The Lost Queen
Page 26
Her problem wasn’t with my sense of décor, however, so I waited her out. One of the benefits of immortality, time was always on your side.
Finally, she turned back to me, her arms folded. “I’ve been forgiven,” she snapped.
Wasn’t expecting that.
“Um—what?”
“You know something about my past. Not a lot. Not anywhere near everything. But I’ve done some things I do not regret. They needed to be done, and I did them.”
She spoke with such a mix of conviction, pride, and self-loathing that all I could do was stare. Gamon wasn’t looking at me, however; she was looking at the line of pneumatic tubes behind me, and she wasn’t really seeing those either.
Gamon continued. “I’ve long since come to terms with my crimes. I’ll be judged—or I won’t—I really don’t give a damn. But this…” She grimaced. “This is just weird.”
“You say you were forgiven. By whom?”
“I don’t know, exactly. But when I left my mark on a place, it was deep and wide. The energy shifted, and stayed shifted. Bleak, soulless, lost. For years and, in some cases, decades.” She shifted her gaze to me, and her eyes were hard and cutting, as if daring me to defy her. “That’s the way it needed to be.”
“And now?”
“It’s shifted back. I’m not saying it’s healed. I did too much damage for that. But the collateral deaths and injuries, the innocents I harmed because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, that energy should still be there. It’s not. In its place is something new and different. Something…almost hopeful.” She flexed her hands into fists. “I don’t like it.”
I bit my lip, struggling to keep a straight face. Only Gamon would decry the day when enough time had passed for some poor soul to pray for her forgiveness instead of her cruel and painful death. “What would you like me to do about it?” I asked evenly.
“Find that chunk of metal, wherever it got to, and destroy it,” she said without hesitation. “It’s clearly dangerous. It needs to go.”
“I dropped it into space,” I protested. “It probably burned up in the atmosphere.”
“It didn’t,” she said darkly. “It’s out there somewhere, and I worry it won’t stop doing—” She flapped her hands. “Whatever it’s doing. You’re the great artifact hunter. You need to find it.”
“I—I’ll try,” I said, forcing myself not to shade my voice too gently. There was something else going on with the star of Myanya, something Gamon was concerned about…something reborn? I didn’t know, but I had no desire to poke what was obviously an open wound. “I’ll look for it wherever I go. If it’s causing that much disturbance, I suspect it’ll turn up sooner rather than later.”
“It needs to be destroyed,” she said again, but her voice wavered slightly, and she glanced away. “I didn’t realize what its powers were before I had you throw it. I just wanted it away from me. That was clearly stupid.”
She stood then, nodding sharply at me. “Justice,” she said, and for the first time since she entered my office, her mouth slid into a half grin.
“Judgment.” I stood as well. I walked around the desk and accompanied her out to the lobby, not missing her continued disapproval of my décor. For a woman who preferred her environment cold, utilitarian, and a million miles up in the sky, I didn’t think she had any room to talk.
Mrs. French had apparently left for the night, and after I closed the door on Gamon, I turned back to my office. No matter how judgy Judgment was, I liked the place. It made me feel connected to past Justices, particularly Abigail Strand, whose life I needed to look into more deeply anyway.
I headed toward the library to do exactly that when I heard the familiar shuddering noise from my inner office, the sound of an incoming case—one arriving from some distance, from the sound of it. No matter how silly it felt, I truly enjoyed actually seeing a case land, so I changed direction and returned to my office. My desk was clear, but sure enough, the third tube to the right was vibrating in earnest now, preparing to receive a new canister—
Shhhhh-thunk!
But there was nothing there.
Frowning, I moved toward the wall of tubes, then peered into the velvet-lined trough that served as a landing pad for the more well-behaved canisters—as opposed to those that simply shot out into the room, clanging against the desk, the chairs, or the far walls. There was something there, but—it wasn’t a canister.
My brows shot up.
