Capture the Crown (Gargoyle Queen #1) -Jennifer Estep Page 0,50

knees and slid the other under my shoulders. Then he stood, easily climbing to his feet. His muscles tightened as he cradled me in his arms, and the heat of his body soaked into my own, despite his thick coat. I drew in a breath, and his honeysuckle scent washed over me, soft, masculine, and intoxicating all at once.

I lolled my head to the side, too tired to do anything other than stare up at him.

“Don’t worry,” Leonidas murmured. “You’ll always be safe with me.”

His words were soft, but each syllable rang with a fierce promise that made my weak, treacherous heart quicken. His gaze locked with mine. Then he turned and strode away from the edge of the chasm, still cradling me in his arms.

* * *

Leonidas carried me to the front of the shaft. He gently set me down inside the cart before climbing in next to me. “Take us back to the surface.”

His icy command left no room for argument, only obedience.

Reiko gestured at the other miners. “You heard him. Let’s move.”

She, Javier, and the miners pulled on the rope attached to the wall, and the cart quickly rose to the top of the shaft.

Once again, Leonidas scooped me up into his arms and carried me out into Basecamp. After being down in the dark, the bright golden rays filtering in through the mine entrance made me hiss with pain. Still, I didn’t shut my eyes against the warm, harsh glare.

I was far too grateful to be seeing sunlight again.

Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the light. I couldn’t tell exactly what time it was, although I got the sense it was in the afternoon, which meant I had been in the chasm for several hours.

Someone’s boot scraped against the ground, catching my attention. Off to the right, a dozen miners clutching pickaxes surrounded another, smaller group of men who were huddled on their knees. What was going on?

Leonidas stopped in front of the miners. Suspicion surged off those folks, and they backed away from him. The miners might be holding sharp tools and greatly outnumber him, but the stone-cold look on Leonidas’s face clearly indicated he would kill anyone who tried to stop him.

“Move,” he commanded.

The miners stepped back a little more, revealing the seven men huddled on the ground—Conley and his crew.

Conley’s eyes bulged, and his shock stabbed into my gut like a dagger.

I glanced around at the rest of the miners, most of whom looked wary, worried, and confused—except for Reiko. The dragon morph grabbed a nearby chair, brought it over, and set it down in front of Conley. She nodded at Leonidas, then stepped back, although her gaze kept flicking from me to the prince and back again.

Leonidas carefully swung me down and into the chair. I wobbled, so I grabbed the sides of the seat to steady myself.

“Can you sit up?” he asked.

“Yes,” I rasped.

“Good.” He turned his head to the side. “Get her some water.”

Javier scurried away, then returned with a glass of water, which he pressed into my hand. “Slowly. Just take a few sips at a time.”

Even though it was just plain, lukewarm water, I wanted to cry as the wetness coated my tongue and washed the dirt, dust, and grime out of my mouth. Water was something else I never thought I would experience again.

Leonidas studied the men kneeling on the ground. Conley ducked his head, but the prince pointed him out, and a couple of the other miners grabbed the foreman’s arms and hauled him upright.

“Let me go!” Conley shouted, but the other miners forced him to stand along one of the walls.

Leonidas studied Conley with an icy expression, as though the foreman were a slug he was thinking of squishing beneath his boot. A chill rippled down my spine. In this moment, Leonidas looked eerily like Maeven had during the Seven Spire massacre.

A couple of miners moved forward, carrying something between them—Penelope. Leonidas must have raised her off the ledge too.

The miners set Penelope’s body down in the open space between Conley and me. Someone had closed her eyes, but her face was still twisted in shock and pain. The water I’d drunk roiled in my stomach. That could have been me—that would have been me, if not for Leonidas.

The prince stabbed his finger at Conley. “Is this the man who threw you and that other woman down into the chasm?”

His accusation boomed through the cavern like thunder. Shocked murmurs rippled through the miners’ ranks, and they