Page 84 of The Royal Throne
The second opponent jumped on top of his back. He flipped him off, twisted, and put him in a headlock while flinging his legs around the other, squeezing the man’s neck. The sight made her inhale sharply.
Evander had both his opponents tapping out.
“Your Majesty?” Drew said from behind her.
Unable to make herself move, she remained there, staring at Evander.
As if sensing her, the prince stood and turned to face her, their eyes locking on one another.
“Queen Sabine?” Drew said, coming to stand at her side. “Is everything all right?”
“Yes. I was just thinking I need to train.” Not a lie.
Even though Evander wasn’t nearly as large as Rainer, his lean frame was all lithe muscle. Her face warmed thinking about their time together in Avoni when he’d been stabbed and she’d had to clean and sew his wound.
Evander excused himself from the two men he’d been training with and came over to her, bowing. “Queen Sabine,” he said by way of greeting.
Her face warmed as she imagined running her hands over his chest, him pushing her against the wall, pressing himself into her. It took an enormous amount of effort to focus on his face instead of ogling him as she said, “Did you hear there was another murder?”
He lifted a single eyebrow, as if he knew what she’d been thinking about. “I did.”
If she kissed him right now, he’d probably taste salty from sweating. She licked her lips, about to ask him what he knew about the murder, when Rainer exited from the corridor twenty feet to her left, Anton and Axel close behind him. Immediately spotting her, Rainer’s eyes narrowed as he looked between Sabine and Evander.
The two men Evander had been sparring with came over, flanking him. One handed him his shirt. Evander took it, wiping off his face before putting it on.
When Rainer was close enough for Sabine to hear him without him raising his voice, he asked, “Why are you here?”
She pointed behind her. “I came to visit Harta.”
He nodded before sliding his hand on her waist and kissing her jaw. His lips moved to her ear. “Return to the palace.” Rainer pinched her side hard enough to make her yelp in pain. Leaning back, he looked her in the eyes. “Now.”
Instead of responding, Sabine glanced over at Evander. His hands were balled into fists.
Rainer rolled his shoulders and tilted his head to the side, cracking his neck. “Let’s go.” He turned and headed to the right.
Anton immediately followed Rainer.
Axel slowly strolled past, smirking at Sabine. “Never a dull moment.”
“We’ll talk later,” Evander mumbled before he, too, hurried after Rainer, his own two men going with him.
“Any idea what that’s about?” she asked Drew.
“My only guess would be that it has something to do with the murder.”
The mention of the murder reminded Sabine of the assassin in the dungeon. Since Rainer was here in the cavern, that meant he wasn’t in the palace. It was time to go and pay the Avoni prisoner a visit.
“I can’t let you do this,” Drew said. “It’s not safe.”
“How is it not safe if the man’s locked in the dungeon?” Sabine asked, folding her arms across her chest. “I’ve been down there before.” As the queen, Drew had to do what she said. He shouldn’t be questioning her like this.
His hand went to the hilt of his sword, clutching it. “Commander Felix was in charge last time.”
And now he was dead. “If you’re worried about getting in trouble, don’t be. I’m your queen, and I’m ordering you to move aside so I can go down there.” Now more than ever, it was imperative for her to question the prisoner. While she understood Drew’s concern, he couldn’t become paranoid with her safety to the point of being unreasonable. Yes, there had been murders. In fact, a murder was what brought her to Lynk in the first place. What they needed to be doing was solving these crimes, not hiding away.
“You don’t have the key,” he pointed out.
She’d forgotten about that. “Don’t you?”
