Page 17 of The Queen

“Yes, as lovely as everyone says. Look at your beautiful hair. Reminds me of your mother,” she said absently before breezing past to join Fenix’s team, who’d returned to their task of inspecting the boxes. “It looks like all is well in hand here. I heard there was a security emergency and wanted to make sure everything was safe. Especially now with our precious cargo.” Her warm brown eyes crinkled at the edges as she looked at me.

“Precious cargo?” I asked, trying not to sound annoyed.

“Well, yes. You, of course, and the new baby as well,” she replied as she lifted the lid off a crate to look inside.

“New baby?” One of these days, I’d stop being the last to know everything.

Grey closed the distance to take up a place next to Lex as everyone else busied themselves scouring the hangar. “A baby was born shortly after we arrived. It was a difficult delivery, but I was able to assist. They’re doing fine now. I don’t know why, but something urged me to test the baby. Training from my previous position maybe, I’m not sure, but with permission from the parents, I ran the baby’s blood, and she has all the markers of being an omega. There hasn’t been an omega birth on Verden since, well, I’m not sure, but everyone is saying they’re hasn’t been one since you were taken.”

“It’s a miracle,” Edeth called out as she continued snooping and knocking things all over the place.

“That’s wonderful news.” I waved a dust cloud away from my face, sneezing.

“I think we’re done here. Fenix can finish up.” Lex saved me from a coughing fit by leading me out the door we’d entered through. Over his shoulder, he called to Ghost and Shadow, “Let’s go.”

I slipped my hand into Grey’s as we walked down the corridor, and he spared me a sweet smile.

Chapter Eleven

Saphyra

The alphas led the way while I hung back, basking in comfortable silence with Grey. Shadow’s low, graveled voice floated to us, but their conversation was a wordless murmur.

My curiosity over what they discussed warred with my desire to stay near my beta mate. We hadn’t seen each other as much as I was used to. I craved his calm, reassuring presence. Whatever they were talking about could wait, if they’d even deign to tell me at all.

Stupid alphas and their stupid secrets.

It was hard to be sure in passageways that all looked so similar, but I didn’t think we were headed the same way we’d come in. My suspicions were confirmed when the plain, featureless walls faded from slick metal to rough stone. If we’d returned the same way, there should be a lift door here, not rocks.

Not long after the change in scenery, the floor gave way to hard packed dirt, and the hall opened into a soaring cavern. Electric lamps cast pools of murky light on muddy streets, outlining dirty huts and jagged cave openings hewn from craggy walls.

This must be the main part of the city. I’d hoped the underground capital would be beautiful and full of magic, but that dream was dashed under the weight of reality. Grey had warned me more than once, but this grimy squalor was still a surprise. Maybe it was my shock or maybe it was the stagnant humid air, but suddenly it was difficult to draw a full breath. Grey’s hand tightened around mine, lending me strength. He’d seen this place already and probably knew how I’d react.

It was a surprise, yes, but more than that, despair was thick and oppressive in the fetid stillness.

The cavern went on for ages in all directions. There was no beginning or end in sight. A few ragged citizens scurried like sunken-cheeked rodents in threadbare clothes, hugging the edge of buildings as we walked through the quiet streets. It was night, and most people would be in their homes or asleep, but what little I could see was disturbing.

How was this an acceptable living environment? Even after surviving in a literal prison, these conditions were abhorrent.

Mud sloshed around my boots as I pulled away from Grey and hurried to catch the alphas leading the way through the winding, slop-covered roadways. “Where are we? What is this place?” I asked, silently begging for it not to be true, but I had to know. I needed to be sure.

“This, Your Majesty, is the residential sector of the capital,” Lex responded, not bothering to look at me as he continued walking.

“Why is it like this?” I gestured at the caves and rough, carved doors in the cavern walls. Dark holes, like empty eye sockets of skulls, seemed to glare back at me.

“It’s safer here than on the surface. We ran out of space with so many fleeing the raids, but we never intended to stay this long. We did the best we could with what we had.” Lex finally stopped, his green eyes burning into me even in the gloom. “We’ve had a hard time securing the city, as you’ve seen, but ground level is worse. Bandits, attacks, kidnappings.”

I swallowed down the lump forming in my throat. Finally, they were showing me the reality of our world, even if it was hard to see. “There must be some other way.”

“There is, but it’s not that easy. We need help and tech, but the places that could offer it are allied with Altaira or are unwilling to negotiate. That’s why I’m sending an emissary to Pharanax. Which you would have known about in the morning had you waited patiently in your room like you were supposed to.”

I cast a hurt glance at Shadow, who was completely unaffected.

“Don’t look at him,” Lex said, following my gaze to the brooding alpha. “You could never hide from me. Your scent gives you away even when you’re trying to be sneaky, remember?” There was a fondness in his forest-filled eyes as he reminded me of our first confrontation on the Hive.

It was hard to be mad at him knowing all he had done for me, but it frustrated me that they were going about their lives as if nothing had changed. I was here now. Didn’t that matter at all? Was there no room for me to be part of this place with them?

“You should have told me. Let me help you. I want to be involved. This is my responsibility as queen now. By keeping me sheltered, you’re making it impossible for me to do my job. I know change is difficult, but I want to work through it together,” I said, trying to keep the petulance from creeping into my voice.

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