Gerard chewed at the fabric in his mouth, trying to get it loose. What did Queen Consort Adelina think her children deserved?

  He couldn’t fathom why she’d be against the treaty. Or why she’d turned against Gerard. She’d never been like a mother to him or his full siblings. She’d never tried to take on that role with her stepchildren, and they’d never expected that from her. But there had never been any animosity. At least none that he was aware of.

  So why had she betrayed them?

  “Now take him to the carriage,” the woman said. “I will go deal with Elias.”

  Gerard tensed. So Elias was definitely not a part of this plot. But how was this woman going to deal with him? Gerard and Elias’s relationship had shattered apart. Still, Gerard did not want anything bad to befall him.

  Dragon gods, let him be okay.

  The woman’s footsteps departed.

  Those holding Gerard gripped his arms and tugged him onwards. Gerard took a slow breath through his nostrils. Then he reared back, trying to break free so he could make a run for it, but the hands on his body tightened. The two on standby moved in, grabbing him and stopping his struggle. Gerard could not get away.

  “You done?” the lanky man said.

  Gerard glared at him.

  After a moment, the lanky man opened the doors to the king’s bedroom. They dragged him in.

  Where were they going? There was nothing in this room. Unless they were going out from the balcony. But then the robed figure walked to the panelled wall. They ran their hands along the floral wallpaper. At two points, they pressed down.

  With a click, a panel popped open, swinging inwards, revealing a hidden passage beyond.

  Chapter

  Fifty-Five

  Gerard gaped. Since the beginning of the peace assembly, he’d been in charge of protecting his family, most importantly his father, the king. And that entire time, there had been a secret passage leading straight into the king’s bedroom. His father had been vulnerable this whole time.

  But where is my father now?

  The lanky figure lit a torch. He led the way, lighting the tunnel. The queen consort followed. Gerard and his escorts tugged him towards it.

  The robed figure watched them enter the tunnel. Gerard looked them over, trying to pick out some identifiable feature. The robed figure did not follow them and shut the wall behind them.

  The tunnel was wide enough that the two behind him could walk side by side. They gripped his upper arms. Two more walked behind them. His stepmother walked directly in front of him. And the lanky man with the torch led the way.

  The light flickered along the dark stone of the tunnel. The air grew stagnant and stale. It smelled of dust and cold. Cobwebs congregated amongst corners and crevices. The ground angled steeply downwards. No one spoke.

  Gerard tried to keep track of the way they went, trying to work out where they would be in the monastery. But the tunnel twisted and turned, and he soon lost his bearings.

  Finally, the queen consort glanced back at him. “I am truly sorry, Gerard.”

  Gerard bit into the cloth gag.

  “I hate to see you like this. Truly I do. Please do not think this is personal or that I wish harm to befall you. It isn’t that at all!”

  Gerard tried to speak. But the cloth muffled his words.

  He needed answers. He wanted to know why she was doing this, what she had planned, and if she had been the one working with Warden Flint. But most importantly, Gerard had to find out where the rest of his family were. He doubted this plan involved just Gerard.

  Had they been attacked? Taken? Were they already dead and he was the last alive? And what was happening to Elias at that moment?

  Gerard forced himself to breathe as best he could through his nose. Panicking would not help the situation.

  They walked for several minutes. Or he thought it was minutes. It was hard to keep track. His hands, shackled behind his back, grew numb from loss of blood flow. The tunnel angled upwards.

  Finally, they stopped at a large, heavy-looking wooden door. The tall, lanky man at the front unlocked it with a large key and opened it. A cool breeze brushed Gerard’s heated face. Fresh air filled his nostrils.

  They exited into a small, darkened alley. Two carriages waited outside. But otherwise, the alley remained empty. Gerard looked around. Were they still in the upper monastery?

  The two men pulled him inside one of the carriages. One sat on either side of him. Adelina got in and sat opposite. She clutched her hands together. The lanky man got in beside her. Still, no one spoke. The other two climbed onto the front of the carriage.

