“It appears you aren’t doing such a great job guarding the queen currently, Braynon. What brings you to my docks?”
“Things have changed around here, Adler,” the other male spoke.
A growl left me. “Is that so?”
“Yes,” Braynon interrupted. “I have orders from the queen to bring you in at once if you are to return with her son.” His eyes flared as they moved behind me, appearing to realize that the prince was not in our company.
His stare made its way back to me. “Where is the prince?”
“There is much I need to discuss with thequeen, Braynon. Not some lazily recruited guard left in charge of the female for mere weeks.”
“Arrest him,” Braynon shot over his shoulder, and the queen’s guards rushed the dock.
I drew my sword, along with those who remained behind me. “What the fuck is the meaning of this?! I am your captain!” I shouted.
Braynon reached into the pocket of his cloak and presented me with a piece of rolled-up parchment. Ireached out and ripped the page from his grasp, waving it in the wind to open the roll.
My eyes traced over the words, and I barked a laugh that echoed through the sea air. I cleared my throat and read the note aloud. “‘By direct order of the queen, if Captain Adler shall return with my son, Prince Kai, they are to be escorted to Castle Isla. If Adler shall return alone, he is to be…’” My words trailed off.
“He is to be arrested on sight and immediately brought to the queen directly for questioning,” Braynon finished for me.
“You’re fucking joking,” I hissed, as other guards, males that should be undermygods-damn command, maneuvered around me and placed my wrists in cuffs faster than I could blink.
“Hardly,” he responded as they shoved me down the dock while a carriage arrived at the foot of it.
“And what of the crew?!” I bellowed as my eyes locked with William’s. I sent him a look that said,keep your fucking mouth shut, and he gave a barely noticeable nod in return.
“They are to remain free males until the queen is fully informed of what occurred on this journey. She is… Rage doesn’t even begin to uncover what she has felt and placed upon her citizens.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I struggled against the chains and lashed out with every step they forced me to take, but they surrounded me, shoving me toward the city’s streets.
I stood before the dais of the throne room in Castle Isla as I awaited the arrival of Queen Idina.
How the fuck was I going to get out of this? Why would she assume there was a possibility that Kai wouldn’t be with me? She even sent out direct orders for my arrest, if that were the case. Something was off. I knew she would sense something had happened with Callius, but her son, too?
The click of the door sounded, echoing in the empty chamber. My gaze shot to the queen as I remained where I stood, weighed down by the heavy chains that chimed together with every minuscule move I made.
Her eyes were bloodshot, the red hue matching her hair that cascaded down to her waist. Her jaw appeared to be clenched, the hollows of her cheekbones more than apparent as the sunlight peered in through the high, stained-glass windows.
It was so odd to see her walking up the dais alone, without the constant crutch of Callius escorting her. The more I thought about it all, all the signs that had been right under our noses from the moment I was taken under his wing, the more I had to fight back a laugh.
They almost fucking got away with it too, but now this cunt of a queen would be forced to rule without her mate and their son at her side—at least until I could come up with a new plan.
She sat upon the late king’s throne, eyes boring into me as a scowl stretched across her face. My stare leisurely wandered to either side of her, noticing that her thronefrom when King Jameson reigned had disappeared, and all that remained was his.
“Kellan Adler,” she began, completely forgoing my title of captain. “You come back to Isla alone, without your army you left with, without Callius, and without my son.” Rage surged through every syllable that escaped her lips.
“My queen, perhaps if you would have allowed me to explain what had happened during our quest instead of demanding I be cuffed and dragged to be sentenced before your throne, you would already be well aware of what happened to your son and guard.”
“Watch your tongue, Adler,” she hissed as she pointed a dainty finger in my direction. “Perhaps you have somehow already forgotten the position you have found yourself in. You are chained and cuffed before the queen of the realm, facing charges. You will do well to behave yourself if you wish to see another day.”
I bit down on my tongue to avoid the snarl that was working its way up my throat.
“I can sense it, you know,” she said as she snapped her fingers, summoning a handmaiden to deliver a glass of wine. She swirled the ruby drink in her glass as her eyes remained fixated on me.
“Sense?” I questioned.
