Another Chance for the Luna Queen

I poked at the strawberry topping and said, "Hello, Elizabeth."

"Hello, Mrs. Black," she teased.

"So, you saw that," I replied, equally amused.

"There was a lot of power behind the word 'wife,' wasn't there?" Elizabeth said. "I think they actually made him mad. I've never seen Alexander mad before."noveldrama

"Don't exaggerate," I said. "They annoyed him, and he let them know to back off. That's all."

"Well, I hope Damien would defend me with the same vigor if he were annoyed," Elizabeth replied.

"I'm confident he would," I said.

There was a long silence from Elizabeth that made me wonder if the call had disconnected. A glance at the screen confirmed it hadn't. "Are you still there?" I

cked.

“Yeah,” she said. "Look, I wish I was just calling to tease you about the press conference, but there's serious news I need to discuss with you."

My heart sank. "Well, that's not good," I muttered. "Has something happened?"

"You spoke to my father yesterday," she said. "So, I'm sure this won't be a complete surprise, but I wanted to let you know that both David and Archer Gray were arrested this morning."

My heart stopped beating.

I stared at Elizabeth's name on the screen, but I wasn't really seeing it. I wasn't seeing anything. What she was telling me didn't feel real. I knew it was coming, but I didn't expect it to be so immediate.

Which was ridiculous. I'd heard the king give the order myself, but still...

"You're sure?" I asked.

"Positive," she replied. "They're being held in my father's private custody. He doesn't want a public outcry on their behalf, so he's trying to keep things secret. I wanted to make sure you knew, since it won't be in the news. I wanted you to know, so you could rest a little easier."

A nervous laugh escaped my lips, and I shook my head. "No I can't," I said. "But I'm relieved to know that things are happening-progress is happening."

"Ella, you sound strange," she said, concern evident in her tone. "I know this must be a lot to accept."

"It is," I agreed. "And I'm sorry if I'm concerning you. Please don't worry about me. I'm going to be just fine. I'm just not sure what this means."

"How so?"

"I mean, they have other allies. I feel like it's going to be obvious that this has something to do with me. I don't know what to expect. I mean, Amanda wasn't arrested, was she?"

"No," Elizabeth said, her voice tense. "There wasn't enough evidence against her."

"That makes sense," I said softly. "Thank you so much for letting me know, Elizabeth. I'll talk to you soon. I just need a few minutes to process all of this." "Take all the time you need," she said sincerely.

****).

Thank you," I said before ending the call.

This was it, then. It was all really happening, and yet I felt like I was in more danger than ever.

There was so much more going on here. I'd have to rely on lexander's resources until there was enough evidence against Amanda to act if only I knew what those resources were, or where they came from.

A renewed sense of frustration overcame me. Alexander had promised me that he would tell me what was going on, that he would open up and reveal the truth, but he still hadn't done it. I spilled my guts to him, yet he kept his secrets. It didn't seem fair.

Just as the heat of my anger was reaching a boiling point, beard the front door lock click open, and Alexander stepped in.

I jumped to my feet and stormed towards him, my anger getting the better of me. "We need to talk, now!" I declared.