  After a moment, they lurched forward. The carriage rattled through the cobblestone streets. Gerard glanced out the window, trying to identify something. Anything. But he recognised none of the buildings they passed.

  After several moments, the queen consort spoke, “Do you think we can remove the gag? It does not look very comfortable or easy for him to breathe. Perhaps if he promises not to yell or scream, we can remove it.”

  The lanky man glared at him. “Do you promise not to scream?”

  Gerard nodded.

  The man tilted his head. “If you yell, I’ll smash your mouth up so bad you won’t be able to speak ever again. And then I’ll shove the gag back in. Understand?”

  Gerard nodded again.

  After several long moments, the man untied and yanked the gag from his mouth. Gerard took several deep breaths. He moved his lips and swallowed. He considered asking them to remove the shackles too but doubted they’d be so obliging.

  “Adelina, what is all this? What are you planning and why?”

  She didn’t answer straight away. And after several moments passed, he began to doubt she would. She stared at her lap.

  “Your father has never been a good husband. He’s always been … negligent as a spouse. Not that I expected a great deal of attention,” she rushed on. “He is the king. He is busy and has his duties. But …” She trailed off and looked out the window.

  “But he always treated me like … cattle to be bred. I was meant to give him children. That was all the use he had for me.” She licked her lips. “And I gave him children. Strong dragons. I did everything right. I was loyal. I was attentive. I mended his clothes by hand. I ensured his favourite meals were always prepared by the kitchen. I tended to all his needs.”

  Her chest heaved as she took a deep breath. “I ignored all the women he bedded. Every single one. No matter who they were or how many. I never commented on his numerous bastards.”

  She closed her eyes. “I never even said a word when he took my sister to his bed. She was my only sister. My closest friend in the whole world.” Her voice wavered. “She gave birth to his son a year and a half ago, and she is pregnant again with his next child.” She sniffled and wiped her nose.

  “I’m sorry, Adelina.” And Gerard meant it. Even if she was a traitor who had betrayed him, he did feel sorry for her. He’d always pitied Adelina because of his father’s treatment of her.

  “And I didn’t know about …” Gerard had seen his young cousin once. Maybe the boy had even been presented to him. But he’d not known that the baby was his half-sibling as well.

  There were always new names being added to the registry that kept track of his father’s offspring. He didn’t always pay attention to them. But he had known of his father’s philandering ways and obsession with producing offspring.

  Perhaps Gerard should have said something to his father on his stepmother’s behalf. Stepped in in some way. But of course, his father’s behaviour had started when Gerard was but a boy. Probably even before his birth. Still, he’d stood by and watched his father treat his stepmother terribly and done nothing.

  “I’ve tolerated so much. Too much.” Then she shook her head. “But that isn’t why I do this. I would not do this for my own sake.” Her voice grew steadier. Her shoulders straightened. “I do this for my children.”

  “Your children?” Had his father treated his half-siblings poorly too?

  Gerard had never had much to do with them. They were younger than him. His years training and time fighting in the war had not allowed him much opportunity to develop close relationships with any of them.

  “He never cared for my children. He ignored them.” Her voice grew strained. “He only ever cared about his four eldest children, the heir, the spare heir, the dragon warrior, and the spare dragon warrior.

  “He barely acknowledges my children! He pays as much attention to them as he does his bastards. They may as well be illegitimate for the care he shows them!” she spat. “And I may as well be one of his many sluts for the consideration he shows me!” Her voice rang loud in the small carriage.

  “I’m sorry,” Gerard said again.

  Adelina said she wasn’t doing this because of his father’s treatment of her, but Gerard doubted that it didn’t play some part in her willingness to turn against him.

  “So this isn’t about the peace treaty?” Gerard asked.

  “What? Oh no. I have no problem with the treaty.”

  “So you weren’t working with Warden Flint?”

