May and Meg preread this, and ceceprincess is the muse.
With the kingdom's safety in the capable hands of Princess Alice, a line of three transports packed with eighteen additional guards pulls away from the gate as we venture into the desert. Emmett knows the route to Kingdom Black, his homeland, so we'll use that and my instincts to guide us to the exact spot where the travesty with Edward occurred.
"I never thought I'd leave the safety of those gates again," Rose says, hunkering down in the seat beside me.
"I wish you would've stayed," I reply, taking her hand and linking our fingers. "We don't know what's out there."
"Where you go, I go." She gives me a small, sad smile. "Boy, how the times have changed."
I lay my head on her shoulder. "Right? And whatever happened is nothing but a nasty bump."
"I have faith that it's going to all work out," she murmurs, closing her eyes.
"It has to." It's the only way I can function.
I catch Emmett watching us from a seat over and up one, and I give him a sad smile. He's worried about what this trip will mean for him, and I get he's concerned over Edward's wrath, but I'll gladly face it compared to the alternative.
No Edward.
But he's alive.
I know he is.
A part of me would've died with him, and that hasn't happened.
Yet.
"You should rest," Emmett says softly. "Edward had been gone for five hours before you alerted me, so you have time for a nap."
"My mind is too busy," I reply with a sigh. "A thousand scenarios are constantly running on a loop. With our bond being so new, I don't know what it would take to trigger this desolate feeling inside me."
"Maybe they had an accident," Emmett says, and I get he's trying to toss out things that would be better than others, but it doesn't help.
"Whatever it was, it didn't feel accidental," I reply. Rose mumbles something in her sleep, and it draws Emmett's attention. I huff a laugh. "I don't know why you two keep doing this dance. It's obvious you're attracted to each other."
He nods, while also making a tutting sound. "She's very pretty, but attraction? I don't know. My feelings about Rose are perplexing."
I snort. "She does that to people."
He doesn't take his eyes off her as he smiles. "I can imagine. Look at the lengths Royce King of Forks is willing to go for her return."
I purse my lips, anger rising to the surface as soon as Royce is mentioned. "That prick only cares because she told him no. He has many beautiful women at his beck and call, but that isn't enough. It's the challenge he cherishes."
A low growl rumbles in Emmett's chest. "I'd like to get my hands on him."
"You may well get that chance if the Kingdom Cullen is unable to stop him, and with Edward missing, the chances of proving our marr—"
"You don't know that," Emmett barks, his canine heritage coming out in full force. "For now, we're simply checking to see there's been no foul play, and I need it to stay that way until we know for sure."
He's pleading with me, so I nod once. "Have it your way."
"Thank you." He dips his chin and moves to the front of the transport to boss other people around.
I shift my focus out the window and spend hours watching the unending desert scenery pass by. I don't know where we're going, but instinct tells me it's the right direction. The closer we come to where Edward was last thriving, the more I'm sure I'll know that place the second I see it.
Rose wakes from her nap at some point and forces me to eat some crackers and drink water. Though it's a light snack, it clumps into a thick ball in my stomach, making me regret choking it down.
"Can you tell if we're close?" She's sitting upright, peering out the window.
"Yeah," I reply softly. The incessant thrumming that's been present for the past hour is so loud it drowns out any sound beyond the bubble of the seat Rose and I occupy. "It won't be long."
"What's going on?" Rose is speaking to Emmett now, and I'm unsure what prompted the question until I see his handheld radio close to his mouth.
"Who's he talking to?" I ask her.
"It's the transport ahead of us," she tells me, her voice anxious. "There's a rest stop ahead, and it looks like a vehicle is there."
Emmett and three other guards surround our seat, tension radiating off them in waves. "Princess," he says, but whatever follows is completely lost to me.
The hum is so loud now that I grab my ears to make it stop, and that's when I realize it's inside me. I jump up, searching, pushing Emmett aside so I can look out the opposing windows.
That's when I see it.
A small, unassuming building in the distance.
"There." I point, searching to make sure Emmett is paying attention. "Take me there!"
By the time we roll to a stop, men from transport one are already outside. There are several of them surrounding something, while another two are crouched on the ground. Terror rushes through me, and I bolt for the door, but Emmett pulls me up, leaving my feet dangling.
"I can't let you get off this transport, Princess," he says, and the pain in his voice robs me of breath. I kick and fight, refusing to let him steal this moment from me. "It's not Edward, so calm down."
It takes several seconds for the words to register before I slump with relief. "Who, then?"
"It's Garrett," he says solemnly. "He's dead."
"How?" I whisper, bracing myself.
"Murdered."
"And Edward?"
He sets me on my feet and turns me to face him, large palms gripping my shoulders tightly. "His scraper isn't here."
"He didn't escape," I say, resigned to this horror.
"I believe you," Emmett replies, shifting his gaze to Rose who's hovering just behind me. "I'm sending a transport ahead to retrieve the king and queen, leaving another here to collect Garrett, and this one is returning to Kingdom Cullen. I need you safe behind the wall. Edward never forgive me if something were to happen."
"I understand." Tears fill my eyes, the breakdown I've avoided so far simmering below the surface. "Protecting my babies is paramount."
Three more Cullen guards load into our transport, and we hightail it away from the deathly scene. I'm sure there are clues that will help find Edward, but I've done my part. I've alerted his people.
Now it's time to grieve.
So I turn into Rose's arms and break down.
Thursday :)