Despite how much he’d trained throughout his life, it was still all he could do to keep up with Adelina.

Even after they’d taken Hai, Nash wasn’t prepared for this new warrior queen. She was everything she’d become over the last cycle and more – completely in tune with herself.

Varan panted behind them, but he was only a step behind and he never flagged, never slowed. The Queen’s Guard surrounded them in a ‘U,’ just barely keeping up.

Adelina had set a grueling pace, but Nash felt the same insistent urge she did. It pushed him harder and harder up those damn stairs that he used to run up and down four times a day as part of his workout.

The sight of the palace made him ache inside and out. Nash tried to shut out his last memories of this place – mixed in with the bad. That recording of what the Neprijat did to his family would haunt him forever. It tainted his memories of playing with his siblings as they’d grown up. The trouble they’d gotten in together and the shy young princess from Draga who had taken in his world with eyes full of wonder and admiration.

He would never forget the way Adelina had loved his home as much as he had.

But it was no longer his home. Not anymore – and the sadness he’d expected wasn’t there. Nash didn’t think he could ever live in this place again, not after what had happened. It was best he’d be in Draga.

If he could kill the king.

If Kaita hadn’t already.

They’d gotten no other message from her after she’d pleaded for them to hurry and Nash was terrified of what that meant.

Adelina reached the golden doors first. For the first time in his life they weren’t closed. Nash put a hand on her shoulder to stop her from bursting through – blind and unprepared.

He leaned against the door and peered through the crack, trying to get a sense of what waited for them.

The sound of hounds howling and shrieking reached them from the city. Varan glanced back, grinning when Kaiden took them out with one of those cannons. “I really like that thing,” Varan said. “Think we could get one?”

“We have them already,” Adelina replied, watching Nash with narrowed eyes.

“Really? I had no idea.”

“My scans showed them inside the sculptures of the wolves on the Draga Royal Palace,” Nash muttered. There didn’t seem to be any movement. Bodies littered the floor and blood was everywhere, but whatever battle had been there had already moved on.

“The wolves?” Varan asked in disbelief. “There are so many.”

“Focus,” Adelina snapped, pushing Nash aside. “We don’t have the time to waste. We need to get to Kaita. If we’re too late…”

Nash nodded and pushed the door open farther.

Still nothing.

Adelina flicked her blades and rotated them, easing the strain in her wrists. Her thumbs slid over the button and the crackle of plasma sent a signal to the rest of the legion.

The sound filled his head as Nash held up his rifle again, stepping over bodies as they made their way through the foyer. Ian and Nadyah followed behind Varan and Peyton stayed right behind them with the rest of the Queen’s Guard.

“Where is the beacon?” Adelina asked, pressing close, eying the bodies everywhere. “Holy hells this was a bloodbath.”

Nadyah stopped and knelt before one of the fallen Neprijat. “This one wears your crest. It appears the rebels made it inside.”

“And this is one of Kaita’s warriors,” Nash said, crouching down to close the eyes of the male he vaguely knew from Kaita’s visits and his family’s to Arcadius. “The beacon is in the throne room and it’s still lit, but for how long I’m not sure.”

“Lead the way, prince,” Adelina said. Those blazing amethyst eyes met his.

She knew.

His mate knew how hard this was for him.

But his queen was demanding his unwavering obedience.

And Nash wanted the Neprijat king’s head. He wanted to watch the blood drain from his body and see the life leave those hungry eyes. If Kaita hadn’t managed it already…he hoped she would let him at least help take vengeance from the male who owed his family so much.

“The horde is on their way,” Adelina reminded him. “They will be here sooner than we’ll be ready for. If the king can stop them…we have to try.”

Nadyah shook her head. “The only thing that might stop them is the king’s death. He would never order them to stand down – no matter what is threatened or promised. That’s what Sozav told me.”

Adelina nodded. “You and Ian guard our exit. Make sure the Jasmine can land as close to us as possible. As soon as the king is dead I need to take to the skies.”

Varan frowned at Adelina but didn’t question her. No one did.

“Everyone but Peyton, Diego, and Angelo go with Prince Ian and Nadyah. Clear the royal landing pad.” Adelina marked the holomap and shared it with everyone in the Queen’s Legion. “This is the throne room where we’ll be coming from.”

The guards nodded and peeled off with Nadyah and Ian.

