Katherine and Jasper had not been intimate in months, and being wrapped in his arms on a day that either of them could have easily died made her want him all the more.
She pulled her face away from his neck so that she could look at him, and she could see in his eyes that he felt the same way that she did.
She slowly leaned forward and softly pressed her lips against his, savoring the stolen moment they could share now that they were alone.
His fingers dug into her back, and they kissed with such need that it consumed them.
Katherine felt tears wet her face, and Jasper must have felt them too because he pulled back and brought his hand up to wipe them away.
"I'm scared, Jas. What if they hurt my parents? What if I can't get my mom back?" she asked with a crack in her voice.
A look of guilt filled his eyes. For the last year he had been tracking the rebels, and not even he had seen this coming, or she knew that he would have told her. She knew that part of him probably felt responsible for the fact that her mom had been taken.
He kissed her forehead and brought her head down to rest against his chest. He pulled his fingers through her hair and did his best to comfort her without words.
He did not want to lie to her.
Jasper was a royal guard and he was very familiar with the rebels at this point. He knew that Katherine would probably never see her mother alive or in one piece again.
They continued to sit there and wait for the return of the other guards, embraced in each other and in silence.
When the steel door's lock clicked, Katherine wiggled her way out of Jasper's lap and stood up to face whoever was coming.
Jasper stood up too, but stayed a couple of steps behind her.
Two of the guards, including Mark who had been on watch, entered the shelter.
Katherine immediately noticed that the two guards' white uniforms had been stained red with blood. "Are you alright? Whose blood is that?" she asked.
"It's not their blood," Mark answered for the two guards. Both of them were pale and looked as though they needed to vomit, while Mark continued to look as concerned as he had all day.
"Well? What's happening out there? Did you find the King?" She tried to be brave, but she could feel the tremor in her hands spreading throughout her body as she asked the men what they had found.
"The rebels are no longer in the castle or on the grounds. They are either dead or escaped. The halls are lined with the blood and bodies of guards and servants. We lost many today," one of the men finally managed to say.
"And my father? The King, did you find him?"
"Yes, we did," he hesitantly responded.
"Well then if the rebels are gone and it is safe, I need you to take me to him. I don't care what state the castle is in, I can handle it. I need to see my father. Please." she begged.
The three men exchanged glances, and Katherine felt her heart start to sink. Behind her, Jasper had started to walk towards her, and he placed a hand on her back to steady her when he reached her.
"By the time we had found King Richard, he and all of his guards were dead. There was nothing we could do. You are now the Queen, Your Majesty," one of the guards said.
All of them kneeled before her and bowed down their heads.
"All hail Queen Katherine Mors of Helios. Long may she reign!" they said in unison.
Then the world around her went black.
When Katherine woke up, she immediately knew she was in the hospital wing because the smell of antiseptic violated her nostrils.
She shifted her sore muscles and opened her eyes to find Jasper sitting in a chair across from her bed, staring at her.
He leaned forward when he saw that she was awake, and he cupped her cheek in his hand. "Katie, I'm right here. You're okay." It sounded like he spoke more for his comfort than hers.
"Jas," she started in a very hoarse voice.
"Shhh," he cut her off, "You've been asleep for three days. Take it easy and don't get up too fast."
She ignored him and did her best to sit up so that she could get out of the bed. Black swarmed her vision and she sunk back into the bed.
Jasper wiped her hair out of her face and brought a glass of water to her lips so that she could drink something.
She had been attached to an iv drip, but that did nothing for her dry throat, so she gladly gulped down the ice water to help numb her sore throat.
"I know you don't want to, but you need to rest," he told her.
"I can't," she said as she tried to maneuver her way back up slower this time, "I have to get to my mom."
Jasper actually had the audacity to chuckle, and she threw a glare his way.
He smirked at her and tilted his head before he asked, "You want to go take on the rebels in this condition? Don't be an idiot. You need to build up your strength. I've been doing everything I can to track the Queen Mother so that we can form a rescue mission."
Of course he had. Jasper was always fighting for Katherine, and she knew this time wouldn't be any different.
But the words "Queen Mother" echoed and played again in her head, and Katherine remembered that she was now the Queen of the East.
Tears stung her eyes that had become vacant. She didn't even know that she had whispered, "My dad."
"I'm so sorry, Katie," he said with sincerity as he gripped her hand in his.
She started to sob, and Jasper climbed next to her into the hospital bed and brought her close to him.
He held her as she cried until no more tears came and she had exhausted herself.
Then the nightmare truly began.