Page 101 of Renegade Kings

“Are you okay?” she asked, her gaze roved over me like she was searching for injury. “That was insane.”

“I am so fucking sorry.” Ryder rushed out as I let Alyssa guide me back to my feet. I wouldn’t admit it aloud, but my legs were definitely shaking. If anyone noticed, I was definitely going to blame it on the adrenaline.

My wolf pushed to the front of my mind and a growl flowed through my lips as he snarled at the beta who had pushed a little too far. I knew deep down it wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t done it on purpose, and we were all going to make mistakes like this when we were still trying to figure things out.

That didn’t mean I was going to let him off too easily, though.

“Finally.” Fizzle huffed, interrupting and making us all brace for the incoming insult. “Well done. That was impressive, if not a little clumsy. I’ve been telling you to stop trying too hard. Feel the magic and let it go where you need it to be.”

“Erm, you haven’t actually said that,” Maddox pointed out as he came over to join us, patting my shoulder as if to reassure himself that I was still there.

Fizzle did his usual bluster as he puffed out his feathers and glared us all down. “I can hardly be blamed for you not understanding even the simplest of instructions,” he objected, clearly refusing to admit that he was wrong.

I could see Ryder getting ready to argue, but he was silenced with a shake of Alyssa’s head, who looked thoroughly amused about the whole situation. She was right that there was no point in arguing with Fizzle.

When you thought about it though, it was kind of scary that we trusted this little fur ball with our training and I was doubting if he did, in fact, know what he was doing.

“Was your entire childhood like this?” I asked Alyssa, as Fizzle sulked away, muttering about how useless we all were.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Chapter 39

Maddox

The food wasn’t exactly restaurant quality, but the simple stew tasted better than anything I’d eaten for days. Probably because I was tired, happy, and weirdly content with where I was right now.

We’d trained for the past few days, and all of us seemed to be finally coming to grips with what we could do. Although, I suspected we hadn’t touched on our full potential yet. For now, being able to summon the fire at will seemed like a minor miracle. To direct it where I actually needed it to go was something I’d thought impossible just this morning.

The ship’s crew were settled around the deck, eating and lost in their own thoughts, probably of the fight to come. It was all most of us could talk about. We all knew how risky this was, but it was also the first time any of them had made a move against Arik. There was a restless energy buzzing through the air, fuelled by the anticipation and dread we were all feeling.

Alyssa spooned another mouthful of stew into her mouth, furtively looking around at the people sitting with us. Ryder, who was talking to the man sitting next to him, said something, and she smiled. She was finally starting to relax around these people, and it was good to see a genuine smile on her face.

The crew was slowly starting to relax around her as well. But with it came something I hadn’t before realised we’d have to deal with. Because now that they didn’t seem quite as scared of the queen who sat eating amongst them, they looked at Alyssa like she was some kind of saviour. The open adoration on most of their faces was unmistakable to everyone except her.

Alyssa wanted to be one of the people. She wanted to make connections with this group and fight at their side. But she hadn’t realised that it wouldn’t be possible yet. She was yet to see that she could never be one of them, because who she was would always separate her from the crowd. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. She had a power that could potentially protect them all. She was a queen who was willing to fight and die for her people. With that came a responsibility I didn’t think she’d considered. Part of being a leader was being a figurehead, and it was always a lonely seat at the top, even if she would always have her mates beside her.

“I’m going to take some food down for Damon,” Ryder said, standing up and brushing the unseen dirt from his trousers.

“You can’t go down there alone,” Dean gruffly told him. He’d finished his bowl of food a while ago and had been lazing against the railing with his eyes closed. But, of course, he hadn’t let his guard drop even a fraction. That was just who Dean was.

“Well, it seems as you’ve finished eating already, you can come with me,” Ryder told him happily as he went to grab a bowl of food for Damon.

I tensed, watching the situation play out in front of me. Dean had been avoiding Damon since we’d gotten him in the cell. I could see how uncomfortable he was, dealing with whatever was controlling our brother’s body. Which meant I could also see how much he’d been avoiding having to do it again.

I watched as he shuffled uneasily, glaring at Ryder. It was easy to see why he’d feel the way he did. Hell, I was right there with him. But the glimpses of Damon that we got when the nightmare’s control slipped was enough to give me hope. I was just about to offer to go down instead when Tank cleared his throat and drew my attention to him instead.

“He needs to do this,” Tank told me quietly, so no one around us would hear.

I knew he was right, but that didn’t mean I was comfortable making Dean do something he clearly didn’t want to do.

Ryder turned back to our group with a steaming bowl of food in his hand. “You coming?”

Dean’s glare only intensified, and for a moment, I thought he’d actually say no. But deep down, I also knew he wouldn’t. Dean would see this as a risk to Ryder, and he wouldn’t let him face it alone. Not to mention that his wolf would no doubt see this as a challenge, and I doubted he’d want to back away from it, either.

“Fine,” Dean muttered through gritted teeth as he pushed himself up to standing.

I watched as the two of them disappeared from view, descending the steps into the hold we were frankly all avoiding, even if we didn’t want to admit.

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