The Dark Queen

by M. Dalto

  “We have,” Dimura corrected him. “Many have tried, but the agreement our foolish leaders made with those from your land centuries ago locked us into a lifetime of servitude. To save us from destruction, they said, for our own protection, they promised. They were greedy, thinking the power they required came from strangers to the south, only to be deceived.”

  “With everyone gone from the Borderlands to the Empire, now would be your chance to return to your mountains.”

  “We were waiting for you.”

  Jamison raised a curious brow.

  “We knew once the Empireborn who inhabited the castle left, others would come to claim it. And we are ready to return it to those whom it once belonged. Only with the acceptance that we can return home and forever remove ourselves from this conflict. We do not want to make the same mistakes as those before us.”

  “Why have you not already left?”

  “There was one of us who declared himself a leader of our people—he demanded we remain, otherwise our families would be tortured, and we would be stripped of our powers.”

  “Where is he now?”

  “He was the one who was foolish enough to leave, therefore leaving me in charge.”

  “What if we were to tell you that we would be willing to help you, and your people, by granting you the freedom you so desire?”

  “We would need to ask the price.”

  “Only to stay, for a short time, until we can ensure your freedom, and end the threat from the one who imprisoned you here.”

  Dimura seemed to consider his proposal, but Jamison knew he sounded no better than the bastards that had kept them there in the first place.

  “You would ask us to march for you?”

  “Only if the threat arises.”

  “And if it does not?”

  “You are free to return to your home.”

  Something glistened in her red eyes as she beheld the two of them. Dimura soon stood and motioned for them to follow.

  “Come. There is something I must show you.”

  Dremond glanced at Jamison—his look seemed to tell him that the lord assumed the Captain was now making decisions on their behalf.

  Fine.

  Silently they followed Dimura from the sitting room, further down the hall, to a pair of tall, large, and heavy wooden doors.

  “What you truly seek is within,” she told them as she stepped to the side.

  “What is it?” Dremond asked cautiously.

  The mage shook her head. “There are some things we knew never to involve ourselves in—this is one of them.”

  “Thank you,” Jamison said. She gave him a gentle smile and nodded.

  “Take care, and we will see you at supper.”

  With another bow, she excused herself down the hallway.

  Jamison’s eyes lingered on her departing form longer than they probably should have, and Dremond tossed him an unamused look.

  Ignoring him and clearing his mind, Jamison pushed open the heavy doors.

  All breath whooshed from his lungs as his eyes fell on what awaited them.

  They had entered a throne room, sorely in disuse as made evident by the layer of dust and the cobwebs in the corners. Resting on the derelict throne before them, however, was a book that appeared to glow with a source of its own making.

  “Is that—” Dremond asked, his voice as awestruck as Jamison felt.

  In response, the Captain could only nod at first. “That…is the Annals.”

  Jamison remained where he stood, frozen in place as he looked upon one of the most sacred texts known to his people, sitting in a stone throne in the middle of the room.

  “Don’t just stand there, you fool,” Lord Dremond hissed, though Jamison could hear the tremor in his voice. “Pick it up and let’s be gone from here.”

  He cast a glance at the lord before he turned to look over his shoulder at the room’s entrance. Dimura obviously knew what this book was and somehow knew it was something they would want to find should they have the opportunity to seek it out. Now that they had it, could Jamison flee from the Borderlands to return it to its rightful place despite the promise he made, after giving Dimura his word?

  No, he was a man of honor. His word was his bond, and he promised to release the people here should they help them achieve their common goal.

  But the Annals…

  Jamison finally dared that first step forward, but he got no closer as the book glowed brighter with that same ethereal light, suddenly exploding in an intensity so brilliant both men needed to shy away to avoid being blinded.

  Blinking, Jamison slowly returned his attention to the throne. Where the Annals once rested now sat the form of a man, cloaked in golden light. His features were defined well enough to show he was once Empireborn, especially by the familiar blue hue of his otherwise sightless eyes.

  “Child of the Empire,” he greeted him with a deep and powerful voice that sounded like it, at one time, must have demanded authority and control. “Have you come to make things right?”

  “Who are you?” Lord Dremond asked, peering suspiciously at the form, his hand reflexively resting on the hilt of his sword. Even though Jamison’s hand was also on his, he doubted their weapons would do any good if this man meant them harm.

  “I am the beginning and the end,” the figure said, his voice sounding off the walls of the room. “I am the dark and the dawn. I am the fire and the light—”

  “You’re the Prophecy,” Jamison blurted out. He had heard that phrase enough to recognize it—whoever this was, the Annals incarnate or otherwise…

  The ethereal gaze fell upon him, as if he knew Jamison was piecing it together.

  “I am everything.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The air was tense when they returned to the apartment. Lexan was pleased that he hadn’t happened upon them in the middle of some sexual venture on his living room couch.

  But still, it didn’t make the task any easier.

  It would have to be Jared who informed Sarayna of the truth, but he would need to ensure Jared that he’d support him the entire way…

  Even if it meant living with his sister’s wrath for the duration of their expected time together.

