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Seems like Astra thinks I’ve made a terrible mistake.
Chapter 21
Theo
The hair on the back of my neck rises as I feel eyes boring into me. I snap my gaze up to see the queen staring at me with a softness that makes her look gentle and kind. An obvious attempt to trick me into thinking I can trust her—that she’s not the queen of monsters.
As soon as her eyes meet mine, her gaze hardens to stone. The switch is so sudden it’s as if a door slammed shut inside her, preventing any emotion besides cold indifference from passing through.
“Would you like to join me for dinner in the dining hall, Captain?” she asks, and I can’t understand why.
I scan her face, trying to gauge how she would respond if I said no, but all I see is emptiness.
“You can say no. You make your own choices here. Just use your words,” she says, as if reading my mind.
I open my mouth to decline, but my stomach has other plans. A loud grumble echoes through my cell, and I look down at myself, annoyed at my body for betraying me.
A stifled laugh comes from the queen. “I’m going to take that as a yes,” she says with amusement.
When I look back up at her, the queen is standing at the door, lips pulled inward, trying to keep her composure. I nod, and a second later, the cell opens.
The queen gestures for me to exit and head down the hall to the left. I hesitantly walk forward, expecting this to be some sort of test. I check the hall and find only the guards waiting down the way.
The queen heads down the hallway, and I fall in step behind, as one does with any member of royalty. I continue to watch the onyx stone around me for any hidden traps or snares, which is why I miss the queen slowing to a near stop. I catch myself at the last moment before running into her.
King Asher would have definitely killed me for knocking over his wife.
“I know the view from behind is exceptional,” she says with a wink, “but please walk beside me, Captain. My people need to see you as my guest, not my prisoner.”
My mouth falls open at her assumption that I was staring at her ass.
She motions to the space beside her, and I reluctantly comply. She looks up at me smiling as if happy her little puppet did as it was told. I fix my eyes ahead, reminding myself I had no other choice.
For the good of Lux.
We stop before the ones called General and Captain. Both glare at me as if I’m nothing more than horse shit on their boots. I slip into the role that is second nature to me: stoic warrior. I lace my fingers behind my back.
“I’d like to introduce you to Captain Hiram Hale and General Nyx Davey,” the queen says, and we all nod at each other. None of us extend a hand in greeting.
Even though she is almost a foot shorter, the queen shoulders through the towering wall of her guards, and we all follow suit. I return to my new place at her side, with Nyx and Hiram behind us. I peek over my shoulder to ensure the two men are not going to stab me in the back.
The queen’s red hair snags my line of sight. It’s twisted into a crown atop her head, but a few curls have loosened near her face, framing her features. If she were any other woman in any other kingdom, it would be easy to see her as a benevolent queen. Her regal façade is almost believable. But she’s a woman of the shadow kingdom—so desperate for power she married the beast who rules it.
Her eyes catch me watching her. A smirk spreads across her face as I tear my gaze abruptly away, telling myself I don’t enjoy the way her smile lights up her face.
