The Queen of All That Lives (The Fallen World Book 3) by Laura Thalassa Page A

time and space separate us, he sees me.
    “Don’t let him.”

Chapter 15
    Serenity
    I sit there long after the video ends.
    The general sent me a message from beyond the grave. That’s obviously what this is. The final meeting that we never had.
    I rub my palms against my eyes, ignoring the wetness that seeps out from under them.
    I can’t even say what I’m sad about—that the general’s gone, that I’ve been left behind, or that a burden the size of continents has fallen onto my shoulders.
    When I exit the room, Montes waits for me.
    It’s almost implausible, that those two worked together.
    The king gives away nothing as he takes me in. I’m sure my eyes are still red.
    “Why did you show me that?” I ask, stepping into the hallway and closing the door behind me.
    “Why wouldn’t I?”
    There are so many reasons. The general wasn’t kind to the king in his video.
    “You’ve watched it?”
    Montes steps in close, that dark hair of his swept back from his face. His features look more regal than ever as he stares down at me.
    “I have,” the king says.
    So he’s heard the general’s unflattering assessment of him, and he’s also heard my final order. I’d be surprised that he showed me the video, except that it benefits Montes. The general essentially tasked me to remain close to the king.
    “How long has he been dead?” I ask.
    “Sixty, almost seventy years.”
    I reel from that information, but of course. The general was already old when I knew him. For him to live three extra decades is extraordinary.
    “He cared for you,” Montes says.
    “I know that,” I say quietly.
    “Does the Resistance still exist?” I ask.
    Montes studies me, then slowly shakes his head. “The group splintered into several other organizations about a decade after the general died.”
    And, given the king’s timeline, that happened over half a century ago.
    “So they no longer exist?”
    “They no longer exist,” he affirms.
    Time is a spooky thing.
    A world without the Resistance … it seems just as implausible as a world without the WUN or the king. They were once a great ally, and then a great enemy, but for them to no longer exist at all?
    I’ve never considered the possibility.
    Apparently, even deathless things can be killed.
    The king leads me back down the hall.
    “Where are we going?” I ask. My voice echoes in the cavernous space.
    “Dinner.”
    I haven’t thought about food in hours and hours, full as I was on this new world and all of its revelations.
    I catch more glimpses of abandoned halls and closed doors as we wind our way through the palace. The door we eventually stop at looks like every other, but a faint smell of smoke clings to the area.
    He opens it, and I catch a glimpse of the room beyond. A series of antlers decorate the walls. A billiard table sits in front of us, and farther into the room couches surround a grand fireplace. That same smoky smell lingers like a haze in the air.
    “What is the name of this room?” I ask, taking it all in.
    “The game room.”
    I smile at the name. “The king and his games,” I muse, stepping inside. “I’m surprised the game room and the map room aren’t the same.” Lord knows the man finds war and strategy vastly entertaining.
    Montes whispers in my hair, “Now’s a good time to remember that you promised me intimacy. Keep talking as you are, and I will put that mouth to other uses.”
    Hand it to the king to think of the most creative way to shut me up.
    “I see you’re still fluent in threats,” I say because I can’t help myself.
    “My queen,” he says, stepping away, “it’s only a threat if you don’t want it to happen.”
    A part of me does in fact want it to happen. My heart’s deepest wishes contradict all logic.
    I move farther into the room. The space is an ode to highbrow masculinity.
    “This place looks nothing like you,” I say, taking in the antler chandelier high above us.
    Montes heads towards a round table