Page 70 of The Queen

We followed a sloping corridor for a long while. This part of the palace was off limits when I was small. Despite that, I recognized it. The hall cut through the bedrock of the cliff that the castle perched on and tunneled below the outer fortification to the furthest turret. The door at the end was always locked.

Today, it stood ajar.

Shadows moved beyond the threshold, and when we entered, I was shocked by what was hidden inside. The cylindrical tower was open to the sky at the top, but in the center was a ten-foot diameter pit clad in gray metal.

“What is this?” I asked no one in particular.

Shadow and Lex glanced up from the console they’d been studying on the far side of the enormous hole.

“This is the condenser core. It’s supposed to run the planetary defense shield, but it’s unresponsive.” Lex motioned us over.

The knobs and dials were gibberish to me. I’d never been past the tower door before today. Never seen anything like the control panel at all.

Ghost stepped up with an excited grin on his face. “I think I can figure this out.”

“How long do we have?” I regretted wasting time in the stables now. I hadn’t considered that the shield controller wouldn’t work at all. Although, I should have.

Ghost paused, studying the console. “I radioed Albion when we arrived. We should have about two hours before they attempt the atmosphere. Even without the condenser running, the magnetic field is strong and only getting stronger. It won’t stop them as it is, but it could slow them down.”

“But they’d still have to find us, right? To… to do whatever they plan to do.” I hesitated to say that they were probably going to kill us. I didn’t want to think about that now, not when we were this close. But we knew what might happen if the enemy made it to the surface.

Lex stepped away from Shadow and Ghost. He tipped my chin up on the tip of his finger. “And where do you suppose they would look first?”

My teeth clicked together in frustration. “Here.”

His lips turned up in a sad grin. “Very likely.”

We were sitting ducks unless we could fix the shield condenser core. The castle was ancient and not equipped with protection from the Imperatrix’s weapons. It was built before space travel or even air travel was an option. The walls were decorative, unable to stop even the most basic of current technology. Plasma weapons could cut through that pretty, soft stone like warm butter.

I had no doubt my mates would fight to the end, but three alphas, a beta, and an omega wouldn’t last long against an armada of Imperatrix ships.

While Lex had my attention, Ghost ducked under the console and rummaged around. When he surfaced, he dragged a wiring harness along with him. The tips of each strand of cable were shiny and jagged, sheared off from whatever they should’ve been connected to.

“That looks bad.” I didn’t know what else to say. It was obvious we were all thinking the same thing.

Ghost scraped his fingers through his spiky white hair. “Mmm… It could be worse?” His chuckle lacked his normal mirth.

Lex turned back to the console where Ghost was sitting on the metal floor. “Can you fix it?”

“Well, yeah. There’s power from the solar cells, but it’s going to take a while to rewire the whole thing.” Ghost let go of the harness, and it swung limply under the control panel, taunting us with its uselessness. “I need some equipment.”

He hopped up and gave my butt a swat when he walked past on his way to get his pack from the stable. It was nice to see he wasn’t in a panic, because my heart was working overtime.

The relative calm presented by my mates bolstered my courage. We’d come for more than just the shield, though. “I want to take a look around. There could be answers that were overlooked.”

No one questioned it.

“Valyx, stay here in case Ax needs help. We’ll be back soon.” Lex squeezed Shadow’s shoulder before leading the way out of the tower and up the sloped hall toward the keep.

As scared as I was of what we might find. I needed to do this, even if it hurt.

Chapter Forty-Seven

Saphyra

Sound traveled strangely through the empty spaces of the castle. Our footsteps echoed like ghosts from the past. The fine hair prickled on the back of my neck as I walked down halls I knew a lifetime ago. Everything familiar but indelibly altered by the passage of time.

“Where did everything go? The furniture, the paintings, the tapestries?” My voice sounded loud in the eerie quiet.

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