When he opened his eyes it was as though he was back on Earth, Santa Barbara laid out around him in such detail he could let himself think he was actually there. Satisfied, he removed his hand and walked to the wooden poster bed; a white down comforter stretched out along high thread count sheets and topped with thick pillows. Every detail was perfect. He stripped his clothes off and left them discarded on the floor before climbing in. He fell asleep quickly, his mind and body slipping back into comfortable silence.
He was well-rested and relaxed the next time his eyes opened. The artificial sky had grown dark during his sleep, but brightened once again as he sat up. The common room was still empty when he emerged. Over the course of a few trips back and forth he moved his belongings from the room he was familiar with to the spare room. He couldn’t stand the thought of sleeping in the same bed he had shared with the Queen.
The entryway opened and Eva burst through, out of breath as though she had been running. “Something has happened to the King.”
Together they ran to the Straton’s residence, finding the Queen surrounded by half a dozen Crown Soldiers. They were frenzied, talking amongst themselves while the she stood calm and composed between them, trying to make sense of what they were saying.
“Everyone calm down!” she commanded. The room fell silent in an instant, the soldiers coming to attention at once. “Hector and Alcander will stay with me and the Nero’s. The rest of you return to the Military Complex at once and await further instruction.” All but two of the soldiers left immediately, leaving the five of them behind. The Queen sat at the head of a long narrow table and motioned for the rest to follow suit, Evan and Eva sitting to her right, Hector and Alcander to her left.
“Where is the King, Alcander?” she asked calmly, her eyes narrowed on the two soldiers.
“In Last City, Your Highness. They have him and the book,” the first man answered. He had the appearance of a very strong and proud man, but his face suggested anger and failure.
“Why have they taken him?” Her voice remained cold but collected, her face stern. Alcander and the other, Hector, exchanged a quick look.
“They say they don’t want to hurt him. It’s you they want, Your Highness.”
The Queen’s eyes darkened, shadowed beneath the deepening crease of her brows. “Why?”
Alcander swallowed. “They’re claiming you’re not the rightful Queen.”
Chapter 10: The Queen
The room imploded into stunned silence. The soldiers didn’t dare raise their eyes to the Queen, surely afraid that by doing so they would be signing their death warrants. ‘They’re claiming you’re not the rightful Queen.’
Evan looked to Kyra, his heart beating like thunder in his chest, and found her composure unchanged. If there was so much as an inch of fury or anger in her she hid it well.
“I want you to tell me exactly what happened,” she commanded. Her stony gaze was set on Alcander, who must have wanted to be anywhere else in the universe but at her table explaining why her husband was missing.
“It wasn’t difficult to find the book,” he began. “We were told by a resident that it was being guarded in the City Center by a woman. An Elder. We found her alone in the nave with the book in her lap. Not only had she been expecting us, but she somehow knew the King would be with us. She requested a private audience with him.”
“A courtesy you did not grant her, I hope,” the Queen remarked. Her eyes moved to Hector, who had so far said nothing but whose fear mirrored Alcander’s.
“No, Your Highness,” Hector answered.
“What did she want with the book?” the Queen asked.
“She claimed it contained forgotten truths about the monarchy. Proof that you and your mother before you - the Queen Mother,” he corrected, “had no legitimate claim to the Crown.”
“And she said this with all of you present?” The piercing tone in her voice was subtle, but nonetheless cold.
Hector looked to Alcander, looking as though he hoped his fellow soldier would relieve him of some pressure. A brief moment of clear silence passed before he dared look at the Queen again. “Yes.”
“How did one Elder woman take the King prisoner?” she asked. She looked expectantly to Alcander for an explanation.
“There were armed residents hiding in wait, Your Highness,” Alcander answered. “We had come unarmed at the King’s request and were unprepared for the situation. The King offered her leniency in exchange for the book, but she refused. As the residents took the King away, the Elder woman demanded we pass on a message to you.”