Page 5 of Princess (Marinah and the Apocalypse #5)

Marinah

Lesley Barnes was lucky, even if she didn’t think so.

For one, she wasn’t dead. And considering her disposition, it was a miracle.

Her original cell had also been upgraded, though I doubted she appreciated the improvement.

She now occupied a ten-by-ten box of a room, with an added bathroom outside those dimensions.

It wasn’t luxury, but it was better than the dirt floor and iron bars she deserved.

She was monitored around the clock. A guard stood outside her door at all times, enduring her endless complaints through the locked barrier.

That guard wasn’t there to keep her from escaping.

He was there to keep others from deciding that killing her might be entertaining.

Not that I really thought my Warriors would go against orders, but I’d hoped Lesley was a valuable pawn and I wouldn’t risk her safety. That hope had quickly dwindled.

Maylin, our doctor’s assistant, and mate of a Shadow Warrior, had taken care of Lesley due to her broken leg for as long as she could tolerate the woman’s relentless whining.

Then, with no small amount of relief, she’d given birth to a new baby and handed the duty off to Missy, who had far less patience and even less sympathy.

Maylin made it clear that birth was not her primary reason for running to the other side of the island.

She was worried the guards would need to stop her from murder.

On a brighter note, Nokita and Maylin were now the parents of three children.

Baby Two and Baby Three would grow to be Shadow Warriors.

Che, who would be seven soon, was human, but he didn’t act like it.

He worshipped Nokita. Maylin was a tough customer, but she loved her children and Nokita after losing her first Shadow Warrior husband when he rescued Che from hellhounds.

I missed Boot, the fallen Warrior. He turned into a good friend after a rough start.

Baby Boot, his son, was almost two years old and looked so much like his father.

Nokita didn’t mind at all. He loved his children equally.

Missy, after Maylin’s desertion, removed Lesley’s cast, an event that had only escalated the hourly screams demanding an audience with me. Mostly, I ignored her. But not today.

The Warriors stationed outside her door never failed to look traumatized whenever I arrived in response to yet another complaint. This visit was no different.

“Good morning, Togg,” I said as I approached.

Togg was a Shadow Warrior on the shorter side, not that anyone would dare call him small.

What he lacked in height, he more than made up for in sheer bulk.

His muscles were thick, his shoulders wide, and his neck was about as close to the size of a basketball as a human, or near-human, could get.

Togg was a deadly fighter, and I valued his fighting ability more than his brains or lack thereof.

He was here as punishment because he’d been caught teasing one of the island women in Beast form.

Not with maliciousness, he’d simply thought it was fun, and he liked her.

Unfortunately, he chose the wrong way to go about relaying his intent.

She was shaking when I’d come upon them.

The worst punishment I could think of for his stupidity was to assign him as one of Lesley Barnes’ watchdogs.

Now, as I stepped up to him, he looked skyward, his expression one of silent pleading. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he crossed himself.

“Good morning, Queen,” he said stiffly.

King was King’s given name. Mine was Marinah, but I’d given up trying to convince the Shadow Warriors to use it. Queen was better than Mate of King, at least.

“I don’t hear the usual screams.”

“Beck’s mate told her you would be down shortly. She’s been silent since.”

“Thank you. Please unlock the door.” I would have told him Beck’s mate had a name, but his thick skull wouldn’t have understood. Any woman mated to a Shadow Warrior was on a pedestal, and the Warriors felt it such a great honor.

Togg did as I asked, and I stepped inside.

Lesley immediately stood from her chair and grabbed her cane to look more pathetic.

She was about five feet four inches tall with brown hair that now had gray in the roots since she no longer had access to a beautician.

She had a thin, regal face with few signs of her age, which I assumed was late fifties.

Her nose was a little too long, but it worked for her wicked witch persona.

She was smart as a whip and a scientist like her husband.

Not that we ever saw her brilliant side.

Playing dumb might have been her greatest skill.

