Page 150 of Her Ivory Flame

“It’s the only one that will work.”

“Are we going to tell the others?”

“No. We need them unaware, plus Xander will not agree to it.” He huffed.

“I hate doing this to them.”

His arm tightened around her and she lifted her head to look at his eyes, only a small amount of moonlight leaking through the hole above his wing.

“You can do this Alyra,” he whispered, his forehead resting against hers. “I promise we will make it through all of this and I will make sure we get our life together, free of war.”

She gently nodded against him and she tried to keep her mind wandering to her happier memories rather than think of what was to come. Sleep took her faster than she anticipated, her last thought drifting to the day she had met Kaden and his maroon eyes she had grown to love.

Snarling could be heard in the distance as they approached the main gate to Elnora.

The boy had awoken and was able to fly back to Mydalsa before the sun rose, another person Kaden had given wings to.

Xander and Boone rode behind her and Kaden was just ahead of her. They wanted to keep up the appearance that he was still her guard and nothing more, along with the other two that had been assigned to her.

A man stood at the gate, a red hooded robe just like the masked man wore and when they approached, he raised his hand.

“Stop.” The man demanded. “State your name.”

“I’m Kaden Caddell, King Emris’s guard.” His head glancing back towards the rest of them. “This is Alyra Adair, Queen of Mydalsa and my other guards men Xander and Boone.”

Her hands gripped her reins tighter, her power simmering under her skin and she waited to see what the man was going to do.

His eyes glowed for a moment, his face going completely blank and she saw Kaden glance back at her with worry on his face.

“You may enter, straight to the castle or face death.” the male said, his eyes going back to normal and suddenly the gate opened.

The horses started forward and she placed one hand on the pommel of her swords, every nerve in her body going on alert.

Growls caught her ears and she glanced to see Trenchers standing aimlessly around the buildings, some in a daze and others staring at them as they entered.

She didn’t see any other townsfolk in the streets and could see dried blood in patches on the road. Nausea started to stir in her but she took a deep breath to calm her nerves. If the creatures attacked she would have to use her power and it would ruin their entire plan, so she needed to stay calm.

As they climbed the streets, she could see more and more creatures gathered together, a few hundred seen at this point and when they got to the inner gate, she tried not to gasp.

The inner circle next to the castle was packed with Trenchers, all standing shoulder to shoulder and only left a small pathway to the main castle.

Her mating bond tugged and she glanced to see Kaden still as a statue, his hand also on his sword. His eyes glanced back at her for a split second and she could feel the tension in the air. It was dark and she knew whatever was going to happen wasn’t something she was going to like.

More males in red cloaks approached as they halted at the main door and they gestured to follow them.

“You ready?” Kaden whispered.

“No.”

“Look at me,” he demanded as they stood on the other side of Zuri, blocking the view of the cloaked males for a minute. “I love you, hold on to that when all that happens today is over.”

“I love you too,” she whispered and he bent down, giving her a quick, devouring kiss before they headed for the castle.

Her heart sank, and her power now raged even more, almost too much for her to control and she had to concentrate to keep it at bay. She was Queen of Mydalsa, and she finally had all her power back, and then some.

Chapter 60

The echo of their footsteps was all they could hear as they moved throughout the castle, not one guard in sight.