Chapter 29

“My Queen, Ryuu has arrived,” one of her guards informed Theanna as she looked over the battle plans once again.

With a sigh she looked up. “I told that silly thing to go home and protect his females. I swear, no matter the race, males are stubborn and refuse to listen. I'll be right there. Just stay out of his way.”

“Yes, my Queen.”

With a wave of her hand, she put the plans away, well aware she was being watched. She made sure that a part of her 'plan' escaped and fell to the floor where it could be acquired and taken to Reniac. Leaving the room she smirked as she headed outside to the courtyard.

She found Ryuu snarling and snapping at anyone that got too close, including Damian, who stayed off to the side. “Ryuu! You stop being so cranky and mean right now. I told you to go home, protect your females.”

*'No! Females fine. Many eggs hatch soon. You, I protect.'*

“I can protect myself, thank you very much. I don't want anything to happen to you. You're as important as I am. You're just being a stubborn male!” Theanna accused as she placed her hands on her hips. Ryuu nuzzled up to her, giving her his best pitiful dragon look. “Oh no! Don't you give me that look, mister!”

*'You, I protect. You, best Queen.'*

“You know, I could order you to go, but I'm sure that you'd find a way to circumvent that order wouldn't you.” With a deep sigh, she reached up and pet his snout. “You're going to insist on being a part of this battle aren't you?”

*'You, Queen of All. You, I protect.'*

“Fine, fine, but you must obey all orders including those of complete silence, yes?”

*'Yes!'*

“Alright, my stubborn Ryuu. You'll remain by my side. BUT, no more threatening my mate. NONE!”

*'If you die, I eat him.'*

“Oh, good grief. Go on, you! Go eat and rest,” Theanna rolled her eyes at him. As he flew away she headed towards her husband and muttered to him, “Don't let me die or he'll eat you.”

Damian busted out laughing. “Well, then. No dying.”

“Agreed. Now I'm hungry. I can't remember if I've eaten yet today. Let's head inside and grab something. How are Sophia and Avalina? Did Sophia settle in ok?”

“She did. They were very glad to be reunited. Last I was told, they were chatting away, catching up. Avalina still worries about Ajax though.”

“I'd be surprised if she didn't. They’re destined for each other and have already started to develop feelings for each other. Hopefully, tomorrow this’ll all be over. I know I'm ready to finally be able to sleep long and hard without worrying for one night,” Theanna smiled wryly.

~~*~~

After dinner, Theanna decided to take a walk around her private garden off of her bedroom patio, in an effort to quiet her mind of all the thinking and planning it was doing. Tomorrow was the big day, the day before the Red Moon. If the Titans were going to attack the Dark Realms again, it would be tomorrow.

What practically guaranteed that they would was that she now had everything they needed and wanted. What they didn't know was where she kept it and they wouldn't be able to find or gain access to it without her. Most importantly to her though, she was determined not to lose a single Daemoni in the upcoming battle. She was also determined to rescue every single Lycan, especially now that, with Ajax's help, they knew exactly where they were keeping them.

Every weapon was prepared with the poison and every General knew the plan inside and out. They would end this tomorrow one way or another. Yet, she found herself continually wondering if they'd somehow forgotten something important. It left her feeling unsettled and unprepared. She didn't like that feeling at all. So, now she found herself unable to relax, her brain reviewing everything over and over again. Looking up at the sky, she inhaled the clean air deeply.

Suddenly, a horrendous scream broke the peaceful sounds of her garden as she realized that couldn't seem to breathe at all. A pain unlike any other flowed through her as she looked down and saw a large spear sticking out of her chest. Blood filled her mouth as she coughed it out and collapsed onto her knees.

Seemingly out of nowhere Damian was there holding her. As he cradled her forward and wrenched the spear free of her chest, Thea's eyes saw the large hole in her chest as blood poured out of her mouth. Looking up at Damian's face, she barely had the strength to reach up to touch his cheek before darkness filled her vision and she was aware of nothing.

~~*~~

Damian was on his way to his bedroom to join his mate when he heard his name called. Turning around with a smile he saw Hezin approaching. “Hezin! It's good to see you back. We'll need you tomorrow.”

“My Prince, it's good to be back. How's my Queen? I couldn't help but worry about her safety while I was away,” Hezin asked with a smile as he clasped Damian's forearm in greeting.

“She's well. She missed you. She lost her temper with a few of her guards while you were gone. They annoyed her,” Damian chuckled.

As the two of them walked down the hall towards the Queen's private quarters Hezin replied with a laugh, “I heard. Cazikel's punishment area has never looked so spotless.”

“Indeed! Come, she's undoubtedly thinking too much in our private gardens. She worries about tomorrow. It'll please her to see that you've returned,” Damian laughed as they entered their quarters and headed to the patio doors.

As Damian opened the door, he heard a Daemoni battle cry cutting through the silence as a spear went flying through the air. Horror filled Damian as he watched as it hit Theanna in her chest between her breasts. “ZOQA!” he howled as he flew to her.

Hezin seeing the culprit attempting to escape immediately switched from his human form to his Daemoni form and used his speed to suddenly cut the smaller Daemoni off. He recognized this Daemoni as a member of the palace staff. “You! Why do you attack your Queen, traitor?!?”