Nash just stared at the female he knew he couldn’t live without. The female he was so in love with he had given up everything he knew for a life with her. And it was worth it. Seeing her now, seeing her lead – it sent chills down his spine and gave him courage to do what needed to be done.

Nash led the way to the throne room, the path so familiar he felt it wear on him – too many memories to count. How often had he walked this path, thinking that one day that throne would be his?

He shook his head. It didn’t matter now. Nash had a different throne. Not quite what he had imagined, but it would be better. All he had to do was get them through this part. Then they could face the horde together.

Thank Fate they’d found those weapons.

Adelina slid past him and sped up. Nash cursed and ran after her, Varan hot on his heels.

The frantic urgency had been too much for her, and Nash didn’t understand courtesan genes but he trusted Adelina’s instincts.

Something very bad was happening.

He tried to stop her, but she burst through the doors of the throne room without taking a moment to evaluate the situation. Nash scanned the room and flicked out the data to the others, hoping that it would be enough.

The scan didn’t show who was armed and who wasn’t. All he could see was the number of people. Six females. Only one Neprijat.

The king.

Nash came in a split second behind Adelina rifle up and instantly evaluated the situation.

His scan had been wrong.

There were twelve Neprijat guards with their plasma spears at Kaita and five others’ throats.

He fired without thinking. Varan threw knives faster than he could pull the trigger. And Adelina…she did nothing as she stared at the king without a trace of her humanity.

“Oh my dear, how lovely you’ve become,” the king said, smiling from his throne, a leg crossed at the knee. He took a loud crunching bite from the fruit in his hand and tossed it away. “Welcome, my little queen.”

Nash’s blood went cold.

They were in so much trouble.

Her worst nightmare had come to pass.

Everything had gone smoothly for the most part until they’d reached the throne room. She’d walked in on the king, alone.

But he hadn’t been alone.

The king had guards cloaked with some kind of tech she didn’t understand, but they’d appeared out of thin air and disarmed her in moments.

At least they’d had the opportunity to change into their armor. Kaita would have hated to die in those demeaning rags of nothing.

Delphine looked to Kaita as the king ordered them to kneel.

Vivienne was nowhere to be seen and Valdis was losing his mind, shouting at the king, struggling against the guards holding him until the king flicked a finger.

That was all it took for one of the guards to plunge a blade into Valdis’s heart.

Kaita cried out, reaching for him, but the heat of plasma singed the skin of her neck and she pulled back. A guard had a spear pointed at her throat and Kaita knew…whatever the king had planned she wasn’t going to like it.

This would not end well.

She’d given up hope that Adelina would make it inside the palace in time. But as long as the reinforcements saved her people, Kaita couldn’t be mad. They’d done everything they could after all – planned for everything one could imagine.

Except invisible guards – even with the Neprijat tech the rebels had given her, they hadn’t detected them.

It would be her last mistake.

But at least Kaita had tried.

She glanced at Roxy and Delphine. They would die for her people despite the fact that this was the first time they’d ever set foot on Khara Prime. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“This is rather clever, this little attack,” the king said from his throne, not even bothered by the blood soaking the carpet. He grabbed a piece of fruit from the bowl beside his throne. Then another little flick of his fingers and the guards backed off.

Kaita knew he wasn’t releasing them. He didn’t have to. They were unarmed and without allies. Even if those allies reached them, they would burst into the room unprepared.

“I didn’t expect the young queen to find so many to fight for her. For the first time in my life I was wrong,” the king said with that terrifying smile of his. “She really will be the perfect Neprijat queen. After I break her of course.”

Kaita winced. Hearing the way the king spoke those words…he was so blasé. Like he’d broken thousands of females without even a thought. And she knew he slept like a baby at night despite all the lives he’d ruined.

Her growl rippled through the room and the king let out a delighted laugh. “Would you like to take her place then?”

“It would do you no good in Draga,” Roxy spat. That fire inside the female burned bright even now, and it bolstered Kaita.

Adelina would make it in time.

“You’re right,” the king said. “But a harem of queens from every system sounds like something I’d enjoy.”

She shuddered at the prospect.

Fate wouldn’t fail her now. Adelina would keep her word.

“Don’t worry,” the king said with a wave of his hand. “She’s already here. The Queen of Draga will bow before me.”

Then the doors behind her burst open and Kaita ducked as plasma fire scorched the room. Four guards dropped instantly, and five more fell from blades in their throats.

