29. Chapter 29
Queen Adanna
Three weeks later
Three brutal, agonizing weeks of hunting a snake who was still hiding in the grass.
My intelligence network had scoured every square inch of the island, flipped Atlanta upside down, and put calls out across three countries.
The military already confirmed she wasn’t in the jungle.
Jade couldn’t even find her. Brooklyn had vanished into thin air after the night my uncle was murdered.
Not a single trace, not a single ping on her comms, no paper trail, nothing.
And today, we had to put my uncle in the ground.
Idris had made one explicit request in his royal directive: he wanted to be buried in the rich, dark soil of his ancestors on the edge of the royal gardens, not cremated like the rest of the syndicate council.
I stood in Jade’s private dressing suite, staring blankly into the mirror.
We all decided to get dressed here, to support Chief and Nana.
My crew was moving around me in solemn synchronicity, making sure every line of my black silk mourning dress was sharp, elegant, and perfect.
A heavy lace veil pinned into my braided crown shadowed my eyes, but it couldn't hide the hollow exhaustion beneath them. My King and I haven’t been intimate since the night it happened, and he’s been respecting my need for space.
On the desk behind us, a high-definition monitor glowed with an encrypted live feed. Jade sat in her central command chair so she could watch miles away. Chief and Nana had already went to the ceremony and I was right behind them.
"The camera grid is locked down, Danni," Jade voiced. She paused. "I'm so sorry about your uncle..."
I smoothed down the front of my dress. "I appreciate that, Jade. But I told you we shouldn’t have trusted her."
The air in the room snapped tight.
Through the reflection of the dark monitor screen, her eyes flared, locking onto mine in a heated glare. For two long seconds, the tension between us burned so hot it felt like the room was about to catch fire.
Then, Jade’s posture cracked. A tear slipped down her cheek. She quickly reached up, wiping it away with the back of her wrist, and snapped her head back toward her monitors, refusing to give me another glance.
I watched her stiff, trembling back, a sudden knot of feeling twisted in my chest. I felt like a complete bitch for saying it—Jade was grieving too, and hitting her with an I told you so right now was cold.
But it was the damn truth. We had let our guard down, and now we were paying for it my family’s blood.
Kandi adjusted the hem of my gown, slipping a thin, concealed blade into the interior holster along my thigh just in case. "You ready, Boss?"
"I told Dame I’d meet him at the burial grounds," I murmured, my voice flat. "He agreed to let me ride with you all."
"Good," Nyah said, adjusting her own black headwrap. "Let's go."
The royal cemetery was bathed in a somber, grey fog off the ocean. Hundreds of people packed the manicured lawn and the entire military detail lined up like dark sentinels along the perimeter.
At the head of the carved marble podium, right beside the open grave and the heavy mahogany casket, stood Damini.
He looked magnificent and formidable in his tailored black double-breasted suit. His loose curls were pulled back into a sleek, low ponytail. The moment my shoes touched the stone path, his eyes locked onto mine. He stepped forward, taking my hand in his. We didn't speak words—we didn't need to.
The ceremony was quiet, heavy, and drenched in tradition. Drums beat a slow, rhythmic funeral march in the background as the Elders bowed their heads.
Then, it was my turn to speak. I had practiced my expression to stand in front of my people and reassure them, even though I was the one who lost their property.
I stepped up to the stone podium, looking out over the sea of dark suits, veils, and solemn faces. I cleared my throat, my voice echoing clear nd steady across the silent grounds.
"Chairman was not just a leader of this island," I began, my dark eyes sweeping the crowd.
"He was the spine of our governance, the guardian of our bloodline, and a man who understood that true power is built on sacrifice.
He died holding the line for our kingdom...
and his blood will be answered with blood. "
A murmur of agreement ran through the crowd. I leaned over the podium, taking a breath to deliver the final words of his eulogy—
And then, my voice completely froze in my throat.
The air in my lungs went ice-cold. My eyes locked onto the far back entrance of the stone archway.
The crowd went dead silent, sensing the sudden shift in my posture. One by one, heads began to turn.
Walking slowly down the center aisle, stepping casually over the sacred grass was Brooklyn.
She wasn't wearing mourning clothes. She wore a fitted, stark-white dress with her chin held high, and a sickening smirk playing on her lips.
Instantly, total chaos erupted.
CLICK-CLICK-CLICK!
Dozens of weapons were drawn on her. Kandi, Nyah, and the guards sprang into action, charging forward with their guns raised straight at her head, ready to paint the stone tiles with her blood.
"STOP!" Brooklyn’s voice rang out.
She halted in the middle of the aisle, raising her right hand high above her head.
Clutched between her fingers was a pregnancy test—the small screen glowing bright and clear with two bold red lines.
The guards froze mid-step, their weapons hovering in the air. Damini’s jaw slacked off, his eyes widening in complete, paralyzed horror. The crowd let out a collective, gasping shock that shattered the stillness of the cemetery.
Brooklyn’s eyes locked straight onto mine through my black veil. Her smirk widened into an unhinged sneer that cut right through the grief of the afternoon.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt," Brooklyn purred, her voice echoing across the silent graves. "But I thought the Queen should know... I am carrying her King's first heir. It’s time for King Dame to stop denying me and take me as his second wife."
TO BE CONTINUED...
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