As she passed through the Magic barrier between the two lands, Rainere gasped as he felt Adelena’s emotions instantly withdraw from his body. He cried out in agony as the Immortality Curse forced his heart to beat again and pulled air back into his lungs. Within moments, he was recovered. The doorway to the Beyond receded and left his vision.
Rainere howled in rage, as the tears slipped from his eyes and cursed his eternal life. If he couldn’t have Adelena, then he didn’t want to be alive anymore. He wouldn’t go back to the hollow, empty Hell that had been his life before her.
He just couldn’t.
Chapter Fifty-Three
“And They All Lived…”
Adele felt the curse of Belvoir this time. The Chime Voices called out and went silent, as the Magic left her, or was covered by something. She couldn’t be sure which. Just as instantly, her savage anger left her and she felt weak enough to need to grab General Ohrig’s arm for support.
Natalie murmured in her arms and shifted her head. Adele gazed down at her little girl and smiled. “Natalie, I love you, my precious girl.” She bent down and lay a light kiss on her daughter’s lips. She held her breath, frozen in that position, until she felt Natalie’s mouth move against her own.
Adele pulled back and watched closely as Natalie’s eyelids fluttered and ever so slowly opened.
“Oh, Natty!” Adele clutched her daughter tight to her chest. “Oh, baby. You are okay. You are okay, my sweet girl.”
Adele let the tears stream down her face, as she relished the feel of Natalie’s living, breathing body in her arms. Her daughter was healthy and alive.
Natalie pulled her face from her mother’s heaving chest and looked around in confusion. She searched the faces of the Queen’s Guard before looking over Adele’s shoulder. She sent Charlie a small smile and an inquiring look.
“Hey, Charlie! Where is Prince Rainere?”
Chapter Fifty-Four
“Outrun the Storm, Little Queen”
Adele and her group returned to find Belvoir Estate in an uproar and though she could understand why, she still had no patience for it.
Tilburn was nursing a horrible case of guilt and could not believe he had left Adele to the mercy of the Prince’s household because of his claustrophobia. He chose to make it up to Adele by following her every command to the letter, with no questions. So, when she asked for the Royal party to be ready to leave by noon, Tilburn ran and screeched about the Manor until it was done.
Adele had marched right up to her suite and after ordering her Queen’s Guard to do the same, she had headed straight for her bath and vigorously scrubbed herself clean of dead Spider dust and the filth that felt ingrained in her pores.
The children were happy to be welcomed into the bathroom and Adele took solace from their conversations and teasing. Stella was clingy after being away from her mother for the day and wouldn’t let Adele out of her sight again.
After washing, Adele dressed in her regular travelling clothes and ignored the long gown that Lady Olivia had laid out. She saw the children were dressed the same way and then hustled everyone down to the carriages at Tilburn’s word.
In the entrance hall, Adele saw her Queen’s Guard all wearing clean uniforms and somber expressions on their pale faces. She felt a stab of pity for them. Draining Rainere of so much energy had left her feeling strong, despite the curse of Belvoir, but she could imagine how exhausted they all were. She approached General Ohrig and gave him a reassuring smile.
“We must get back to the Golden Palace as soon as we can, General,” she said. “But I will keep one of the carriages free for the men to take breaks when we are clear of the Estate.”
“It’s kind of you to have that concern for your Queen’s Guard, Your Majesty,” said Ohrig, loud enough for his voice to carry to the men gathered in the doorway. “But if, Your Majesty, can carry on after what you’ve been through this day, then your Queen’s Guard will carry on right beside you.”
Adele smiled as the men cheered their General, and all bowed to her respectfully. General Ohrig gave Adele one of his dry smiles and quietly added, “Or until we collapse. The money is on Pepper as the first one to fall.”
Adele gave Ohrig a pat on the arm as they descended the steps to the waiting carriages to let him know she appreciated the humor, but she wouldn’t ever bet against any of these wonderful men. She couldn’t believe that her Queen’s Guard had been to Hell and back for her in the last twenty-four hours. QGs Leith and Pepper looked older than they had before, and QGs Owens and Bear looked more humble. Only Captain Lucky appeared unchanged, but perhaps his blue eyes were a little less open, and a little wiser now.