Then it all stopped.

Kaita dared a glance over her shoulder.

The queen had arrived.

And there was nothing in her face Kaita recognized.

“Oh my dear, how lovely you’ve become,” the king said. The way he smiled on that throne of his with his leg crossed at the knee…

As he took a loud crunching bite from the fruit and tossed it away Kaita felt her hatred for him burn.

“Welcome, my little queen,” the king purred.

Kaita saw the king consort with Nash, as well as three queen’s guards behind Adelina before she turned back to the king. They outnumbered the Neprijat now. They could take them if they were willing to get their hands a little dirty.

If they were willing to sacrifice anything.

What else would she sacrifice today?

Adelina strode forward and no one breathed.

The king’s smile widened and he beckoned her forward with black nails that mirrored Adelina’s own.

The queen bumped against Kaita and kept moving – ignoring the protests of her husbands.

Kaita palmed the bracelet and put her hands behind her back to slide it on while everyone’s gaze was fixated on the young queen walking straight toward the Neprijat king. She had no idea what Adelina had planned, but it was going to be messy and Kaita had to be ready.

Crazy female.

Pressing her thumb to the bracelet she heard the slight hum as it activated. Roxy did as well. The female nudged Delphine and the female warrior on her other side. They would be ready the moment Adelina gave them an opportunity to take down the last of the guards.

Sweat poured down Kaita’s face as she watched the Queen of Draga.

Then Adelina did the last thing Kaita thought she would ever do. She deactivated her helmet and dropped to her knees before the king. “I’ve come as you asked,” she whispered. “I am truly sorry it took so long.”

Even the king was stunned at the sight before him.

This was her trick – distracting the king long enough for them all to do what needed to be done. Risking her life for this opportunity.

Crazy, reckless female.

The king could take her before they made the final killing blow – he could use her against them and Kaita knew her mates would do anything to keep her out of the male’s grasp. Anything.

Kaita risked a glance at Nash but the male was as white as a sheet, his eyes stuck on Adelina.

Varan though…there was nothing of the male left as he slumped to the floor dejectedly. His knees hit the marble so hard Kaita thought he might break something.

So she hadn’t told them.

They hadn’t known her plan – what she was willing to risk—to sacrifice.

For them.

“You’ve come to bow before me,” the king mused, finally regaining his senses. “Then why are your forces attacking my people?”

She bowed so low her forehead touched the floor and the sound of her crown clinking as it struck the marble was loud in the never-ending silence.

To the king no one else existed – only Adelina.

Was she sacrificing herself?

Kaita knew she wasn’t betraying them, not when the bracelet was now in her possession. So what was she planning?

“I have outed all of your enemies, including rebels within your own people,” Adelina whispered, keeping her head to the floor. “There was no other way to bring them to you. I assumed you could manage them easily enough.”

Nash stood so still Kaita wondered if he would even be able to do what needed to be done when the time came.

She had made the offer before – to give herself up for them. That she would do so now…Adelina was going to give them time – give Kaita that opportunity she so desperately needed.

If they couldn’t kill the king then at least they could escape. But only if Adelina stayed.

Kaita couldn’t deal with the level of devastation she felt knowing that.

So she would make sure Adelina didn’t have to stay.

“And your current husbands?” the king asked.

Adelina hesitated then and Kaita’s stomach lurched into her throat.

“Would you spare them?” she asked so softly – that female Kaita knew so well from the livestream. Meek. Submissive. Nothing. “As a wedding present to me? Just send them away to a border post. Keep them as prized prisoners. Just don’t…please don’t kill them?”

The words, the pleading…it made Kaita want to vomit.

Come on, Adelina.

Do it already.

Give her that signal.

That predatory smile widened and the Neprijat king stood from his throne. He licked his lips as he took the three steps down from the dais to where Adelina still bowed in complete supplication and submission.

Her forehead had started to bleed from how hard the crown pressed against her delicate skin.

Varan didn’t even react – completely stricken by this ploy. He knew what she was willing to sacrifice for them—for him.

Live.

Live so they could fight another day.

Then the Neprijat king placed a gentle hand on Adelina’s head. The grip tightened viciously on her hair and he forced her to look up at him. Her face turned up, but she closed her eyes – refusing even now to challenge him.

He leaned down and Kaita tensed, fingers flicking as she’d watched Adelina and Nadyah do when they practiced with the bracelet.

