I walked down the center aisle with my guards to pay my respects as the townspeople watched. Suddenly, I saw the apparition of a little girl run in front of me. I stumbled back, nearly falling.
One of the guards caught me as my ankle twisted, the heel of my shoe getting stuck in the soft ground. “Are ye okay, Yer Majesty?” he asked solicitously.
I cleared my throat. “Yes.” I straightened and undug my heel. “I’m fine.” I watched the little girl scamper into the forest. She couldn’t have been more than six or seven years old. I blinked a few times and realized I was seeing the dead.
Blu and Jonah weren’t a fluke. I could actually see spirits when they were in transition.
My eyes widened as I looked around the forest clearing for any other lingering souls, but there wasn’t anyone.
“Your Majesty?” One of the guards to my right edged closer to me. “Do you need a moment alone?”
I froze as the words tumbled from his lips. I recognized his voice. It was the same voice that plotted with Charles in the stables.
I slowly turned my head in his direction and scrutinized his face, carefully keeping my expression neutral as I took him in. It wasn’t anyone I recognized. He was young, in his late thirties. Scruffy beard, messy hair, dull eyes. He could easily blend in any crowd. He was forgettable.
“Your Majesty?” he repeated.
I swallowed. “Yes. I need a moment alone.”
The guard nodded to the others and they all did an about-face. He gently held my elbow to turn me around and they escorted me back out of the clearing and away from the ceremony.
Without making it obvious, I tried looking around the area for Bash or Ranulf, but they were nowhere to be found. Not even William or Liam.
I allowed them to escort me out of the forest and back toward the village. We walked along the back alley behind a couple stores that were situated close to the forest. The alley was lined with garbage cans outside the stores’ back doors, but there was no movement and no sound. The entire village was at the ceremony.
“Thank you.” I offered a tight smile and stopped walking mid-way down the alley. “I just need a few minutes and then we can go back.”
“Take all the time you need, Your Majesty,” the guard said. With a dip of his chin, the other guards took their posts to better protect me. At least, that was what I would have assumed had I not known of their plan to attack me and turn me over to Abaddon.
I closed my eyes and took a couple deep breaths, steadying my rapidly fluttering heart. I absorbed the noises around me: the heartbeats of the guards surrounding me, their steady breathing, the rustle of garbage on the ground, the light breeze stirring the hair at my face. I felt the warmth of the sun on my skin, the moment broken by the fetid stench of whatever was in the garbage cans.
Within seconds, I could see everything around me without having to open my eyes. I could even see what was behind me. That was how I knew the unassuming guard who met with Charles was about to take a plywood board to the back of my head.
I spun around on my heels and grabbed the piece of wood before it could meet its mark, never opening my eyes.
There was a sharp intake of breath followed by silence.
“For being part of the Queen’s Guard, you don’t really follow your job description very well, do you?” I chided as I lowered the plywood forcefully, making him groan from the effort. “You should know by now that I’m not easy to catch off guard.”
The disloyal guard looked to the other guards and nodded, giving them the signal to come towards me from behind.
So that’s how it’s going to be.
With a smirk, I ripped the plywood from his grip and swung it around, smacking the guards in the face as they approached my back.
“How the hell?” the guard murmured as he stumbled back in shock.
I turned back to face him, my eyes still closed and a smile playing over my lips. “Don’t forget I’m an oracle. I see everything.”
“That’s – that’s impossible!” he stuttered.
I grinned. “Where’s Charles, by the way?”
His mouth fell open and he backed away, tripping over his boots and crashing to the ground. The other guards ran for the hills, but it was okay, I saw their faces. They couldn’t run too far.
One of the back doors to a store burst open and Charles walked out, full of bravado and confidence that he really shouldn’t have.
“The man of the hour!” I murmured as I kicked off my heels, ready to do battle.
The guard scrambled to his feet and ran over to Charles as if he could protect him.
“You couldn’t do one simple thing,” Charles snapped as he glared at him.
“She can see everything!” the guard whispered.
“I guess it’ll take an alpha to bring you down,” Charles boasted as he strolled toward me.
I snorted. “Give it your best shot, pal, but I’m the alpha. You’ll never top me.”
Charles vaulted off the steps and lunged for me, but I easily dodged out of his way. His claws and canines protruded and he growled viciously. All that anger, hurt, and resentment he had for me poured out in one guttural growl.
He slashed his claws wildly, and this time, I barely managed to avoid them. I extended my claws and dug them into his neck, tossing him back. I tried to listen to the area around me, but couldn’t hear any other heartbeats besides mine, Charles’s, and the disgraced guard.
Where are Ranulf and Bash?
“Give it up, Charles! What you’re doing is already treason;
