The King's Queen | ✔

Chapter 64

Her eyes gleamed with excitement. "I'll do my best to decipher them. The meaning behind these symbols might be the key to stopping the war."

***

Our journey to Emilio was uneventful, which I was grateful for. Kiyoshi's warning that another tracker would soon be hot on our trail had left us all on edge.

In a perfect scenario, we would meet with Emilio, uncover my unique ability, and start building my immunity to Nightshade before returning to the Spade Kingdom.

Hopefully, Luca would still be there. CaVaughn could use the mind-link to contact Jackson and let him know our location without Rosaline finding out.

I needed to be strong enough to see him again. I had to persuade him to give the Origens one last chance to prove themselves. If Ashton succeeded in halting Prinarch Cole's movements, the Kingdom of Meryllia might be on our side.

Right now, the Gregorian throne was empty. CaVaughn was supposed to become the ruler, but King Caden and Prinarch Cole had been conspiring to kill him. We couldn't count on Gregoria to be on our side.

Beside me, Sybil's forehead puckered in avid concentration, her bangles the only melodic rhythm in the otherwise silent car. Her pen scrawled unfamiliar symbols onto the pages of a weathered notebook.

The road that seemed to stretch on forever suddenly narrowed, sending us on a smaller road through a grove of trees. I fiddled with my sealing ring, anxious to know what lay ahead of us.

Two people waited on the side of the road as we the car lulled to a stop. One was a man with dark brown hair and brown eyes. Emilio. Beside him was Circe, his soulmate and Ashton's cousin. She boasted shoulder-length brown hair and green eyes. They had been at the Soulmate Gala three years ago, but I hadn't met them. I'd been too busy trying to avoid Ashton and Hailey to really take much notice of anyone else.

"Welcome to Lydia." Emilio greeted, his dark eyes etched with curious wonder as he gazed at me. "I never expected I would meet an Angeles." I accepted the handshake he extended to me. He brought my hands up to his lips in a kiss. "Is your family truly as diminished as the rumors say?"

I raised a brow in surprise. Had Ashton already told him about that? Well, Emilio certainly wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"I hope not. Luca thinks there might be more Angeles out there."

"It's nice to meet you, Elizabeth," Circe greeted with a large smile. Her twinkling eyes turned to CaVaughn next. "Look who finally decided to visit." She chided with a light tone. "Did it have to take a war to get you to come to Lydia?"

"My apologies." CaVaughn murmured.

"You always weren't one for many words." She sighed, pulling him into a hug. "I'm so relieved that you're alright. I can't believe uncle Caden had such a wicked plot up his sleeve."

"I never liked your king," Emilio grunted. He returned his attention to me as we walked back to the temporary place where we would all be staying. It was a small structure built almost entirely of stone. "Will the others be here soon?"

"They should be here in three days," Jun spoke up, a gleam of interest sparked in his eyes as he sized up Emilio, and I could tell he already wanted to spar with him.

"Well, in the meantime, let's make things harder for anyone foolish enough to try following you here."

Emilio extended his hand, his fingers like a conductor's baton, initiating a grand symphony. His eyes glinted with a vibrant energy. A gentle breeze rippled around us, throwing my hair to the sky before it extended outwards. Emilio's lips curled upward, his smile widening with the growing intensity of the wind.