Taken

Chapter 22 (Part 2)

Rowan Fómhar

Yet, here I was, facing a consequence I knew would come, but had been desperate enough to hope that I could avoid. I had made a mistake. More than one. Again.

"Fortunately, Frenor had the mind to inform me of what occurred, understanding the significance."

Frenor. My teeth clenched at the mention of him, the only soldier in my unit whose presence I did not have a say in. It seemed my efforts to buy his silence were not enough. Though he had readily accepted them, I should have known better. The Queen didn't employ those who could be swayed by a life of comfort and leisure. They were all loyal dogs after a name and power.

A name, they could eventually spill enough blood to write, but power? The Queen kept that close, not willing to share much even with the King who helped strengthen it. It was her fear of losing the favor and support that his house provided that had her looking at me with cold eyes that promised consequences.

"He had sent word the night the incident occurred. I expected to find it detailed in your report, but was surprised when I didn't find a mention of it anywhere." She frowned, the familiar downturn of disappointment pulling a visceral reaction from me.

My spine hardened as my muscles clenched. I forced my chest to rise and fall with steady unchanging breaths as I contained the tremors of fear that uncoiled in my gut. The twisted vines rose, coiling around my heart and throat as I watched the frown shift as I knew it would.

The Queen smiled, the sweet slash of her candy-red lips as sharp as the cruel intent in her eyes. "But that's alright. We all make mistakes. It must have slipped your mind after weeks of rushed travel. Come, join me, you can finish your report over a cup of tea," she said, gesturing to the spread on the table before her.

I didn't move, remaining standing where I had come to a stop a few steps inside the large room. Unlike the hallway that led to it, it was lined with clear windows that opened to take in the storming skies. The power of the dark clouds, thundering blots of light, torrents of pelting rain, and whipping winds were nothing compared to the power that strummed in the Queen's blood. And like a storm, she was best not approached.

Especially when it was the quiet before it hit.

If it did, I knew exactly whose lives it would claim. And it would be my fault.

"We didn't see them approach. They snuck up to our camp as we slept. Atwood was keeping watch." There was no use in lying. She would know the moment I uttered a word that was not true. She always did.

"Who?"

"Hounds." Large four-legged creatures that reached my chest. Their bodies consisted of coiling muscles covered in a layer of dark fur that did nothing to hide the strength their bodies carried. Their eyes glowed bright with the flames of the Court they originated from, the Summer Court. They shouldn't have been so far inside our lands. Hounds didn't venture too far from the summer Court, not unless a tethered Hunter was leading them.

The Queen's brows furrowed as she lifted a cup of tea to her lip. "In Varamin?" She asked before taking a sip, echoing the same question I had asked when I locked my eyes with orange flaming ones. "Were there any Hunters?"

I shook my head. "All we encountered were the Hounds. There were five of them. They snuck up behind Atwood, getting a critical strike in before he woke us with his shouts. By the time we had dealt with them and could tend to him, there was nothing the stale power of an earthstone could do to save him." My heart rate kicked up a notch as her eyes narrowed on me, knowing what I would say next. "But I could."

"And you did. In front of all the men in your unit," the Queen finished for me.

I nodded. "I trust these men," I rushed to continue, hoping that I could talk some reason into someone so unreasonable. "They are loyal to the Crown and me, they will not let a whisper of my blood and its truth slip-"