Page 66 of Captured By the Monsters
Scooping her up into my arms, I tucked Sera into my chest where she nuzzled her blonde head against me. Her eyes fluttered close as she yawned.
“Sleep, my Queen,” I murmured, and a small frown marred her brow.
“You don’t call me that.” She scowled. “I’m your beauty.”
A silent chuckle rumbled in my throat. “Very well then—sleep, my beautiful Queen.”
Sera huffed a little, but never opened her eyes again, and within minutes, she was sound asleep. Briskly, we left this basement and ascended back to the main levels of the castle.
When I stepped into the main hallway that led to the throne room, it was utter chaos. There was an uproar of yelling about finding the Specters who’d killed the claimed humans and bringing them to justice, which I couldn’t agree with more, but we couldn’t focus on that at this exact moment.
We needed to get her out here before the Specters transformed into Rumilus, alerting everyone to what had happened. I didn’t know how quickly it would happen, but we couldn’t take the risk.
Turning left, I quickly strode out of the palace, a hand covering Sera’s crystal, which was glowing with such a brilliance there was no denying that she was the True Queen.
It didn’t matter, though. There were no guards, nor any Rumilus or Specters to be seen. Pushing open the front doors, I nearly stumbled to my knees, blinded by the light. Rowen and Axton quickly came to my side, stabilizing me as I gripped Sera tightly to me, and I looked down to see if I’d jostled her awake. She was still nestled in place, sleeping peacefully.
I was happy to know her heat had subsided enough for her to get some rest, but I couldn’t help but be worried about just how much energy the crystal had taken from her.
Squinting, I looked in wonder around me. The once dreary landscape was saturated with the light of the still weak sun. Granted, not everything was flourishing yet, but to see our lands so clearly was a sight I hadn’t been sure we’d ever see again.
The sun wasn’t quite the same as in The Above. While theirs was in the sky, casting rays down upon them, ours was nestled in the core of our land, shining outwardly.
“Wow,” Axton breathed out in awe.
“It’s really happening,” Rowen echoed.
Looking down at Sera, I murmured, “And it’s all thanks to this incredible woman we are lucky enough to call ours.”