  His father said they should wait until they reached New York, to better keep the peace, but Lexan couldn’t resist his need—or want—to talk to Jared before then. They hadn’t been able to talk privately since they slept together, and there was much that remained unspoken between them…

  At least he could do that for himself before they left for the city.

  As it was, Jared sat alone in the living room, flipping through the dark, leather-bound book from the Borderlands. Reylor gave his son a single knowing glance before excusing himself.

  Sarayna was nowhere to be seen.

  “Where has your intended run off to now?” Lexan asked almost too casually as he hung his jacket by the door.

  “Your sister is in the bedroom packing her things,” he responded with little to no emotion in his voice. Lexan glanced over his shoulder. Jared hadn’t even looked up from the book.

  It was now or never.

  Without another word, he strode over to where Jared sat and crouched before him, slamming the damned book shut on the Emperor’s fingers.

  “What are you—?” Jared protested, but before he could get the words out, Lexan muffled him as his lips crashed into Jared’s with a heated kiss.

  When Lexan didn’t immediately receive the rejection he so readily expected, he slipped his tongue past those lips and met Jared’s on the other side.

  That, it seemed, was going too far.

  Hands braced Lexan’s shoulders and pushed him away to arms’ length.

  “Stop it,” Jared breathed, though there was no heat behind his words.

  Just pure panic as his eyes darted toward the hallway.

  Lexan glanced back to follow his gaze before he returned his attention to those gray eyes.

  “You have to te
ll her,” he informed the Emperor quietly. “She needs to know.”

  “And what am I supposed to say?” he hissed, eyes turning stormy.

  “The truth, perhaps?”

  “What is the truth, Lexan?” he inquired, venom starting to snake in. “That yes, I’m the Emperor, just not hers?”

  “It’s a start.”

  The glare he received conveyed Jared did not agree.

  “It will destroy her.”

  “Sarayna’s a strong woman. You need to give her more credit.”

  “No—I mean, I know that. It’s just…” He hesitated, and sat back on the couch, running his hands through his tousled brown locks. Lexan couldn’t help but remember running his own fingers through that hair. “I’ve…I’ve done this to her before. Before we left New York, and she brought me to the Empire. I was…lonely, and my friend was visiting, and…”

  Lexan tried to not display his own jealousy and smoothly stood from where he kneeled. “Whatever wrath you endure on behalf of my sister is not my concern. I simply ask for you to tell her the truth.”

  “Then what?” Jared scoffed. “You and I will live happily ever after?”

  It was Lexan’s turn for darkness to pass over his features. “Would that be so bad?”

  “With your family’s track record? I should get out while I can.” The pain Lexan felt at hearing those words must have shown on his face, for Jared’s features immediately softened, his brows furrowing in apology. “Lexan, I—”

  “What’s going on?” Sarayna asked as she entered the living area, a bag slung over her shoulder.

  “Your Emperor was just explaining to me the ideology of his people,” Lexan all but growled, giving Jared one last meaningful glance before taking a step away. He dared to allow his eyes to remain on the Emperor one moment longer than they should have before he looked to Sarayna. “Perhaps you should ask him about them as well.”

  He sensed Jared’s stare as he returned to his room but made no effort to look back.

  Shutting the door, he leaned against it and closed his eyes. After a couple breaths he looked around the room, still able to smell Jared’s scent lingering on his bedclothes and in the air.

  He decided that if Jared didn’t tell Sarayna, he would do so himself.

  The drive to New York City was long and torturous.

  With the four of them crammed into a car that was too small for the egos it transported, it was all Lexan could do to lean his head against the cool window and stare at the buildings and passing cars as they made their trek south.

  He didn’t dare look at Jared. Or his sister. When he occasionally noticed his father looking at him expectantly, he closed his eyes and ignored him. He didn’t want to think about it. Any of it. Not yet. Not until he had to. And not until he had an escape plan.

  Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

  Well, hell hadn’t met Sarayna yet, either.

  It was Sarayna and Reylor who made conversation, with Jared adding a few bits of knowledge and advice here and there. He didn’t pay any of it much mind, lest he consider the words being said too carefully, and he began thinking too much. He didn’t want to think about the last time Jared and Sarayna had been in New York, or what they had done, or where they had gone together…

  He just wanted to do what they needed to do and be done with it.

  Including telling Sarayna the truth.

  He had just begun falling asleep when he heard Jared’s voice and cursed himself for the way his heart leaped and bounded within his ribcage. Clenching his fists tight, he grounded himself, keeping his eyes closed while he listened.

  “Do you miss her?” the Emperor asked quietly.

  “Depends on who you’re asking,” Reylor muttered from where he had sat stoically in the front passenger seat throughout the duration of the trip.

  “Either of you,” he answered. “Neither of you have really spoken about her since—”

  “Since they murdered her in cold blood, and we had to leave her behind?” his sister quipped from the back seat next to him.

  “Fine,” Jared sighed. “Forget I asked.”

  “I do,” Reylor admitted.

