The King's Queen

Chapter 48

Blades of grass crunched beneath the force of our landing. I squinted as my eyes slowly adjusted to the brilliance of the sunlight radiating around us.

We were no longer in the Spade castle or surrounded by guards. A grassy field welcomed us and stretched out for as far as I could see. Large, rolling hills crowned the distant horizon. Garrett had transported us where I'd asked him to.

As I turned to face the group, Garrett swayed slightly before crumpling to the ground. I hurried to catch him and made him lie down on the grass. His eyelids drooped with fatigue, and his face was devoid of color. My heart panged in guilt. He'd already lost so much blood and then used his remaining energy to take us to safety. He'd made sure that we were safe. It was my turn to protect him.

Cyrena sank to the ground beside us, her eyes filled with sadness. She stared at the grass numbly while I assessed Garrett's vitals.

I was almost dreading finishing the task because of the brooding presence that emanated from behind me and choked the sunny atmosphere like an acidic cloud.

When I finally turned around, Demetri's angry glare fastened on me.

"Why did you do that?" His voice was a deathly calm, but still chock full of suppressed anger.

He was angry—as I'd expected him to be—but, to be fair, I had to give him credit for actually waiting until I was finished checking on Garrett before snapping.

I sighed, knowing what he was talking about. "I'm sorry, but we couldn't return to Crysauralia right now."

Trust me, I wanted to.

I swallowed the rising lump in my throat and turned away from him. The sadness and finality of my decision weighed on my shoulders like lead. Of course, I wanted to go to Crysauralia—I wanted to return more than anything! The people I cared about were there. My family and friends... Ashton and his family, too.

"I helped you because you were planning to go to Crysauralia." He seethed. "I'm not supposed to be here."

"I understand your frustration, but we couldn't go there." I looked him in the eyes and he frowned and folded his arms against his chest, waiting for me to explain myself. I sighed. "Emperor Caden is no longer in control of the empire. He's been taken in by the Origen Association for questioning. I'm guessing his father, the prinarch, pinned the destruction of the OA on him. More than likely, the prinarch is currying favor with the OA by feeding them information about CaVaughn... maybe Malekh too."

Demetri's eyes narrowed at that.

"If I were to go back to Crysauralia as an Origin, the royal family could be accused of hiding my identity, even though they knew nothing about who I truly was. They might get imprisoned... or worse." I shuddered to think about it.

"That won't happen," Demetri spat. "Even if CaVaughn dies, the prinarch still needs an heir to the throne and I doubt he'll be making more heirs anytime soon. Like it or not, he needs Ashton. That's enough reason to keep him alive."

"You're forgetting that Ashton has a younger sister," I murmured. "The prinarch doesn't need Ashton if he has her."

Demetri's eyes snapped shut, and he exhaled sharply. His displeasure about the situation was obvious. But as much as I wanted to go home, there was no way I would jeopardize anyone's life.

Cyrena had said that the Crysauralian nobles were already choosing sides and most of them would support the prinarch. If my existence as an Origin was revealed, there could be a civil war.

Prinarch Cole had had his chance to rule Crysauralia, but now he was selfishly coming out of retirement to seize his son's empire. Luca had managed to escape from them twice, and he'd destroyed the Crysauralian OA. The prinarch would definitely be after revenge.