Page 35 of Renegade Queen

Alyssa

Alyssa

“Damon’s body is missing.”

Dean’s words rang through my mind, and strangely, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief for a man I didn’t even know.

I watched as Maddox fell to his knees in the middle of the gruesome clearing, the bodies of his brother’s unit torn to pieces on the ground around him. But he didn’t see them. He didn’t see the horror because all he could feel was relief.

Turning to where Fizzle was sulking on the tree branch, I squinted in suspicion at him. Obviously, there was something he hadn’t told us about what had happened here.

“Explain,” I barked out, not wanting to take his sass any more.

Couldn’t he see how important this was? We weren’t fucking playing here.

Fizzle glared even harder at my tone, and I could see he was getting ready to either flee or push this into an argument where he didn’t actually tell us anything we needed to know.

“I warn you now, Fizzle, if you try to run, I’ll have the bear sit on you until you finally remember the truth.”

He ruffled his feathers in outrage and clacked his beak at me before he finally softened and looked at me with something like pride in his eyes. “The human realm has helped you find your fire,” he told me proudly. “I knew you had it in you, little one.”

Maddox and Dean finally left the clearing, but Fizzle never once broke eye contact with me, and I never said a word as he searched my eyes for whatever it was that he was looking for. Eventually, he nodded, and I saw the sadness come across his face as he started to explain.

“The Endless did this,” he told me, confusing me even more. I’d never even heard of them before, and it struck me how much Nymeria had probably changed while I’d been away. “As soon as they came through, they were upon them. They had to know they were coming. They were waiting. Two were injured as soon as they stepped through. Surprisingly, they were able to hold their own and make their way to the clearing where they planned to make a stand. They should have stayed amongst the trees. Because as soon as they stepped into the clearing, The Endless set a pack of infernal hounds on them. It was pretty much over then. They fought valiantly, but death was inevitable.”

“The Endless?”

“A lot has changed while you’ve been gone, Alyssa. And none of it has been for the better.”

“What happened to Damon?” Dean barked, stepping forward like he was getting ready to shake the information from Fizzle.

“The Endless took a human. He was injured, but not beyond what would be possible to heal,” Fizzle told him.

“Where did they take him, Fizzle?” I asked, my tone leaving no room for argument.

Fizzle’s eyes looked around the group of us, but then it was like he suddenly realised something and shuffled closer along the branch. Curiously, it was the guys he was more interested in than me.

“He’s just a human, so it’s unlikely they will have taken him to the training camps. It seems like the king sent them here to retrieve that specific human. If that’s the case, they’ll have taken him to the Winter Court.

“Fuck,” I swore, pacing away from everyone as my fingers raked through my hair.

Of course, it would be him.

And, of course, it had to be there.

“How long ago did they set out?” I asked, already knowing the answer but clinging to the hope that we could somehow intercept them on the way.

“He’ll already be at the palace by now,” Fizzle said glumly, knowing precisely what I was thinking. “There will be no saving him from there, Alyssa. You should all leave before he sends The Endless for you too.”

“What is The Endless?” Tank asked, voicing the question I’d noticed Fizzle had avoided until now.

Fizzle’s eyes darted to me, and then he explained, “They’re the king’s personal army. The ones that carry out the worst of his orders.”

“There’s something you’re not telling us,” Dean said gruffly, not bothering to try to ease the information out of Fizzle. “You’re hiding information from Alyssa because you know it will make her want to stay, and you want her out of here as quickly as possible. I get it. But it’s not happening, so cut to the point already.”

Perhaps having Dean around was actually going to be useful. Not to mention entertaining.

Fizzle angrily clacked his beak at Dean and then went to turn his back on us. It must be bad if he was working this hard to keep quiet. At least he wasn’t thinking about running this time.