Rubbing the back of his head, Leo sat himself upright. Opening his eyes, he saw the room in ruins. A massive hole was in the far wall, the rest of the room scorched black. The podium in the centre of the room was now accessible and empty. Shit.

Leo scanned the room. He had a vague memory of Amneris being there with himself and Colt before being knocked out. They must’ve been caught in the blast—whatever the hell kind of blast it was—too. Shaking the dust from his hair, Leo felt something drip down the side of his face. He raised a hand to his brow. His fingers came back drenched with blood. No way that was good. No matter, he would heal. Right now he had to find—

Stone was shifted nearby. Someone was trapped. Leo spotted Colt standing, pushing a giant stone above himself. He groaned and fell, the stone landing on top of him. Leo cringed. Ouch.

“Hang on,” he called. “I’m coming to help.”

Leo tread carefully across to Colt. With a roar, he pushed the stone off the Terpolite. Thank the Gods for the supernatural strength he gained after becoming immortal. Colt was still in the early stages. It would come later.

Colt was barely in a state to move. At some point, he’d been stabbed in the gut. Since it was yet to heal, it had either happened a few minutes ago—Leo wasn’t sure how long he’d been out—or it was a lot worse than it looked.

“You good?” he asked. A weak hand was raised and titled side to side. Leo recognised the gesture. So-so. “Where’s Amneris.” A shake of the head. “You’re not very helpful, are you?” Colt flipped him off. “Still not helpful.”

Leo helped the Terpolite sit upright. He groaned, leaning against the large stone which had been atop him for support. Leo snorted. Ironic.

Colt gestured across the room. “I think she was blasted over there.”

Leo hauled him to his feet. Colt grasped his slowly healing wound, stumbling over to where he’d pointed. The tell-tale sign of Amneris’ auburn-gold hair stuck out from under several stones. Together, Colt and Leo worked to move them.

“Oh, for the love of—” Leo turned away with a hand over his mouth at the sight of his Queen. He doubted it would escape his mind’s eye any time soon. He took a deep breath. “How does she always manage to come out the worst?”

Colt laughed. “She is Amneris.”

“Fair enough.”

Amneris gasped, shooting upright. She looked at the two men, at the damage around her, and at the giant hole in the wall. She growled, eyes flaring white as she stood. For a moment, she was still despite her shaking legs. Then, she screamed.

Colt and Leo exchanged concerned glances as she launched into what was no doubt a rant in the Old Language involving some very not child friendly language.

Leo said to Colt, “I’m suddenly glad I don’t speak the Old Language.”

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Colt grimaced in response. “I do.”

Huh. Fancy that.

Leo watched as Colt walked toward Amneris, taking her hands and speaking in a calming tone in the Old Language. Whatever he said made Amneris start yelling again, pacing this way and that, and waving her arms for emphasis. But Colt was patient. He waited for her to finish before speaking. This time, she appeared to consider his words. Then, she huffed.

Amneris stormed toward Leo. She stopped barely a step away from him and said something forcefully in the Old Language. Leo didn’t need a translation to get the gist of what she was saying. Something along the lines of “What were you thinking?” though with a lot more cussing. Probably He glanced at Colt. The Terpolite shrugged apologetically.

The two men watched as Amneris stormed toward the entrance of the room, still muttering to herself. She stopped suddenly, staring at something to her side, and fainted.

The whip.

Leo sighed. That figured.

Colt came to his side. “Do you want to carry her, or should I?”

The trip back to Lapide and the Palace had been . . . difficult at best.

There was barely enough room on Leo’s bide for the three of them.

They’d placed Amneris in the middle to keep her falling, though this became difficult at one point. She’d awoken suddenly, eyes still white, and tried to jump off the bike. Colt had gripped her tightly and, to Leo’s surprise, placed a red crystal to her skin. Amneris passed out again.

Before Leo could ask where the crystal came from, Colt had put it back into his pocket and given Leo a grim smile. “It is for the best,” he’d said. “Trust me.”

Trust a Terpolite. Leo couldn’t believe he was doing such a thing.

Arriving back at the Palace, Colt calmly lifted the unconscious Amneris from the bike and carried her to her rooms, Lvaane—who’d been waiting for them—close behind.

Leo found himself waiting in one of the Conference Rooms on the lower floors, rubbing his still-ringing ears. He’d forgotten about Amneris ‘sonic shriek’. She did it when she got scared. Some defensive mechanism she’d picked up as a spirit, apparently.

Carmin, Dan, Jay and Ema entered the room after a few minutes, the four sitting around the large circular table.

“Sonic shriek?” Jay asked.

“Yep,” Leo said.

He nodded in understanding. “At least your ear drums didn’t burst. Might want to see Kayla.”

“Yeah . . .” Leo glanced at Ema. “Why is she here?”

“She saved us,” Jay answered, kicking his feet onto the table.

“It’s true,” Carmin agreed, pushing his feet back off the table. “She and Jay distracted the guards as we approached and were leaving Iraliya.”

The Fae female blew her hair from her face. “A ‘thank you’ would be nice.” This was directed toward Leo who scowled in response. “Just saying.”

Dan was no longer listening to the exchange. He looked around the room. “I’m almost afraid to ask. Where are Amneris and Colt.”

Leo sighed. “Incident on Iraliya. Amneris is out. Colt won’t leave her side.”

“What?”

Leo rubbed his ears again as the four yelled. He tsked. “You know how she gets with whips. And Kek. Whips and Kek in the same room.”

Carmin, Dan, and Jay nodded in understanding.

Ema, however, was clueless. “What, the girl got hit with a whip and can’t handle it?” She let out a humourless laugh, spreading her arms in disbelief. “This is the Amneris we’re talking about! Surely a little whip can’t stop her. She’s practically a Goddess. Even an enchanted whip wouldn’t hurt her for long!”

“Down girl,” Jay murmured, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It’s more complicated than that.”

“But she—you—ugh!” The Fae female slammed her hands on the table. “She’s supposed to be the most powerful person in the entire multiverse. You’re telling me one whip can stop her?”

“It’s not the whip that’s the issue.”

“Then what?” When no one answered, Ema let out a frustrated laugh and sat back down. “What, I’m not part of your little gang so can’t know?”

Carmin spoke firmly. “It’s not our right to tell you. Only Amneris can tell her story.”

Defeated, Ema slumped though the air remained tense.

The four others exchanged glances. They could only hope Amneris could recover in time . . .