His Red Queen

Chapter Forty-two

Maven pulls away from me slowly; dread pools in my gut. "We are leaving now," he says. His lips are swollen, his face flushed. I am probably worse off.

I run a hand over his arm. "Not until you tell me where Shade is."

"Oh, that," he mumbles.

"Yes, it would be beneficial to know where my brother is. You know, whether he is alive or not."

Maven starts for the door, lets the healer out before following her into the fray. He extends a hand to help me down the steps though I grumble that I am fine by myself.

"Come with me and he lives," he purrs, lips brushing my ear as he whispers the threat. "We can make all these problems go away."

I look out into the crowd, faces full of anticipation of what I or Maven will say. And around them lay bodies, Silvers and Reds gone for what feels like a lost cause. Farley and Evangeline are gone. Good. It is better that way.

Maven pulls me closer to him. He whispers once again so only I can hear. "We've done this before, my love. We've played this game countless times and I always win."

Shivers run down my spine.

His breath is hot against my skin. "I can even help these people here."

I try to pull away from him but his grip may as well be iron.

"It's your decision, really." Each one of his words is a punch in the gut.

Knowing that I will not make it out of here alive and that I am useless to saving Shade if I am dead, I respond. "Very well." My words are clipped, curt, and they feel like my own undoing. As if that has not happened already.

He kisses me on the cheek, and coos, "An excellent choice, wife." Then he looks up at the crowd and claps his hands. "I would like to declare a stalemate. Anyone here, members of the Scarlet Guard, may take this chance right now to join me. I offer you housing, food, training, and anything you desire."

Murmurs amongst the crowd. I can't even hear my sharp intake of breath because some of the people are actually considering this.

I did the same, did I not? I chose this, too. I am no better.

Maven extends a hand to those walking towards us warily, just as he extended a hand to me when he had me choose him over death. If only he knew what awaits him once we get back to Whitefire. Looking around, I can tell that no one here except Kilorn knows about the siege planned by Farley, Cal, and Iris. If anyone here chooses Maven, they must fight for him, not against him.

My husband is too smart, too conniving to inadvertently let a plan against himself go unnoticed before it begins.

"What will it be?" He asks the crowd, the arrogance and pompous assurance of a king twice his age filling his voice and demeanor. "Join me and achieve glory, or die like those before you?"

Bile rises in my throat. I'm going to be sick.

"I know about the siege," he whispers to me, giving the people a moment to choose their next actions carefully. "How fitting that I have an army behind me now."

"I—Maven—" I stutter, but he cuts me off.

"Smile, laugh at something I just said, and then be silent," he says through clenched teeth. "I've won, Mare. Accept it."

Some of the crowd has reached us and I force a smile at their wary faces. Many of these people are desperate and I cannot blame them because I smile and laugh as Maven instructed.

It's all a blur after that. Maven escorts me onto an airjet where he sits beside me, his leg brushed up against mine. His new army is mostly silent in the rest of the jet.

There's not much room for seats to I stand, letting an older woman who can shape-shift take my seat.

I stand awkwardly in the crowded aisle before Maven pulls me onto his lap.

Someone laughs, I think.

I just stare into space. Feel the hum of electricity at takeoff. The turbulence makes me clench my fists once or twice. The clouds go by quickly as we soar through the sky. My eyes grow heavy and the relief of sleep takes over until we are back at Whitefire and I am escorted by at least twenty guards to Maven and my chambers.

Evangeline, Cal, Farley, and Princess Iris never even got here. Not on time, at the very least. And whenever they show up—if they do show up—I have no doubt that there will be an entire legion waiting for them, ready to take them down.

It was all in vain, just to wind up back here. Now, not only do I have no idea where Shade is, but I have no clue where my allies are.

I pad into the bathroom, run myself a hot bath. When I am done and dressed in one of my nightgowns, I get in our large bed and curl up on my side. When I was little and I had a bad day, Tramy would tell me that everything would be better in the morning. Now I lie in the king's bed once again, far from my family and anyone I can even deem friends, knowing that things will not be any better in the morning.

Maven never shows up to our rooms, probably off extracting information from the Newbloods or hiding Shade somewhere. He won't kill him. Not yet, at least.

I wake to the sound of arguing in the hall, familiar voices booming down the space. I roll my eyes as I get up. I go to open the door just to find it locked. But I was a thief and picking locks is not a difficult ordeal at all. I yawn as I stride over to a drawer full of hair accessories that I barely use and pull out a couple of hair pins. The arguing in the hall rises.

I can hear Evangeline hiss, "This is her room, Calore."

"How do you know?" he argues.

I break the pin in the lock.

"I've been here, unlike you," she snaps.

I snort. This is a sorry excuse for a rescue.

Where the hell is Maven? How has no one found them here; or heard them?

I knock on the door. Hard. "I'm in here! Door's locked, though. I'd love to leave." Within seconds, the lock melts and Evangeline swings the door open.

"Where's your husband?" She peers in the room, looking over my head. Behind her, Iris is glaring at me, Cal a good two feet away from her, holding his breath. Evangeline steps around me and strides into the bedroom, Cal and Iris following her.

Well, this feels violating. "Yeah, welcome in, everyone," I say sarcastically.

"Good," Cal says after an awkward moment of silent observation. "He's not in here."

I practically jump. "What do you mean," I drawl.

Evangeline tenses and the whips her head around to face him. Her long silver braid practically knocks me down as it hits me square in the face. "Cal, are you fucking kidding me?"

Iris' eyes go wide. "You had one job, Tiberias."

"No," I breathe. "Cal, you knew the plan. You were supposed to take him into custody!" I scrub at my face furiously. He looks down at me, guilt and anger and what I hope is remorse flickering in his bronze eyes. "This could have been over with by now!"

"Would it, though?" he exclaims, throwing his arms to the sides. "Look around, Mare. We are all miserable here. Whether he's gone or not, we're miserable!"

Iris balls her hands into fists.

"We need to get Maven off the throne, then we can worry about being happy or not," I spit.

Evangeline nods slowly. She knows just as well as me what everything has cost us. For her, it is Elane. For me, my old life, friends and family, everything I have ever known. Not to mention my anonymity in this cruel world.

"You let him run, didn't you?" Evangeline asks. "When we split up for five minutes in order to take down the cameras, you found him and let him go." Between gritted teeth, there is no question in her words. Only condemnation.

Cal's lack of answer tells us enough.

Before I can think properly, I lunge at him.