The King's Queen

Chapter 37

Like all the other times, traveling through Garret's portal was disorienting, but it didn't last very long. We landed on the grass, just outside the ancient pillars where the blood garnets were housed. This was the place where he would finally find what he'd been searching for.

We didn't have a second to spare, so I worked quickly and quietly to decipher the Ancient Crysauralian inscriptions at the base of each pillar. Garrett had mentioned that he had less than an hour to deliver the precious stone to the person he was negotiating with, or else the deal would be called off.

Garrett had never gone into the specifics, but from what I'd gathered from Malekh, someone he cared about was being held hostage. Apparently, the valuable blood garnet would be traded in exchange for the hostage. It was something he desperately needed, and I would do whatever I could to make sure it rested in his hands by the end of the night. After a few minutes, I managed to locate one of the garnets, and Garrett broke the pillar and retrieved the shiny, blood-red stone.

He turned it over in his fingers, inspecting the stone with careful scrutiny. A flash of emotion passed through his eyes, but it swiftly disappeared in a matter of seconds as he turned to me with a light smile.

"Alright, Angel Eyes. I guess it's my turn to return the favor."

I expected him to take my hand so we could go to the emperor's office together, but he shook his head.

"I'm going to head to the emperor's office alone first so that I can disable the cameras. Don't worry, I'll come back for you."

I narrowed my eyes at him, but he assured me that he wouldn't betray me after all I did to help him. I waited for him as patiently as I could—which wasn't very patient, seeing as we were in what Cyrena referred to as 'enemy territory'.

He returned a few seconds later and held a hand out to me. It was time for the second part of our plan. I took his hand, and in a few seconds, we arrived in the emperor's office. It had only been a few days, but it already felt like such a long ago since the last time I was here.

"I'll wait outside." Garrett decided. "If I sense anyone nearby, we're leaving immediately."

I nodded, and he left the room. I had to do what I came to do quickly. My hands shuffled across the papers on the emperor's desk. I searched fervently for over fifteen minutes, but nothing matched what I was looking for and I was starting to wonder if the documents containing the information I wanted were even here to begin with. After all, it was sensitive data. It would be bad if it fell into the wrong hands, or ended up being seen by the wrong person—which, in this case, would be me.

I was about to rummage through another set of papers when the back of my hand caught a file jacket, knocking t to the ground with a low thud. I winced and paused, waiting to see if Garrett or anyone would make a move, but only silence responded. It was a good thing the office was soundproof. I bent down to gather the papers that had fallen out when a picture caught my eye. My brows knitted in confusion, and I hastily scanned the words below it.

Micah Preston (18), rank Omega, is hereby to be assigned to Sepia squad 0, led by squad leader 'Zero'. Preston is to replace Quentin Reid (19), rank Omega, who has succumbed to the injuries he sustained in mission 430. The initiation will take place on February 1.

My heart almost tumbled out of my chest as my body froze. Emperor Caden was adding Micah to Sepia?!

I swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in my throat. Why was it that every time I came to the palace, someone else was in trouble? First, the Origins, CaVaughn, Jun, and now Micah.

I scanned the rest of the page, trying to uncover any additional information, but there was nothing that explained why Micah was being chosen, or the identity of the mysterious squad leader called Zero. It hurt to even imagine it, but knowing just how sadistic the emperor could be, 'Zero' was most likely the code name that Jun went by in Sepia.