The Royal Guard warriors and my allies eagerly went back into the capital and the palace for a much-deserved rest.
I hesitated, staring at Aries’s body.
King Xander approached . I took a half step back, unsure what I was supposed to do if he started asking questions.
“You seem troubled,” he said.
I shrugged. “It wasn’t an easy fight.”
“And yet, without your quick thinking and leadership skills, my army wouldn’t have had the opportunity to attack. My entire family and loyal soldiers would have been trapped in the palace and eventually perished. The rogues could have outlasted us.”
I nodded. It seed like the closest thing to a “thank you” I was likely to get from a king.
“What’s bothering you? It was a well-fought battle and you took down Aries.” Xander waved his arm over Aries’s body.
“Hestia is still out there sowhere.” I sighed and rubbed my temple. “I didn’t see her during the battle, but my intel told she was in the capital.”
She probably fled when she saw the army under attack. What is she after, anyway?”
“Uh, she wants to destroy the bridge between the Light and Dark Realms and... well, put an end to the White Queens.”
All the blood drained from Xander’s face.
He turned on his heel and sprinted back to the palace.
“Your Highness!” I raced after him, Archer hot on my heels.
He didn’t even pause when I called out to him. The king pushed through the warriors and hurdled up the palace stairs.
I kept up with him, through the corridors and to the queen’s chamber.
His eyes were wild and frantic as he slamd his shoulder into the chamber door, busting it right off its hinges.
With the exception of myself and my wolf when Eliza was in pain, I’d never seen anyone act so protective and unhinged at the sa ti.
“Sire, what’s the matter?” one of the guards stationed outside the queen’s chamber asked.
Xander didn’t address them. He went right in. Archer and I followed.
“Lena!” Xander shouted.
“Oh... Your Majesty!” A young servant was hunched over sothing on the floor. She looked up with tear filled eyes, glistening with fear.
“Move!” Xander motioned her aside.
He froze in place. I saw all the energy and the feelings of victory drain from him in a second. He dropped to his knees beside the queen’s form on the floor.
Her eyes were closed and she was pale. I could see that she was still breathing, but when the king touched her she was completely unresponsive.
***
*Eliza*
“Where are Jared and Archer?” I asked, sitting down with the leader of the scouts.
The others had gone off with the survivors from the capital to get cleaned up, fed, and settled.
“They sent us back with the survivors and are working on a plan to get the rogue army out of the city,” he reported.
“Did you learn anything about the king and queen while you were there?”
My heart continued to beat erratically. It was good to know that Jared and Archer were safe, at least, they were when the scouts left them.
He’d already told about all the troubles they’d encountered along the way that had slowed them down, turning their “few days” into “a few weeks.”
“Unfortunately, no. What we do know is that they are still barricaded within the palace.”
I sighed and nodded. “Thank you. Go rest and recover your strength.”
He nodded and left alone in the living room.
I had so answers, but it wasn’t enough. The scouts had left Jared and Archer in the capital days ago. Anything could have happened to them and we’d never know.
How would they get word to us?
Things around the village had cald down now that the refugees were settled and we weren’t running low on all supplies and resources.
Construction on the school had started, and it beca clear after the first few days that they didn’t need checking in every day to get an update on their progress.
All the other renovations had wrapped up.
I was bored... and worried. If I didn’t keep myself busy, my wolf and I got so restless thinking of Jared being in the capital with the rogue army and no backup.
To keep my mind busy, I went into the garden and started clipping sumr blooms. It was getting late in the season now, and I wanted to get so flowers in the mansion before they wilted and died.
There were so late-season flowers just starting to bloom, and they brought entirely new colors and scents to the garden.
I knelt on the ground and clipped so ground-creeping roses, setting the blooms in a harvesting basket.
Under my knees, I felt a small vibration through the ground and the sound of engines filled the air.
It sounded like a lot of cars. That was unusual in these parts.
I threw my sheers down and ran to the front of the packhouse, brushing dirt from my hands and pants as I went.
A long line of cars drove straight for the packhouse. From the flags on the windows, they belonged to King Xander. It was a royal motorcade.
My heart sank.
Were they here with bad news?
I should have been happy to see them at all because it ant the rogue army wasn’t keeping the King and Queen prisoner in the palace anymore. The capital was liberated.
