Page 102 of The Queen

Do not panic.

I looked back at my mate. His face was relaxed, as if in slumber, but I knew better. Someone had done this to him. They had done something to me, too.

How was I supposed to protect us alone? I needed a weapon.

I scrambled to his side and searched through his pockets, doing my best to ignore his intoxicating scent and the perfect curve of his muscles. The aftermath of my shortened heat lingered, but there was no time to think about it. More of that tea would be nice, or even suppressant, but under the circumstances, I had no trouble turning my focus to the situation at hand. I continued to search all the places Shadow had hidden his weapons, but there were none to be found.

A pit opened in my stomach as I sat back on my heels. What now? Just wait to be murdered like my mother had been?

I curled up against Shadow’s chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart. He couldn’t die. I didn’t know how, but we’d get out of this.

The delicate threads connecting me to my other mates were reassuring, even if the connections were only whispers due to the distance between us.

Through my despair, the sound of a rattle and then the clunk of a lock reached me. I sat up and looked around the gloom, but Shadow was still asleep.

Oh, Stars. Someone was coming.

Chapter Sixty-Four

Saphyra

The door on the far wall creaked open, and the scuffle of shoes followed. Silhouettes blocked out the unnatural glow from the adjoining room just before an overhead light flickered on.

I wasn’t all that surprised to see Edeth leading the way in one of her ostentatious gowns. Nausea pooled in my stomach, and I shuddered at seeing her for the first time after remembering what she’d done. She looked just as vile as she always had, but something about her was so much worse now.

Trailing at her heels was the scrawny, rat-faced beta guard, Mik. Close on his behind came Edeth’s aunt and supposed dressmaker, Indra. But more surprising, was the person who brought up the back of the group. Quietly following Aster and Hazel was Violet, my kind-eyed maid who I’d hoped might be a friend.

It hurt my heart seeing her there with those monsters. I thought she was a kindred spirit, but my judgment may have been flawed and that might have hurt most of all.

I stood and brushed off my pants, taking a deep breath to calm my raging anger. “Hello, Edeth. Can you tell me what’s the meaning of this?” My words were clipped and formal. It was all I could do not to fly across the room, screaming and scratching her eyes out. Not that the bars would allow it.

Edeth stepped up to the table and looked down at the spread of guns, knives, and other equipment with a distasteful sneer. “My Stars. Would you dispense with the clueless little girl act? Or maybe you really are that stupid.” She let out an aggrieved breath. “You couldn’t have done this the easy way. Now we have to do it the hard way.”

Maybe I really was that stupid because… what?

Indra bustled up to the table, pushing the weapons aside into a pile, uncovering a glint of gold beneath. Glass clinked together in cheerful opposition to the oppressive dungeon setting as she set a basket down on the rough hewn counter. I held my breath. My mother’s datapad was right there. It seemed as though no one had noticed it yet. I diverted my eyes and tried my best to stay calm and not draw attention to the priceless piece of tech.

Wary of the smile tugging at Indra’s lips, I backed away from the bars. She was up to something, and whatever it was, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t like it.

Mik bounced on his toes with glee shining in his beady little eyes over in the shadowed corner, but the rest of the room was still, as if they were all holding their breath. I didn’t want to know what they were waiting for.

Edeth was the first to break the silence. “Well, don’t keep us in suspense.” She motioned for Indra to hurry.

Indra fished around inside the basket and pulled out several small glass objects, along with what looked like dry grass. “You can’t rush these things, my dear,” she said, filling an eyedropper with yellow liquid from a vial and dribbling the contents on the top of the weeds.

Impatience drenched Edeth’s pinched features as she shouldered past her aunt and plucked a medical scanner from the basket. “I don’t know why you insist on doing it that way when we have instruments that are faster. Here, let me.”

In shock, I watched them bicker, still not understanding what was going on.

Edeth snatched another vial from Indra’s basket and dripped a bit of red liquid into the scanner’s feeder. Two seconds later it beeped, and she looked at the readout. A huge smile stretched across her face. Her eyes flashed to me. “Finally, you’ve done something right.”

“I’m sorry?” I asked, utterly baffled and highly suspicious. I’d watched Grey do numerous blood tests in the past, but what did the dead plants have to do with anything?

Indra held up the sheaf of dried grass, which was now green and sprouting on top. “You’re pregnant, stupid girl.”

“No, that’s not possible.” All the heat drained from my entire body. That couldn’t be. The dizziness and ringing slammed back into me. I needed to sit down. Or lay down. Something. My hand fell to my belly, but it felt the same as always. A giddy happiness rushed over me before anxiety sent the room spinning.

I dropped to my knees. I was trapped in a cage. My greatest enemy’s prisoner. Shadow was unconscious, and I was pregnant.

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