Page 123 of The King is Dead
“So you are abandoning us?”
“No, you fucking meathead—she’s my mate. And she’stheirQueen.”
“I know! That’s exactly my point—”
“You don’t know the point of your own prick,” I snapped. “She’s Queen, and I’m her mate. I don’t need to be freed from these people, Jann, they’remypeople. This isn’t a fucking assault, it’s an alliance. And if you take one more stepyou’re going to do nothing but bring all out war on our brothers. Do not underestimate theseants.They’re a lot stronger than you think. So you show me where she is, and you get her loose now.Or I’ll kill you myself.”
“What… the… fuck?”
“You heard me.”
“You’re staying here?” Jann was so incredulous his voice slipping higher.
“No!”
“Thank God.”
“But—”
“We need you, Mel. The ranks are in chaos. I wasn’t even sure I could leave to come find you, but I also knew you wouldn’t trust anyone else. You have to come back. There’s no other Neph with enough support to bring everyone together. We’ve got four different factions, and battles even within those—it’s a complete clusterfuck. And you know it’s only a matter of time until the survivors of thisentire campaign realize we’re a mess and turn on us again—if they pin us against the Shadows of Shade, and these fuckers come through at our backs, we’rescrewed.You have to come back and lead, make them a single army again. Then you can take over these guys. She’s the Queen, which means she’s valuable—no one will kill her while we need her for a shield. She gets us through the Shadows, you take the crown, and then you can do whatever the fuck you want with her—”
“Absolutely not.”
Jann gaped. “Mel, unless you’re ready to pull a miracle out of your ass, we can count the weeks that the Nephilim hold the continent on one hand. There are already whispers in Zaryndar. The Tuskarrs are licking their wounds, but if they get even a hint that we’re weakened you know they’ll bring numbers, and if the Centaurs have healed and get wind that we’re losing and come to help, it’s over! We need you out of here, and back to the Neph before we eat ourselves and lose everything.”
“Take me to my mate so I know she’s safe.”
Jann’s eyes narrowed. “Did you hear anything I said?”
“Every word.”
“So, you’d place her wellbeing above ours?”
“She is my mate.I think you’re the one who’s not listening, Jann. Did you hear me? The Queen of the Shadekin is my soul-bonded mate. Divinely appointed. In their books, that makes meKing.I already have a crown and a throne. This isn’t the time to steal the Queen away. Salvation doesn’t come in subterfuge. It’s time to start building an alliance that’s too strong for the other nations to eventhinkabout challenging us, and the first step to that is you bring me to my fucking mate.”
Jann stared at me, stunned. “You’re truly King?”
“Not just in name,” I said through my teeth. “Ilead.And if you aren’t submitted, I’ll kill you first, then take out the rest of them to get her out of their grip. So, the choice is yours,brother.Either you take me to her,or I’ll show you why I outrank you, right here, right now.” I let my voice trail off into a low growl.
Jann’s entire body tensed as his eyes flickered with fear…andwith rage. But Jann had never been a stupid man. And now his eyes also gleamed with that intelligence that I prayed would save his life.
Because I didn’t make empty threats.
And he knew it.
Half an hour later, I marched into the old, rundown barn buried in the forest a few miles from the Palace that Jann had identified as their hideout.
The others hadn’t heard us coming, so they scrambled to their feet when I threw the old, creaking door back and strode in.
The two younger Neph, Drek and Kran, both males I’d had planned to mentor as future Officers, leaped back, drawing their spears. But Hever, the old asshole, floated to his feet in that creepy way he had, his gray hair sticking out in several directions as he backed away from me, eyes glowing in the dark. Despite his age, he still moved smoothly, if slower than the younger men.
But I ignored all three of them, striding straight to where Yilan was crumpled on the floor next to the small fire they’d built under a hole in the roof—small enough that the barn walls would hide the light, and the smoke would be invisible in the black night.
She was pale and limp. Her head tipped back in a sickening parody of death when I lifted her from the ground. My heart flipped in a knee-weakening fear until I put my ear to her chest and heard her pulse, slow, but strong.
I hefted Yilan higher against my chest, then turned to face them, glaring.
“What did you give her?”
