Page 54 of The Queen

Grey groaned at my unexpected movement, and I curled back around him, keeping my skin close to his, but my attention was fixed on Lex, waiting for his answer.

“Yes. Don’t you remember it?” There was hope in his question, as if my response meant something more to him than the simple inquiry. He wanted me to know the place.

I studied the embossing on the front. Flowers surrounding an archway. It did feel familiar, but I didn’t understand why. “I’m not sure. Should I?”

Lex lowered the book to his lap. Disappointment flashed across his face for an instant before he spoke. “It’s on the palace grounds near the graveyard. We used to play there together when we were children.”

I wanted to remember that, a carefree time when our future was certain and filled with wonder. I tried to imagine running through the wildflowers scattered on the book’s cover, tall grass up to my knees, and ever so slowly flashes of the cemetery came back to me.

Sunlight slanted across a rainbow sky, washing marble slabs in brilliant color. White starflowers hugged the sides of beautifully carved crypts near an arched stone doorway flanked by blooming vines. The sound of bees was almost real in my ears as the memory of entering that archway flooded my mind. It led into a mausoleum lined with the sealed sarcophagi of my long-dead ancestors.

The smiling brown eyes of my mother crinkled at the edges and the whisper of her melodic voice joined the buzzing. “When you’re queen, you must come here and learn the wisdom of your legacy. The crown will weigh heavily on your brow, but your blood will guide you.” With another smile, she held up a gold datapad for me to see. “Place your thumb here and hold it for a moment.” She indicated a spot on the readout, and I pressed my finger to the sensor. The screen unlocked. “Now you’ll be able to access it whenever you’re in need, even if I can’t be here with you.”

Before we left the mausoleum, I saw her hide it away in a nook that, when it closed, looked like part of the wall. A boy’s voice called my name, and I turned to see a young, blond child run past the door.

“Alexi is looking for you. Go on and play, but don’t tell anyone about this. It’s our secret. A secret only for queens.” Her pretty face faded to mist just as a sheen of red blurred the image.

I shook the fog from my thoughts, focusing on the small leather journal again. “I think I do remember playing near there.” The memory was fuzzy and filled me with a sense of foreboding. I hesitated, considering if I should bring up the possibility that my mother left something for me there. Suddenly, I very much needed to see what was on the gold datapad. If it was even still there.

My mother said it was for queens only. I didn’t know if she meant that literally or if that’s just what she told her young daughter to keep me from spreading the secret. Whichever it was, I’d be crowned soon, and I could look for it myself.

“After the coronation, do you think we could visit that place?” I was nervous to ask, fearing Lex’s reaction to my request. He’d mentioned something like that already, but was it stupid to want to travel to the ruins? Everything there had been destroyed. Or was there still some small thing left to salvage?

Lex set the book on the table next to my new nest, within easy reach. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. Fenix and I have come up with a plan for your consideration.”

If it should’ve been awkward discussing such important matters naked and cuddled up with Grey, I never noticed. In fact, everyone else’s clothes came off when I invited them into my nest to discuss our options.

The strategy was a good one and quickly explained. It expanded on Lex’s earlier suggestion of visiting the old capital with the hopes of finding more information. There were variables that we couldn’t know yet, but the pieces were in place. We all agreed on a course and were ready to move when the time was right. It gave me the thing I wanted most: hope.

The next two days would decide our path. For tonight, we held on to each other like it was our last night on Verden. Because with someone out to get us, and few allies stepping forward to help, it may very well be.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Saphyra

Iwas hot. So very hot.

The air was sweltering. I could barely breathe. This wasn’t like the internal heat of estrus. No, this was coming from an external source.

I blinked the sleep from my eyes and looked around. A monitor flickered across the room, casting gloomy light over the nest. Lex’s hard form was stretched out on one side of me, sleeping easily with Shadow tangled up behind him. Grey was curled around my other side, wheezing in gasped breaths. Ghost was settled between my legs, using my thigh as a pillow.

The immense heat that awakened me rolled off Grey in waves. His body was slick with sweat. Even in the dim light, black veins webbed out from under the gauze Melody had applied earlier. A bandage that easily covered the irritated skin just hours before.

“Grey.” I turned toward him, trying to ease him awake without disturbing my other mates. “Grey, wake up.”

He didn’t stir.

“Please,” I begged and shook his shoulder.

He groaned and rolled to face me. A gentle smile pulled at the corners of his mouth when he saw me. The faintest glow of light reflected in his narrow gaze. “Hello, little one,” he managed through parched lips.

His sweetness made me want to return his smile, but his condition was worsening. I was terrified of what that meant.

I tamped down my concern. “Hello, Greylan. How are you feeling?” This was a real problem. I had to take the threat seriously, but I also needed to give him the chance to admit to me what I already knew.

“I’m fine. Is it morning so soon?” He moved to get up, but I grabbed his hand, stopping him.

“No, it’s still night, but you’re burning up and the wound… it’s not good.” I gently took a hold of the edge of the bandage and pulled it back, trying to see just how much it had deteriorated.

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