Page 14 of Tortured Royals

I roll my eyes, but Nate’s right about one thing. There’s no way I’d let the queen take one of my mates. Still, I feel a little uneasy about letting Nate come along if he has a history with the queen.

“Is it true?” I ask Prince Callan. “Does Queen Vespera know Nate wasn’t the one who stole the jewel?”

There’s a flicker of something in Prince Callan’s eyes, but before I can question it, it’s gone.

“Yes,” the archangel replies. “She knows the shifter is innocent of that crime.”

I stare at the prince for a moment, convinced that I’m still missing something. When he doesn’t say anything more, I nod slowly. “All right. Then I guess we’ll be joining you.”

Prince Callan’s nostrils flare. “I must insist you all stay here.”

But it’s too late. I lift to my feet, plucking my clothes from the tree and pulling them on before grabbing my weapons belt. “I think we’ve waited long enough. I’m not staying in this valley when your realm is at war, and Seral could be next. Now, are you coming or not?”

Prince Callan still looks like he wants to argue, but he doesn’t.

Shade flaps her wings, flying over and landing on my shoulder, her claws cutting through my flimsy shirt and scratching against my shoulder.“Uh, Blake, what do you even know about the angel queen? Because for once, I get the feeling Prince Callan isn’t just trying to be an ass. What if this is a bad idea?”

“Then it wouldn’t be my first one,”I reply.“We can’t stay here, Shade.”

Realizing that I’m going whether he wants me to or not, Prince Callan waits while everyone dresses, and then he begins leading us from the valley, his long strides taking us away from the hot springs.

Shade’s last question circles in my mind, and as we walk, I wrack my brain trying to recall all that I know about the angel monarch. Unfortunately, it isn’t much.“I’ve heard Queen Vespera is a cunning and ruthless ruler,”I say to Shade.“It’s said she has a weapon that keeps everyone in line. A powerful angel who follows her every command without question.”

“A powerful angel?”Shade asks.“What can they do?”

“I have no idea. It’s a secret known only to angelkind.”And that doesn’t include me.

“Then maybe you should ask your archangel mate?”she suggests.

I purse my lips, eyeing Prince Callan’s back as he stalks at the head of our group. He doesn’t look like he’s in a talkative mood.“I’ll ask as we get closer,”I tell her.

“Okay, so do you know anything else about her?”

I step over a fallen log.“Only that the queen is also known for her elaborate parties and has a deep love of intricate performances.”I shrug.“That’s about all I’ve got.”

“Performances? You mean, like she enjoys the theatre?”

“I’m not exactly sure. Queen Vespera doesn’t visit Seral frequently, and whenever she has visited, I’ve been busy elsewhere. But I do remember a time when a group of hand-selected demons practiced tirelessly for months in preparation for a performance directed for the angel queen.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad,”Shade muses, perking up a little.

Nate comes closer on my left side, moving a branch that’s at my height level so I don’t have to duck under it.

“He might be a prick, but Queen Vespera is a real piece of work,” the shifter says, indicating with his head to Prince Callan. “We’ll need to keep our wits about us when we’re around her.”

“We will, or youwill?” I ask, recalling what he’d said about being sentenced to death.

“Wewill,” he confirms. “She had me imprisoned for days, and it was the first time in my life that I wondered whether I might not be able to find a way out.”

Turning my head to the side, I eye my shifter. “And howdidyou escape? They say she has a weapon. An angel under her control who wields immense power.”

Nate frowns, and his gaze focuses on Prince Callan again. “You’d better ask him that one. I might steal treasures, but I don’t share secrets. Not unless they’re mine to tell.”

Facing forward again, I think about this and continue following my archangel.

Chapter

Seven

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