Ella
I don’t think I’ve ever been in this part of the castle before. Honestly, I feel like I haven’t seen more than half of Ryatt’s grand, mountainside home since the day I first landed in this onyx palace.
But this room… this room has my full attention. The walls are the same black stone that weaves throughout the castle. Towering stained glass windows scatter ribbons of purple, blue, and ivory light across faded leather furniture and ancient portraits of what I assume are past rulers. Ornate rugs lie at odd angles, their colors bleeding into one and another, worn from age.
I wonder how many people have walked across the rugs and run their fingertips over the circular table in the center of the room. I wonder how many people have looked at the incredible 3D map that covers nearly the entire table and stood in awe of it like I am now.
I run my fingers across the jagged, scaled down peaks of the mountain ranges that border the northern edge of a circular model of Eastonia. My touch dusts over the hollows and valleys where little villages have been constructed with expert skill.
My gaze catches on a long, turquoise lake made of glass surrounded by mountains and I lean down. “This is Moonrise? This is the Coven?”
Ryatt is standing on the opposite side of the table, his hands braced on the flat surface surrounding the map. He nods, but his eyes are locked on mine, and his face is shining with satisfaction. “Do you like it?”
“It’s incredible.” My voice is a whisper of shock and awe as I follow the nearly microscoping trails through the mountains; through the Deadlands and the forests full of beasts I still can’t name, then into the mountainous, forested home of the Roguelands.
Crops of villages spring to life, nestled in a wide valley. Rivers snake throughout, and I follow the larger river all the way to…
“Rifthold,” I say, meeting Ryatt’s eyes.
He nods again as I walk beside the table, my gaze locking on the gray, swirling mass that was once the home of King Kane.
Beyond Rifthold is a land of… nothing. Desert and wastelands that eventually bleed into the mountains once more to the east, but to the west lies a great, endless ocean, and the edge of the map.
“Did you make this?” I ask when I reach his side.
“Gods, no. This is older than me by centuries, I’m sure.”
“But it’s accurate?” I look up to the far edge of the map, where Veiled Valley rests deep in the mountains, likely hundreds of miles from the nearest settlement, and the closest community to the ocean on Ryatt’s side of the border between the Roguelands and Rifthold.
“It is,” he says softly, almost dreamily. He takes several steps away from the table and points to the ground at his feet. “Maatua would be… somewhere around here, I’m guessing.”
“We’re so close to them.” I look back at the map. “The Veil surrounds Eastonia completely, doesn’t it? Not just the mountains between Eastonia and Crescent Falls.”
“It does,” he confirms.
Silence falls between us, both of us looking at the map with similar withdrawn expressions.
I heave a sigh and look around the room once more, taking in the gnarly weapons hanging on the walls. “This is a war room.”
“How did you guess?” His voice is full of smoke as he chuckles darkly.
I walk to the wall and pick up some apparatus that looks like a club with razor sharp hooks on each end. I cock a brow in Ryatt’s direction. “What the hell is this used for?”
“Hanging someone to a tree by their spine.”
I whirl toward the door as a familiar, golden haired man walks into the room, his green eyes shining with emotion.
“Granger,” I grin, then drop the insanely heavy medieval torture device to the ground and run into his arms. Granger isn’t expecting it, of course. His arms don’t close around me as I squeeze his chest so hard his ribs pop. He pats my head like I’m a little dog curled in his lap and clears his throat once, then twice.
“Luna. I’m happy to see you made it back in one piece.”
“Barely,” Ryatt growls.
I step out of Granger’s arms and shoot my mate a dirty look. Ryatt just smirks and tilts his head toward the map.
“I need a status report as soon as you can give me one,” he says to Granger, who nods his understanding.
“How long have you been back? Amanda said you’ve been in the Roguelands.” I sit on one of the dusty leather couches and smooth the wrinkles from my crimson red dress. Being back in the ethereal, flowing fashions of Veiled Valley is a welcome relief. It’s hot, even within the cavernous castle, and the thin fabrics that are in style are cool to the touch on my skin.
Granger walks to the map and inspects it, saying, “I arrived this morning.”
Then he was able to spend time with Amanda before jumping right back into work with Ryatt. Good. I had dinner with her last night, and Granger was all she could talk about–how she worried she was about him. She’d been rather quiet about the situation in the Roguelands, and now I know why.
“Alpha Jaxon of the Southern Wastes has a small army,” Granger says in a low, gravelly voice, his finger resting on a spot in the sweeping desert on the map. “He’s gathered the forces of at least three packs and has another six packs on this side of the border as his allies, based on the communications I’ve received from our spies across the border.”
“It’ll take him weeks to even reach Rifthold,” Ryatt murmurs as he leans his weight against the table. He didn’t sleep last night. Dark circles line his eyes, and his mouth is a tight line as he mentally maps every theoretical move this mysterious Alpha Jaxon might make.
“Yes, but some of his allies were much closer to the border. They are going to march on Rifthold and take control. That’s their plan. Alpha Jaxon’s followers are already calling him the Alpha King of Eastonia.”
