The Usurper's Throne

47

I don't know what the intended purpose of the book was, but it helped me stay sane by reading as I worried about everyone outside. Damien was here. Did he know I was here?

What did it mean, so close to their attack?

I took a deep breath, shivering in the cold. I had looked around for a blanket, but there was none there. What type of shelter doesn't have a blanket? I was grateful for my long-sleeved shirt and pants, at least.

"The humans and Plutonians are wild today, and the stands are packed to the brim with spectator..." I read. Plutonian by Sonia John. Not a bad read. I was almost finished I was only a few chapters in earlier today.

I was musing about the ending of the book when a foot appeared on the roof. I grabbed my flashlight and stood up. 4327. Or was it 3427? I was about to find out.

As more of the body came into view, I realized it was Elijah.

"Elijah!" I exclaimed. "Are you okay?" I asked as he dropped down. My eyes roved over him. He didn't appear hurt, but he had changed clothes. Had he gotten his other clothing bloody?

"I'm fine," he said tiredly. "The interaction was short. I'm sorry for the long wait."

I nodded slowly. I was grateful to not have to see the monster's face. "He's gone?" I asked. Elijah looked at me with heavy eyes and nodded. That's when I saw a speck of dried blood on his face. "What did Damien do?" I asked.

Eli took a deep breath. "Nothing good."

Left a head. Cold-blooded killer. Wanted to stab his heart then and there. What sort of twisted psycho. And leaving her pregnant in a glass cage? He is sick...

I clutched my head and Elijah reached out to me nervously. "Please just tell me," I said, trying to turn off his thoughts. They made no sense. "Your thoughts are loud, and I'm going to find out one way or another. What happened?"

He wasted no time. "Damien came with the head of Thomas. He found out that Thomas had been spying and cut off his head. He left it for us."

I gasped in shock. Thomas? Thomas with the crooked nose?

"And to add the icing to the cake, he went on a long tirade about how he was going to fu..." he caught himself. "...take you forcefully the next time he laid eyes on you. He wants nothing more than a docile, pregnant mate up in that glass ball above his head for all to see." The rage on Elijah's face made me grateful he was on my team. "He was shouting Claim commands, hoping you were in range of his hearing." I bit down my fear. So much for waiting for my consent, I thought bitterly. Elijah's hands were clenched. "Also, a lot of bull about how I was torturing you."

"He said you were torturing me?"

He nodded and rolled his eyes. "He's a murderous idiot. I didn't want you leaving until we knew he was halfway back to the palace. You're okay?"

I nodded. "Couldn't you have arrested him then?" I asked. "Why wait?"

"We didn't have enough backup tonight. Tonight, we had to protect ourselves. If the other packs had arrived yesterday, we would have been more than prepared. We weren't. There was no violence tonight, but he's caused a lot of fear, especially for those spying for us. We have heightened guards around the borders. Other packs will start arriving today."

I nodded. "That was a close one."

He nodded and then looked at me seriously. "Please know, you are safe here. That alarm sounded when he was an hour away. We had hints that he was leaving hours before that. I slept through them, unfortunately. Normally, I would wake up."