Queen Material ( Ace of Queens #1)

Chapter 13

Ch 13

It was 2 in the morning when Xavier got an urgent phone call from Basil. He was needed in Berlin. Basil sounded panicked and didn't say much over the phone.

As Mardick quickly packed for the king, Xavier snuck into Rye's room. He wanted to see her beautiful smile before he left and promise her he would hurry back because now, finally, he had someone to come back to. But he couldn't bring himself to wake her up. She looked so peaceful in her sleep.

He leaned down and gently placed a kiss on her forehead. She stirred in her sleep but didn't wake.

"I'll be thinking of only you, love." He whispered as he tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. Even in her sleep, Rye moved her head to nuzzle in closer to the warmth of Xavier's hands.

He gave her one last longing look before he placed an envelope on her night stand and then slipped out into the halls.

Adela and Mardick were both waiting for him at the entrance.

"Mardrick," Xavier said, "Please look after my queen."

Mardick smiled an old wise smile, "Of course, your grace."

Xavier arrived in Berlin by sunrise. A black car waited for him and he was rushed to meet Basil in a town three hours from the airport.

He he arrived, he found Basil pacing in front of an old apartment complex.

"What's the emergency?" Xavier asked as he approached his Beta.

"We found her," Basil said in a low voice. But there was no trace of triumph in his words. "Xavier..." Basil paused and ran a hand through his hair.

Xavier watch the light reflect off Basil's chocolate skin and the paranoid and worried lines around his eyes stood out.

"What is it?" Xavier asked.

"It's a witch."

Both men stood silently in the cold morning air.

"That's impossible," Xavier said, "They're extinct."

Xavier recalled the horrors lycans and werewolves had to face because of those vial creatures. Witches were lycan's worst enemies. They fed off of lycan and werewolf blood. He had thought he had seen the last of them after the great war over a 100 years ago. But he couldn't misread the look in Basil's eyes.

"Well apparently not," Basil said.

He lead Xavier into the building. They climbed up to the 4th floor and entered an empty apartment. The paint on the walls were peeling off and the once beautiful hardwood floors were smeared in dirt and dried blood. The room was crowded with guards and officials from the palace and in the middle of the dirty floor was a woman.

She had long silver hair that matched her pale skin. She kneeled on the floor with her head hanging low. As Xavier approached her, he could smell the bitter smokey scent witches. It made his nose twitch.

The woman slowly looked up. Her face was nothing but sharp cheekbones and a pointy nose. Her skin was pale as paper, but her eyes were ringed bright red. She smiled up at Xavier.

"You came," She said. Her voice sounded like an echo. It rang in Xavier's ear. "I've tried so hard to get your attention."

Xavier lowered himself to look her in the eyes. He still couldn't believe they were alive, "All those bodies? You wanted me to come find you."

"Yes," the witch smiled.

"What is your name?"

"Alice," the witch said. She winced in pain as her movements caused the iron chains around her body to rub against her skin. Iron burned witches.