Queen Ascending (Ace of Queens #2)

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Rye sat with Mavi curled up asleep on her lap. She weeped quietly as she stared at her baby girl fast asleep. The thick bandaid on her back poked through her pajamas.

As Xavier entered the room, his eyes landed on Rye on the bed. She looked up at him and tried to quickly wipe away the tears but it was no use, he had already seen them.

Xavier walked up to the bed and took a seat next to his mate. He moved over Mavi's curls and kissed her forehead.

"How....how is he?" Rye asked with a shaky voice.

Xavier sighed and ran a hand through his curls. "He hasn't moved .... The doctors are treating his wounds, but he hasn't moved at all."

"Xavier," Rye tried not to break down in front of him and wake Mavi. "It's my fault."

"No, no. Baby, it's not," Xavier cupped Rye's face in his hands and pulled her closer.

Rye shook her head, "I-I-I shot her....it wasn't part of the plan. We were supposed to wait until Gemma and Azazel were separated."

"Our children are alive because of you right now, baby." Xavier tried to convince her. "You had a tough call to make."

"He's never going to forgive me," Rye's bottom lip trembled as images of a heartbroken Exton flooded her thoughts.

Xavier used his thumb to wipe away the fat tears rolling down Rye's face, "He loves you. He loves you so much."

Rye didn't know what to say. She let Xavier take Mavi from her arms and place her on the crib near their bed. He placed a pillow behind her back to tilt her forward slightly so that her wound wouldn't be disturbed.

When he went back to the bed, he pulled Rye onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and inhaled her scent.

"Now," he said with a deep sigh. "Tell me how you and Caspian ended up with Ivan and Mavi."

Rye kept her eyes on the hem of her shirt as her fingers twiddled with it. "After you left....there was a phone call. It was Manya, Ivan's mate. She.... informed me Mavi was with Ivan. I didn't want to pull you or Exton away, I thought it was a good plan. You two would distract Azazel while Caspian and I got Mavi back from Ivan."

Xavier nodded as he listened to his mate.

"I convinced Caspian to open a portal to Ivan's cabin. It wasn't too difficult to convince him. We took a few of the guards and went after him." Rye sighed as she told her story.

Xavier pushed back her long dark hair out of her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"Everything was going fine," Rye continued. "I convinced Ivan that you were on your way and that his only chance at ever seeing his family was if he gave Mavi over to me...it worked."

Xavier placed a kiss on Rye's shoulder. He was so proud of her for being so brave and clever.

"He handed Mavi over to me," Rye looked at Xavier, "She was in my arms, but then the next thing I knew we were in the middle of the battle field."

Xavier pulled Rye's head down upon his shoulder and held her tight. He thought back to just hours ago when he thought his heart would stop when he spotted Rye on the ground with Mavi in her arms. His hold on Rye tightened as the fear of losing them shrank his heart once again.

Rye slowly picked her head up from Xavier's shoulder and looked into his eyes again. "What did Tobias say?"

Xavier pulled her face down and kissed her cheek. Rye inhaled his scent and leaned into him.

"There's no way to open the box and get just Gemma out," Xavier sighed. "Azazel's still using her as a host."

Rye began to cry again into her hands. Xavier rolled over on the bed and placed her under him and pulled her hands away from her face.

"Please love," Xavier begged. "You can't take the blame for all this."

Rye turned her face away. She knew the only reason she hadn't lost her mind yet was because of Xavier. And the thought made her heart ache even more....because Exton didn't have Gemma.

"I want to see him," Rye said after a while.

"Are you sure?' Xavier sat up in bed.

Rye nodded. "Please."

Xavier thought for a second before calling Basil in to watch over Mavi. He held Rye's hand the whole way down to the infirmary.

When they came to a stop in front of Exton's room, Rye let go of Xavier's hand and walked in. Xavier followed behind her.

Rye's hands shook slightly as she watched the scene in front of her. Exton sat on the gurney shirtless, looking defeated to his bones. His eyes watched nothing on the floor as his head hung low. The doctors treated the wounds on his back and arms. Rye knew it hurt, but Exton did not flinch. He was simply not there....

Rye took a step forward, "Exton...."

Exton didn't move or respond. He continued to stare at the floor.

"Exton," Rye tried again.

When he didn't answer, Rye looked back at Xavier, who looked as hopeless as Rye felt. She stood by the door as the doctors continued to work. Once they finished, they took a step back.

Everyone in the room waited for Exton to do something. But he didn't move. The minutes ticked by as Rye watched her son in front of her. Her heart hurt.

Rye began to weep harder suddenly when she realized Exton had started to disappear from the edges. She sank to her knees completely as he traveled back to his timeline. Xavier caught her and pulled her into his chest.

Exton knew he should have said something. He knew he needed to tell his mom it wasn't her fault....but he couldn't gather the energy to speak.

As he materialized in his timeline, Basil and Mardick both turned to look at him in surprise.

"What happened to you?" Basil asked worried.

Exton didn't speak. He walked past them both and headed up to his room. Once inside, he locked the door and sank into his bed. He buried his face in the sheets and stretched out his hand.

As his hands sank under the pillows, something tickled his fingers. Exton lifted the pillow and looked down at what was caught on his fingers.

Exton wanted to scream at what he saw.

It was one of Gemma's hair ties. He had pulled it out of her hair the last time they were in his room together. She protested and tried to fight for it. To get her close to him, he had held it over his head and watched her climb onto his lap and reach up for it. She was not happy when he hid it under the pillow and refused to tell her where it was.

Looking at the hair tie now, Exton wished Azazel had taken him out on that battlefield. He would never forget the feeling of dread and doom that went through every cell in his body when he watched Gemma disappear inside that box.

Their bond had snapped...and the pain was worse then any lighting Azazel could have shot him with. Every second that passed without her was a reminder that she was gone.

Maybe traveling back to the world that had nothing for him wasn't such a great idea. He needed to be by his family and friends at the moment. But nothing seemed right.

How could he sit with them and smile when all he wanted to do was somehow make the pain in his chest go away.

Without her....there was no him.  

:( poor Eggs...