The Queen, the Lover, the Huntress, and the Rogue

An Act of Love

Rowan’s POV

I’m devastated by the news of King William’s death—truly, I am. No matter what my personal feelings for him were, he was my king, and, even more importantly, he was the father of the woman that I love with all my heart and soul.

But I’m glad it wasn’t my father.

If Red told my father, at this exact moment, that she wanted to march all of our people straight into Meridian and reclaim our homeland, he would do everything in his power to make it happen. If she told him she wanted him to guide her back to the Crescent Castle to confront Sawyer Lancaster, he would do everything in his power to make that happen. My father is an honorable wolf, and a true Beta—willing to do whatever it is that his Alpha requests of him, no questions asked. And, for the first time in my life, I’m about to see him work for an Alpha who’s brave—truly, astoundingly brave.

“I’m so, very sorry, Your Majesty,” he’s telling her. “I never would have allowed him to do it—to sacrifice his own life for mine. If I’d had any say in the matter—”

“Stop.” Her voice is so sharp, it seems to make everyone in the room flinch. “Is this why you’re ‘prepared to die?’ This is the ‘mistake’ you think you made?”

He bows his head. “It was my job to protect him, and I allowed him to die for me.”

Red curses—straight up curses, right there in front of the faerie king and queen. “Auron, have you noticed something different about me since I’ve been back, by chance?”

For a split second, I think she’s referring to the mark on her neck. I know my mother clocked it; did my father, too? Did everyone? She hasn’t exactly made any attempts to hide it—something that makes my heart absolutely dance with joy.

She doesn’t mean that, though, I realize as he slowly lifts his head and his eyes trail to her wings. “Your… your wings, Majesty.”

“I got these wings when Nova flew into me and I was reborn as a phoenix wolf. Do you know why she flew into me? Why I was reborn?”

He slowly shakes his head.

“I took a bullet for your son. I died for him, the same way my father died for you.”

A tear slips down my father’s cheek as my own cheeks burn with red, hot shame. Why is she telling him this? I will never cease to be amazed by the act of love she displayed for me, but I will never cease to be ashamed, either. If she hadn’t come back…

“And do you know what would have made me crawl in my grave, Auron—what would have kept me here, as an unfinished ghost—as a tortured spirit in limbo—forever?”

He seems to sense where this is going, as do I.

“The thought that he would spend his life tormented with regret over what I had done for him.”

My father’s eyes meet mine for the first time, and the relief in them is impossible to miss. He never imagined being let off this easy.

You don’t know Red like I do, I think to myself with sad, but frank, amusement.

“It was an act of love,” she tells him. “An act of trust. Let me guess—with his dying breaths, he told you that he needed you to protect his pack.”

He smiles softly. “Actually, he told me that I needed to protect you.”

Damn, King William. It sounds like the king of questionable morals really hit his groove of honor at the end there. 

“Forgive me for interrupting, but…” It’s Aurora this time. “What happened to her? To my mother?”

Poor Aurora. To be told your mother is dead in such an offhand way—to then have to sit here and listen to all this blathering—the girl must be devastated.

“As I said,” Auron tells us, “His Majesty’s final command was for me to protect his daughter—and, in order for that to happen, for everyone else in the room to help me escape. Kat, of course, jumped at the opportunity. She was always a valiant soldier, that one—even long after her fighting days were over. You could see it in her eyes.”

I glance at Aurora against my better judgment. The tears are streaming down her cheeks like a waterfall. Eli takes her in his arms in a tight embrace.

“He tried to stop her—to tell her to go with me. But she wouldn’t leave him. If you’re dead, I’m dead, she told him. Her eyes were so fiery—ten shades lighter than usual, I swear it. By the time I made it out, she’d already killed near every one of Sawyer’s wolves in that room, and a dozen vampires to boot. But…” 

He doesn’t have to say it; we all understand.They took her down with them.

For a long time, no one says anything at all.

“He’s still there, then,” Red finally says. “In my father’s castle.”

Auron smiles gently. “In your castle, Majesty. As to your question, we can’t know for sure, but… my instincts tell me yes.”

“We have to go there, then.” She straightens. “We have to take everyone to Crescent Castle and get rid of Sawyer Lancaster and his army of monsters.”

Edward clears his throat, waiting to speak until she nods. “Auron,” he says, “you said they outnumbered you twenty to one—and that was just in the attack on the castle. Was that the full extent of their forces?”

Auron shakes his head. “No. On our escape to Fort Eclipse, we snuck past three other camps. Same types of creatures. In total, I’d say their forces were easily ten thousand strong—maybe more.”

I glance out the window, where the last of the wolves are still being escorted away toward the Lavender Fields. I didn’t count, but I don’t think there were ten thousand. And how many of them were children, or the frail and elderly? How many of them can even fight?

“What, then?” She’s trying to mask the panic in her voice, but I know her well enough to sense it. “What would you suggest I do?”

“You need allies, Majesty,” Edward urges her. “You must campaign for help amongst the other kingdoms.”

“Indeed,” affirms my father. “But you also need to find a safe place for those of your kingdom who cannot fight. King Maxton and Queen Leighton have been a godsend to us, but they do not have the strength to defend themselves, let alone us. We cannot bring danger to their doorstep.”

“Where, then?” I demand, growing frustrated. I understand that the faeries can’t provide us sanctuary forever, but it feels like we have no one in our corner. “Who are we supposed to trust?”

There’s a reason Red’s the queen and I’m just the lover.

 “Meridian,” she whispers. “We take them home to Meridian.”