Page 36 of Realm of Flames (Reborn 3)
Doctor Bates motioned for me as I found the shoes I’d been wearing before, glad suddenly that I’d slipped them off. My hands twisted in front of me as I followed her towards the door, my mates following behind me, Marco running his fingers along my lower back in a soothing motion.
“We don’t have to do this.” Marco sounded almost anxious and it made me worry, something I tried to not show. I felt far more shaken up than I would like to admit, and Doctor Bates’s insistence and eagerness to get to the queen only enhanced it. A slight tremble worked through me and my skin heated, my throat feeling thick as my fingers fidgeted. What was so important that we had to meet the queen now? Why did it make it far too real to do that?
I hadn’t realized I’d never responded to Marco until his hand intertwined with mine, pulling my attention. Speaking softly, I kept my eyes on Doctor Bates and the way she walked with the one guard up ahead, the two of them talking in whispered tones that I couldn’t hear.
“We do have to do this.” I squeezed his hand. “We came here for answers and she’s been helpful so far, so if she thinks we need to meet with the queen now, then I say we trust that.”
Marco muttered a curse under his breath before he inhaled sharply and nodded. “I don’t disagree with you, baby girl. Just remember that no matter what happens, we can always leave. We can leave this place and ignore whatever we learned here.”
I examined his face, noticing a string of panic there. He was as uncomfortable, if not more uncomfortable, as me with all of this. As a pair of massive doors loomed ahead, I paused and wrapped my arms around Marco, burying my head in his chest and whispering ‘I love you’ as he wrapped his arms fully around me. The low rumble that he let escape from his throat had me relaxing. I was finding that I truly considered this man my safe place.
“This is bullshit.” Henry’s voice was edged with a dangerous tone despite his words being under his breath. I turned my head slightly, noticing that the two up ahead had stopped, clearly waiting for us.
“Let’s just get it over with,” I confirmed, attempting to be positive.
After a sharp nod, I moved forward with my mates behind me. An odd sense of calm infiltrated everything as I rolled my shoulders back, trying to straighten myself and be more confident. I needed that. I needed that inner strength.
The gold doors up ahead opened after a sharp nod from the guards that lined the space. Immediately, sunlight flooded the hallway, and my eyes moved across the marble and gold room to the ceiling that was made of a glass dome that presented a stunning blue sky and gold clouds above. It was indisputably gorgeous, and distracting enough that I didn’t even notice how crowded the room was. I didn’t notice the large amount of guards that lined the sides of the room or the people that seemed to hover throughout.
Almost immediately, we drew attention, and my fear and nervousness began to fade despite being the center of attention. A weird sense of calm filled me as the familiar scent of ash filled the space, mixed with floral, my skin lighting up with heat as we passed through the doors. My phoenix began to flutter in my chest, and I nearly let out a sound from her but managed to keep my lips pressed together as we continued to examine all the eyes on us.
Beautiful people filled the room, dressed in an assortment of whites, golds, and jewel tones that seemed to only add to the luxury of what I imagined most throne rooms were modeled after. The music quieted at my arrival, and everything seemed to pause, my eyes finally making it up front. That was right about when true shock slammed into me, making me pause in my step as emotion flooded my throat.
The woman standing in the front of the room was undeniably the queen in the question, that much was clear. But more than that… she looked just like me.
