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Chapter 33

CHAPTER 33

Lomax

I clung tightly to Regan’s hand as we walked through the empty hallways. It was two in the morning, and the castle was eerily silent. Regan’s free hand rested on the handle of his sword, and his tense alertness both frightened and reassured me.

We didn’t speak as we moved quickly and silently. Regan hadn’t given any details to Boken about why we needed to leave, but Boken hadn’t hesitated in agreeing to have a ship waiting on the landing pad. I packed a bag with clothing and toiletries for both of us, and Regan had taken it to Boken earlier in the evening.

Regan glanced at me as we turned down the hallway leading to the docking bay. He squeezed my hand and smiled reassuringly, but I could see the unease on his face. Something felt wrong. My skin was hot and too tight, and my brain practically screamed danger as we drew closer to the docking bay. I tugged Regan’s hand before whispering, “Regan, it doesn’t feel right.”

He nodded, his face grim. “I know, sadora, I feel it too.”

We continued walking, and some of my jittery nerves eased when we turned the corner and headed toward the end of the hallway, where the wide double doors leading to the docking bay waited for us.

“Almost there,” Regan breathed. “We will -”

His big body stiffened when five king’s guard stepped out from a side hallway and blocked our path. All five had their swords drawn, and Regan stared at the biggest. “Step back, Axen.”

“I cannot, Regan,” Axen said.

“You would refuse a direct order from me?” Regan asked.

“The king waits for you and your mate in the council room,” Axen said. “Come with us.”

“And if we do not?” Regan asked.

Axen raised his sword, his face a mask of grim determination. “You know what will happen, king’s guard.”

“Do you believe you can defeat me?” Regan asked, a fierce grin crossing his face.

Axen gave him a steady look. “Not by myself, but I am not alone.”

Regan’s grin grew even fiercer. “Eastolf should have sent more than five.”

“Do not do this,” Axen said, the grief evident in his face. “You have trained us well, and not even you can defeat five. Do not make your mate watch you die, Regan.”

Regan growled, and I grabbed his arm. “Regan, look at me.”

He tried to shake off my grip, and I clung harder. “Honey, look at me, please.”

He stared down at me, and I nearly recoiled at the bloodlust on his face. “You can’t defeat them, Regan. There’s too many of them.”

I reached up and cupped his face. “Axen is right, my love. I can’t watch you die. Please.”

He pulled in a shuddering breath and released it before letting go of his sword handle. “Take us to the king.”

The guard following behind us with their swords still drawn, we walked to the council room. My legs grew heavier with each step, and dread threatened to drown me when we reached our destination.

Regan stared down at me, his big hand warm and firm in mine. “It will be all right, my mate. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I said before smiling faintly at him. “To the end, Regan.”

Pride and love radiated from his eyes, and he lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed it softly. “To the end, Lomax.”

He pushed open the door, and we stepped into the room. Eastolf stood at the head of the table with Noka hovering close by.

He watched as we filed into the room. When neither of us bowed, Eastolf gave Regan a brittle smile. “You no longer bow for your king, Regan?”

“My king is not in this room,” Regan said.

Eastolf’s nostrils flared. “I suppose you believe he is in the western province.”

I squeezed Regan’s hand hard and tried to keep my face as neutral as my mate’s. Eastolf’s cold gaze turned to me, and Regan’s tail snapped out to wind around my waist, tugging me against his side.

“Until today, I had naively hoped that your mate was the spy,” Eastolf said. “Still believed that my childhood friend, the boy whose life I saved, would always be loyal.”

“I am no spy, and neither is my mate,” Regan said.

“Lies,” Eastolf snarled before tossing something on the table between us.

My heart sank as I stared at the small black device I used to scramble my weekly text to Madison.

“You would be so arrogant as to use my technology against me,” Eastolf said.

Regan’s voice turned ice cold. “Did you have the guts to break into my quarters and go through our things yourself, Eastolf?” He turned his gaze to Noka. “Or did you have your lapdog do it for you.”

“You have betrayed your king!” Eastolf shouted, slamming his fist on the table between us.

“The king I vowed to protect with my life no longer stands in this room. He has been replaced by a Draax who seeks to serve only himself and does not care for his people,” Regan said.

“Says the Draax who would seek to destroy this very kingdom,” Eastolf spat. “Did you think I would not look into the past of the female who had ensnared the head of my guard? Do you know how easy it was to learn what I needed to know? To discover that she still lived in California? That she was breeding incompatible and dying? That she fucked the Draax to save her own miserable life?”

