Chapter 2
"Look, girlie," Thalia pinned the black-haired girl down with her gaze. "I don't have much patience right now and definitely not enough time to waste."
It was a lie. She had a lot of time to waste. She did nothing all day but she wasn't about to tell the newcomer that.
"So either tell me your name and why you need to meet the king or come back another day," She challenged the girl.
"Fine," The girl said with an exaggerated sigh after she tried to stare Thalia down to no avail. "I'm Andrea Blanc and I'm here to give some information about the recent surge in werewolf killings."
Thalia's eyes widened in surprise. She had no idea that werewolves were being killed. Was that why Rafail was so tense all the time? She felt another wave of guilt hit her as she thought about how she was ignoring her duties on top of her mate-bond.
"Yuu-hoo," Andrea waved a hand in front of Thalia's face. "You okay?"
Thalia shook her head, the sudden movement effectively pulling her out of her thoughts. "Yeah, follow me," She said and walked towards the palace.
Andrea looked around in fascination. The palace was a gigantic masterpiece of architecture. The combination of white marble with light-colored wood made up for a perfectly relaxing interior. The colons were hidden by decorative plaster and small led lights were wrapped around the top parts, offering a touch of modernity. The staircase looked like it went up for miles as the carefully designed handrails offered protection to anyone scared of heights.
Beige-colored carpets were placed in different corners of the entrance corridor. A piano sat on top of one of them with a vintage, one-person red chair in front of it. There were many closed doors, leading to different rooms of different purposes. Andrea could smell food being cooked so she guessed that one of those rooms was the kitchen.
As Thalia climbed up the stairs, Andrea tried to make out the faces on the portraits that hung on the walls around her. Considering that they all had crowns on their heads, she guessed they were the portraits of the previous kings and queens.
Andrea almost bumped into Thalia's back when the queen came to halt before turning towards Raf's office. She walked inside as Thalia held the door open for her.
"He'll be back soon," Thalia informed the young girl. "Take a seat."
"Can't you link him or something?" Andrea's snappy voice irritated the shit out of Thalia. "You're a werewolf so you should be able to."
"Wait here," Thalia gritted through her teeth before slamming the door shut behind her. "Roi, where are you?" She linked the beta.
"With Cedric," Came his reply. "We have a council meeting soon if you want to attend."
Thalia bit her lip. She had refused to attend any meeting even though Roi had always let her know she could join. And now she got to know her people were being killed through a human girl. She had failed them and she couldn't continue to do so. Not when lives were on the line.
"I'll be there. Thanks for telling me," She said, taking Roi by surprise.
"Um," He stuttered. "That's great. Any particular reason for linking me?"
"Yes, actually," Thalia sighed. "There's a girl here that wants to meet Raf," The words came out more bitter than she would've liked.
"A girl?" Roi asked in confusion. "What's her name?"
"Andrea," Thalia grumbled. "You know her?"
"Tall, black hair, hazel eyes?"
"Yes," Thalia replied with surprise. The girl wasn't lying about knowing Rafail. Who the hell was she?
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Crowned King (Throne of Thorns #2)
Fantasy'Heavy is the head who wears the crown.' Rafail knew the words to be true as he weighed the gold piece in his hands. He had finally managed to avenge his father and take back a kingdom that was rightfully his. But at what cost? As a new threat cam...
