Page 42 of Queen of the Cursed Egg
‘I will be. I am safe and loved. It can only get better from here.’It’s the one truth I’m clinging to, a lifeline in the turbulent sea of my thoughts. The words taste sweet and hopeful on my tongue, a promise I’m determined to keep.
My life could have been so much worse. I could have been betrothed to a horrible male, my future decided by others, with no regard for my happiness. Never met any of my current mates, never felt the security of being truly wanted for myself. I could have been collared and bred to death in an egg chamber, never to see the light of day before drawing my last breath, used as nothing more than a vessel for continuing bloodlines. All the brief hiccups my mates and I hit are nothing compared to the hell I could have been living. I am grateful for the life I’ve been given; the feeling expanding in my chest like the growing light of dawn, warm and certain and real.
CHAPTER 28
Leander
It’sthe last period of the day, the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the training grounds, the air thick with tension and anticipation. The four males that want to join the flight are here, their scents a mixture of nervousness and determination that tickles my nostrils. Mina, against the ancients’ wishes, just ran the Shadowcarve gauntlet and is sitting on top of it, her silhouette sharp against the azure sky, her scales catching the sunlight like polished silver.
“It wasn’t that bad,” she yells down at us before using her talons to slide down the side to the ground. The scrape of her claws against stone sends shivers up my spine, a sound both thrilling and unsettling. Dust rises from her landing, carrying her unique scent—lightning and winter storms—to where I stand.
The first bronze male steps up, his scales dull compared to Mina’s, and Balor sets the gauntlet in motion. The machinery groans to life, gears grinding against each other, a mechanical heartbeat that fills the clearing. The male stands at the opening, peering in. The shadows within seem to move, to breathe with a life of their own.
“You ran this?” he asks, his face slightly pale after looking into the depths of its shadows, the words barely making it past his trembling lips. Sweat beads on his forehead, catching the light like tiny diamonds.
“Yes,” Mina says with a smile as she leans back against Thauglor’s chest, her body relaxing visibly as she makes contact with him. The contrast between her slender form and his massive frame is striking, a living illustration of beauty and power. “You watched me enter it. Everyone heard it running while I was in there.” She sighs as Thauglor shifts his wings to wrap them around her, the leathery membranes creating a soft rustling sound as they envelop her.
“I get jealous when she reacts like that,” Klauth admits as we watch the male step into the gauntlet. His voice is low, almost a growl, vibrating through the air between us.
“We all do, trust me,” I glance over at him briefly, noting the tightness around his eyes, before watching the male’s dot move on the side of the building. The tracking system blinks steadily, a cold, mechanical eye following life through the maze of danger.
“When she has nightmares or too many visions, she sleeps with you,” he nudges me in a teasing fashion, his massive shoulder bumping against mine with enough force to make me shift my stance.
“Who knew that my beast can not only cause nightmares but can keep them at bay? That was a happy little discovery.” I smile, looking at Mina as she puts braids in Thauglor’s hair, her fingers deft and gentle as they weave through his dark strands. The scene is oddly domestic against the backdrop of the ominous gauntlet. “I’m not sure if he realizes what she’s doing or if he doesn’t care,” I add, the observation causing warmth to spread through my chest.
The gauntlet makes a high-pitched noise, a metallic shriek that sets my teeth on edge, and then there’s a spray of blood. Thecoppery scent fills the air immediately, thick and nauseating. Droplets of crimson spatter against the exterior wall of the gauntlet, vivid against the gray stone. Mina shakes her head, her hair swinging with the motion, and Balor turns the gauntlet off. Evan, one of Ziggy’s pride mates, phases into the gauntlet and returns with the limp male’s body. The metallic tang of blood grows stronger as they approach, mixing with the scent of fear emanating from the remaining candidates. The gauntlet killed him on impact; it appears that one of the rollers crushed his ribcage. The sight is gruesome—splintered bone protruding through torn flesh.
“Next,” Mina calls out, her voice steady and unaffected, before she comes over to inspect what’s left of the male. Her approach is predatory, graceful and measured, sending a chill down my spine despite the warmth of the day. “Hmm...” She crouches down and looks at him carefully, her nostrils flaring slightly as she takes in the scent of death. “Hold up. Shut it down!” she yells at Balor, and he grabs the next male just as he was about to step in, his fingers digging into the young male’s arm with enough force to make him wince.