Shield first. Then the weapons. Give cover fire for the others. Take down the guards. Toss the spears to the others.

Kill the king.

Kaita had no plans to run. If Adelina was willing to sacrifice herself for Kaita’s people then Kaita would do the same. At the very least Adelina would not be alone in this.

“I grant your request,” the king whispered into Adelina’s ear. “The moment I take you to my bed your kingdom will be mine.”

“Yes,” Adelina whispered. “I will sign full power to you once my husbands are safe.”

Then Varan stood snarling. Two blades in his hand and Kaita had no idea where they came from. She turned to stop him, but froze at the sight before her.

Varan had one knife ready to throw and the other at his own throat.

Adelina sensed what he was about to do and her eyes flew open and met his for a brief moment, taking in the point of his blade pressed to his jugular. Varan tossed the other blade up, ready to throw…

He had made the queen a promise. Kaita knew he would keep it. Varan would take her life before ever letting that vile creature take her to his bed – to make her his slave.

And Kaita knew Varan enough that he would never live without her.

She had to move. Now. Whether it was a mistake or not—she had to give Adelina time to make her move.

Kaita leapt to her feet.

Just as Adelina grabbed the king’s face, pulling him down gently as if she were going to kiss him.

Something in the Neprijat softened at the contact. His eyes became gentle as she turned her face to him.

Kaita stepped between Varan and the queen. Her shield went up just in time and Varan’s knife hit it with a spark and then Kaita spun, flicking her fingers. A blade of pure plasma sprouted from her wrist and she plunged it into her guard’s heart.

The spear fell and she caught it with her other hand before it hit the ground.

Varan snarled at her but she was too fast – too desperate.

Kill the king.

She threw the spear as hard as she could right at the king’s heart.

From whatever unholy powers he had, the king sensed the strike and caught it just before it pierced his chest.

But he was distracted.

Adelina activated her own bracelet – the pure plasma surging forward with her lunge and she plunged it deep into his stomach with a snarl that made the entire room ripple.

Roxy and Delphine were already moving, taking the guards with their bare hands while they stood stunned by the sight of their king with plasma in his stomach.

Varan threw the blade meant for his own life at another guard while the other females took care of the rest.

The only one who didn’t move was Nash. He just stared at Adelina – at the way she got into the king’s face. There was no trace of fear – no weakness.

“Release me,” the king ordered.

Kaita halted in her approach. Even she could feel the power in those words despite their tech to nullify the wavelengths.

But Adelina didn’t obey. Her claws sprang free and dug into his face so hard black blood ran down his neck. “Submission is not weakness,” she whispered into his ear like a lover.

Kaita was completely still as she watched the surprise spread across the king’s face.

“I am everything you cannot control,” Adelina snarled in his face. “I am love. I am hate. I am the wind carrying the screams of a million souls. You thought I was weak. But I am a wolf. The wolf is relentless in its hunt.”

The king started to laugh, more blood spilling from his lips. “You are perfection.”

“No, I am Queen.” And Adelina’s words rang through the throne room like a bell. “And you forgot I am the most important piece. Not the king.”

Kaita grinned, selecting the blade on her bracelet.

“Your people are now mine,” Adelina declared. The king spat on the floor, still chuckling as she stepped away, flicking the blood from her nails “I have taken the vengeance for my family, but I have promised your head to another.”

Kaita looked to Nash.

Color had finally returned to his face and those aapoak eyes sparked with the force of his fury. He strode forward and she fell into step beside him.

“And so the lions take the final kill,” the king muttered. “Fitting I suppose. Excellent play, your majesty.” He bowed his head to Adelina.

“Together,” Nash gritted out.

She nodded and placed her hand over his and they swung hard and fast.

The king’s head splattered to the floor and then rolled until it stopped at Adelina’s feet.

Everyone stared at the dead king, and then the dead all around them.

But they didn’t have time to bask.

“Varan, call the Jasmine. We leave immediately for the border.” Adelina stepped over the king’s head and strode out of the throne room without once looking back.

Kaita didn’t dare breathe a sigh of relief. Not when there were two males on the edge of exploding.

“You were late,” she said, deactivating the bracelet with a flick of her wrist.

“You got captured,” Nash retorted, but that rage eased enough he looked at who remained. “You heard the queen,” he snapped. “Get your asses moving.”

It took Varan a long moment before he followed.