Page 124 of Queen of the Crimson Throne

A dream, her voice in my head had to be a dream.

“We’ll be back in a little bit,” Remy sing-songed as she walked towards the stairs. “Don’t get too comfortable.”

Only once they were out of sight did I let myself look at the brand on my chest.

The skin was scorched and angry from the fresh burn.

But the image was clear. The symbol of the Vanir was tattooed over my heart.

I fell in and out of sleep as I hung from the ceiling. Trying and failing not to dwell on the pain the brand still inflicted. Trying not to panic over the thought of going through that pain over and over again.

Maybe it would hurt less the next time.

My mind kept drifting back to Lennox’s voice in my mind. Was she truly coming for me? I doubted she would heed my warning, if she did hear it. Once Lennox set her mind to something there was little you could do to change it. I doubted my pain-filled pleas would do much.

And most of all, I didn’t want her to see me like this. A pathetic mess hung from the ceiling with a brand of the Vanir on his chest.

I wasn’t worth saving.

49

LENNOX

I had never been to this part of the city before. It was well past the city center to the south—I wondered if it was even considered part of Alethen’s or if it was out of its boundary.

But the building in front of me looked the same as in my vision.

I was still on edge after Luka had called out to me, I don’t know how I was able to hear him, maybe it was the effects of the spell still lingering, but it was like I could sense he was in agony. There was a prickling at the back of my mind that urged me to call out to him. Even through the connection, I could hear the pain in his voice. It had caused my own knees to buckle—giving everyone else around me a scare as we made our way through the city.

His screams still echoed in my mind.

Once I recovered, I was more determined than ever to get him out of that hell hole.

Luce figured it was a lingering effect of the spell we used in the catacombs to connect to one another—a lasting effect of the Ichor magic that let us remain connected somehow. I didn’t question it—right now I was grateful for it.

We separated when we came to the building—Luce, Declan, and Kara would go around the back and try to find a way in.

Nico and I would walk right in the front door.

We both cringed as the door creaked open, eliminating our element of surprise as the male and female standing in the middle of the room turned towards the sound.

They were both shocked for a minute at our intrusion, but quickly their faces turned to delight.

“The Queen has come to retrieve her Prince,” the male crooned.

“Sooner than I anticipated.” She tilted her head to the side as she spoke, her light braid falling over her shoulder. “You must love him a lot.”

I didn’t pay them any attention before I struck. I lashed out with my sword. The female shrieked as my sword slid across her chest. She stumbled forward and I caught her, forcing my sword into her side. When I released her she stumbled to the ground, moaning as she clutched the gash in her side.

I fell to the ground on top of her, my legs falling on either side of her chest, pinning her wrist beneath my knees. Despite her wounds, she squirmed underneath my hold.

“I hope you regret ever laying a finger on him,” I all but growled. I slid my dagger through her chest without another thought, my heart pumping in my chest as I watched the life leave her eyes.

I glanced over at Nico, who had the male on the ground at his mercy with his dagger to his throat.

“You have that one under control?”

He threw me a wicked smile. “You go get Luka, I’m going to make sure this one regrets ever going against his Queen.”

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