Warrior's Hope (Dark Protectors #16)(69)



“That is permissible. I could live with the age gap,” he said.

Her knees trembled, but the stupid skirt hid the weakness.

“For now, your king awaits.” Ulric stepped to the side. “You should hasten to obey his orders. He may appear patient, but you’ve only witnessed that side of him. I look forward to your meeting his true countenance. You may then come crawling to me for solace.”





Chapter Twenty-Nine


The guards escorted Hope across the main living area to a heavy, shielded door on the far side of the fireplace. They knocked before opening it and then gestured her inside. She followed their directions and stopped at the sight of Drake sitting on a heavy leather sofa across from two matching chairs. The room was a large office complete with a conference table and several monitors on the wall.

An unmanned computer area formed an L-shaped desk in the far corner. “Come in,” he said, gesturing toward one of the chairs. His gaze swept her. “You look beautiful.”

“I feel like I’m dressed up for a Halloween party,” she said, holding the skirt so she could walk across the floor without tripping on the voluminous folds.

He poured two cups of tea, his gaze heated. “If you were, you would be dressed up as a queen.” Next to his cup sat a glass full of what looked like Scotch.

“I’m not a tea drinker.” She sat gracefully in the seat and stared at him before leaning forward and snagging the glass. The liquid heated her stomach, and she’d bet it was Glenlivet from a good year. “Not bad.” She placed the heavy crystal down.

His eyes warmed, and he sat back, smiling. “We need to speak before making our announcement tomorrow at dawn.”

“Speak?” she repeated, her spine straightening. There had to be a weapon in this room somewhere, although she wasn’t quite sure what she would do with it. “What would you like to talk about, Drake?” Sarcasm loaded her words.

“I can tell you’re upset.”

“No shit,” she snapped.

His nostrils flared. “There’s no reason to swear. Queens don’t swear.”

“How do you know? Have you known any queens?” She gestured around the room, her attention focused on the large monitors in the corner. “What are those yellow dots?”

“They’re enhanced females,” he said, his gaze remaining on her. “We have systems all over the world, and now we’re using satellite technology to identify them by energy signatures.”

So he admitted to tracking them. “We’ve done the same by hacking into the sensors you placed in various cities,” she admitted. “We know about the satellites too. What we don’t know is why.” She focused on those greenish purple eyes she’d known since childhood. If he wanted to kill Ulric, then he didn’t want the females so Ulric could allow his soldiers to partake in the devastating ritual. “Why are you kidnapping enhanced females?”

Drake waved a hand in the air. “It’s irrelevant. It doesn’t have anything to do with you, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

“You know, as a condescending dick, you’re doing a great job.” The skirt was hampering her movements. If she needed to kick, it was going to be difficult.

“I hardly think name-calling is necessary,” he said. “If you’re trying to get me to lose my temper, I don’t have one.”

Everybody had a temper. “I thought you and I were going to work together.”

“We are,” he said. “Between the two of us, we will broker peace, after we kill Ulric.”

She couldn’t tell if he was lying or not. “So you really do want him dead?”

“Yes. He’s undermining my authority, and his appetites are uncontrollable. He harms women. He harms everyone, actually, and I don’t like it. In addition, he wants to duplicate that ritual he performed long ago, and I can’t let that many enhanced females die.”

For the first time, a kernel of hope unfurled within her. “You don’t want to hurt people?”

“No. We need them for mates.” Drake appeared long and lethal on the leather sofa. “I really do want peace. Once the Realm is destroyed, I’ll have it.”

Her throat hurt from trying not to scream at him. “Then what are you doing kidnapping enhanced females, if you’re not helping Ulric?”

“It’s none of your business,” he said slowly, enunciating each word. “I understand things are different in the Realm, but in my nation, everybody has a place. Our society is very organized.”

One of her eyebrows rose on its own, and she realized her head still hurt from teleporting. “What exactly is my place, as you see it?”

“As queen, you can have anything and do anything you want.”

“What if I want to help enhanced females escape?”

He looked away and then back. “That is not going to happen. You can beat your head against the wall as much as you want, but they’re here as long as they’re useful, and then I set them free.”

“What does that mean?” she asked, the skin prickling along her nape.

“None of your business,” he repeated.

Was he just bringing the women here to see if the soldiers wanted them and letting them go if they didn’t? It didn’t make sense to her. “What about Ulric’s grand plan to kill all enhanced females?”

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