Chapter 9: 9: Chapter 9

LEAH

I meet Ares outside of his office. He is on his way to a council meeting when I stop him.

“What’s going on, Ares?” I give him a worried look.

“You don’t have to worry,” he replies briefly, giving me an assuring smile.

“Tell me now, stop keeping me in the dark.” I fold my arms demonstratively over my torso.

“John has not shown up for his job today or in the last three days. There is a possibility that he has decided to leave us, although I think that is very unlikely. It’s not like him to just vanish.”

I stare at Ares, stunned after hearing that John is gone.

Ares takes my hand and leads me toward the boardroom. When we enter the room, everyone gets up from their seats and bows as we pass them. I sit down on the chair next to Ares, who of course sits at the short end of the oval table.

Many of the board members were fired last year after Gerard was executed. Those who had the slightest connection to him were allowed to live but were fired and have now been replaced by new people. I insisted that Ares bring more women on the board to create diversity and he actually listened. In front of me are several different people with different backgrounds, including some older people who have been sitting since before my time, such as Yusuf and Konstantinos who always greet me happily.

Zeke places himself at the exit as he looks harshly over the room. Did he know John was gone without telling me?

“Listen everyone. The queen’s first guard is gone. We have searched his quarters and nothing is packed and there are no signs of a struggle,” Ares begins to proclaim loudly.

A struggle? Could he be injured? Or was he so sad that I sent him away that he just left everything he owned and left?

“It’s not like John,” Ares continues. “We must assume that something has happened to him before the contrary is proven.”

“Who has his place as the queen’s guard right now?” asks a woman I can’t remember the name of.

“For now, it’s Zeke, but I’m going to put another person in the position so that Zeke can return to his job as our general,” Ares replies without looking at me. Shocked, I try to meet his gaze. Who is this new person that he wants to put as my guard and what has happened to John?

“That sounds like a good idea. Given all the rogue attacks raging right now, we need to know that the queen is safe,” said one of the council’s members.

“Speaking of rogue attacks!” Konstantinos exclaims. “They’re increasing around the country and don’t even get me started on the attack that happened here when they got through and into the castle. Our forces are increased, and we are patrolling the borders more frequently than usual, but is that enough? What are we going to do to stop the attacks?”

“We can put our best scouts to seek out their headquarters. Rogues tend to be lone wolves, but these attacks show us that they are collaborating with each other. There must be a leader,” Yusuf continued.

They discuss among themselves about different solutions to the rogue problems and eventually they conclude that Yusuf’s idea was the best. A team of scouts will be dispatched immediately. When Ares declares that the meeting is over, everyone stands up and bows before leaving the room. I’m left sitting by the table, still shocked by the news that John has disappeared without a trace.

“Do you think something has happened to him?” I ask after a moment of silence.

“I want to believe that he will not leave us without telling us.” Ares sorts the papers in front of him before raising his eyes to me.

“Maybe he got angry when I asked you to send him away and give me Zeke instead?” I furrow my brow and steel myself for his answer, but Ares just smiles at me.

“Don’t worry, Leah. John wouldn’t leave you willingly. He swore on his life that he would stay with you and protect you until the day he dies.”

“He did?” I say as I bite my lip and look away. “What could have happened to him then?”

“I will interview those who have seen him most recently and see if we can trace his steps. I promise to keep you posted. Until then, I will ask Zeke to stay with you.”

“No, Ares… He needs to get back to his mate. He shouldn’t be forced to babysit me. I can see how it eats away at him to be apart from her with each passing day. I don’t want to cause him that agony.”

“Are you sure? In that case, I demand that your new guard begin as soon as possible. He’s probably not as nice as John and Zeke have been, but he’s effective.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.

“He’s a man of few words. But he’s the best in near combat I’ve seen in years,” Ares says as he stands up and holds his hand out to me. I take it right away and let him help me up from the chair. He pulls me into his arms, and we hold each other tightly. I take a deep breath to get as much of his scent into my lungs as possible.

Together we leave the oval room and walk up to Zeke. I smile gently at him as Ares tells me that he can go back to his mate and take his position as General again.

“Who will guard the queen?” Zeke asks, looking at me.

“It will be Boris,” Ares replies briefly.

Zeke raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Boris? Are you sure, Your Majesty? I can stay and keep an eye on the queen…”

Nervously, I look up at Ares, who raises his hand to Zeke. “That’s enough, Zeke. Boris is capable of keeping the queen safe, I assure you both.”

Zeke stares at me and Ares in confusion before nodding and leaving us in the hallway. Ares takes my hand as we walk together through the castle and out toward the entrance before I stop abruptly.

“What is it?” he asks, giving me a puzzled look.

“I don’t know, I have the feeling that someone is watching me all the time… I can’t explain it,” I answer quietly, looking around the room, which is empty except for the occasional guard strategically placed around.

“You’re probably just tired after everything that’s happened,” Ares says, pulling me toward his body. His warm arms embrace me as they spread a calm through my body.

“Hmm,” I answer as I close my eyes and enjoy the closeness. The effect that he has on me is frighteningly intoxicating, and I can’t even begin to imagine what life would be like if I lost him. Just the thought sends chills down my back.

“Never leave me,” I whisper, gripping his waist tighter. He lowers his head and drills his nose into my hair.

“Never, my love,” he whispers back before lifting me into his arms. I laugh and place my arms around his neck. I lean my head toward him as he carries me toward our bedroom.

Part of me hopes that John has left us willingly, because that means he’s fine and not injured and alone somewhere.

JOHN

My head is pounding, every heartbeat echoing out in my ringing ears. Slowly I try to move my body, but it feels like every muscle is as heavy as lead. Gently, I open my eyes, but every minimal movement seems to aggravate the headache. I force my eyelids up, but to no avail. The space I’m in is pitch black, and I can’t even make out the floor I’m lying on. It’s cold and wet, tiny droplets of water hitting what sounds like a stone floor in the distance.

I moan as I try to slither up off the floor so that I can sit up. My hands are tied with silver chains behind my back, and my legs have the same type of chains around them. The chains are heavy, and they are burning against my skin. When I eventually succeed in sitting up, I lean against the cold, damp wall. A deep sigh leaves my mouth, and I am just about to lean back to rest when a door suddenly opens in the far part of the room. The light fills the entire space, and I need to close my eyes tightly so that my head does not explode with pain.

“Well, he’s awake,” says a familiar voice. My eyes sting, and I squeeze them as hard as I can to protect them from the light.

Steps are approaching me. Slowly, I try to open one eye so that I can look down at the floor. Two small feet wearing black ballerina shoes are standing in front of me. Suddenly, they kick at my legs.

“Wake up!” the person screams, kicking my legs once more.

“Calm down,” I croak in a hoarse and broken voice before forcing my eyes open to look up at my abuser. I find it hard to hide my surprise when my gaze lands on her face.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”