Queen Midknight: The Wolf’s Bride - Chapter 179

Chapter hundred and seventy nine: the choice is mine.

“Who are you?” The voice was strangely calm for a man with a blade pressed against an artery.

“I am the girl that will slice your throat if you don’t do what I want, sire” Jamie answered and watched as the man tried to sit upright on the bed.

The chamber she had entered had been marked royalty and she was almost sure that the man she was threatening was the infamous king Ernesto of the North.

He was young just like Alexander. Probably a few months older than herself and Jamie wondered how some like this could capture, torture and turn her husband into a shadow of himself.

She wanted vengeance, she wanted blood and she wanted to humiliate him and his kingdom.

“What do you want?” The man asked her

“I need you to come with me quietly” Jamie answered in a calm steady voice that didn’t do justice to the anger she was feeling.

“And If I don’t?”

“But you will, your highness…come willingly or be dragged out kicking and screaming and with a stab wound possibly”

The man wanted to fight her but then Blake came forward threatening like he was daring him to try.

“Okay” he whispered and stood up.

Without seeking permission, Blake slammed the hilt of his sword into the man’s head and he fell like a sack of potatoes on the floor.

Semeen lifted him easily and they were on their way.

“Will he even survive that blow, Commander?” Jamie asked him.

“Do you really care?” Blake asked her

“No, I don’t” Jamie replied and started walking away.

Soon, they rejoined their team and they made their way out of the Midland. It was going to be a long trip.

Jamie Alexander and her captive, Semeen and Judd sat inside the carriage in silence.

Jamie did her best to keep the king comfortable on the bumpy road and with the silver chain gone, Alexander was slowly beginning to heal.

He drifted in and out of consciousness numerous times.

“You are alright now, sweetheart. Just sleep” Jamie always ends up telling him.

She had no idea yet whether Alexander was still in there or if she was talking to just Max.

Jamie silently prayed to all the gods she knew about Alexander’s mind.

“Just keep him in there until I can merge them, lord?”

Few hours later, they made it into the dark forest which was basically the boundary between Derkal and the Midlands.

Judd had to order for the carriage to stop when it became apparent that the midlanders were close by.

Semeen and Blake could smell them a mile away and they were moving at a dangerous speed.

The carriage jolted and stopped. Judd glued himself to the king’s side. Ursla was pissed that Jamie insisted on taking her hostage, therefore making her job difficult to do.

Semeen and Blake were on high alert.

Jamie wondered briefly why her spell didn’t hold up for longer, she was failing as a witch.

Alexander managed to take charge of his body briefly before they were surrounded.

He saw his Queen and he was overjoyed and pissed at the same time.

“What are you doing here?” He yelled.

“Saving your butt, your highness. Now, stop yelling…the midlanders are very close” Jamie snapped back before she realized that she was talking to Alexander.

“Alexander?” She called out softly.

“Yes, Monisha. It’s me”

Jamie left the hostage and hugged him tightly.

“I thought I lost you”

Alexander looked at Judd.

“Take her and run. The midlanders are ruthless. This is an order, lead knight”

Alexander ordered his brother.

“Touch me and lose a limb, Judd!” Jamie threatened.

“I am King! My word is law” Alexander reminded Judd.

“Sorry, Jamie” He took a step further to grab her but Jamie took a step back and grabbed her hostage.

“Fine! But I am taking my hostage with me”

Judd and Ursla were ordered to ride away with the queen. Judd only made it halfway when he disobeyed the order for the supreme order of a lead knight – a shadow knight never leaves a king behind.

“Ursla, make sure you take the Queen over the border safely. I am going back for the king!”

When Judd gave his orders and turned around to go back, he had no idea that Ursla didn’t consider the king’s word as law. She always followed Jamie’s order.

“Please, tell me that we are not sitting the fight out, Jamie” Ursla asked her.

“We are not” Jamie answered and turned the horse around.