I reached out and picked up a small silver pendant, no bigger than a nickel, swinging from a long metal chain. It was a fiery ball of flame, a shooting star, and as I held it in my hand, it warmed to the heat of my palm. Something light and buoyant danced across its surface, and I found myself grinning despite myself, my heart filled with unexpected joy.
Where it’d come from, who’d strung it on a chain, and why it had landed in my office, I couldn’t begin to guess, but as to what I’d do with it…
I closed my hand around it and held it to my heart.
“I’ve got you, Inanna,” I whispered. “A new day has dawned, and I’ve got you.”
Then I turned out the lights of Justice Hall, and headed home.
~ ~ ~
Thank you so much for reading THE LOST QUEEN! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the book. If so, I welcome any and all reviews on the book retail site of your choice!
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Books by Jenn Stark
Immortal Vegas Series
~complete~
Getting Wilde
Wilde Card
Born To Be Wilde
Wicked And Wilde
Aces Wilde
Forever Wilde
Wilde Child
Call of the Wilde
Running Wilde
Wilde Fire
One Wilde Night (prequel novella)
Wilde Justice Series
The Red King
The Lost Queen
The Demon Enforcers Series
Demon Unbound
Demon Forsaken
Demon Bewitched
A Note From Jenn
Tracking down the Lost Queen eventually led Sara to the Queen of Swords, who represents the shrewd, often lonely, always cutting Queen in all of us! If you draw the Queen of Swords in a reading…brace yourself. Things are about to get real.
The Queen of Swords
As you may remember from my previous book, THE RED KING, court cards are generally about people—the ones you know, the ones you’ll meet, or possibly even yourself. The Queen of Swords, however, is quite unique in your world, so chances are, you’ll recognize her immediately when you see her. Strong, incisive, and maybe a little cutting, she’s very smart—with a razor-sharp wit and a keen sense of responsibility. She may not always be the warmest of friends or confidantes, but you can trust that she’ll tell you what she really feels, and that her strategies will be dead on, particularly in conflict. In fact, in some interpretations, the card is thought to represent Pallas Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and warcraft. Conversely, this queen can also seem quite lonely—the card has been termed “the widow’s card” in other interpretations—but her alone-ness may well be by choice. Don’t make assumptions when it comes to the Queen of Swords, or you may regret them! When this card does not represent a person, you are most likely involved with a project or issue that requires shrewd insight and sharp intellect to ensure your success, so put your thinking cap on. It’s considered a card of wariness, strategy, and standing on your own two feet, so rest assured: you’ve got what it takes to tackle any challenge. When you see this queen in your reading, square your shoulders, lift your chin, and be prepared to put your mind and will to work. You’ll amaze yourself and those around you with what you’re able to accompli
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Acknowledgments
Writing THE LOST QUEEN has reminded me of why I fell in love with Sara Wilde in the first place, and I am incredibly grateful to my readers, who continue to allow me to write these stories. Thank you for the adventure, and I hope you enjoyed this tale! I continue to be endlessly grateful to Elizabeth Bemis for her beautiful work on my books and my site—especially my gorgeous series covers. My editorial team of Linda Ingmanson and Toni Lee kept me straight, as always. , Any mistakes in the manuscript are most definitely my own. I remain deeply grateful to Edeena Cross and Sabra Harp for their brilliant beta reads, and to Kristine Krantz, who survived this book with barely her sanity intact. And, of course, thank you, Geoffrey, forever and always. It’s been a Wilde ride.
About Jenn Stark
Jenn Stark is an award-winning author of paranormal romance and urban fantasy. She lives and writes in Ohio. . . and she definitely loves to write. In addition to her Immortal Vegas and Wilde Justice urban fantasy series and her Demon Enforcers paranormal romance series, she is also author Jennifer McGowan, whose Maids of Honor series of Young Adult Elizabethan spy romances are published by Simon & Schuster, and author Jennifer Chance, whose Rule Breakers series of New Adult contemporary romances are published by Random House/LoveSwept and whose modern royals series, Gowns & Crowns, is available wherever ebooks are sold.
You can find her online, follow her on Twitter, and visit her on Facebook!