Through each sob, I dug into my friend, desperate for comfort.
Sliding down his chest, I rested my head in his lap. With gentle strokes, he brushed my hair with his hand and wiped the tears off the side of my face. Part of me wanted to talk, but each time I attempted to speak, the words never came.
“I’m here,” Tallis whispered, leaning over me, his mouth hovering close.
His soft caress eased my sorrow. When the cries stopped, I turned around, shifting in his lap until I was looking up at him.
Worry creased his brow, his sea-blue gaze watering with emotion. Throughout this entire time, I had never thought about his own grief. I raised a hand to his cheek.
“I’m sorry,” I said through labored breaths.
“About what?”
“I’ve never asked how you are.” My voice cracked and I rubbed his cheek. “I wasn’t the only one who lost Laoise. You did too.”
His jaw clenched and though I could see the strain on his face to keep the emotion at bay, he didn’t need to.
“It’s okay,” I said, brushing his face with my thumb. “You don’t always have to be the strong one.”
A tear slipped down his cheek, and I brushed it away.
“Seeing you . . . it . . .” I struggled to speak. “It reminds me I’m not alone.”
With a deep breath, he pulled me up onto his lap until I was flush against him, his head resting on top of mine. “You’re not alone. You never have been and never will be.”
Chapter Fourteen
Tallis
The shuffle of feet withinthe lab instantly woke me. A cloaked shadow stood in the center of the room.
My grip around Moira tightened and she rubbed her eyes awake.
“Your majesty,” the hooded figure said with a slight bow, their face completely shrouded in darkness except a set of red eyes. The long black cloak covered the creature and I could only assume it was a vampyre that stood before us.
I slid her off my lap—slightly startled we’d fallen asleep that way—and grabbed her arm, helping her stand, tossing the blanket to the side. “Who are you?”
“Your guide. Only the queen had the rod to this tower. I will bring you to the master.”
We followed the hooded figure through an open portal and into a castle.
A throne sat far down the stone walk, draped in a ratty red carpet. Squinting, I strained to see the figure sitting atop the massive black throne, the distance too far to see clearly.Various sized creatures crawled along the sides of the great hall, staying in the shadows, creeping around tables that had long ago stopped serving actual food. Threadbare chairs and curtains decorated the once hospitable palace.
I did not want to take my queen in there. I moved her behind me. Whatever came forward would have to deal with me first. “Do we have your word the queen will not be harmed?”
The guide nodded.
“My guard is not to be hurt, either,” she added, and the hooded figure nodded again.
“This is a bad idea,” I whispered.
“It’s too late to turn back now.” Moira shoved me forward a little harder than she should have.
Groans and moans came from the sides as skeletons and the lichen, covered in moss and vines, hovered in the shadows. Red eyes glowed from high in the rafters, spindly appendages dodging in and out of the darkness. Our host sat on the throne, his bony fingers tapping across the obsidian armrest. His green eyes glowed and the spiked crown sat crooked on a balding head with wisps of white hair peeking through. He lifted a finger and motioned for us to come closer.
My muscles tensed. Every instinct I had urged me to take Moira and fly out of this decrepit place.
She walked around me and down the aisle, holding her shoulders back, hands placed neatly in front of her. Even without her crown and gowns, her aura held a regality only bestowed on royalty.
