Queen Celene of Alera, Transport Room, Location Unknown

      The male I’d begun to think of as a hyena shoved me onto the transport platform, all pretense of trying to play nice… gone.

      I hid my smile. There were few things in the universe that could put that look on an arrogant male’s face—and being bested by a female—or three—was one of them.

      “Where are you taking me?” I asked, trying to keep my voice mild and sweet.

      “Do not speak, or I will wrap my hands around your neck and squeeze until you can no longer bother me.”

      I should have held my tongue. I wasn’t stupid. But I was proud of my daughters. Proud of my people. Proud of the fact that I’d not only survived this monster and his master’s evil plot to eliminate my entire family’s bloodline, but had returned to Alera with not one, but three daughters. Strong young women. Stronger, even, than me. “Four spires light the sky. A new queen is poised to take the throne,” I commented, not remaining silent at all. “Your master has failed. Do you really think he’ll allow you to live to speak of it?”

      With a shove, he pushed me down onto the cold, black surface of the transport pad, flinging me so that I fell to my hands and knees before I could catch myself.

      It hurt, but I placed my palms on the smooth surface and pushed myself into a sitting position so I could look up at him through the long strands of blonde hair hanging, unkempt, over my face. I’d been healed from their last bout of… evil. I was uninjured, but a bathing tube was a distant memory.

      His face was pale, the blood gone from his lips. The hooked scar that ran from the corner of his mouth down, past his