“It’s about time,” she said angrily. “Does anyone on this God-forsaken island have a clock?”

I ignored what she said. “I have good news for you. You have a work assignment. It took a week to arrange the room, but at least you won’t need to stay here day and night. You even have a window, though it’s high and you can’t see directly from it, sunlight filters in.”

She stared at me for a moment. “You expect me to work with my leg in this condition?” She pointed at said leg with an imperious finger.

“When you don’t work on the island, you don’t eat. Everyone has a job. We cooperate and make this a better home for the people. If you choose not to do your assigned task, I’ll have meal delivery stopped.” I kept my tone neutral.

“Again, what do you expect me to do with a crippled leg?”

“Work.”

“I thought my husband and the men under his command were cruel,” she bemoaned, her voice heavy with theatrical despair. “I never expected it from another, umm, another woman.”

“You’re more than welcome to say how you feel,” I said coolly.

“Would 'monster' be more appropriate? I have no problem being a monster.” I let the words settle before adding, “And on that note, Missy will no longer be helping you. You can help yourself or do without. I’ll check on you once a week if I have time. Otherwise, you’ll be locked in this room or in the workroom we’ve set up for you. ”

A single tear slid down her cheek.

I had no idea how she managed to cry on cue, but she did it flawlessly every time.

The woman was a backstabbing viper, and I was done wasting energy on her.

She was too dangerous to allow free roam of the citadel.

We couldn’t afford for her to learn anything about us.

Worse, she would have no problem stirring discord among the island’s women.

And I had just gotten them settled and made changes that gave them a sense of stability.

I wasn’t about to let this woman unravel my progress.

Lesley crossed her arms, her expression shifting from sorrow to pure defiance. Then, to drive home her so-called crippled state, she tapped the foot of her injured leg against the floor.

The sound was deliberate.

Annoying.

Calculated.

She wasn’t fooling me. It had been a clean break, and Axel, our doctor, had set and immobilized it properly. He’d said it would be as good as new in a couple of months. Lesley had milked her injury for long enough. Her days of idleness were over.

“Come with me,” I ordered, turning toward the door.

“I’m simply not up to it today,” she whined.

“No problem,” I said with a touch of glee. “Your food will be discontinued until you are.”

Without another word, I marched to the door, opened it, stepped through, and shut it behind me just as the wailing began.

I turned to Togg. “Unfortunately—” I cut myself off as a bloodcurdling scream rattled the walls. I waited for her to take a breath before continuing, “—she’ll be without food until she complies. If she doesn’t, her screams should grow weaker within a day or two.”

Togg straightened, his lips twitching with something dangerously close to amusement. “Yes, my Queen.”

Somehow, I doubted he’d mind the screaming as much.

I went to the meeting with the household staff.

Four women sat with me at a table tucked off to the side of the main kitchen. They ranged in age from twenty to sixty, each with a distinct presence that radiated the quiet confidence of women who knew their worth.

“My meal this morning was excellent, thank you,” I began.

“You are very welcome,” Beatriz said with a warm nod.

As head of the work staff, she oversaw everything from the kitchen to the team of workers who kept the citadel running smoothly.

At five feet nothing, she didn’t seem particularly imposing until she got angry.

Then, she might as well have been a giant.

She was also bilingual and served as the spokesperson for the others.

I was slowly learning Spanish, but I wasn’t confident enough to hold a full conversation without butchering it and possibly causing an irreparable incident because I used the wrong words.

“How are things going in the kitchens?” I asked.

“Much improved,” Beatriz answered. “Axel has asked us to add more fruit to your diet, and we received a nice shipment from the south island this morning. We have guava and mamey sapote for you. They will be included with your evening meal.”

I had no idea what mamey sapote was, but at this point, food of any variety always sounded good. “Thank you,” I said, offering a smile to everyone at the table.

