Authors: Rosalie Redd
Noeh retracted his hand and headed for the back of the line.
“Wait!” Ginnia ran after him, her hair flying around her head like wisps of smoke. “Is Melissa going to be queen?”
His heart constricted, but he forced the words out. “She can’t be my queen. She’s not Stiyaha.”
“So, she’s Lemurian.” An innocent smile crossed her face.
“Ginnia, honey, the scriptures state my queen must be Stiyaha.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I’m sure…” His breath bottled up in his chest. He whipped his head around and glanced down the hall.
What if she’s right?
“Ginnia, you’re a genius.” He kissed the top of her head and sprinted out of the room.
Chapter Forty
Melissa rushed down the corridor still flustered from her encounter with Demir. Her breaths came fast, and as she breathed, her pants tightened around her waistline. Even though the pregnancy was new, she already showed. That was very unusual, even for a Dren’s normal three month gestation period. A kernel of dread formed in her chest.
She paused to rest, placing a hand against the rough rock of the corridor. The stone’s coolness seeped into her hand, providing a small bit of relief.
A flash of light from the sunstones caught her attention. An urge to follow the crystals overwhelmed her, like something, or someone pushed her along. Goosebumps formed along her arm.
Resisting the impulse, she turned around. After all that had happened, she needed answers. She’d face Noeh and deal with the consequences. Resolve tightened her nerves.
The sound of clicking heels echoed from around the corner, and Mauree emerged into the hallway. A smile, one filled with false sincerity, broke across her face. “My, my, fancy meeting you here.”
A large dose of adrenaline increased Melissa’s pulse.
As Mauree stepped closer, her nostrils flared. “You’re pregnant.
Craya!
”
Melissa raised her chin, but didn’t speak.
A tic started in Mauree’s jaw and her fist clenched. “I suppose Noeh’s the father.”
“Get out of my way.” Melissa bared her fangs.
“Best put those pointed things away.” Mauree waved her hand in Melissa’s face. “I have something to tell you before you hear it from someone else.”
“There’s nothing you have to say I want to hear.” Melissa pushed past Mauree, intent on putting as much distance between them as possible.
“Not even who Noeh selected as his queen?”
Melissa stopped. A sudden coldness hit her in the stomach. “He selected someone?”
A slow smile pulled along Mauree’s mouth. Melissa wanted to wipe that smug grin right off her face.
“Indeed. He selected me. I’m going to be Noeh’s queen.”
A wave of dizziness hit Melissa. He’d selected Mauree? Putting her hand over her mouth, she bit the soft spot between her thumb and finger, her fangs piercing her flesh, a drop of blood rising to the surface.
“What’s the matter? Nothing to say to me?” Mauree’s laugh echoed down the corridor.
“I don’t believe you.”
Fighting back tears, Melissa let her anger reign. Power welled up within her.
Is that…my shield?
Nearly two weeks had gone by since Ram had taken her power. Her blood must be wearing off inside him and rejuvenating her.
“You should go ask Noeh yourself. I believe he’s headed to the Portal Navigation Center to see Rin.” Mauree walked around Melissa, her perfume clogging Melissa’s olfactory nerves. “By the way, once I’m queen, I’m going to have so much fun making your life miserable.”
A pain so deep wracked Melissa, causing a shudder to run through her entire body.
As Mauree sauntered down the hall, Melissa wiped the blood from her hand onto her shirt, staining the material. She needed to hear this from Noeh’s own mouth.
Steeling herself for the confrontation, she headed for the Portal Navigation Center.
After taking a couple of wrong turns, Melissa arrived at her destination. The room was empty. She should’ve known better than to trust anything that came out of Mauree’s mouth.
Closing her eyes, she breathed in the warm air. The room smelled of rock and earth, and she let the comforting odor wash over her. Rubbing her hand across her midriff, she sensed the life growing within her. In the past, she would’ve run away. She couldn’t do that anymore. This was her home now, and she had a child who needed her.
A soft scraping of shoes against stone brought Melissa out of her reverie. Mauree slid out from behind a half-hidden wall at the back of the room. Melissa’s heartbeat pounded against her rib cage.
