Page 106 of The Queen

“Yes, Miss Violet Baxter. My mother is Lady Baxter, Countess of Miniera. They did what I asked because the bulk of the recent reinforcements are from my family’s estate, or so my mother claims. I’ve never seen them before. Most of the alphas from my county died in raids on our gemstone mine. So honestly, I don’t have any idea who they really are, but they are familiar with my name and will follow my instructions, it seems.”

Light-headedness washed over me. “A countess? I thought you were a maid?”

Violet breathed out a laugh. “Yes… Well, of noble birth. And also a maid. I won’t be a countess unless my mother dies. Edeth puts all able children to work. She says it builds character, but I think it’s for the free labor.”

Shadow’s dark voice broke into the conversation. “The brig is just up ahead.”

I looked behind me at my protector. Slivers of light flashed off a pair of wicked looking daggers as he slipped them back out of sight. Those guards were lucky they’d listened to Violet. I had a feeling the other potential outcome would have been much worse for them.

Chapter Sixty-Six

Saphyra

We stepped into the hallway that the guards had disappeared down, but we headed the opposite direction. The overhead lights flooded the corridor, and I noticed a lumpy sack strapped to Shadow’s hip.

I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the change in brightness, not understanding why the fabric of the black bag looked wet. “What’s that?”

Shadow glanced down at the thing he was carrying, then back to me. “Motivation.”

Vague as always, but I had a pretty good idea of what it could be. It wasn’t something I wanted to think about, and hoped I wouldn’t have to, so I wiped the thought from my mind and hurried to keep up.

We passed through a deserted guard station, Violet unlocking the doors as we went, and stepped into a wide passageway lined with barred cells on either side. Dark fruits and deep floral notes were thick in the air and what was at the end of the aisleway made it obvious why. The individual cells each held a single female alpha. Unmoving and silent. Every one of them was unnaturally still. My blood froze. Had those guards come here to kill the prisoners?

No sooner had that occurred to me than one of the motionless lumps turned over on their cot and shining eyes locked onto me.

Albion bolted from her bed, bowing low. “Your Majesty.”

There was a rustle of fabric, and the others sprang to their feet and were bowing as well.

I hurried closer, anxious to release them from their captivity. “Thank the Stars. You scared me. When you were just lying there, I thought the worst. Are you all okay?”

There was a murmur of yeses that set my heart back to beating. Beyond the cells Fenix’s team occupied, I noticed Melody, the medic that helped us when Grey was sick, and the older alpha that smelled like boot leather.

“Violet, can you get them out of there, please?” I didn’t know where to start. I had so many questions.

Violet bobbed her head and scurried from door to door, unlocking them.

Albion strode out of the cell as soon as the lock turned over with a concerned look on her face. “We’re unhurt, but what about you, Your Majesty?”

“I’m fine.” I blew off the question with a cursory answer, more interested in finding out why they were locked in the brig. “What happened while we were gone? How did you end up here?”

Albion didn’t seem satisfied with my reply, but addressed my request rather than digging into something I wasn’t ready to talk about. “Well, it started when Melody stumbled onto a lab that was hidden in a rarely used storage room. Because of Grey’s poisoning, she brought that information to me. We were still looking for leads on that, as requested, so it was of interest. When we investigated, we found materials consistent with what Melody said could’ve been ingredients for toxins, not to mention other chemicals and elixirs that were suspicious. We put a watch on the area and shortly after, we witnessed Indra Lochlan enter the room with more incriminating substances. With that proof, she was arrested, but when the Regent demanded an explanation, we were tossed in the brig, and she was freed.”

I cast a knowing glance at Shadow, who was propped against the door to the guard station, his arms crossed.

Albion followed the path of my eyes, and her brows drew together. “Neither of you seems surprised.”

One corner of Shadow’s mouth turned up. “That’s because we aren’t.”

I gave Albion a grateful smile. “It’s nice to have confirmation, at any rate.” I hoped she knew how much I appreciated their diligence.

Shadow held up a finger and pressed it to his lips. In a quiet growl, he whispered. “Someone’s coming.”

We froze. No one so much as breathed. The only sound was a spatter of blood rolling down my fingertips and falling to the metal floor. Everyone’s eyes landed on me. A million questions burned across the faces of the prisoners, but they held them in, waiting for news from Shadow.

He was peering into the outer room when he stepped back and pushed the door wide.

A very dirty and disheveled Grey hurried in, making a beeline to me. He scooped me up in a hug and my ribs groaned under the pressure. Over his shoulder, I watched the doorway fill with bedraggled citizens dressed in shabby clothes carrying tools and sticks.

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