“She’s not my Queen. She’s a filthy hybrid, less than any true Daemoni. I refuse to work in the palace as a lowly servant to someone less than I am! The Titans will make me a Prince. I serve King Reniac!”

“You fool! King Reniac would only destroy you, but no worry, I'll take care of that for him,” he snarled at him as his hand enclosed the traitor's throat before he could even respond.

Using his long claws to dig into his neck, he slowly, in the most painful way possible, twisted one of his arms and kept twisting until he literally twisted it from his body. As the Daemoni howled in pain, Hezin did the same to his other arm. Releasing his throat, he snarled as the traitor fell to the ground. Picking him up by each ankle, he tore the traitor in half as he screamed, “Theanna is our one and only Queen. FOREVER MY QUEEN!”

Once the traitor lay dead on the ground in pieces, Hezin moved to Damian's side as he removed the spear from the Queen's body. Watching as she tried to reach up to touch her mate's face before going limp, he asked as he collapsed down onto his knees, “My Queen?”

It was then that he noticed that Damian wasn't panicking, but rather had his eyes closed and he seemed to be muttering to himself. As he watched, the gaping hole in her chest started to close and heal and after several long moments it was completely healed, the only proof of what happened was the bloody hole in her nightgown. Damian opened his eyes and whispered, “Thea, my love, my Zoqa, come back to me. It's time to wake. We have a battle to win tomorrow. You know I cannot exist without you, wake up my beautiful Zoqa.”

Thea suddenly gasped as her lungs filled with air once again. With a cough, she spit out all of the blood in her mouth. “What in the ever loving realms just happened?” she exclaimed, filled with anger.

“A rogue Daemoni tried to assassinate you, my love. Emphasis on tried,” Damian added with a smirk.

“AGAIN?!? Where is he? I'll show him assassinate,” she growled.

“I already did, my Queen. I apologize. I was filled with rage over his cowardly actions,” Hezin explained.

“Hezin! You're back! Thank goodness! If I have to put up with one more annoying guard who thinks he can order me around or another assassination attempt because it's break time or some such nonsense, I'm going to show them the true meaning of the phrase 'bitch Queen'.”

“There have been more attempts?” Hezin asked, anger showing again.

“Several. Theanna has already decided to make some changes to your ranks. The training among the Royal Guard is less than adequate,” Damian's own anger started to show as he helped his mate to her feet.

“Thank the gods! I've been wanting to make changes because of issues that I've seen but the complaints seemed to fall on deaf ears.”

“You report directly to me now, Hezin, and we'll make the necessary changes, but after the battle. In the meantime, show me the remains of the traitor,” Theanna ordered.

Hezin led her over to the remains. He bent down and picked up the head to show it to his Queen. “I made sure there was no coming back from this death.”

“Another of our staff. This confirms to me what we suspected, there are spies. I'm glad we've kept the plans quiet except for the Generals. If word of what we plan makes it to the Titans our suspect pool will be quite small. Amelia will be livid though. I don't envy the remaining staff once she learns of this,” Theanna chuckled darkly.

Hezin and Damian laughed and cringed at the same time. “As someone who has been on the receiving end of one of those rampages, Zoqa, I pity any staff members she even suspects.”

“So the truth comes out, I have Amelia to thank for you being so well trained,” Thea teased her mate.

“Indeed, my love, indeed!” Damian agreed as he placed a kiss on her temple.

“Hezin, I'm sure you're tired. Get some rest, Damian will be with me now and I need you by my side tomorrow. It’ll be a very important day for all of the realms,” Thea said to him as they went inside.

“Of course, my Queen. My sword is yours to command. I'll stop by and talk to Amelia as well as make sure the mess is cleaned up outside. I'll see you in the morning, my Queen. My Prince,” he said as he bowed to them both before leaving them alone.

“Come, my Queen, let's get you out of that ruined nightgown,” Damian stated as he removed the offending piece of clothing. With a wave of his hand, a large deep soaking tub with steaming water appeared in the room. Removing his clothing, he led Theanna over to it. Climbing into the tub, he lifted her up and into the tub. Together they settled with Thea's back to his front.

“Mmmmm... this is nice, Dnirya,” she sighed as her eyes closed.

Damian's hands began massaging her neck and shoulders, occasionally escaping lower as he caressed her skin. “Just relax, my Zoqa. We're ready for tomorrow but until then, let my love ease your soul.”

“Damian, how did I get so lucky? You're everything I ever wanted or dreamed of having in a partner. You're an alpha male with a love so deep it leaves me in awe. You support me and raise me up more than I ever thought possible. You aren't threatened by me in the least little way. If I have to live forever I'm blessed beyond measure that it's with you by my side,” Thea told him as she caressed his legs.

“I'm the one who is blessed, my Theanna. Just as I had your symbol tattooed over my heart, a heart that you own completely, my soul is yours and yours alone. There's no existence for me without you.”

Thea tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck to his lips as he kissed her shoulder and his lips traveled up along her neck. Moaning softly, she closed her eyes as she gave herself over to the sensations her mate was bringing forth.