“What are you doing here?”
Mauree strutted over, her hands flexing and fisting as she approached. Her smile, meant to be comforting, was anything but. “I knew you’d come. You had to find out, didn’t you?”
Melissa backed up, keeping Mauree in front of her at all times. She evaluated Mauree’s Stiyaha height and muscular build. Could she take her on? Maybe—maybe not.
“What do you want?”
“We’re going on a trip, just you and I.” Mauree closed the gap between them. “I’ve already summoned Rin. He should be here any minute.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Mauree grabbed Melissa’s arm and shoved her to the ground. Using the momentum to her advantage, Melissa held on, dragging Mauree with her. The Stiyaha female crashed to the hard stone floor. A whoosh of air exploded from her lungs.
Melissa clambered to her feet.
Mauree howled and scrambled to face Melissa.
“Not such an easy mark, am I?” Melissa goaded.
“We’ll see about that.”
Mauree flashed a look at Rin’s workbench. Chisels, hammers, and a myriad of other rock hounding tools lay scattered across the stone surface. An odd grin curved at the corner of her mouth. Melissa sucked in a breath, and trepidation formed in the pit of her stomach.
Mauree and Melissa raced to the workbench. Mauree grabbed a pickaxe from the pile of tools. A brush of wind blew against Melissa’s face in the axe’s wake.
Mauree stood in front of the table, blocking Melissa’s ability to snag her own weapon.
Melissa took several steps back, her focused attention never leaving Mauree. A jolt of anger sparked within her.
This bitch has gone too far.
A shimmer of energy tingled in her fingers. Her chest constricted as hope welled within her.
“Are you scared yet?” Mauree taunted.
Melissa scoffed. “Of you?”
She narrowed her gaze on her rival and pulled on her energy. Nothing. She blinked and tried again. Still nothing. Her gut tightened. She wanted to scream, but she held her frustration in check.
Mauree advanced toward her, the pick’s point glinting in the light.
The porte stanen was a short distance away. Melissa eased closer, still focused on her enemy. She ran her hand over the lip of the rock. Her fingers grazed the smooth texture of a sunstone. She clenched the crystal in her palm, the heavy weight spurning her anger. She launched the stone at Mauree.
The stone whizzed through the air and bounced off Mauree’s cheek. The crystal shattered against the rough wall, exploding into tiny shards. A thin line of blood oozed from the wound.
The Keep rumbled, and the ground shook.
“That wasn’t smart,” Mauree said.
Running footsteps echoed down the corridor. Melissa looked toward the sound. She realized her mistake one-second too late. Agony exploded in the back of her skull as her vision faded into nothingness.
Pain, fast and fierce, throbbed in her head. A jumble of words penetrated her brain, but she couldn’t make them out. She moaned. A warm, sweaty arm pulled against her waist.
“—none of your concern. Open a portal for me, now.” Mauree’s voice broke through the fog in Melissa’s mind.
“No, this isn’t right, don’t do this.” A male’s low voice echoed around in her head.
His was a voice Melissa recognized, but couldn’t quite place. As she parted her eyelids, a bright light pierced her eyes. Rin stood several feet away, his hands outstretched, palms up.
Mauree positioned the point of the pickaxe under Melissa’s throat. The end pressed hard against her windpipe.
“Open the portal near the Gossum’s asylum, little male, or I shall kill her and the babe she carries.” Mauree’s grip around her throat tightened, and the tip penetrated her skin.
Melissa flinched. A trickle of blood ran down her neck.
“She’s awake. Good.” Mauree’s crushing embrace made breathing difficult, and Melissa almost passed out again from the lack of oxygen.
Rin backed up, his rump hitting the edge of the porte stanen. “Why are ya doing this, Mauree?”
“You have to ask? You were there.” Spittle flew from her lips, the wetness landing on Melissa’s arms. “Noeh humiliated me in front of everyone. Open the portal, now!”
