen's lips curled into a feral grin and she stood.

"Clever girl," she said, stepping around the chair so she stood at Kelia's other side. "I caused the ship to crash. If I pleased the East India Company, I got to kill Drew's crew. They found out about him, of course. They find out everything. I was tempted to kill Drew as well, though the Company wanted him publicly hanged from the gallows, a form of entertainment for the people on Port Royal and, more than that, a warning to all pirates who acted against the crown. However, I kept Drew to myself. And anyone who dared try to take him from me, I ripped to shreds. They stopped sending men after me after I killed their fifth lieutenant."

Needles seemed to be poking at Kelia from the inside. She let out a whimper and hunched over, clutching her stomach. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. She should not have trusted the food from this monster.

"That was when I realized I had more power over my domain than I believed," the Queen said. "When I fed from Drew that first time, I was careful. He did not know what was happening, and neither did I. Something was different. I did not set out to kill him. Watching him transform... I felt my heart swell. It was a beautiful thing, creating a companion so this forever life would not be so lonely. Drew would be my partner forever, and we could transform others and raise them, like a pack of children or an army."

Kelia opened her mouth to reply, to point out that children and armies were two very different things. However, the Queen kept sharing, and Kelia was in such terrible pain that even if she had the opportunity to speak, she would not be able to take advantage of it.

"Drew was the great love of my life," the Queen said. "And anything that comes between us needs to be put down.” The Queen leaned down, her breath cold against Kelia’s ear. “You will no longer come between us, princess."

"And what if..." Kelia whimpered and clenched her teeth to keep any more at bay. She did not want this beast to have the satisfaction of knowing she was hurting Kelia. "What if Drew is the one...getting in the way of you two. Because...because from what he tells me, he wants...wants nothing to do with you."

The Queen reached up and grabbed Kelia's hair, pulling it back with a tight fist. Kelia had to close her eyes. Her scalp was not the only place the pain came from. She was forced to stretch her torso, which caused her stomach to tumble with pain. If she bit any harder on her bottom lip, she was certain she would draw blood.

"Drew is misguided," the Queen said. "He will see. I will make him see."

"And how...how do you expect to do that?" Kelia did not know where this sudden bout of strength to speak came from, but she was glad for it. It took her mind off the pain—at least, temporarily.

The chandelier flickered overheard. The flames had burned down low, shadows now consuming the room rather than the light. That gave the Queen more of an advantage than Kelia, but Kelia would endure. She just needed to get whatever it was out of her stomach.

"I will show him that a love between the two of you is impossible," the Queen said, her voice smooth and casual, as though she wasn't tugging on Kelia's hair, as though her fangs weren't out and at the ready for Kelia's throat. "You are a human. I will kill you in front of him after making you experience great pain. You will beg for death."

Kelia chuckled at the thought. It sounded maniacal, even to her own ears.

"What's this, princess?" the Queen asked. "Do you stare death in the face and laugh. Do you really believe you are that strong? Or perhaps you are an insipid, stupid thing who does not realize the danger you are in. The food you consumed, princess, is poison. It will rot your core until I kill you. Only one witch knows the cure, and she would not dare set foot on this island again after what she did to me. You will live in this pain as long as I wish, only to be saved from it when I show you mercy by ending your life. I am your god now."

"I don't believe in Him, and I don't believe in you either," Kelia managed to get out before her stomach gave up the fight and forced whatever was consuming her to exit her stomach and hit the Queen. Kelia made sure her vomit was directed at the beast, and even though she might have otherwise been embarrassed at partaking in such an action in front of someone, she could not help but be satisfied at the look of utter disgust that touched the Queen’s features as she let out a shriek.

The Queen, now soaked in thick chunks of recently devoured food, lunged for Kelia. The chair toppled over, sending Kelia onto her back. Kelia laughed again. She knew the pain was causing her to act as though she was a drunk whose mind had gone with the consumption of alcohol, but she could not help herself. She laughed, even as the Queen crawled on top of her, straddling her hips.

"I do not plan to turn you," the Queen said. "And I do not plan to kill you, yet. But I promise you, princess, that you will soon not be laughing. Drew Knight belongs to me, and you will not take him from me."

Before Kelia could let the Queen's words sink in, the Queen brought her head to Kelia's neck and ripped off her skin. Kelia could not keep the scream of pain to herself. The scream cut off. She could feel the blood flow out of her, could feel consciousness slowly slip away from her.

Just as she was closing her eyes, the Queen spit up something.

"Your blood," the Queen said with disgust. "It tastes… There's something wrong with it." Claw-like fingers coiled around Kelia's throat. "What is wrong with your blood? You do not taste pure, you taste..."

Her voice trailed off, and Kelia laughed again. The Queen pulled one hand from Kelia's throat to slap her across the face, her long fingernails ripping open Kelia's cheek.

"Why do you taste this way?" she demanded.

"You know why," Kelia murmured, still smiling. Sleep was pulling at her. "I am not as pure as you think me to be, and Drew Knight is responsible for that. I’m surprised you didn’t smell it sooner."

The last thing Kelia heard before she slipped into unconsciousness was the roar coming from the woman on top of her.