  The car’s occupants fell silent, waiting for him to continue.

  “You have to remember, I already mourned her once and moved on. Expecting her to still be alive after all that…I never had time to process it enough to mourn her again.”

  “Similar to how you dealt with Treyan?” Sarayna scowled.

  “Enough, Sara,” Jared reprimanded.

  “Yes, Sarayna—exactly how I handled Treyan’s return,” Reylor answered levelly.

  “Will you stop?” Lexan finally murmured and lifted his head to look at his sister. “If you remember, we’re here to work on returning you to your Empire, but if you’d rather know what it feels like to mourn your father again, by all means, please continue to look for reasons to pick a fight with everyone who’s trying to help you get back.”

  “If I remember correctly, you were the one who plucked us from the Empire in the first place,” Sarayna retaliated, as Lexan knew was bound to happen.

  “Was that before or after he tried to violate you?” Jared asked casually from the driver’s seat, and Lexan felt his cheeks run hot.

  “Jared, please,” Sarayna begged.

  “No, I really want to know. I think you forgot to tell me that story.”

  “Now’s not the time.”

  “I think it is,” Jared countered, daring a glance behind him to meet Lexan’s gaze. There was a fury there, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of what he had tried to do, who he had done it to, or that he had considered it at all.

  “You two can be angry with Lexan all you want, but I will tell you since I was there. I know the circumstances of the request that was demanded of him. Of what could have happened if he refused.” Reylor sighed. “I was also the one who found Alexstrayna and told her what was happening, hoping she could stop it before something horrible occurred…”

  “Like what you did to her?” Sarayna muttered under her breath.

  “So you’re the one I can thank for the lump on my head,” Lexan muttered under his own.

  “Regardless,” Reylor said, cutting them both off. “Lexan’s decision was not made quickly or easily.”

  “Thank you,” Lexan said.

  “I didn’t say it was a good decision.”

  Lexan scowled at his father.

  “If you’re done pouting, we can now focus on what we need to do,” Jared added, pointing toward the looming city on the horizon. Lexan sat up straighter at that—he hadn’t realized how long they had been driving and certainly hadn’t expected New York City to be as large as it was.

  Perhaps he hadn’t been in Boston long enough to appreciate its scope, but he could tell from looking at this city that he would get lost if he tried to navigate it alone.

  He was completely at Jared’s mercy.

  Thank the gods…

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “How far are we from your apartment?” Reylor asked Jared quietly, scanning the city from his window.

  “It’s not too much further,” the Emperor replied, focused on driving through the overcrowded city streets to ensure they arrived in one piece and didn’t take out a pedestrian in the process.

  Lexan had to hold on to the door’s handle more than once, but Jared seemed to know what he was doing both behind the wheel and in the city as they did, in fact, arrive at the apartment complex safely. After they parked and walked a few blocks, Lexan was in awe as he stood before a building that seemed to touch the sky.

  “I forget that you’ve probably never spent much time in the city,” Jared said, standing beside him and following his gaze upward.

  “Only Boston, but not long enough to appreciate it, apparently.”

  “Is it safe enough?” Reylor said in a cautious tone on Lexan’s other side, and he heard his sister snort a laugh.

  “There’s only one way to find out,” she
said as she led the way across the street.

  “Hopefully they haven’t changed the code,” Jared murmured.

  He approached the main door to the complex and quickly entered a six-figure code that unlocked it.

  The group was silent as they entered the elevator and ascended to the apartment that had been Jared’s for much longer than he had been Emperor. He let them in without a word, and the clean space was a far cry from Lexan’s apartment in Boston.

  It was modern, though simple, with matching furniture and decor. The main sitting room opened to a large wall-length window overlooking Central Park. It was bright and cheerful…the perfect juxtaposition for the events Lexan knew could likely take place while they were there.

  “We’ll use my apartment as our main point of contact,” Jared announced as he put his bag down next to the couch. “It should be safe enough unless the Borderlands somehow knows my home address.”

  Lexan couldn’t help but feel like that was a personal jab.

  “Fine—we’ll go to Saratanya’s apartment and see if we can find anything that can lead us toward the identity of her parents,” Reylor said as he lingered by the apartment door.

  “I can take us there,” Sarayna offered. “I remember the way.”

  “So we’re all going?” Lexan inquired.

  “No,” Jared corrected. “You and I are going to go to the library to research the old newspaper backlogs for obituaries and birth announcements. That way one of us will hopefully discover something before we reconvene tonight.”

  Lexan was surprised at Jared’s offer, and impressed.

  “Alright,” Sara agreed. “We’ll be back here by dinnertime, and if no one’s found anything, we’ll do it all again tomorrow.”

  “Sounds delightful,” Lexan murmured.

  Reylor threw his son a knowing glance, as if staying with Jared in the apartment alone had been his idea. Lexan rolled his eyes in response.

  Sarayna, however, was either oblivious to the exchange or didn’t care, for she approached Jared more intimately than they had been since they arrived in Boston.

  “You’re okay, being back?” she asked with a gentle hand on his arm.