  “No. I barely ever spoke to the man.”

  Gerard tried to think. So this had nothing to do with destroying the peace treaty, and she hadn’t been working with Warden Flint. But she was clearly not working alone. There was the robed figure and the woman he’d heard speaking to Adelina.

  “In fact, Emmeline says this will not harm the treaty at all,” Queen Consort Adelina said.

  Gerard tensed. Emmeline. Empress Emmeline Aella of Zephyrias. Elias’s stepmother. That was the voice that had sounded familiar.

  And she despised Elias.

  His breath came quicker. He tugged against the shackles pinned behind his back. But of course, they didn’t give.

  What will she do to Elias?

  Adelina looked out the window. “Emmeline says that when you, your father, and your siblings are all killed, the treaty will go ahead without any issue whatsoever.”

  Chapter

  Fifty-Six

  Elias took one last look around Gerard’s room. He’d finished packing. He should inform the servants to transport his belongings back to his room in the quarters for the royal family of Voltaria and Zephyrias.

  He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He did not want to go back. He did not want to leave Gerard’s space.

  A knock sounded on the door.

  Elias sighed. “Who is it?” he said rather sharply.

  No answer. The knock sounded again.

  “Who is it?” A servant should respond. But maybe they were new. Or maybe it was a monk who’d taken some sort of vow of silence. Did the monks here take vows of silence?

  The knock sounded again. Elias huffed and walked to the door. He turned the handle and opened it. He frowned. “What are you doing here?”

  In the hallway stood two Zephyrian soldiers, Empress Emmeline, and Prince Beau.

  “What is going on?” Elias asked.

  “You must come with us. Immediately.” Empress Emmeline turned and strode away. The others followed.

  “Why?” Even if there was some sort of Zephyrias and Voltaria last-minute meeting, she would never be the one to summon Elias.

  “It is an emergency, and you are required.” Empress Emmeline wore a sleek black dress, not her usual colour.

  She also wore unusual black jewellery over her right hand and wrist. Black metal claws slotted over each finger. Black chains connected the claws to a central red stone on the back of her right hand. More chains from the red stone connected to a thick metal band wrapped around her wrist. The black band had been engraved.

  She’d never worn something like that before. Nor had Empress Emmeline ever worn a brown leather belt around her waist with four daggers hanging from it.

  Elias didn’t move. But every single muscle in his body tensed.

  “Elias, just do what you are told for once!” she snapped.

  Still, Elias remained exactly where he was. He looked down the corridor, past her and the other Zephyrians. No guards from Draconia stood watch. Not a single one. And a figure dressed in grey robes and a black mask stood down the end of the corridor, watching.

  Elias pulled on his powers. He lifted his hands. Sparks flickered across his fingers. But he did not attack. Not yet. “Why are you in these quarters? Where are the guards? Where is anyone from Draconia?”

  If she didn’t start answering, Elias would draw the answers from her whilst she writhed on the floor screaming in pain as the electricity singed her nerves.

  She raised a single brow. “What are you going to do, Elias? Zap me with your little sparkles?” She laughed.

  The others joined in. All except the robed figure who stood still, masked face unreadable. But Elias would bet that no mirth showed even beneath the mask.

  “Your sparkles won’t help you, Elias. But then, when have they ever helped you?” his stepmother mocked. “And unfortunately the Draconian guards won’t help you either.”

  She strolled away from him, down the corridor, the others following. She paused in an open doorway that led to a sitting room. She looked inside. She smiled. “Want to see what has happened to them? Come see for yourself.” She gestured into the room.

  For several seconds, Elias didn’t move. But finally, his curiosity won out. Refusing to relinquish his power, he stepped forward. However, he waited until Emmeline and the others had moved ahead before approaching the doorway.

  Elias sucked in a breath. Draconian guards lay on the floor. Eyes blank and unseeing. Chests unmoving.

  “What have you done?” Elias asked as he pulled on more power.

