A Rip of Realms (A Shade of Vampire #39)(16)

“Calmed down?” I repeated.

“Yes, calmed down!”

“Whatever. I’ll see you later.”

I turned on my heel, leaving him standing by the banisters. I was furious with Ash…and with myself. How had that escalated into an argument so quickly? Maybe we were all a little tense and overtired. I was also worried that Ash was making another pig-headed mistake. He hadn’t listened to me about Queen Trina—despite me telling him over and over again that she wasn’t to be trusted—and now I was worried that the same thing was happening with the lieutenant.

I walked through into one of the smaller rooms of the palace, one I assumed had once been someone’s bedroom. It had a small set of glass-paneled doors leading out onto a balcony that overlooked the glass greenhouses. I opened them up, showering myself in a cloud of dust and splintered paint. Stepping out onto the ledge, I inhaled the fresh air. It felt good.

From here I could see the grain shed where Queen Trina was being kept. Five guards were stationed outside. I hoped they’d be excused from Ash’s meeting. I didn’t want her left alone for a single second, especially not when the kids were playing nearby. I sighed. Hazel had been making jokes about syphoning off her earlier today, and Ash was far too pleased with himself having her kept under lock and key. They were all treating her like she was some petty criminal. Didn’t they realize how dangerous she was? I didn’t believe for a second that we were safe from her while she was still alive. She was a monster—and we had no idea what she was capable of.





Tejus





Hazel was off somewhere with her brother, and Ash was having a meeting with the guards. Now was my chance to have a meeting with Queen Trina alone. I knew that if I could get her talking, she’d be more forthcoming with me than with the others present. I also knew that we wouldn’t be able to keep the queen hostage for very long. The Acolytes would come – or someone else that wanted her free to rise to power and raise the entity… The sooner I could speak to her, the better. We needed to know more about what was coming, and I suspected that she would at least have some of the answers; deranged answers, perhaps, but even that was something. I crossed the grounds, heading toward the grain shed. Guards stood outside the door and around the perimeter of the wooden shack, all heavily armed. If she tried to escape, no number of swords and daggers would make a blind bit of difference, but I supposed Ash still held out hope that he could contain and control her.

Fool.

I approached the guards, staring them down.

“Ki—Tejus.” One of them recovered himself, stopping mid-bow. “How can we help you?”

“I wish to speak with Queen Trina, alone,” I replied evenly.

“The king’s orders are not to let anyone in or out of the shed.”

“The king’s orders don’t apply to me.” I smiled, wondering how much of a fight the guards would put up.

“I’m sorry, Tejus—”

“Stand aside,” I barked, already bored of the game. They looked at one another, and then with their eyes lowered they started to shift sideways, allowing me access to the door.

“The key?” I prompted, observing the heavy chains that had been wrapped around the shack.

One of the guards fumbled with the keys on his belt and clumsily handed it over to me. I thanked him with a nod, and released the padlock. The chains fell down to the floor. I yanked the door open, revealing Queen Trina’s crumpled figure lying amidst the dust and grime of the floor. She was out cold.

Turning on my heel, I walked back to the palace.

“Tejus!” the guards called out after me in confusion.

Ignoring them, I strode to the wall-less kitchen, picking up an old swine-feed bucket as I went. I filled it up with ice-cold water from the sink and marched back. I wasn’t in the mood to wait for her to come around.

The guards visibly relaxed as they saw me returning, but I ignored their stares as I sauntered back up to the door. Reopening it, I threw the icy contents of the bucket over the sleeping figure of Queen Trina.

“Arghhhh!” she screeched, sitting bolt upright and glaring at me with fiery rage. I threw the bucket on the floor, where it rolled into the corner of the shed.

“You’re awake.” I smirked. “Welcome back.”

“Animal,” she hissed.

It was perversely pleasing to see her in such disarray for once; her hair stood on end, and the heavy kohl coated around her eyes ran down either cheek. I wouldn’t let her appearance catch me off guard though—behind the exterior of powerlessness, Trina’s mind was always whirring and plotting.

“Do you know where you are?” I asked.

“Your new abode?” she replied cattily, looking around. “Did Ashbik downgrade you?”

I laughed, determined that she wouldn’t get under my skin. Not this time.

“Hellswan has relocated—the castle has been destroyed, along with most of Nevertide…but then you knew that would happen, didn’t you?”

She smiled up at me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Tejus.”

“I think you do.”

She started to run her hands through her hair, trying to get it under control, and then moved down to her robe, brushing off the dust that covered its royal blue velvet. She reminded me of a cat preening. I thought of my lost feline Lucifer, and I wanted to smack her.