To Save a Kingdom (The Shifter Queen #2)

Chapter 1

Brooks

Why do things always start with me being thrown in prison?

Brooks heaved himself off the floor and dusted his hands on his pants as the jail door slammed shut behind him.

The metallic clank of a latch slid into place.

His hood hung low, obscuring the gem embedded in his forehead.

At least the jailor hadn’t taken the literal cloak off his back—he had no idea how the wretches would respond if they found the jewel and discovered he was the former Arcane Inquisitor.

Despite the cell’s proximity to the open air of the front gate, the scent of body odor, human waste and damp mildew saturated his nostrils and coated the back of his throat. He fought back a gag. This had better be worth it.

The guard and his cronies rifled through the contents of his pockets and backpack. Not that he was stupid enough to store anything of value in them.

One of the men upended the satchel, spilling his belongings across the ground.

“Hey!” Brooks smashed the side of his fist against the bars, slurring his words to keep up the drunkard act. “Stay outta my things!”

He pulled his hands away as one of the thugs slammed his club where his fingers had been moments before.

“Shut up, you. You’re lucky it’s Queen Aliya that’s in charge now.

Malkov would’a just let us hang you and be done with it.

” He kicked at the floor, scattering dust, bits of dirty straw and gravel into the cell.

Pushing his lips into a thin line, Brooks reined in the rage boiling through his chest and up the back of his throat. The last thing he needed was for the gem in his forehead to start glowing and give him away.

Blast it.

His skin crackled as fragments of magic zinged through his veins. It begged to be unleashed, to suck every bit of life from these worthless pieces of filth as their bodies collapsed from the inside out. It would be agonizingly slow, and so, so satisfying.

With a groan, Brooks pulled the power back.

It would have to wait. At least, for now. If he burned through the magic in his magestone before he figured out how to replenish it, he’d regret it when he finally came face to face with the false queen, Aliya Larimar.

He kicked one of the larger pebbles back at the guards. The irony wasn’t lost on him that those who worked the jails were often no better than those locked within. Regardless of the nation, dungeons attracted a certain type of man.

He peered down the hallway into the darkness beyond. The jewel in his forehead pulsed. His target was that way, somewhere.

Pushing himself away from the bars, he stumbled to the back of the cell and slid down the wall.

Crossing his legs, he leaned back and closed his eyes.

Shift change would be in a few hours. By then, these bastards would be finished with his things and would wander off to darken other parts of the world.

Then, he could get on with this.