Eastolf’s face turned a dark green. “How long did it take her to seduce you, Regan? How long before she had your simple mind believing you could not live without her?”

He paced in front of the table, his long black cloak billowing behind him like some cartoon villain, before grabbing the device off the table and snapping it in two. “I have seen your mate’s messages to Quill’s advisor.”

“Her name is Madison,” Regan said. “The female you nearly killed because of your desire for power.”

“That was not my fault,” Eastolf snarled. “I cannot be blamed for the Korceans’ actions.” He squeezed his hands into tight fists. “For a week, I have known of your deception, Regan. I waited and hoped you would have a change of heart, and my request to you this evening was a final test of your loyalty.”

His face twisted. “You believed me to be fooled by your lies, did you not? Believed I was as simple as you and would unquestioningly accept whatever you told me. But I saw the truth in your face.”

“What you are about to do will destroy the treaty between Earth and Draax,” Regan said evenly. “Giving the humans Vokine -”

“Hold your tongue, Regan! I am your king, and you will answer for your actions. You and,” Eastolf’s face turned into a sneer, “your mate spent the storm at the western province. Do you deny this?”

“I do not,” Regan said.

“It’s my fault,” I said quickly, ignoring Regan’s clear look to shut the fuck up. “I was dying, and King Quill’s kadana was in the bar where I found Draax to fuck. He took pity on me and offered to bring me to the western province so he could use the serum to heal me. Regan had saved me from a human male but was injured badly and was dying. I asked the western Draax to bring him with us, and they agreed. Regan would not have been in the western province if it wasn’t for me.”

“Hush, Lomax,” Regan said.

I ignored him, desperate to save the Draax I loved. How many times had he told me that Eastolf wouldn’t hurt me? If I could convince the king that it was all me and that Regan was innocent, I would be returned to Earth, and although I would be separated from Regan forever, at least he would be alive.

“Regan isn’t the spy. I am,” I said to Eastolf.

“Enough, my mate,” Regan said.

I dropped his hand and yanked at his tail until he released me. I moved away from him, giving him a look of contempt. “I am not your mate, king’s guard.”

He stared at me, a muscle ticking in his jaw. Before he could speak, I turned back to Eastolf. “I’ve been using Regan, tricked him into falling in love with me so that he would bring me back here. I became friends with Madison while staying at the palace, and after she told me what you had done and how you were trying to steal other states, I agreed to help them stop you.”

“Is that right?” Eastolf said.

“Yes. It was easy to seduce Regan.” I took a deep breath, loathing myself for what I was about to say. “As you know, he isn’t smart enough to see my deception.”

I couldn’t look at Regan, couldn’t see the hurt in his eyes, even though I was doing this to save him. He might hate me forever, but he would be alive.

“What did Quillan ask you to do?” Eastolf said.

“Gather information,” I said. “Find out which states you were speaking to and how much extra juice you offered them.”

Eastolf glanced at Noka before studying me. Fighting to stay calm, I said, “Regan was nothing but a pawn. A way for me to gain access to you so I could get the information King Quillan needed to stop you. He had no idea what I was doing for King Quillan.”

“Is this true, Regan?” Eastolf asked.

“No,” Regan said, his voice filled with a calm strength.

I turned to him. “Stop lying to your king.”

The love and warmth in his gaze tore through the dark despair surrounding me. “She does not speak the truth, Eastolf. She loves me as I love her, and she did not come here as a spy.”

I started to cry, and Regan used his tail to pull me closer.

“Why are you doing this?” I sobbed. “He’ll kill you.”

He pressed his forehead against mine, his voice low. “To the end, my mate.”

“So, you admit to betraying your king,” Eastolf said with triumph in his voice.

“No,” Regan said. “I did not return here as a spy or to betray you. While I was grateful to the western king for saving my life, I was still loyal to you, Eastolf. I believed that somewhere underneath your greed and desire for power, you were still the caring and generous friend I loved. The friend who dove back into that river with no thought for his own life to save mine.”

Eastolf sighed loudly. “Clinging to the past does you no favours, Regan. I loved you as a brother and believed you would be by my side as I sought to strengthen our province. Do you know how much you have hurt me with deception and lies?”

He walked toward Regan, holding his hand up when Axen and the other guard started to join him.

Regan pushed me back gently, shaking his head when I tried to crowd close again. I wrapped my arms around my trembling torso, trying not to panic when Eastolf rested his hand on Regan’s shoulder. “You have betrayed your king and your guard, Regan.”

