My instincts are telling me this is the monster from her nightmares. My more logical mind refuses to accept she was having literal visions of this thing. Especially if it hasn't harmed her.
I release the guard, my mind racing. "Where did they say they were going?" I demand.
The guard shakes his head. "Fuck if I know. Geo just made up some bullshit about heading to Surhiira, but he's not crazy enough for that to be true. Nobody goes to Surhiira willingly."
I stare at him, processing his words. I expected him to say they were taking her to this brothel. Anywhere other than my homeland.
"Surhiira? You're certain that's what he said?"
"Yeah, but like I said, it's gotta be bullshit. A cover for?—"
I don't hear the rest of what he says. My mind is too busy trying to make sense of this new information.
Surhiira. They're going to Surhiira.
But why? What possible reason could they have for heading to my homeland? And these alphas... who are they to her?
"And you're certain she was uninjured?" I press. "That she left of her own free will?"
The guard hesitates. "I mean, it looked that way to me. Geo's an asshole, but he's old school. Traditional. He told everyone the omega was off limits or he'd be wearing our balls around his neck."
Judging from the edge in his voice, I decide he's being sincere—which raises even more questions.
I push the thought away. It doesn't matter. Whether they're her captors or her strange new companions, I need to find her. And if they truly are headed to Surhiira, I have an advantage they don't. I know the terrain, the customs, the secret ways in and out. I can intercept them before they reach the border.
Before they can set foot in my country, where my royal blood will be both shield and shackle.
But one question rises to the top, burning in my mind as I stride toward the exit, plans already forming.
Cosima, my love… What the hell are you doing?
Chapter 11
COSIMA
The skeletonof what was once clearly a grand train station looms ahead of us. Now, it isn't more than a few dilapidated buildings and huge metal arches sticking out of the ground like the rib cage of a huge beast.
Knight tenses beside me as we approach the side of one of the buildings, the dust covering the door wiped partially clean by countless handprints grabbing the handle. He doesn't like confined spaces, and it's pretty clear from the low growl that he doesn't intend on going in there.
"It's okay," I murmur to him, caressing his arm. "We won't be here long. And you don't have to go in."
His head dips in a slight nod.
"I'll be right back," says Raven, flashing us a smile and a little wave before disappearing into the structure. The rest of us wait in the shadows of a collapsed loading dock, keeping Knight out of sight as instructed. Knight shifts restlessly from foot to foot.
Geo growls, too, from where he's leaning against the rusted remains of a shipping container. "If he's not back in ten minutes, I'm going in after him."
"And do what?" Nikolai scoffs, pacing like a caged animal. "Knock down walls until you find him? Kill everyone? That'll really help us stay inconspicuous."
"Shut up," Geo says flatly, his single eye focused on the entrance where Raven vanished.
I stretch my legs, relieved to be on solid ground after hours of riding Knight's massive shoulders. "Do you think anybody normal actually takes this train?" I ask, more to break the silence than out of genuine curiosity.
"Traders, mostly," Geo answers, surprising me. "Neutral parties that both sides find useful. Medicine, tech, food… war makes strange bedfellows."
"And now us," I mutter, leaning into Knight's warmth as the evening air cools rapidly around us.
Knight's massive hand settles on my shoulder, the touch hesitant at first, then more assured when I don't pull away. We've developed our own silent language over these past days. A nod here, a gesture there. Understanding without words. It's refreshing after a lifetime of parsing double meanings and hidden agendas in every conversation.
