Chapter Sixty-Six
Saphyra
W e stepped into the hallway that the guards had disappeared down, but we headed the opposite direction. The overhead lights flooded the corridor, and I noticed a lumpy sack strapped to Shadow’s hip.
I squinted as my eyes adjusted to the change in brightness, not understanding why the fabric of the black bag looked wet. “What’s that?”
Shadow glanced down at the thing he was carrying, then back to me. “Motivation.”
Vague as always, but I had a pretty good idea of what it could be. It wasn’t something I wanted to think about, and hoped I wouldn’t have to, so I wiped the thought from my mind and hurried to keep up.
We passed through a deserted guard station, Violet unlocking the doors as we went, and stepped into a wide passageway lined with barred cells on either side. Dark fruits and deep floral notes were thick in the air and what was at the end of the aisleway made it obvious why. The individual cells each held a single female alpha. Unmoving and silent. Every one of them was unnaturally still. My blood froze. Had those guards come here to kill the prisoners?
No sooner had that occurred to me than one of the motionless lumps turned over on their cot and shining eyes locked onto me.
Albion bolted from her bed, bowing low. “Your Majesty.”
There was a rustle of fabric, and the others sprang to their feet and were bowing as well.
I hurried closer, anxious to release them from their captivity. “Thank the Stars. You scared me. When you were just lying there, I thought the worst. Are you all okay?”
There was a murmur of yeses that set my heart back to beating. Beyond the cells Fenix’s team occupied, I noticed Melody, the medic that helped us when Grey was sick, and the older alpha that smelled like boot leather.
“Violet, can you get them out of there, please?” I didn’t know where to start. I had so many questions.
Violet bobbed her head and scurried from door to door, unlocking them.
Albion strode out of the cell as soon as the lock turned over with a concerned look on her face. “We’re unhurt, but what about you, Your Majesty?”
“I’m fine.” I blew off the question with a cursory answer, more interested in finding out why they were locked in the brig. “What happened while we were gone? How did you end up here?”
Albion didn’t seem satisfied with my reply, but addressed my request rather than digging into something I wasn’t ready to talk about. “Well, it started when Melody stumbled onto a lab that was hidden in a rarely used storage room. Because of Grey’s poisoning, she brought that information to me. We were still looking for leads on that, as requested, so it was of interest. When we investigated, we found materials consistent with what Melody said could’ve been ingredients for toxins, not to mention other chemicals and elixirs that were suspicious. We put a watch on the area and shortly after, we witnessed Indra Lochlan enter the room with more incriminating substances. With that proof, she was arrested, but when the Regent demanded an explanation, we were tossed in the brig, and she was freed.”
I cast a knowing glance at Shadow, who was propped against the door to the guard station, his arms crossed.
Albion followed the path of my eyes, and her brows drew together. “Neither of you seems surprised.”
One corner of Shadow’s mouth turned up. “That’s because we aren’t.”
I gave Albion a grateful smile. “It’s nice to have confirmation, at any rate.” I hoped she knew how much I appreciated their diligence.
Shadow held up a finger and pressed it to his lips. In a quiet growl, he whispered. “Someone’s coming.”
We froze. No one so much as breathed. The only sound was a spatter of blood rolling down my fingertips and falling to the metal floor. Everyone’s eyes landed on me. A million questions burned across the faces of the prisoners, but they held them in, waiting for news from Shadow.
He was peering into the outer room when he stepped back and pushed the door wide.
A very dirty and disheveled Grey hurried in, making a beeline to me. He scooped me up in a hug and my ribs groaned under the pressure. Over his shoulder, I watched the doorway fill with bedraggled citizens dressed in shabby clothes carrying tools and sticks.
“What? How?” I wheezed, squirming in Grey’s embrace.
He finally released me, worry etched on his face. “It’s a bit of a story, but Jared, Robin’s husband, helped build the city. So when I showed up on their doorstep and told them what happened, he knew exactly what to do.”
A dark-haired man at the front of the group bowed low from where he stood just outside the door frame.
Grey took a step back, his gaze raking over me. “Saphyra, have you seen yourself in a mirror recently?”