“You know I have not,” Regan said steadily.

Eastolf gripped the back of Regan’s neck, pressing their foreheads together. “I love you, brother, but your treachery and disloyalty cannot go unpunished.”

“I will accept your punishment without protest if you return my mate to the western province unharmed,” Regan said.

Eastolf sighed deeply. “You will accept your punishment because I am your king, Regan.”

He pulled a short silver wand from beneath his cloak, stepped back, and jammed it into Regan’s ribs. I screamed when he pushed a button, and Regan’s back bowed. The muscles in his body stood out in painful relief, and his jaw snapped shut with a hard click before his body shook wildly.

I heard the crackle of electricity, and Regan’s shirt started to smoke.

“Stop it!” I shrieked.

Eastolf released the button, and Regan dropped to the floor like a brick, his shirt still smoking. I dropped to my knees beside him, crying his name as I yanked up his shirt. His skin where the wand touched him was blackened and already starting to bruise, and I cupped his face, shaking him lightly. “Regan? Honey, look at me. Open your eyes, my love.”

He was breathing, thank fuck, but he didn’t respond to my voice. I screamed and kicked wildly when Eastolf yanked me to my feet. He slapped me hard across the face, and I fell to my knees, my head ringing and my cheek throbbing.

“My king! You have injured the little female.” Axen started toward me, and Eastolf bared his teeth.

“Stay where you are, king’s guard.”

Axen stopped, staring warily at Eastolf as he dragged me to my feet again. “The little female is a spy, just like her mate.”

“I’m not!” I shouted, staring desperately at Axen. “Your king is selling weaponry to the humans. He’s giving them Vokine technology, so they’ll join your province.”

Axen frowned. “Is this true, my king?”

“Of course not,” Eastolf said. “You would believe the traitor’s mate over your king? I have shown you the messages she sent, the evidence that she and Regan are working to destroy our kingdom.”

“That’s a lie,” I said, my gaze falling on Regan’s still body. “He’s going to kill Regan and me because we know the truth.”

The other guards stared uneasily at Axen as his hand tightened on his sword. “You plan to harm the little female?”

“I do not,” Eastolf said. “She will be returned to Earth in the morning. As for her mate,” he stared at Regan, “take him to the dungeon. In the morning, his head will hang on the courtyard wall to remind the other guard what happens when they betray their king.”

“No!” I screamed. I punched and kicked at Eastolf’s body, screaming again when he wrapped his arms around me and pinned my arms against my body, holding me as easily as a bug in a spider’s web.

“Regan!” I screamed, tears streaming down my face as Axen and the others lifted his unconscious body and carried him out of the room. “Regan, please!”

Eastolf’s grip tightened around my body until I could barely breathe. I gasped and wheezed, and Eastolf laughed before tossing me on the floor. I coughed hard, sucking in oxygen as Eastolf turned to Nako.

“Lock the female in an empty room in the western quarters. In the morning, you will contact the Korceans and tell them your king has a gift for them.”

Noka froze, giving Eastolf a cautious look. “My king, they will sell her as a slave in the Peleus system.”

“I am aware,” Eastolf said. “But we need something to get back into their good graces, and Regan’s mate will be the perfect gift. If we give her to the Korceans, they will be more open to trading malanite with us.”

“But she could be harmed. Who knows who she will be sold to or -”

“Enough!” Eastolf said. “Why do you care about her, Noka?”

“All females are precious,” he said in a low voice.

“Yes, but her sacrifice will ultimately lead to more females in our province,” Eastolf said. “Do not lose sight of our end goal, Noka. Not now.”

“Yes, my king,” Noka said.

“Stand up, female,” Eastolf said to me.

I staggered to my feet but backed away when Noka reached for me.

Eastolf grimaced with annoyance. “Do not make this any harder than it needs to be, human.”

I pasted a large shit-eating grin on my face and curtsied clumsily before spitting in his face and booking it for the door.

I heard Noka’s shout of surprise and Eastolf’s curse, even over the thundering sound of my heartbeat. I yanked open the door and bolted into the hallway, letting loose with an ear-piercing scream that echoed in the hallway.

I took off down the corridor, screeching like a banshee when a hard hand grabbed my arm and yanked me to a stop. Eastolf, panting and pissed off, shook me roughly. “Enough, human.”

I screamed for a third time, and with a growl of rage, Eastolf raised his fist and slammed it into my face. Bright lights exploded in my head before my knees crumpled, and I fell into the darkness rushing toward me.

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