Chapter Eleven
Saphyra
T he alphas led the way while I hung back, basking in comfortable silence with Grey. Shadow’s low, graveled voice floated to us, but their conversation was a wordless murmur.
My curiosity over what they discussed warred with my desire to stay near my beta mate. We hadn’t seen each other as much as I was used to. I craved his calm, reassuring presence. Whatever they were talking about could wait, if they’d even deign to tell me at all.
Stupid alphas and their stupid secrets.
It was hard to be sure in passageways that all looked so similar, but I didn’t think we were headed the same way we’d come in. My suspicions were confirmed when the plain, featureless walls faded from slick metal to rough stone. If we’d returned the same way, there should be a lift door here, not rocks.
Not long after the change in scenery, the floor gave way to hard packed dirt, and the hall opened into a soaring cavern. Electric lamps cast pools of murky light on muddy streets, outlining dirty huts and jagged cave openings hewn from craggy walls.
This must be the main part of the city. I’d hoped the underground capital would be beautiful and full of magic, but that dream was dashed under the weight of reality. Grey had warned me more than once, but this grimy squalor was still a surprise. Maybe it was my shock or maybe it was the stagnant humid air, but suddenly it was difficult to draw a full breath. Grey’s hand tightened around mine, lending me strength. He’d seen this place already and probably knew how I’d react.
It was a surprise, yes, but more than that, despair was thick and oppressive in the fetid stillness.
The cavern went on for ages in all directions. There was no beginning or end in sight. A few ragged citizens scurried like sunken-cheeked rodents in threadbare clothes, hugging the edge of buildings as we walked through the quiet streets. It was night, and most people would be in their homes or asleep, but what little I could see was disturbing.
How was this an acceptable living environment? Even after surviving in a literal prison, these conditions were abhorrent.
Mud sloshed around my boots as I pulled away from Grey and hurried to catch the alphas leading the way through the winding, slop-covered roadways. “Where are we? What is this place?” I asked, silently begging for it not to be true, but I had to know. I needed to be sure.
“This, Your Majesty, is the residential sector of the capital,” Lex responded, not bothering to look at me as he continued walking.
“Why is it like this?” I gestured at the caves and rough, carved doors in the cavern walls. Dark holes, like empty eye sockets of skulls, seemed to glare back at me.
“It’s safer here than on the surface. We ran out of space with so many fleeing the raids, but we never intended to stay this long. We did the best we could with what we had.” Lex finally stopped, his green eyes burning into me even in the gloom. “We’ve had a hard time securing the city, as you’ve seen, but ground level is worse. Bandits, attacks, kidnappings.”
I swallowed down the lump forming in my throat. Finally, they were showing me the reality of our world, even if it was hard to see. “There must be some other way.”
“There is, but it’s not that easy. We need help and tech, but the places that could offer it are allied with Altaira or are unwilling to negotiate. That’s why I’m sending an emissary to Pharanax. Which you would have known about in the morning had you waited patiently in your room like you were supposed to.”
I cast a hurt glance at Shadow, who was completely unaffected.
“Don’t look at him,” Lex said, following my gaze to the brooding alpha. “You could never hide from me. Your scent gives you away even when you’re trying to be sneaky, remember?” There was a fondness in his forest-filled eyes as he reminded me of our first confrontation on the Hive.
It was hard to be mad at him knowing all he had done for me, but it frustrated me that they were going about their lives as if nothing had changed. I was here now. Didn’t that matter at all? Was there no room for me to be part of this place with them?
“You should have told me. Let me help you. I want to be involved. This is my responsibility as queen now. By keeping me sheltered, you’re making it impossible for me to do my job. I know change is difficult, but I want to work through it together,” I said, trying to keep the petulance from creeping into my voice.
“Fine.”
“Fine?” It surprised me that Lex would back down so easily.
“Yes, fine. You’re right. I’m used to doing things a certain way, but you need to learn, and you can only do that if you’re included,” he replied.
He was striding away as I tried to digest his words. Not wanting to be left behind in this dank place, I scrambled to catch up. I was getting what I wanted, so why was my stomach turning over in knots?
My mind raced, stumbling back and forth over the recent events. I was so distracted by my thoughts and my surroundings that I nearly fell when I ran headfirst into Lex’s wide, solid back. Grey reached out and steadied me as I looked around, trying to figure out why we’d stopped so abruptly.
Ahead of us was a luminous circle of light. A few alpha guards and common residents stood illuminated in a watery silver glow. Overhead was a massive opening in the ceiling, leading up hundreds of feet. Balconies I recognized as the walkways lining the Pit clung to the sides of the towering hole above. At the very top, through the glass ceiling, gleamed a moon, casting its milky light down to the cavern floor.
That didn’t explain why we’d stopped, though. Peering around the cluster of uniformed alphas in front of me, I focused on what they were all looking at. A tiny oak sapling with shiny, ruffle-edged leaves was growing from the mud-covered ground.
Unwilling and uninterested in holding myself back, I ducked between my men to get a closer look. I hadn’t seen a single bit of plant life in this entire place, and more than that, everyone else seemed stunned as well. I might not know if things grew down here, but based on the other’s reaction, this was as much a miracle to them as it was to me.
The group that had been studying the sapling stumbled back in the wake of my mates’ glares and gave me room to inspect the small sprig. In the depths of dirt and gloom, this tiny speck of green somehow persevered. I remember standing at the railing of the balcony overlooking this exact place, watching my tears fall into darkness. In that moment, when I thought all hope was lost, maybe there was light.
As if with a mind of its own, my hand reached out to trace the ragged edge of the shiny leaves, but before my fingers brushed it, Lex caught my wrist.
“It might be sharp,” he said before letting me go.
More carefully, I touched it. He was right. There were prickly spines along the edges, but not enough to cause any real harm. I felt a kinship with this little tree and decided immediately that it needed to be protected. If it could grow in a place so barren, so could I.
“Excuse me,” I called to one of the nearby soldiers. “Can you arrange for a barricade to be set up around this so it’s not accidentally trampled?”
“Of course, Your Majesty.” The alpha bowed and headed off to do my bidding.
At least someone listens to me around here.
At my request, a makeshift barrier was erected, circling the tiny spark of life, and a guard was tasked with watching the newly risen plant. Maybe I was overreacting, putting so much effort into what could just be a random weed, but thankfully, no one argued. They all seemed as interested in it as I was.