The Last Queen Book Three
Page 16
“... I...” I trail off. I don’t want to speak right now. I have to think. Finally come to a decision. The same decision I’ve been fleeing from for the past several months.
Do I join John Rowley? Or do I keep trying to fight on my own?
He’s not pushing me. I can bet he knows what I’m thinking. But he’s not doing anything. Just standing there with one hand on my shoulder.
I know it’s going to be up to me to turn; I know it’s going to be up to me to face him.
But not yet.
Not yet.
“What happens next? Is Rogers... completely gone?”
He pauses. “He’s dead. His pieces will be redistributed. So we have to act quickly.”
“What do you mean? You defeated him – don’t you get his stuff?”
“It doesn’t work like that. I get the pieces he used to fight me in this game, but there are more. Rogers had one of the biggest collections of pieces in the country. He also has a massive collection of boards. The first person to find them and claim them will capture most of his power. We have to move before Spencer does,” John’s seriously careful as he mutters Spencer’s name.
Which is good, because I’m not expecting it, and I haven’t mentally protected my body from that mere word, let alone the image of the man that slams into my mind.
To think, several hours ago, I was almost scared for Spencer. Now it seems like he’s turning into my number one enemy again.
That’s when I remember something. “I tracked Spencer’s pieces to this... butcher’s warehouse or something. They have... something in there. Some kind of monster, I guess. At first, I thought it was a queen, but now I’m not so sure. They were going to use it against Rogers.”
There’s a heavy silence. “What else do you know?”
I shrug. His hand’s still on my shoulder, but I’m still not turning to face him. “They said they were feeding it. It took a lot to feed. Spencer didn’t want to spare any cost, though—”
I hear John let out a hard breath. His fear’s unmistakable.
Now more than ever I want to turn to face him, but I just hold on. “What? What is it?”
“I fear it’s an eater,” he says, voice all twisted on the word eater.
I can’t do it anymore. I have to see his face.
Have to look into his eyes.
Finally, I turn.
His face is covered in blood. There’s a massive gash down his brow, and his nose is bleeding copiously as if somebody’s been slamming his head against a wall.
He looks as if he’s barely standing, and yet at the same time, he looks as if there’s nothing in this world that will ever shift him from my side.
Though a part of me doesn’t want to do it, the rest of me does, and I reach a hand up and lock it on his shoulder, finally supporting him.
He looks from the hand up into my eyes. “Is this... is this you joining me?” he asks.
I want to pick up every single subtle nuance of his tone. I want to store them in my mind forever more.
I want to eat up his confusion. I want to draw in his uncertainty. Because it makes me realize I’m not alone. Yeah, I’m terrified of John, but it’s just as obvious he’s terrified of me.
It breaks apart the picture of the competent, always-in-control king. In its place, I see an ordinary man. Someone just like me. A guy who was drawn into a game they didn’t understand but one they’ve been forced to play for others.
I look into his eyes.
Is this me joining him?
Or is this me deciding to help him for now?
Again he doesn’t push me. At least, with his voice. As for the quality of his gaze as he locks it on me with the force of two magnets snapping together, that’s different. His eyes seem to know what they want from me, even if his head can’t make sense of it.
Finally, I shift. I don’t break away, and nor do I throw myself at him.
I just tip my head all the way back. “I don’t know,” I answer forcefully. I don’t think this is me... joining you. But at the same time, I’m not going to run away again,” I say.
It’s a promise. Not just to him, but to me.
The game, it seems, will continue. But I can promise you one thing. Tomorrow, it will be different.
I step in to John’s side, help him stagger forward. He leans on me, and I accept that weight.
Even if it comes with the possibility that one day I may die for him.
Because I tell myself now that even if I do, I’ll make sure it won’t be in vain.
The end of The Last Queen Book Three. The Last Queen Book Four is currently available for pre-order to be released November 1 2017.
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