When Stars Fall(The Last Star Trilogy #3)

Chapter 27-Lydia Hydra

I was in Mother's parlour when we heard the sirens alarming through the halls. We rushed down the emergency escape, down to the bunkers. Keegan was already there with his nurse, he clutched his ball and cried quietly. I embraced him instantly. Mother looked as if the air around her was irritating her. She fiddled with her necklace, muttering under her breath. Father and Alec weren't here yet. There were no maids except the nurse but she was praying so I got bottles of water for the three of us. Mother swatted me away.

She had been secretive lately. Glancing over her shoulder as she read and wrote her letters, making sure she was alone while she did her work or Stargazed. I never saw her at tea time, I caught her coming upstairs from the dungeons yesterday, a triumphant smile on her face and her tiara had vanished from her head, strands of bleached hair sticking out.

"Did someone steal your tiara?" I had asked, worried.

"Hmm?" she said, full lips lined with deep red. "No. Of course not."

She walked and giggled like she was drunk but she hadn't had any alcohol. She never drank that much in public. I tried to shake away my thoughts. Who was she meeting in the dungeons in the evening? We didn't have any important prisoners, not that I knew of. I was always too afraid to go down there.

The dungeon is no place for a princess, Mother had always said.

What was a queen doing there, then? I wondered. I had glued myself to her since then but she remained in her suite, skipping dinner and acting smug.

I handed keegan over to his nurse. Mother sat in the corner, lost in thought.

"Mother." I startled her, sitting at her feet with my head on her knee. Like I did when I was a child. "What do I do about Alec and Father?"

She sighed. "What shall I do about them? They'll be here if they wish to be here."

"But what if-" She waved a dismissive hand in the air. I stood, shaking with fear as the gunshots got louder. "If they are not present here in the next few moments I will go up and search them myself."

Mother growled and waved another hand, swatting me away. She had always been like this. Strict, stern and intimidating. Sometimes I thought that even father was terrified of her.

"Lyd," Keegan said quietly, tugging my lace sleeve. I had to get down to match his height. "Where is Alec and Father?"

I put on a smile for my little brother. "They're coming." He lowered his gaze and his head snapped to the side.

"What does that door for?" he asked, pointing at the wall where Mother sat. I followed his gaze.

"Yes." I stood. "What does that door lead to?"

Mother sat up, smirking creepily. "The dungeons," she answered. I gasped.

"Why does that lead to the dungeons?"

"Because that's how I designed it."

She put her palm over her right wrist, closing her eyes. Something glowed on her skin. Her emerald irises got darker, almost obsidian.

"The time has come," she spoke in a monotone.

"Mother, time for what?" I asked. "The time has come for what?"

She faced me with eyes not blinking. "My time," she said, smiling. "Our time."

She dug her fingers into the sides of the steel door, opening it with a creak. "Don't follow me and don't you dare tell your Father about this." Before I could say something she disappeared behind the door. Keegan's nurse prayed with her hands clasped in lap. Though Keegan was old enough, Mother insisted that a nanny supervise him. He complained but it's not like he could say no to the queen, much less his mother.