I grabbed Bash’s hand and tried to soothe him. “Let’s just go home. I’m tired.”
He gave a curt nod, then his face softened and he leaned over to kiss my forehead. The sun had long since settled in the west when we headed back to the castle, my usual contingent of loyal guards fiercely by my side. It was the first time all day that I’d felt safe. I never thought I needed guards, but today proved me wrong. I definitely needed them. And I needed ones I trusted, because there were obviously some guards in the castle willing to betray me.
17
“How are ye feeling?” Alexander asked carefully the next morning over breakfast.
“Better,” I answered around a mouthful of dry toast. It was the only thing I could stomach at the moment. Even coffee made me gag. And that brought me to tears.
“Yer barely recuperated and ye want to put yerself in danger again? I don understand,” Alexander complained.
I’d just informed them about my impending trip to the Underworld with Fenrir and Raven. To be fair, I’d asked Bash to tag along. To say they weren’t happy about the plan was putting it mildly.
“Have we captured Charles?” I asked, changing the subject.
“He’s still missing,” Ranulf grumbled. “He’d already cleared out of the room where he was staying. The other alphas haven’t heard from him, but they’ve been made aware of the situation.”
“Do you think they’ll help him?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“I wouldn’t put it past Lucas,” Alexander growled.
“We have certain measures in place, don’t worry,” Bash reassured me. “Charles will turn up. He’ll pay for what he’s done.”
“What about the guards?” I asked.
“The guards have been captured. They didn’t make it too far into the highlands before we got to them,” Ranulf said.
I nodded in confirmation.
I wanted to kill Charles in that alley, but something held me back. I didn’t know if it was because he was Jonah and Jackson’s dad or what, but a small part of me didn’t want to cause him permanent damage. For all he’d done to me, he deserved death. But should it be at my hands?
“I want to meet with the Summit alphas,” I stated. “Tell them to meet me in the throne room within the hour.”
“Yer Majesty …” Ranulf cleared his throat. “Are ye sure? We spoke to them already. Ye should really be getting ready for yer trip.”
“Which is absurd!” Alexander shouted. “Ye shouldn’t be going anywhere in yer condition!”
I ignored Alexander and looked at Ranulf. “Just tell them to come. I want to talk to them myself. I want to make sure they’re aware just how serious it is if they betray me,” I growled.
I pushed my chair back and stood, storming out of the dining hall in a fury.
I waited in the throne room, sitting on my throne with my guards flanking me as I waited for the Summits to arrive. William stood beside me on one side with Liam on the other. Since this was an impromptu meeting no chairs had been brought in for them to use; it would be standing room only.
“Are ye okay, Yer Majesty?” William whispered beside me.
I nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Ye don seem to be doing so, if you don mind me saying, Yer Majesty. Ye look like yer about to go into battle,” he said uneasily.
My eyes narrowed as the throne room doors suddenly opened and the alphas of the European and American Summits started filtering in. Their confused looks amused me as they searched the room for their normal seating but found nothing but space. They awkwardly stood around and waited silently, watching me and waiting for some directive from either me or their Summit spokesperson.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Grayson asked as he pushed his way through the crowd of alphas to the front, standing in front of me. Lucas followed behind him.
“What do you think?” I tilted my head, my arms placed on the throne’s armrests. “I think it’s time we all had a candid conversation.”
“If this is about Charles, Your Majesty, rest assured—” Lucas started.
“I’m not assured,” I interrupted dryly. “Not even remotely. If one of you thinks you can get away with murdering the Queen, what makes the others think they can’t as well?” I tsked. “See, that’s a problem. A problem I want to remedy right away.”
“None of us had any idea what Charles planned to do,” Grayson argued.
My eyes traveled to Lucas and pinned him in place. Grayson might not have known, but I was relatively sure Lucas did. Who knew how many other alphas were in on it?
“Right …” I muttered, still staring at Lucas. “When Charles is captured, he will be stripped of his title and land and will be sentenced to death.” There was a collective intake of breaths. “If you wish to follow in his path, by all means, continue with your plans. Just know you will be caught. I see everything.”
Lucas chuckled awkwardly. “Your Majesty, don’t you think a death sentence would be too easy? Wouldn’t life in the dungeons be best? It would be a more fitting punishment for the crime.”
I raised a brow. “Oh, really? You want to give Charles the opportunity to breathe and escape the next chance he gets?”
His sly smile fell. “That’s not what I’m saying, Your Majesty—”
“Anyone,” I yelled, raising my voice to the rafters, “who aides Charles in whatever plan he has concocted, will follow him in death. You have my word. Test me if you want to. I dare you.” I grinned.
“You have nothing to fear from us, Your Majesty,” Stefan, the German alpha, said. “We will not be siding with Charles. If we see him, we will turn him in.”
“Let’s hope that’s true,” I said. “I would hate to see the alternative.”
Lucas huffed loudly. “I’m sure Charles didn’t mean to hurt you, Your Majesty! He was simply trying to capture