“Well, they’ll be sorely disappointed to hear that I am the Alpha King of Eastonia.”
I watch the exchange with interest as they talk about the current situation in the Roguelands and beyond. Several packs in the Roguelands have combined, new Alphas have been established, and new territory lines are being drawn.
“You’ll need to do your usual rounds and reestablish command,” Granger says after nearly an hour of explanations to the new political climate in the wake of Kane’s death.
Ryatt looks at me for a moment before sighing heavily and looking back down at the map. “I won’t have time for that if Alpha Jaxon is making moves. You and Artyom will go to the Roguelands in my stead. I need a small army, only experienced warriors. Everyone is fucking tired, I understand, but I only need a few thousand men on standby and stationed at our border with Rifthold and the Wastes until I can assume control of those enemy packs.”
Granger nods, but I notice the flicker of disappointment in his eyes.
“Amanda will need to stay here, in Veiled Valley. I need her acting as High Lady while Ella is away.”
This surprises Granger. He looks from Ryatt to me with a furrowed brow. “Where is Ella going?”
“He’s sending me to the coven,” I say brightly. “I get to travel on my own–”
“Westfall will escort her,” Ryatt cuts in.
I frown.
“Westfall should be traveling with you, Ryatt,” I say as I rise and cross my arms under my breasts. The cool red fabric of my dress brushes over my belly, sending little prickles of electricity over my skin. This morning I’d woken up and rolled out of bed and been startled by my reflection in the mirror. A slight swell is now evident on my lower belly.
I look rather cute, I think.
I instinctively lower my arms and cradle the swell. Ryatt catches my movements and gives me an uncharacteristically soft smile, but it’s fleeting. He turns back to his Beta and flexes his jaw.
I realize quite suddenly that Granger has no idea that Westfall is Ryatt’s dad.
“Westfall is going to be Ella’s guard for the time being.”
“Why?” I ask, but neither of the men are paying any attention to me.
“I think that’s wise. We’ve had reports of bandits and rogues along the trails leading back to the Roguelands. The coven is being overseen by the mystics right now, but they’re awaiting Ella’s return.”
I look from Granger to Ryatt. “Because I’m their queen?”
“Yes,” Ryatt says with a sigh. His eyes light on mine. “You’ll likely be there for a while if I need to cross into the Wastes and take care of the threat to our crown.”
Here we go. Ryatt said we’d do this together, and after only one full day back in Eastonia, he’s already going back on his word.
“No.”
“Ella,” he rasps. “You’re needed at the coven.”
“I understand,” I practically growl. “How long do you anticipate we’re going to be separated, Ryatt?”
Granger rolls his lower lip between his teeth and lets it go with a pop. “I’m going to go see my wife.”
“I think that’s wise,” Ryatt murmurs, his eyes darkening to a steely gray as they narrow on mine.
Granger leaves without another word, and a thick tension falls over the room in his absence.
“I’m not going to be a prisoner at the coven while you gallivant around Eastonia!”
“Gallivant?” His laugh is dark and dangerous as he takes a few steps in my direction.
“You know exactly what I mean, you asshole! We said we’d do this together.”
“And we are. I have to start somewhere, Ella. I am building you a new throne–”
“I don’t want a throne if it means we’re separated for Goddess knows how long! I don’t want a throne at all!”
Silence falls over us–thick and heavy.
“I don’t know how to be a queen to your people,” I continue. “They won’t want me!”
“There are some who have been waiting years for someone like you to come here and save us!”
“What if I’m not what you think I am? My powers are… immense, yes, but wouldn’t I have known long ago that I was meant for something as great as being the freaking queen of a mystical kingdom? Goddess, Ryatt!” I wave him away when he tries to edge closer to me. “I just want some peace. Just for a moment. I want to spend a single day with you without having to worry about the issues hanging over our heads. That’s all I want.”
“I’m trying, Princess.”
“I don’t want to be the ruler of Eastonia.”
“I don’t think you have a choice.”
We meet each other's gaze.
“I’m sorry, Ella.”
“I wasn’t trained for this,” I tell him. “Isaac was meant to be on the throne, not me. I probably would have married someone of rank, of course. An Alpha or Beta, or even an Alpha King, but this? I’m not…” I suck in a breath. “I just want a day, Ryatt. With you.”
“We’ll have that, but right now, if I don’t do something, we’re going to have another war on our hands.”
I know. I understand where he’s coming from.
I just don’t like it.
“I see you in a way you don’t see yourself,” he says, edging closer. “Other people see you in the same light. You’re a queen, Ella. These people need you. I need you.”
“You speak like you’re giving up your own title.”
“I will be,” he says. “Alpha Kings were never meant to be in power here. But you were.”
I find it hard to swallow as he stands before me, tilting my chin with his knuckles so I have to look up at him. He kisses me slowly, tenderly, his lips brushing over mine. “I told you once that you’re the only person I’d ever get on my knees for. I meant it. Now it’s time for you to train for the role you were born for.”