“Your Majesty!” A panicked voice called out from the doorway of the Manor. Adele motioned the nannies to stuff the children and their dogs into the carriages. All except Stella, who clung to her mother’s arms.
Prince Bertrand II flew down the steps of the Manor, his riding coat waving behind him like a cape. He was red-cheeked and sweating, as if he had ridden hard to be here now.
“Your Majesty, we were all so worried about you. What happened at the Grey Palace?” asked Bertie. “When you missed the Steeplechase yesterday, I was terribly concerned, but then you arrived this morning, out of the forest and across the fields, only to leave again in such haste. Has something happened to Pere Raven? I haven’t seen him yet.”
“Pere Raven hasn’t returned?” said Adele sharply. “We left him at the chapel, I thought…”
Adele went silent at a warning cough from General Ohrig. He was right to be cautious. With all that had happened and the mysterious disappearance of the priest, they couldn’t know whom to trust yet.
“You lost him!” squawked Bertie before recovering himself enough to lower his tone. “Do you think he is still at the Grey Palace, Your Majesty? If he is there, then I will need your help to recover him. By the Goddess, I had no idea that Prince Rainere was capable of kidnapping a priest. He seemed like such a nice man.”
“Consider it done, Bertie,” replied Adele quickly. She had no idea what Rainere would or wouldn’t do to a priest of the Church, now that he had no bride to marry anymore. “Now, if you will excuse me, I must get back to the Golden Palace immediately.”
But Bertie would not be thwarted so easily. He looked up at Adele as she awkwardly mounted the carriage steps with Stella still in her arms. “Your Majesty, is there is anything I should know? If there is trouble coming, then…well, then, I hope you know that the Belvoir Family will always stand at your back, sure and true. You are a gift to our land, Queen Adelena, and we are your subjects, despite, and I hope you understand me when I tell you this, despite the whims of Wizards.”
Adelena looked into Bertie’s concerned frown and noticed his blue eyes were flecked with green shards. Adele smiled at the old Prince and touched his hand where it gripped the carriage door. “I understand, Bertie, and thank you,” she said quietly. “Keep the Curse of Belvoir safe. We may need your hospitality again soon.”
Bertie nodded, frowning even more deeply, and stepped back from the carriage. He lifted his hand in a half-hearted farewell before returning to the doorway of his manor to watch the carriages leave.
Adelena sat back against the plush cushions of her seat and felt the familiar roll of nausea in her stomach. But now she knew that as soon as they left the grounds of Belvoir Estate, she would be well again. She stroked Stella’s back and noticed her daughter had a slight temperature. The baby was almost asleep in her arms, which was unusual at this time of day, but not if she was feeling unwell.
General Ohrig rode alongside Adele’s carriage window. He looked in, giving her a nod.
“Ride hard, Your Majesty?”
“As hard as we can, General,” said Adele grimly. “I’ve got a feeling that this time, we are bringing the storm with us.”
THE END
Acknowledgements
This page if for my outpouring of gratitude to the people who helped me write, or suppor
ted me, while I wrote this book.
I would like to thank my unpaid, yet tirelessly enthusiastic editors, Monica Hall and Lisa Clausen, for their supportive and careful criticism, not to mention their uplifting compliments, when working with me on this last draft. To Alison Clausen for her devotion to keep the story ‘right’, thank you. Thank you to all my Beta Readers for reading and giving me feedback of any kind. I deeply appreciate it. I would like to thank my friends (you know who you are) for their support in listening to me either waxing lyrical or bemoaning the writing of this book, and taking it all with a pinch of salt. I would like to also thank Anastasia Ward for her beautiful rendering of my little Queen, creating an image that helped keep me grounded and focused on making my mess of notes a proper book once again.
Finally, I would like to thank my family. You are a constant source of inspiration to me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being as mad as hatters, every one of you.
The Queen Revealed Page 35
