“Althea, please! I can’t lose her.”
Squeezing her eyes closed, Alex prayed to whatever Gods might be listening. She could not lose her, not again, not like this. “Please.” She begged. She had never begged a day in her life, but she would do it now. To save her.
Kaela’s whimpers forced her to look down into the babe’s eyes, the same exact shade of lavender as her mother’s, and herheart shattered. She knew Riv wasn’t going to make it, could see the life slowly draining out of her with every drop of blood on the floor.
The tick of the seconds that passed with no more words from her queen, and the panic on Althea’s face were all the confirmation she needed. She realized that she’d lose this battle. A trickle of time was all that remained. Leaning over Riv, she whispered, just loud enough for her to hear, “I love you, Rivka Varon. I always will. I swear an oath to you now that I will raise her in your image, to be brave and strong and caring. I will spend the rest of my life protecting her, as I have failed to protect you. One day we’ll meet again, my love, and I will spend eternity making things right.”
She bent down and gently laid her lips upon hers, knowing that each breath may very well be her last.
I hope that she hears me. I hope that she truly knows how much I love her.Alex watched as her queen finally succumbed to the darkness, her eyes falling shut, her hand dropping limply to the table. Althea’s anguished cry rattled the walls as she, too, realized that her niece was gone, that she hadn’t been able to save her.
Grief gripped Alex’s mind, the numbness battling with the pain. Kaela’s whimpers were the only thing keeping her from losing complete control. Alex looked down again, directly into those heart-stopping eyes, and sank slowly to the floor, sobbing as she rocked her tightly in her arms.
Chapter Forty-Six
Blood And Blade
Alex
Tristan started towards Alex, a single tear escaping the corner of his eye. He stood over her, placing a hand on her back, as he looked down at his daughter.
“She is stunning, just like her mother.” He ran a finger down her cheek. Alex jerked away, realizing whose hand was on her back.
“Don’t ever touch me again,” she growled, rising to her feet.
“Now, now, children. Let’s play nice.” A sinister voice spoke from the shadows.
Everyone snapped their attention to the tunnel opening, reaching for their weapons. "Make a move, and I will slit his throat,” the voice snarled.
Davin emerged from the shadows with Luther's knife at his throat. "We have a new heir, so Queen Rivka is no longerneeded.”
“Davin!” Alex took a half step forward.
"Ah ah ah, I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Alexandria.” Luther drew out Alex’s full name while pushing his blade into Davin’s neck.
A thin line of red beaded around the edge of the blade, biting into his skin.
“Luther, why are you here?” Tristan demanded.
Alex’s eyes never left Davin. Her pulse racing at the very real, very imminent threat of Luther fucking Blackwood.
“I came to do what you were too stupid to do, my boy. Your mother will be so glad to know that her firstborn has finally produced an heir. However, she will be greatly disappointed to learn that Queen Rivka was so weak that she couldn’t even survive childbirth.”
Luther looked towards the table with disdain. “She is dead, isn’t she?”
He had directed the question at Tristan, but it was Althea who answered. “No, I gave her a sedative so that I could help stop her bleeding, and she is resting now.”
The lie slid off her tongue so smoothly that even Alex wanted to believe her. She knew that Riv was gone, but there was no way that they could let Luther know. He was not getting his grubby hands anywhere near Kaela.
Alex shifted her eyes back to Davin. He was trying to say something, slowly moving his lips and shifting his eyes to the tunnel opening at the opposite side of the room.
He wanted her to run, but there was no way she was leaving them to die at Luther’s hands. Luther was a brute, and while Davin would likely be able to hold his own, Tristan, Ellis, and Althea were only marginally skilled fighters.
A movement, slightly to the left of Luther, caught Alex’s eye, just a shadow, barely visible.
Wait, not shadows,Thorns.Alex would recognize those moves anywhere.
One minute, Luther’s blade was pressed to Davin’s neck, and the next it was gone, as Luther was roughly hauled backwards. Davin stumbled forward as soon as Luther’s grip loosened.
