Page 109 of The Queen

The electric torches Maddox’s troops carried illuminated beams of dust before hitting the solid metal blast door up ahead, but I didn’t move. I waited, clutching at that fragile thread that connected me to all that was good in the universe as it stretched tight far below me. The buzzing nerves that had been my steady companion all day were silent.

Fuck, this couldn’t be happening.

All of Saphyra’s heightened emotions were gone, replaced with a void of stillness. I was getting a read on her general location, so that meant she wasn’t dead. Right? That better be fucking right, or I was going to bring this whole fucking mountain down.

I noticed a hush had fallen around me, and I lifted my eyes from the rocky floor back to my surroundings. Seventy some soldiers were all standing stock still, staring at me as I wrestled my panicked breathing under control.

“What the fuck are you looking at? Get the door open.” I turned away from the troops to hide the terror pounding through my head.

“It’s locked and sealed. If you hadn’t zoned out, you would’ve heard me say that the last three times.” Maddox studied me, waiting. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes,” I snarled, but remembered who I was talking to. “No. I mean, I don’t fucking know.” I lowered my voice so only Maddox could hear. “The bond went quiet all of the sudden.” I pulled the collar of my shirt aside, showing him the newly minted gold-green crescent that was just starting to show through the bite mark.

He blasted me in the face with his flashlight to get a better look, and my hand came up to block my eyes. “Well, fuck me sideways. You’re the new king consort. Don’t expect me to call you your majesty. You’re about as majestic as a turd on a stick.”

“Fuck you very much, but it’s not as simple as that.” I stepped out of the beam of light that had effectively blinded me.

Shouts rang out from the sentries at the mouth of the cave, and I spun around to see what they were yelling about. “What the fuck is happening now?”

The thread connecting me to Saphyra was still firmly in place, if more tenuous than it had been. It was peaceful, so I had to assume things were fine for the moment. I couldn’t get to her, anyway. She was on the opposite side of the mountain, miles away. But I could find out what the shouting was about. I took off at a sprint toward the mouth of the cave, Maddox close on my heels.

Golden light from the entrance spilled into the opening and I slowed, sweeping my gun over the empty tunnel, squinting against the brightness. From out of nowhere, a sentry came flying through the air, flailing and screaming, before the big alpha crashed into me. Another weight piled on top and a black fist hurtled through the dust. I was pinned beneath the bulk of the soldier and my attacker. All I could do was brace for impact.

My jaw cracked as the force of a star freighter slammed into my face. My head whipped to the side just in time to see the shadow of Maddox flying over my body and crashing into the massive beast that had me trapped.

Maddox wasn’t small by any means, but the monster on top of me was bigger and rolled with the weight, landing over him in a pool of streaming sunlight.

“Maddox?” the monster rasped before sitting up.

I knew that voice. “Lex? What the fuck?” I rolled the groaning sentry off me and dragged myself up from the ground. “Shit. What happened to you?”

When he pulled himself off of Maddox and stood, I noticed Lex was covered head to toe in black dirt and smelled like soot. His clothes were shredded and wet with blood.

Maddox coughed, rolling onto his side, holding his ribs. “Fuck, man. Why..?”

“Your scouts are terrible,” Lex said, and held out his hand to help the wheezing noble up.

Maddox waved him off, preferring to nurse what was probably a couple of broken ribs for a moment before getting up.

“You didn’t fucking kill anyone, did you?” I asked, looking towards the mouth of the cave but seeing nothing but the one alpha he’d used as a battering ram against me.

Lex laughed and went over to the downed sentry, offering him a hand up. “No, although maybe I should’ve for not watching your back better. They’re out cold, bound and gagged with their own gear, hidden in the bushes outside.”

I picked up my rifle and looked at Maddox. “You comin’?”

He pushed himself into a sitting position, arm still wrapped around himself protectively, leaning against the wall. “Naw, you go ahead. I need a minute.”

Good thing he was an alpha. A broken rib would heal in no time. Hurt like a bitch at first, though.

I followed Lex and the limping sentry to the cave entrance to untie the others.

“Can you feel the bond?” I kept my voice low. I didn’t want Maddox’s soldiers overhearing us.

Lex grabbed my arm and tugged me into the tunnel. “Yeah, it went quiet. Like when she’s sleeping.”

The rest of the sentries were untangling their bindings and were no worse for the wear, so we left them to sort their shit out on their own.

“Should we be worried?”

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