His forehead wrinkled, and his gaze searched Melissa’s eyes. His brow creased, and he turned his attention to Mauree. “You won’t get away with it.”
Melissa tried to speak, to tell Rin not to open the gateway, but Mauree’s grip was too tight. It was an effort to get enough air just to stay conscious.
Rin approached the porte stanen. Rolling his shoulders, he brought his fingers over the concentric rings of deep orange sunstones. He moved his hands, his movement fluid, swirling in the air. Nothing happened. He paused. A frown crossed his face.
“Don’t stop, you idiot. I
will
kill her,” Mauree huffed.
Rin examined the crystals lining the interior walls, their circular pattern broken by the missing crystal, the one Melissa had thrown at Mauree. “Well, wouldn’t ’cha know. There’s a stone missing, I can’t open a portal.”
“Don’t lie to me, Rin. I’ve known you for centuries. You have a spare, use it.” Mauree pulled Melissa closer to the gateway.
Rin sighed, and his shoulders slumped. His downturned mouth and pleading eyes were like a punch to Melissa’s stomach. He pulled a spare stone from the pouch hidden underneath the lip of the rim and placed the crystal in the empty spot. As he moved his hands over the stones once again, the gems brightened. A mist formed.
“Faster, faster!” Mauree said.
Rin ignored her, his face pulled into a veil of concentration.
The mist coalesced in the middle of the room. The scent of pine and fresh rain filtered in through the opening. Clouds covered the sky, the darkness near complete without the moon or the stars. Silhouettes of pine trees and brush became visible in the dark night, along with the faint outline of the asylum.
Mauree released the axe, easing the pressure at Melissa’s throat. Relief flooded through her veins. The solace didn’t last long, though. Mauree snagged Melissa by the arm and dragged her through the opening.
Chapter Forty-One
The door creaked in protest as Noeh entered the Hall of Scriptures. Dust motes launched into the air, breathed to life by a gust of wind. A musty smell filled his lungs.
He coughed.
The sunstones’ weak glow cast shadows over the furniture. Long abandoned chairs littered the room, some with their skeleton legs upended as if in death throes. A few tables remained, covered in inches of grime. Two small sets of footprints left tracks in the grit over the woven rugs. Someone had been here, not long ago.
Where should he begin?
As the sunstones warmed, the glow brightened, and the long hallway became visible. Row after row of books lined the shelves. As he walked among the stacks, memories returned of his mother reading to him when he was a child. Sadness pulled on his heart making his chest ache.
The knowledge of his ancestors weighed down upon him. He’d neglected this room for too long. The scriptures should be read, not left to collect dust.
He made a mental note to assign the care of this room to Tanen, his council leader.
He stopped and pulled a book off the shelf. As he caressed the spine, the soft leather warmed him. There were thousands of books in here. How would he find the right one?
A burst of adrenaline whipped through him, fueled by his fear. He cracked the book open and studied the worn pages. His hands shook. He struggled to catch his breath. The words jumbled together, and the tome fell from his hands.
The books blurred together as he opened one after another. The sound of his own breathing jolted him to a stop. The books formed a pile, some with their pages wide-open, others with their spines broken and torn.
Dust filled his nose. Violent sneezes wracked his body. His eyes watered, and he wasn’t sure how much came from the filth or how much came from his frustration. He launched a book at the wall, where the ancient tome crashed to the floor.
He sat down at a nearby table. A book someone left open long ago brushed against his elbows. His head in his hands, he rubbed his face. Only a few days left before he had to select his queen, time was running out.
The stillness in the room grew loud in his ears, and an image of Melissa filled his mind. The corner of her eyes creased as she laughed. Her smile taunted him, begged for his kiss. He tried to swallow, but his throat constricted.
He shook his fist at the ceiling. “Do you enjoy making your children suffer? Melissa has such faith in you, but me—” His voice cracked. A low growl escaped his lips.
Smack
. Somewhere nearby, a book hit the floor. The sound carried across the room. Noeh followed the source of the disturbance and rounded a corner. A large tome lay in the middle of the floor. He bent down to pick up the book, and his heartbeat increased.