Rise of a Queen

Chapter 7

Startling chills took siege of my body so abruptly that it caused my eyes to snap open and my body went rigid in preparation for a fight. A habit I had developed from my time with the Tribe. My fists clenched tightly and my muscles took on tension should I need additional strength to defend those sleeping beside me.

But no fight was needed. The room was still dark due to those heavy curtains blocking out any sunlight, but a thin strip allowed just enough light through for me to see that the couch was abandoned and its resident now stood over me, holding the blanket away from my body.

Brandon wiggled the fabric, "Rise and shine."

An internal groan transferred outwardly and I snapped at him without fully meaning to, "What do you want?"

"I want you to get up." He answered. In response, I ripped the blanket away from him and pulled it up to my chin, burrowing deeper. But no sooner had I snuggled back into a comfortable position using Lumiere's side as a blazing source of warmth, the blanket was ripped away again. This time I curled in on myself and contemplated all the ways I could potentially kill Brandon; strangulation, blunt force trauma, a good kick to the balls. Over and over and over and-

He shook the bed hazardously, causing it to thump against the wall, "Get up."

"What time is it?"

"Four."

I glanced upwards, "A.m.?"

He tried not to laugh, "No, p.m."

What the hell? We've only been sleeping for a little over four hours, that's hardly enough sleep for anyone to function on, let alone to travel across the country. And if I'm expected to spend any amount of time with Brandon without killing him, I'm going to need more sleep than four lousy hours.

I ignored his next round of insistence and tucked my head under my pillow, "Just let us sleep a little longer."

"Dustin may not have a little longer." Came Brandon's gruff reply, "Besides, there is somewhere we need to be by tonight."

That caught my interest.

"Where?" I wondered

"It's a surprise."

I peeked out from under my pillow to glower, "Where?"

He only grinned, tossing the blanket over my head to cover me completely, "You're grumpy in the morning. Come on princess, wake the troops. I'm going to the front desk to check us out."

I muttered something back to him that sounded incredibly close to an insult but he only chuckled in response and closed the door behind him when he left, slamming it louder than necessary. I made a mental note to thank him for this graciously delightful wake-up call.

Only for a moment did I contemplate going back to sleep but Brandon's words drifted through my head on a constant loop. We don't know the full extent of Dustin's situation yet, only that he has been taken and kept hidden. He is probably in pain, alone and at the mercy of his captors. And worst of all, he doesn't know that we are coming. He believes he has been abandoned even as we continued our trek across the country to save him.

That belief will destroy him more than any injury.

Perhaps the Council is keeping him alive but there is only so much mortal care can sustain. And Dustin won't survive another revival from the dead. He needs us, now more than ever.

We can sleep when he is safe.

So I pushed myself up and flipped my legs over the side of the bed, finding my shoes exactly where I left them. I slipped them onto my feet and hurried to the bathroom. The sight of my reflection in that mirror was no different than it had been this morning.