Then I added, “Lesley will not require additional food today. She’s been assigned work duty and has refused to comply. When she’s hungry enough to work, her meals will resume.”

The soft smiles around the table transformed into full-fledged grins after Beatriz translated.

“Do you have enough staff now, or do you need more?” I asked.

Beatriz leaned forward slightly, her expression shifting to something more serious. “ Por favor , please do not place the evil senora on kitchen duty,” she begged.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You have nothing to fear. She will work in a solitary room where she has no chance to poison us.”

“ Gracias ,” she said with a relieved nod. Then, her expression brightened again. “We have much help now, and it is easier to feed the large beasts. They are also thanking us for the work we do.”

That last part caught my attention. The beasts, as she referred to them, weren’t known for showing gratitude, but if they were making an exception for the citadel’s staff, it meant they were finally figuring out that a simple thank you went a long way and improved our living quality.

It was a small shift, but a telling one, and exactly what I needed to hear.

I’d made it crystal clear that if the Warriors didn’t respect the people who kept them in food and comfort, I would start assigning them to the duties they didn’t appreciate.

The lack of respect had been one of the women’s biggest complaints.

The other had been the absence of a clear leader among them.

To fix that, I’d had them vote by private ballot. All but one chose Beatriz. I strongly suspected she had been the lone dissenting vote.

“Are your supplies up to the standards you need in case of a siege?” I asked next.

“We are prepared for anything,” Beatriz said proudly, lifting her chin.

“Good.” I nodded. “Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”

Our weekly meetings were a chance for them to voice grievances and keep me informed of things they thought I should know.

My mate was a brilliant commander when it came to his men, but he had no idea how to handle women.

They had been too afraid of him to say anything.

The responsibility of leading the Warriors and working out the problems with the women fell on my shoulders now.

It had been a steep learning curve. I was adjusting to life as a Shadow Warrior, commanding our Warriors, and being mate to King all at once.

The new changes that I’d implemented with staff had only been in effect for a few months, and Beatriz had been invaluable in helping me gain the trust of the women.

Beatriz’s eyes flicked toward Yamila, a pretty young woman who never quite met my gaze. Shy, I assumed.

“Senor Alden would like to court Yamila,” Beatriz said.

Yamila’s face turned crimson. Her English had improved enough to follow the conversation, and she clearly hadn’t expected to be the topic of discussion.

I kept my tone careful. “Does that pose a problem?”

“Yamila’s parents are dead, and I am acting as her guardian,” Beatriz explained. “We would like to know more about this man.”

I understood. “He is one of my personal guards,” I said simply. “He wouldn’t hold that position if I didn’t trust him. And if he ever disrespected any woman on this island, I would personally ensure he regretted it.”

Beatriz nodded, but the young woman still looked uncertain.

“Yamila is afraid of his beast side,” Beatriz added.

I understood this too. “It is scary,” I admitted honestly. “But this is Yamila’s decision, and Alden will respect her wishes.”

Before I knew I was a Shadow Warrior, they had terrified me too. Their beasts looked like something out of a nightmare. Think fictional werewolves on steroids: raw power, sharp edges, and barely contained violence. Add teeth and claws, and we were hairy and scary.

Yamila nodded slowly, then finally lifted her gaze to mine. “I like him,” she said in English.

A small smile tugged at the corner of my lips. That had taken courage.

I turned to Beatriz. “They have my blessing, if you are willing to give yours. I hope it works out.”

I had learned that the women preferred decisiveness.

They didn’t want hesitation or drawn-out discussions.

As long as I was fair and honest with them, we were all happy.

Taking care of the needs at the citadel was an endless job, and comfort would fall apart if it were left to the Shadow Warriors. It almost had.

The meeting wrapped up, and as I stood to leave, Beatriz handed me a small bowl of guava with a promise that a full meal would be waiting in my room when I finished my morning rounds.

I took the fruit with a nod of thanks, then made my way toward the practice area to see what King was up to.