Page 52 of Inked in Emeralds (Inkbound #3)

A knock rattled the door, jolting me from sleep. Duncan's voice filtered through, muffled but clear enough.

"Hey, you two awake? Need you down in the throne room. The birds are back."

"Be right down!” I called, raising a hand and using my magic to light the lamp beside the bed. “They know we were…together.”

Hook stretched beside me, clearly unbothered at having been caught sharing my bed, and as I caught sight of his muscular chest covered in Tideblessing tattoos, I was feeling less bothered by the second myself.

“Unless you plan on making them all wait on us another twenty minutes, you better get that look off of your face,” Hook growled, his eyes locked on my mouth.

“Right. Going!”

I swung my legs out from the covers, grabbing yesterday’s clothes from the floor and dressing fast, my eyes pinned to the floor. Hook did the same as he buttoned his shirt.

As I settled my whip on my hip and moved for the door, though, his fingers closed around my wrist. He spun me around, yanking me flush against him and kissed me hard on the mouth.

"Once we have a few minutes," he said, voice rough, "we need to have a talk about us."

“I thought…” I cleared my tight throat, heart suddenly hammering as I tried again, "I thought there was no us?"

A grim smile curved his lips. "Liar." He brushed past me and called over his shoulder. “Better run a brush through that hair before you come down or Moll’s going to be pissed.”

Was it me, or did he seem lighter, somehow? Did I dare hope that our night together had changed something between us…something inside him?

Later.

There would be time to think all this through later, when an entire empire wasn’t relying on me.

When I got to the throne room, Freya handed me a steaming mug of black coffee and a crust of bread.

Hook was there shortly after drinking his, watching my every move over the rim.

I took a long sip, not caring that it burned my mouth.

It was bitter, but it would do the job, and that was what I needed after only a few hours rest.

“Bless you,” I murmured to Freya with a smile.

Fetch perched quietly on the arm of my throne, his feathers looking bedraggled. I reached out, brushing his wings gently to right them. Exhaustion radiated from him in waves, and I winced. He was getting older. I needed to keep that in mind before I sent him out on long flights like that.

I’m sorry, old friend. Rest now.

He ducked his head in acknowledgment as Billy stepped forward.

“Bonnie’s first,” she said, handing over a tiny scroll.

I blew out a breath as I opened it and scanned the contents, instant relief easing the tightness in my chest.

"They're coming. The Eastern faction is on its way. Forty men, twelve women fighters, and several elders and mothers with young ones that can help behind the lines."

The room buzzed with murmurs of excitement.

“Fetch’s, from the North.” Billy handed me the second scroll, and I took it, hoping for similar news.

My stomach sank as I read the first few lines.

"They aren’t coming." I lowered the note, glancing up at the anxious faces around me. “They would need to pass Almira’s territory to get here in any reasonable amount of time, and the monkey population is too thick. If they leave en masse, they'll be slaughtered before they ever reach us."

I found myself wishing I hadn’t accidentally dropped the quill and ink before getting sucked out of Oz, but who knew if it would’ve even worked in this case?

Pulling people from the book into C’an Saas wasn’t the same as moving them around in a story, and something told me that the quill and ink was meant to create the prophecy and the prophecy only.

Once all the players were in place, it was up to us to write our story, and we didn’t need a quill and ink to do it.

I read on, frowning as I took in the rest. "There's something else…a spy in Almira's kitchen staff says she returned yesterday and hasn't left her quarters since."

"That's good, isn't it?" Duncan said. "Means she’s weak."

I nodded slowly. "Projecting herself into Oz and the attacks outside and in Emerald City would’ve drained her. This might be our chance."

More fighters would’ve been good news, but there was one in particular that we needed more than any other. In fact, more than a hundred others.

I turned to Freya. "Gayelette, the witch…do you know where she’s being held?"

“Aye.” Freya pursed her lips. "She’s imprisoned in a cave to the north, about two miles from Almira’s keep."

I paused, an ember of hope blooming in my chest. “You mean she isn’t being kept somewhere in the lair itself?”

“No, Your Highness. According to our spies, Almira wanted her to suffer in solitude as she herself did when your father sent her to the Dreadkeep for all those years.”

And there it was. Through it all, I’d sensed it was more than just a quest for power. There had been a hatred in her eye when we’d locked gazes through the glass bubble back in Munsch Kin Land. One that went deep. Now I finally knew why.

“She had long since lost her way,” Freya continued. “Gone from mischievous to cruel and was only getting worse. Your father had no choice. But it stoked the flames of rage, and she spent her time in the Dreadkeep growing stronger, preparing for revenge.”

I nodded, trying to think with my head and not with my heart. “Let’s take advantage of her emotional choice and use it to our benefit then. Before we march on Almira, we rescue Gayelette. Let’s come up with a plan. There are no bad ideas, so if you have something to say, speak.”

Before anyone could, the door burst open and one of Freya’s men rushed in, his face pale. “Your Highness, you need to see this!”

Freya was already pushing herself up from her seat, and Duncan paused to help her stand as the rest of us rushed after the guard. He led us down a ruined corridor that led to the palace doors.

He shoved them open, and I squinted as light flooded into the chamber. The full, radiant sun had just crept over the horizon. Something that Freya and her people hadn’t seen in months. She let out a choked gasp, gripping my arm to keep from stumbling.

I held her up, but it was a task as my own knees buckled.

The palace grounds and everything I could see beyond them were a blackened wasteland.

Ruined buildings as far as the eyes could see were a grim reminder of the kingdom my father had lost. Twisted, long-dead trees littered the grounds, and there wasn’t a speck of green in sight.

Not even a blade of grass had survived, as if Almira had been intent on stamping out every sign of life.

“It’s a miracle,” Freya breathed. “Our Queen has returned and brought the sun back with her!”

I could hear the ripple of excitement around me, but it couldn’t touch the block of ice that had formed in my chest. How could something this broken ever be fixed?

“It’s a lot, I know, but you just need to breathe.”

Hook’s low voice in my ear had me searching for some crumb of calm.

“Don’t look at it as a problem. Use that big brain of yours and figure out how to use this as an opportunity.”

I sucked in some air and nodded.

Think positive. Think opportunity.

It’s not a wasteland. It’s a…Fucking hell, it’s a wasteland.

I scrubbed a hand over my face and tried again.

It used to be dark, and now it’s light again. Old burnt up buildings and dead trees don’t matter. With time, we could rebuild. So long as the sun is shining?—

“So long as the sun is shining, most of the monkeys can’t come out,” I mumbled, turning to face Hook as my heart pounded with excitement. “So long as the sun is shining, we can make a play to rescue Gayelette!”