But dread crept through like a crawling cancer. Sothing was wrong for them to show up here.
My heart ached for Jared.
Scarlett ca out of the packhouse and stood next to . She chewed her lower lip and shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
I took her hand, understanding that she was just as nervous as I was, and for similar reasons.
The vehicles ca to a halt and the third vehicle in the line opened its doors.
Jared and Archer got out of the back.
My heart stopped for a mont as I road my eyes over Jared. He had all of his limbs, he was walking normally. There wasn’t a single sign of blood or injury on him.
My heart kicked back on and I jolted forward, running right into his arms....
Scarlett ran right to Archer, flinging herself at him.
Jared wrapped his strong arms around and held tightly, burying his face in my hair.
“You’re alright! I’ve been so worried. You were gone and....”
Jared covered my lips with his, kissing passionately in front of everyone.
I didn’t care. I slipped my arms around his neck and kissed him back. Every nerve in my body lit up and I felt like I was floating.
“I missed you,” I gasped.
“I missed you too.” He kissed my forehead and pulled into another hug.
As happy as I was to see him, there was sothing off. Through the mate bond, I felt Jared’s worry and concern. He was fine, and so was Archer, but soone wasn’t....
“Jared, what’s wrong?”
He looked down at and t my eyes with a serious, somber gaze.
“I’m sorry, but our reunion has to be cut short.” He sighed heavily.
“You’re leaving again?”
“I am, but I need you to co with .” He motioned to the car.
“I don’t understand. Jared, what happened in the capital?”
“We don’t have a lot of ti. I’ll explain on the way. Right now, you need to co to the capital. The queen has been poisoned an–“
“Let’s go.” I cut him off and jumped into the car.
It was a long drive back to the palace, and Jared was able to fill in on everything that had happened.
“Fortunately, there were few casualties on our side and few from the ranks of the Royal Guard. The rogues took the worst of it, and Aries is history,” he finished.
I nodded. “I’m glad Aries is out of the picture. But how did the queen get... poisoned?”
Jared took my hand and clasped it between both of his.
We had so privacy in the back seat with the landscape rolling by through tinted windows. Hearing about Jared’s victory should have elated , but I couldn’t stop thinking about my cousin.
“I didn’t even think about it until after the battle. Hestia was in the capital and she was after White Queens. I should have known but... I only ntioned it to the king as an afterthought.”
“This isn’t your fault.” I cupped Jared’s cheek.
“When we got to her, it was already too late. Hestia had poisoned her and vanished... again.”
“Hestia’s still out there?” I whispered.
Jared nodded, casting his eyes down.
Tears stung my eyes and I turned away from Jared. I looked out the car window, chewing on the edge of my thumbnail.
The weight of everything that had happened since I ca to the Dark Realm crushed down on –curses, kidnappings, wars, injuries, rejection, and now... poison. Hestia had been the mastermind behind the latter, and she was still out there.
I couldn’t help but wonder if everyone’s lives would have been better if I’d never co to the Dark Realm.
Tears streaked down my cheeks and I sniffled.
“Eliza.” Jared murmured my na and slipped his arms around my stomach from behind. He pulled against him and hugged .
“I never should have co here. I shouldn’t have insisted on staying here in the Dark Realm,” I whispered, shaking my head.
If I’d left when Jared told , or when he rejected ... if I’d never co here at all, would any of this have happened?
Hestia never would have had to poison my cousin to get what she wanted. I was always getting in the way of her plans and making her go to more and more extre asures. I never should have ddled....
“Eliza, you can’t think like that. Hestia always wanted the White Queens out of the way. She would have gone after your cousin whether you were here or not.”
“We don’t know that. I should have gone back with my mother and... now Lena is hurt... possibly dying.”
“That isn’t your fault.” Jared kissed my neck.
“We’ve had every chance to kill Hestia and she always gets away! We should have tried harder, we never should have let her....” I sniffled as more tears fell from my eyes.
“We’ll get her, Eliza. The queen is hurt, but she is still alive. That ans we have a chance to save her and I’m not going to give up on her, just like you never gave up on .”
I nodded slowly and wiped my tears away.
“You’re right. She needs to be strong and to fight for her. I won’t give up and I won’t let Hestia get away with this!”
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