Hey guys! I'm going to the bookstore tomorrow, so I'm looking for recommendations for books to get! PM me any suggestions! Thanks! Enjoy!
I barely moved as Maxon's warm body left my side. He must have an early meeting. I curled my toes into the sheets, pulled the blankets up higher to replace Maxon's warmth, and fell back asleep. I slept a dreamless sleep.
I was roughly jolted awake by an eardrum-splitting noise. It took me a second to recognize it as the attack alarm. The rebels are here. I rolled over to wake Maxon, but he wasn't there. My blood ran cold as I realized I was alone. We hadn't been worried about rebel attacks and I still hadn't figured out all of the secret paths on this floor yet. I scrambled out of bed and grabbed my robe.
"Mary, Lucy?" No answer. I grabbed, our wedding photo off the nightstand and Maxon's camera bag. He loves his cameras. I could only think of one place to go, my old room as a selected. At least from there I knew where to go. I headed for the door, and opened it.
"Hello miss!" I stumbled backwards as a scraggly man smiled at me menacingly. He reached for my arm and a memory flooded my mind. I recalled the time I felt threatened by Maxon back when we first met. As I watched the scene playback in my mind I was aware of my knee coming up to hit the man in the groin. He double over and I tried to run as fast as I could. He was faster. "Feisty little bitch, aren't you?" I heard him snarl in my ear and this time he knotted his fingers in my hair. "I got the Queen!" I heard someone yell followed by several sets of footsteps. Desperate to get out, I flailed around to find any sort of purchase. The rebel twisted his hand in my hair and a scream ripped up my throat. "Shut her up!" One of the owners of a set of footsteps called. I heard myself screaming as if from a distance, and, as if from a distance, I heard my scream cut off sharply. The was a deafening sound and an unbearable pain seared through my stomach. A ringing in my ears was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.
Maxon's POV:
"Where is she?" I asked the nearest guards.
"We are still trying to get everyone to safety, Sir. We haven't seen her yet," a young man responded.
No! How has nobody seen her? Were they even looking for her? "SHE IS THE QUEEN OF ILLEA, SURELY YOU CAN MAKE HER A PRIORITY!" My voice echoed in the practically empty room. America and I are all that's left of the royal family and without her here, the room felt overwhelmingly huge.
"Your Majesty," I heard a familiar voice call from behind me. I turned and took in Mary and Lucy running across the room towards me.
"Mary! Lucy! Where's America?" They stared at me in shock and horror.
"We thought she'd be with you, sir! We hadn't seen her this morning, so we assumed she was still in bed," Mary spoke to me while Lucy tried to hold herself together. I remembered America telling me about how these attacks affected her.
"We're doing everything we can, Your Majesty." The guard appeared genuinely concerned about his queen. But she wasn't carrying his baby. "Fine, I'll go and look for her myself!" I ran to the door, "OPEN IT! NOW!" The guards hesitated, unsure if their loyalty was to me or my safety. "OPEN THIS GODDAMN DOOR OR YOU WILL BOTH BE CANNED AND STRIPPED OF YOUR CASTES AND-" At that moment the guards finally open the door.
I bolted out, "AMERICA!" I went to our suite. I didn't see her. " AMERICA, WHERE ARE YOU?" I looked under the bed and saw nothing but dust. As I ran back towards the hallway- CRUNCH. I reached down and found one of our wedding pictures cracked on the floor. It was stained red. My camera bag lied next to it. I picked it up, my camera was still in it. It was on and showed a single picture. America was bleeding out in the hallway on the screen. My heart stopped. The camera crashed to the ground and I ran. Dammit, where'd they take her?
When I turned the corner I smelled something coppery. Blood. As I followed it, the scent became more potent, the floor became sticky. I looked down and saw dried blood. The hallway bent and revealed a guard. "You! Have you seen the Queen?" The words came out in such a rush I was surprised he seemed to understand me. He turned and I saw the front of his uniform. It was covered in red. "Yes I have Your Majesty." Every muscle in my body tensed at his words.
"Whose blood is that?" My vision was narrowing into a tunnel. "Your Queen's!" The rebel's voice oozed confidence and his lip pulled up into a smirk. He pulled a gun from his pocket and aimed it at me. "Any la-" Adrenaline surged through my veins and my instincts kicked in. I tackled him to the ground. He managed to hold onto the gun, despite the force of the impact, and he aimed at my head. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath as he pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened but a soft click. "It appears you're in luck Maxon. I used the last of my bullets on your wife."