Page 42 of The Queen

“Breathe, little one,” he soothed, and helped me sit down.

I gulped air down my throat, trying to fill my lungs. Someone was trying to kill Grey and drug my alphas. Rational thought receded. Calm was a distant memory that felt impossible to

find again.

The alphas gathered around us, purring. As the panic ebbed, sadness took its place. Did they hate me that much? Did they want me gone that bad? “We should just leave.” I sniffled.

“Where would we go? This is your home,” Grey said in a comforting tone. He smoothed my hair back from my face.

Anger pushed past despair. “My home? This isn’t my home. This is a burrow to hide in. Altaira destroyed my home ten years ago.” I blinked back my tears.

Lex’s purr faded. “I have an idea. I mentioned it at dinner, but you may have been otherwise occupied.” He gave Shadow and me a meaningful look. “I suggested that we go to the royal hunting lodge, but considering someone is out to get us, something less obvious might be in order.”

I scrubbed my hands over my face. “What did you have in mind?”

“After the coronation, I think we should go to the ruins.”

I paused, letting his velvety words sink in. Trepidation filled me, but a sliver of excitement peeked through my despair. “The old capital? Why? I thought there was nothing left?”

“Is there nothing? Or did we just not know what to look for? The best place to start is where it all began. We’re flying blind staying here.”

I wanted to go to the old capital, to see what was left of my childhood home, but the memories. The memories might be too much to bear.

It wouldn’t tell us who was trying to poison us, but if we wanted answers about my past, that would be a good place to start. The scent of smoke and anise, and familiar hands flashed through my mind.

I didn’t want to know what happened that day, but I needed to find out.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Saphyra

Hot, heavy man limbs tangled with my own, and soft lips brushed my neck. I could get used to waking up like this, but an incessant beeping dragged me from my pleasant dream, and it wouldn’t stop. Unlike my room with the small skylight, Ghost’s cabin was pitch dark. I had no idea what time it was. No matter how many body parts I freed from my fleshy cage, I couldn’t get loose to investigate.

The beeping finally quieted, but a hollow metal pounding took up in its place. My men finally stirred, and the uncomfortably warm weight of naked skin lifted as someone rose from the bed. It seemed so large last night, but with three alphas, a beta, and an omega, it was much too small for all of us.

A blue-tinted glow snapped on, illuminating the spartan suite as Ghost powered up one of the many blank screens against the far wall. Displayed on the monitor was a video feed of the hallway, and what looked to be a very angry woman in a voluminous gown banging on a door. The thud of fists on our door was in perfect sync with the woman’s movement. Her head tilted back, and she looked up at the camera. It was Edeth.

Oh Stars, I was in for it now.

I wasn’t sure who groaned, it was probably me, but Lex dragged himself from the bed and pulled on a pair of discarded sweats as he made his way to the door, opening it to stare down at the panting woman.

The screech of Edeth’s voice was unmistakable and torture to my groggy ears. “Why am I not surprised to find you gallivanting around here? Does your boyfriend know you’re dipping your wick somewhere else? I told you it’s time you grew up and started a family. This will not do.”

While Edeth was ranting, Shadow dressed and sauntered to the door, peering over his lover’s shoulder. “I know exactly where his dick has been, and I don’t mind at all. Not that it’s any of your business.” The deep, graveled voice of my mate sent a tingle down my spine.

An angry burning was flooding my face. It was a good thing he cut her off because I was a breath from flying through the door and clawing her eyes out.

The woman huffed and stomped a foot under her gown. “Where is Axion? The queen is missing, and Fenix won’t tell me anything. I need to know where she is. We had an appointment this morning and she’s late.”

Ghost, not bothering to dress at all, joined them at the door. The fact that another woman was looking at what was mine incited a growl to rise from my chest, but Grey wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck, which was distracting, but not so distracting I missed seeing Edeth turn away, cheeks red.

“This is highly inappropriate. How dare you answer your door in such a state!” She was livid and whisper-screaming into the corridor as if hoping no one would notice the spectacle.

“You’re the one that came to my room and tried to get inside without being invited. Using your own code, and then both of your daughters. That was quite an idea, but it won’t work. Did you hope you would catch me with my pants down?” He chuckled and slammed the door in her face.

On the monitor, she swung back around, yelling, but the walls muffled her voice.

I flopped back on the bed, groaning. The rules on the Hive were almost better than Edeth’s constant intrusions. “I have to make a list for who I want on my household staff this morning. I forgot. Can’t someone else do it?”

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