  “We took the air from their throats.” The empress smiled.

  Wind sorcerers could cut off someone’s air. They just stopped it from being drawn into someone’s lungs. If they did not stop, their victim would collapse and die.

  Actually, that power had been minimally useful during the war against the dragons. It required the Zephyrian sorcerers to be very close to their target. And dragons flew so far above and moved so swiftly that the wind sorcerers were better off attempting to fling a dragon into the ground or cliff and injure them that way.

  Then Elias remembered. He’d heard unusual footsteps in the corridor as he packed. But he’d been too consumed with Gerard leaving to pay proper attention. Had that been when the guards were killed?

  Throat tight, Elias asked, “Where is Gerard?”

  She smirked. “Your dragon warrior cannot save you. He is not here. He is my prisoner now, and I have sent him away. If you want to see him alive ever again, you will behave and be a good little boy for once. Now will you do what I say?”

  Elias hesitated. But what choice did he have? He needed to find Gerard, and he had no idea where he was. He dropped his arms. The sparks disappeared.

  “Now hold out your hands,” she instructed.

  When he did, her smile turned almost gleeful. Beau stepped forward and tied his hands with rope. The strands bit into Elias’s wrists. Elias grunted. Beau chuckled and tied the rope tighter.

  The rope would do nothing to stop his powers. They’d not bothered with magic shackles or the like. After all, they thought him practically powerless.

  “Now come this way.” She swirled away, black skirts sweeping across the floor. Elias and the Zephyrian soldiers, who walked on either side of him, followed her. Beau and the strange, robed figure came behind.

  They passed through the Draconian quarters. Men and women dressed in ragged clothing moved within the rooms.

  “What is going on?” Elias asked.

  “That’s none of your fucking business,” Beau snapped. “Just shut up and keep walking.” He shoved Elias in the back.

  They passed Colette’s room. The door was open. Nobody was inside. “Where is Colette? And where is the Draconian royal family?”

  “I said shut your fucking mouth and keep walking.” Beau shoved him again, harder this time.

  Elias stumbled and righted himself. He passed more of the poorly dressed individuals. Who the fuck were they, and why were they here?

  Then they walked into a bedroom. He’d never been in this room before. The robed figure walked towards a panelled wall. They pressed against two points on the wall. The panel swung inwards. A hidden passage lay beyond.

  Without pausing, one of the Zephyrian soldiers entered, carrying a torch. The empress followed. The others, including Elias, came along after. They walked and walked, twisting and turning through the tunnels. No one spoke. Eventually they came out into an alley with a carriage.

  They climbed in. The empress, Beau, and the robed figure sat opposite Elias. One Zephyrian soldier sat beside Elias. The other got onto the front of the carriage.

  The carriage rattled through the streets.

  “Your desire to turn on me, and I’m assuming Voltaria, is not unexpected,” Elias said. “However, I’m surprised you’d work against the peace treaty. You always argued for its creation. And you always despised Warden Flint.” Those were the main reasons Elias had never thought her part of the conspiracy.

  It rankled how wrong he’d been.

  She huffed, smoothing her skirts with long, elegant fingers. “I never worked with Warden Flint. He was an arrogant fool, blinded by his desire for a total victory against the dragons.” She sniffed. “No. I couldn’t stand the man.”

  “So you aren’t working against the treaty?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “But sometimes opportunities arise. I am doing this to put Zephyrias in its rightful place.”

  Elias scoffed. “And what is its rightful place?” Although, Elias did not need to ask.

  “Above Voltaria.” Her cold gaze met his. “Voltaria will still have a place, of course. It will just be as a part of the Empire of Zephyrias. As it should always have been. There will be no joint and equal kingdoms or some such nonsense. Zephyrias will once again be in its full glory.” She lifted her chin.

  Elias almost laughed. The battle with the dragons was only just over. The peace treaty wasn’t even finalised. And already the empress was trying to bring Voltaria down.