“What’s wrong?” I glance from the body to Mina, my eyes tracking the trail of blood that leads from the gauntlet to where the corpse now lies.
“None of the rollers dropped or swung when I went through. Something is either broken or it was set up to break on purpose.” She stares at it, her eyes narrowing to slits like her dragon’s, and then back at Balor. “It should have broken on my run if Vaughn ran.” Her eyes swing to lock with mine, the intensity in them almost physical. “They pulled me from running the gauntlet very late the night before last minute. Vaughn didn’t run because he was behind in his classes.”
Our nest minus Ziggy gathers around Mina as she voices what she feels happened. The circle of bodies creates a pocket of warmth inthe cooling afternoon air, our collective breathing a soft counterpoint to the silence that has fallen over the training grounds.
“If that’s accurate, your dad was still alive at the time of when the gauntlet should have been run,” Callan says as he turns to stare at the structure, his voice tight with controlled anger.
“We still have a suspect still on campus. But that person wouldn’t try to mess with the machine,” Abraxis says, omitting names, his words careful and measured. The tension in the air thickens, almost palpable on my skin.
Balor and Callan disappear into the gauntlet to examine what happened, their footsteps echoing before being swallowed by the dark interior.
“What are we going to do with those three?” I hike my thumb over my shoulder at the remaining males, who stand awkwardly to the side, shifting their weight from foot to foot. The scent of their anxiety has intensified, sharp and acrid in the still air.
“Hmm...” Mina stares at the three males, making them rather uncomfortable. I can see them squirm under her gaze, their discomfort clear in the rigid set of their shoulders. “Give them the year four entrance exam. I’ll shoot against them in archery, and Abraxis or Thauglor can test their sword skills.” Mina looks away and then at each of us, her gaze lingering on each face as if drawing strength from our presence.
“Why are we going against the queen? Females don’t fight,” the taller of the three males says, his voice dripping with condescension that seems to hang in the air like a foul odor.
Within seconds, Mina whips four blades from who knows where, the metal singing through the air before finding its mark, pinning the male to the tree. The impact of each blade sends small tremors through the trunk, bark splintering around the embedded metal. “I am a Shadowblade, the last of my kind, Bladesong child of Abaddon.”We feel more than hear her rumbling growl, the vibration traveling through the ground beneath our feet. The male shuts up, his face draining of color until it’s as pale as parchment. The pressure from her dragoness is making the other two males back off, their bodies instinctively retreating from the threat she presents.
I step close and kiss the side of her neck, tasting salt and smelling the unique blend of lightning and flowers that is uniquely hers. “Should I grab your short swords, and you can show him how helpless you are?” I smile as I stare into the male’s eyes. My eyes, I know, are balls of fire as I stare at him. He’s more of a heat signature than a being in front of me. I can feel the heat of my anger radiating through my skin, making the air around me waver slightly.
“That would be wonderful, my love,” she turns and kisses my cheek, her lips soft against my skin, the brief contact a stark contrast to the violence she just displayed. Of course, Abraxis is two steps ahead of me. He has her chest armor, her hood and mask, along with her blades. The metal catches the light as he approaches, gleaming coldly in the late afternoon sun.
I pull the blades free from the tree, the wood groaning in protest as the metal slides out, and shake my head. “Better get ready. You put her in a horrible mood,” I say to the male, who still stands frozen against the tree, the cuts from the blades visible in his clothing. Rolling my eyes, I laugh a little, the sound dry and without humor. “Poor Klauth has to deal with her later,” I say with a smirk, knowing full well Mina will settle down immediately when he holds her. It’s the whole bigger predator thing. The thought sends a mixture of envy and amusement through me, warm and complex like aged whiskey.
Three for three,Mina makes short work of the males and shakes her head looking at them, her brow furrowed in disappointment. The acrid scent of their defeat hangs in the air, mingling with the metallic tang of blood and sweat. Their labored breathing creates a ragged counterpoint to Mina’s controlled, even respirations.
“Bronzes, I swear...” she huffs, her breath warm against my skin as she closes the distance between us. Her arms slide around me, the heat of her body seeping through my clothes, and she rests her head on my chest before she sighs. Her heartbeat synchronizes with mine, a steady rhythm that grounds me. The scent of her—lightning and something floral with a hint of exertion—fills my lungs with each breath.