“No. Why would I have? Not that there’s been time for it.”
Grey glanced at Shadow, who shook his head.
“Are you injured?” He asked, his words slow and careful.
I held up my cut hand. “Just a scratch.”
Grey grabbed my wrist, holding it still so he could study the gash on my palm. “That’s hardly just a scratch. It needs stitches.”
I tugged my arm away. “There isn’t time. Edeth is locking down the city, and we have to find the others.”
“You’re injured and covered in blood. You are the priority. Someone get the queen a chair.”
A scrape of metal on metal chimed from beyond the door just before Jared hurried toward us with a metal stool from the guard station.
He set it down beside me and bowed again. “Your Majesty.”
“Thank you, Jared. I hope your family is well.” I turned my attention to the kind-eyed beta.
Grey guided me to the seat and tugged me down into it. “You’re bleeding all over the floor. You can chat after I’ve seen to your hand.”
I gave Jared an apologetic smile, and he went back to join the group of citizens in the outer room. “That was rude, Grey.”
“Your health comes first, whether you like it or not,” he said as he rummaged through the medical bag he had with him.
A wave of dizziness washed over me, and I knew he was right. The adrenaline crash, exertion, and blood loss had my head spinny. I needed to sit down, or I was going to fall over.
His gentle fingers coaxed my hand open to clean the gash. I caught a sidelong glance at the wound, and my stomach turned over. If I hadn’t already been sitting down, I might have crumpled. This was all a lot to take in, but I had to pull it together. There was a planet to save.
The alphas bowed and wished me well, but left the prison block to secure the level we were on. They took Jared with them to help lock down the entrances and exits. When Grey said that he’d helped build the city, it meant that he’d engineered the mechanical bits of the locking mechanisms in the whole place.
Grey worked efficiently, numbing my palm and using a device to fuse the wound closed. He reinforced the seal with a clear film that would keep the stitches from pulling. Once the blood was gone and the skin was lined back up, I was able to look at it again without feeling sick. It wasn’t pretty, but it was less ugly than before.
“That should be healed in a few days. I’ll watch over it until then,” Grey said as he packed up his medical kit.
I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” He always looked out for my best interests, even when I refused to do it myself.
I could feel my mates through the bond in varying degrees of distress and excitement. Lex was exhilarated and far away, but moving steadily closer. Ghost was focused. Grey and Shadow were both worried, no doubt about my safety, but their comforting presence was close by.
Now that my hand was stitched up, Violet approached and bowed. “Your Majesty. I hope I didn’t overstep, but I thought you might need this.” From a fold in her skirt, she produced Verden’s crown. My crown. Aurinium oak leaves sparkled in the artificial light and fat green emeralds winked as if in greeting.
It was a good thing Violet thought ahead because I probably would need that soon. “You didn’t overstep at all. This is perfect.”
“I couldn’t bring a gown without it being noticed, but I’m sure after you’re cleaned up, I can find something appropriate.” She held the crown reverently, but shifted her weight with nervous energy.
“Violet, what’s wrong?” I asked, looking around for the source of her concern. Everyone had left the cell block, filtering out into the guard station and beyond.
She seemed reluctant to come out and say it, but after a moment’s pause, she spit it out. “When Lord Greylan said you were bloody, he didn’t mean just your hand.”
I looked down, noting the blood on my shirt and pants. “Right, I understand. There was an incident.”
If Violet hadn’t been holding the crown, she would have been wringing her hands if her expression was anything to go by. “If you don’t mind me saying so, it looks like more than an incident, ma’am.”
What in the stars did that mean? I grabbed the tablet from my waistband and held up the shiny glass in front of me, angling it so the light hit my face, revealing a reflection. When I saw myself, I almost dropped the datapad. My skin was absolutely covered in red. My hair was splattered with splashes of blood. I knew it was bad. I could feel it, but it looked a lot worse than I expected.
“You understand what I mean? We need to get you showered and changed into more suitable clothes right away.”
Violet made a good point, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought she was wrong. “No. Let everyone see what they’ve done.”
I plucked the crown from Violet’s trembling fingers and placed it snugly on my gore-stained head.
We needed to find the others.