Queen Ascending (Ace of Queens #2)

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

When Charon dropped the men off at the lemon garden, Caspian wasted no time in summoning a portal and whisking everyone back to Xavier's palace. When they arrived, it was no shock to Exton to find Xavier ready with his men.

Rye stood by his side dressed in dark jeans and a black shirt. Her glossy black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail that showed off her shrinking face. Her eyes were red and puffy, no doubt she had been crying and losing sleep over Mavi.

"I'm going to bring her home," Exton whispered to her when she pulled him into a hug.

Rye didn't respond. She nodded and placed a kiss on his cheek.

When Rye let go of Exton, Xavier pulled him into a hug. He kissed his son's head and sighed. Exton knew Xavier had a lot of worries on his plate and his safe return from the underworld was one of them.

"I couldn't lose you too," Xavier said quietly as he patted Exton's back. His eyes then landed on Hector who stood behind Caspian looking around at the large army that had gathered.

"That's him?" Xavier asked.

Exton nodded.

"What are you thinking?" Xavier eyed the man carefully as he spoke to Exton.

"I can't get a read on him," Exton spoke honestly as he looked around at the men standing outside the palace doors.

"We'll have to keep an eye on him," Xavier said.

"As long as he can distract that hoe, we're good." Rye said sternly. Her eyes narrowed at Hector as she too watched him.

"You're not coming, are you?" Exton asked, looking at his mom. His mind ran wild for a brief moment as he thought about Rye on the battlefield. She was not fully trained....

"No," Rye sighed. "Xavier won't let me."

"Good call," Exton said patting Xavier's back.

Rye rolled her eyes. She didn't care what she was doing as long as her family came back home safely. However, there was still a part of her that wished there was something she could do. At that moment, she regretted not training with her sisters when she was young. She could dissect a frog like it was nobody's business. But that wasn't going to help her fight death and bring her daughter home.

"Are we ready?" Exton asked.

Xavier nodded. He turned to his son and looked into his eyes.

"Are you sure about this?' he asked.

"Yes," Exton said. He watched as Xavier pulled the diamond blade out of his back pocket and handed it over to him.

Exton took the blade and looked up at his parents. "We still don't know where she is hiding Mavi."

At that moment, Caspian walked up behind Exton. "We get Gemma out first. Lock Azazel in the box and then we can get it out of her....she needs Mavi, she's keeping her safe. I wouldn't be surprised if she has her alongside her on the field."

Rye flinched at the thought of her daughter in the middle of the battle. She looked up at Xavier as her bottom lip trembled in fear.

Xavier pulled her into his arms, "I won't let anything happen to her."

As Xavier comforted Rye, Casppian turned to look at Exton. He pulled out his conch shell and held it out.

"What is this?" Exton asked confused.

"My dream," Caspian said eyeing the shell fondly. "You will be leading my army while Xavier leads his own."

Exton took a step back and shook his head, "No."