Page 245 of The Call of Crimson
The room spins, my grip on the guards faltering. “I can’t hear her,” I whisper.
“I need to visit the city,” Ayden continues.
Queen Josephina scoffs. “Honestly, I’m not sure why you’re surprised. Actions have consequences, and these are clearly yours.”
Fury burns like acid inside my veins. Turning my attention to the viper they call queen, I grit, “What did you do?”
“What makes you think she has anything to do with this?” Ayden asks defensively.
“Tell me you don’t know what’s going on,” I demand, eyes fixed on the queen.
“Of course I don’t,” she replies, too quickly.
The Anima Gift flares in me like wildfire. “She’s lying.”
Hesitantly, Ayden turns his attention to his mother, suspicion sparking in his eyes. “Tell me you don’t know what happened to Breyla and Darian.”
She remains quiet, her honey eyes narrowing on me.
“Mother…” Ayden warns.
“I will always do whatever is required to protect my son. And my kingdom.”
“That’s rich,” I hiss, “coming from the same female who chastised Breyla for the same thing.”
“No,” she argues, “what she was condoning was cold-blooded murder.”
“There are two dead guards, males Breyla considered friends. You may not get your hands dirty, but your actions leave you guilty all the same.”
“Mother, tell me you aren’t responsible for the disappearance of my fiancée and general,” Ayden says, his eyes begging her to deny it.
“I don’t—” She pauses, sighing heavily. “I don’t know why they took Darian.”
“Who?” I demand.
“Who else? The Fae.” The queen rings her hands together, the nervousness leeching through her normally collected tone. “He assured me the attacks would cease.”
“We do not bargain with the Fae,” Ayden roars.
She flinches, drawing backward.
Manic energy pulses inside me, begging to be released. I want to hurt this poor excuse for a queen.
“You’re the spy…” Ayden realizes, his face contorting in pain at the betrayal. “My own fucking mother is the reason the information was being leaked to the Fae.”
“Ayden, I did it to protect you.” Her voice softens as she tries to reason with him, to rationalize her betrayal. “To protect the kingdom.”
“Just stop. I will deal with you later,” Ayden spits. Turning back to me, regret fills his eyes. “If the Fae have them, they’re no longer on this continent.”
Panic claws up my throat. “How do you know?”
Ayden’s face falls into a deep frown. “This isn’t the first person they’ve taken from me,” he admits softly.
My voice turns hysterical as I demand, “Tell me you got them back.”
Ayden nods, his eyes refusing to meet mine. “In pieces.”
My chest cracks, and I gasp. Fear, pain, and anger mix in a deadly maelstrom inside me, but all I hear is the deafening silence of Breyla’s absence. “I can’t hear her,” I nearly sob.
