I hadn’t expectedthat.
“I was shocked too, but yeah. We haven’t mentioned it since, but…maybe I should, some time. Talk to someone who’s actually, y’know, apart from you.”
“Might help you feel better?” I guessed.
“Maybe.” He shrugged.
“You should. If it would help.” I murmured gently.
Theo paused, chewing his lip. “Can you tell Jack?” He asked me “like, would he be cool like Stryker?”
“No.” I laughed bitterly. IwishedI had someone to talk to like Theo had Stryker, but Jack just wasn’t like that. I loved him, but he wouldnotsupport this. And I knew that Stryker had offered, but it didn’t feel right because he wasTheo’spartner and I needed someone…who wasmyfriend. Not that Stryker wasn’t, but it wasn’t the same thing. It felt weird.
“He’s awesome, just…Stryker’s been raised differently from a lot of people here. He’s a lot like his dad. Few people agree with his dad about a lot of things.”
Stryker’s dad was supposed to be the heir to the throne, but he refused the role which went to his brother. During the scandal that had followed, a lot of people began bringing up the series ofideologies of the man that were controversial, and it had ended with a collective agreement that Stryker’s uncle was fitter to rule anyway.
“Hey, you two.” Dean called “stop dawdling. We’ve got to thank the queen.”
We tore our gazes away from each other. I blinked, only now taking in my surroundings. I’d only ever seen the outside of the palace, never the inside. We were in a hallway, long and richly decorated with pastel-colored walls, gilded moldings, and large paintings framed by ornate carvings. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and a patterned carpet stretched along the polished wooden floor. Antique chairs, decorative vases, and wall-mounted antlers lined the corridor.
I trailed behind the rest of the group beside Theo. Two grand wooden doors engraved with roses and thorns stood open, revealing the throne room, long and dimly lit, with stone arches and columns. A red carpet run down the center toward an elevated throne backed by banners. Large fire braziers lined the aisle, alternating with armed soldiers, some of them familiar to me.
The queen sat on her throne in all her glory, surrounded by four guards and her advisor, hands clasped on her knee which was folded over the other, white hair braided and positioned neatly over her shoulder, pale face immobile, grey eyes raking over us.
Johnathan kneeled first; the rest of us followed suit, dropping to one knee and bowing our heads.
“It is an honour to have you in our service.” Her cold voice rang around the large room.
I cringed at the sound of it. She’d always creeped me out a little.
“It is an honour to serve you, Your Majesty.” Johnathan’s even tone responded, doused in respect “and an even greater one to be welcomed into your home.”
A shadow of a smile graced her features and she nodded at him. He rose to his feet but held out a hand to us, indicating for us to stay put. I glanced over at Theo, who met my gaze and shrugged.
“The plan is to move in at dawn on the 17th, hopefully before they get to us. They…”
I tuned them out. I wasn’t interested in a plan I’d already heard a thousand times. Instead, I concentrated on Theo beside me; his chiselled jaw, clenched, his curls falling into his lowered blue eyes, the uniform hugging his biceps, his darker lower lip caught between his teeth as he chewed on it. As if sensing the attention, he turned his head towards me.
‘How long are we gonna have to stay like this?’ Theo mouthed.
I shrugged. Who knew?
After more exchange between Johnathan and the queen, her eerily clear voice commanded us to rise. I sighed, rolling my shoulders backwards, hearing them pop.
“I will have my guards escort you to your rooms.” She said, followed by something in giberish to said guards.
Theo snapped his head towards me, who chuckled “native language.” I murmured “Draelon not have one?”
“We do, nobody really speaks it.” Theo frowned “it’s not…necessary.”
“No, we don’t either.” As a matter of fact,I hadn’t understood a word of it.
Stryker popped up beside us, grim expression on his face “their plan sucks. They’ll spot us from miles away.”
“Tellthemthat.” I suggested “Iagree.”
“Johnathan won’t change the plan because of Stryker’s opinion.” Nico intervened “don’t be silly. It’s not even his plan, it’shers.”
