Sin could see Jocelyn visibly trembling beneath the Queen’s gaze.
“You helped lock me in this place.”
“I did,” Jocelyn answered immediately.
“You’re the one who clung behind Audrira as you sneered at me.”
Jocelyn forced herself to meet the queen’s stare. “I’m not the same person I was, that’s why I’m here to fix this,” she said.
“You know, I’ve eaten people for less.”
Sin’s eyes widened as she remembered where Max got his abilities from.
“Fix this. And I’ll make sure you keep the place at court, but betray me, and I won’t hesitate to relish breaking every one of your bones.”
Jocelyn shivered as she nodded.
One day, Sin would need the story on how they managed to accomplish caging such a woman.
Jocelyn and Gideon both looked to say, expectation clear on their faces. Confusion etched on the queen’s.
Sin sighed. “Where is the barrier?”
“Outside,” Jocelyn said.
“Then let’s get going.”
The queen gave Sin a look she recognized immediately that sweet unsure look Max kept hidden behind the mask.
“He is suffering,” Sin said, her voice raw. “The king keeps him chained in a cell—cold, dark, and reeking of death. I can numb the pain, but not forever. He will die there unless I get to him first.
The Queen just stared at her in awe.
“We don’t have time, Your Highness. We need to leave.”
The hesitancy in her eyes made Sin want to scream.
“Your son issuffering—a suffering that worsens with every second we waste. Or have you chosen to ignore that?”
“Watch your tone,” Gideon warned.
“No!” Sin’s voice broke, raw with fury. “You dragged me here for this queen whocouldn’twait, while my mate suffers alone!”
The mother’s eyes widened. “Mate?”
She nodded. “And I won’t waste another minute on you all. Let’s go.” She whirled around, searching for the exit, and then paused.
They watched her with mirth as she faced them again. “Show me the exit now, please.”
The queen’s eyes met Gideon’s, a flicker of exasperation passing between them, before her gaze returned to Sin—cold and calculating. “Yes. We move now. But not dressed like that.”
“I’ve worn worse,” Sin muttered, glancing down.
“You’ll need protection.” The queen snapped her fingers, and the rags shifted—dark leathers, scaled reinforcements glinting under the torchlight. “We cannot afford any weaknesses.”
The three of them followed the queen and her dark brown warrior braid down her leathers, until we reached the furthest she could go. She reaches her hand out towards it—
“Dont!” Sin shouted, brought on by a glimmer of magic that shone like droplets of blood. Hostile and malefic.