Her hostage was beginning to regain consciousness.

“Welcome to the land of the living. What is your name, your highness?” Jamie asked the man.

“My name is Zuri”

“Isn’t his name supposed to be Ernesto?” Ursla yelled from her horse.

“Yes. Stop lying, King Ernesto” Jamie smacked the man’s shoulder.

“I am not. Ernesto is my father. I am crown prince Zuri. You grabbed the wrong man, Lady” the man answered in a nonchalant voice.

“Shut up!” Jamie snapped at him. “Does your father hate you?”

“I am his heir and only child, what do you think?” Zuri asked her.

“Good. Now, be quiet or you are taking another nap and by another nap I mean, I blow to the head” Jamie threatened him.

Soon they made it to Alexander and the werewolves and they were surrounded by about a hundred men and the wolves’ orders were to remain in their human form unless provoked.

Alexander slipped back into the void and Max took over for him.

“Where is my son?” Ernesto asked and since Judd had resumed command in the absence of the king and his weakened wolf, Ernesto’s sword was therefore pointed at him.

Jamie took her ankle blade and she pressed it to Zuri’s neck and they both walked to presence of Ernesto.

“Surrender my son to you, woman!”

“The title is her Majesty, Queen Janessa of the West, Ernesto” Jamie corrected him.

“Hand my son to me, your majesty”

“This is how this stand off will play off. You will surrender yourself to be to be punished for what you did to my husband or I simply take out my wishes of dear Zuri here but either way, my people are leaving here unharmed and I am taking my hostage with me”

Ernesto took the sword pointed at Judd and he stared at Jamie. She could see that he was intrigued and irritated by boldness.

“Do you really want to be making these threats, little Queen?” He tilted his head to the left as he watched her.

“Yes. And to show you how serious I am, I am going to count to five and if your men don’t slowly retreat and let my people go, I will stab Zuri…body part unknown” Jamie watched him curiously.

“1…”

Ernesto watched her.

“2…3”

He didn’t move a muscle. Jamie knew she looked ridiculous giving ultimatum to a king. It was unheard of and she knew that the king was an arse who thought she was incapable of carrying out her threat. So just to prove a point, see skipped number 4 altogether.

“…5” She took away the blade from his neck.

She could see the smirk on Ernesto’s face.

Jamie grabbed Zuri’s neck and she whispered something before she slammed the blade into his thigh.

“Ahhh!” He screamed.

“Sorry, Zuri, seems like your father hates you after all”

Jamie felt incredibly satisfied watching as the smirk wiped off the king’s face.

“Now that we have established that I am capable of such bloody monstrosity, you will take your men and you will return to your kingdom and we will start negotiation on his release or I could stab his heart next. Your choice, King Ernesto”

The king of the north thought about it for while before he spoke again.

“Lower your weapon!”

His men obeyed him.

“No harm should be fall my son, Queen Janessa or I will take your head. Be on your way, my men won’t follow you” Ernesto told her at last.

Jamie dragged the bleeding prince with the help of Blake to the carriage.

“Don’t worry, Ernesto. Your son shall receive the same amount hospitality you offered my husband. See you in ten days” Jamie and her crew made their way to the West with the bleeding prince and the mad king.

The question on everyone’s mind was will king Ernesto wage war against the new empire or will he tread carefully?

Jamie handed over the prince to Judd and she went by her husband’s side and held him.

“You came back” Alex murmured to her and rested his head on her chest.

“Of course, I did. I am not very good at following orders and….I wasn’t about to leave you behind again”

Alexander exhaled. He was too weak to talk anyway.

Jamie tried to control the bout of emotion going through her threatening to over take her. She clung to each other like they were the only people inside the big carriage.

Alexander watched her through his weakened bruised eyes. She looked so beautiful in the weird clothes she was wearing and her short hair.

And then he murmured to her.

“I am losing my mind, Jamie”