A Queen This Fierce and Deadly (Kingdom of Lies)

35 THE QUEEN

Regner was dead.

I’d seen that much from my hiding place in the forest. And still, it was difficult to believe. The hybrid queen had been too busy mourning her little friend to take the grimoire.

Zathrian should be killing her at this very moment.

My entire body trembled. I was so, so close to getting everything I’d ever wanted.

I could practically feel the grimoire calling to me from where it would be tucked inside Regner’s cloak.

Tymedes had fallen to his knees close to the edge of the forest, disbelief stark on his face as he watched his soldiers turn and retreat.

Rothnic bled heavily from one arm, stumbling around as if he were drunk. Nearby, the remaining patriarchs stood in a circle. They would be planning their next moves. Debating who would take Regner’s crown. And the moment they had the chance to kill my son, they would take it.

Unless I killed them first.

I mapped out my approach. Tymedes had to die first. Otherwise, the moment he saw me—or Jamic—we were dead.

There was a chance the other patriarchs would fall in line the moment they realized I was back. And when I had the grimoire, they would be forced to bow to me.

Rothnic was too dangerous to let live. Already, he was stumbling closer to Regner’s body.

He wasn’t as wounded as he was pretending.

No, he knew about the grimoire. And he was about to take it.

I had to strike now.

Tymedes stiffened as I stepped up behind him, the blade my son had given me wedged against his throat.

“And so it ends like this,” he said, his voice dead. “Killed by the hybrid heir.”

“Not quite,” I hissed.

He tensed, angling his head until his eyes met mine. And those eyes were wide. “You?” He let out a choked laugh. “Of course it would be you.”

I’d thought slitting his throat would feel more satisfying. But as his lifeblood gushed over my hands, all I wanted was more.

He was choking on his own blood, and yet he still managed a laugh.

The sound sent a chill down my spine, and I whirled.

Jamic was just steps away, his eyes wide as he watched me slaughter Tymedes.

“You said you would run.” His eyes… They were so wounded, it was as if he was that little boy once more.

“I know.” My voice sounded thin and desperate even to me. “But I’m doing this for us.”

“The bitch killed Tymedes!” Rothnic cried out, suddenly no longer dazed.

“Kill the boy. Now!”

A strange expression came over my son’s face. An expression that looked almost like…resignation.

My gut tightened. Jamic hadn’t expected to live through the war. All he’d wanted was for Regner’s rule to end.

A man walked out from the forest, drawing my attention. Even the patriarchs went silent.

“Pelysian?”

Lightness swept through my body. This man was little more than his mother’s puppet. But if he was here, it was because he had a plan. It wasn’t over.

Rothnic laughed. “I’ve wanted to do this for years,” he hissed. He lifted one hand.

My eyes met Pelysian’s.

And realization swept through me.

He wasn’t here to help me rule. He was here to watch me die.

“Jamic, run!” My voice was a desperate shriek. I just had to buy him a little time. Just enough time to disappear into the forest. Leaping toward him, I caught sight of wide green eyes already filling with tears.

He didn’t need to cry. I would—

Pain. So much pain. Searing straight through my back and into my gut.

I’d expected magic to slam into me.

It was a bolt from a crossbow instead. And from the acid that swept through my body, that bolt was poisoned.

I hit the ground, agony blazing through every inch of me. I screamed, writhing.

Someone laughed.

The laughter abruptly cut off, sending my heart plummeting down into my stomach.

Time had frozen. The hybrid heir had arrived.

My gaze found Jamic’s. “Take…grimoire.”

Pelysian stepped in front of me, breaking my line of sight.

“Help us,” I mouthed.

He simply shook his head. “Nelia knew you needed to die here. She gave her life to ensure it would happen. To ensure you would help the others find the amulet and kill the king.”

Nelia…

The pain was blinding now. A glimmer of pity flickered in Pelysian’s eyes.

No. It…it wasn’t fair. I’d just needed more time.

“Why?” I gasped out.

“You would never stop. You have been twisted by Regner’s evil. And if you lived, you would have twisted your son. Our people would suffer for it. And I would never allow that to happen.”

My eyes burned. My son had endured everything Regner had put him through and somehow remained good. But that goodness was a kind of weakness. And he would be preyed on.

“Protect him.”

“I will.” Pelysian’s expression tightened. “If only you’d chosen differently. I had…hopes for you. For us.” His expression hardened. “In times of war, sacrifices must be made. Goodbye, Your Majesty.”

His gaze moved past me to Prisca. I was already gone to him. Already nothing more than a corpse. But sorrow glittered in his eyes when he looked at Jamic.

My son was suddenly stumbling toward me, his lost expression making him appear so young, my heart broke all over again.

My power slipped from my grasp. The patriarchs cursed, falling back.

And Galon…

Galon killed them all, his sword slicing them to pieces.

He moved so quickly, it took me a moment to understand what he had done.

My stomach swam. I was so, so tired of death. But they had already tried to kill Jamic, and he wasn’t yet crowned.

The Eprothan heir sat by his mother’s side, stroking Kaliera’s hair back from her face.

It was a bad death. Long black tendrils had formed over her skin, poison ravaging her body. She shuddered in agony.

But she died looking at the only person she’d ever loved.

Perhaps such a death wasn’t so bad after all.

The man beside him was staring at Daharak, who gave him a narrow-eyed glare. “What are you doing here?”

“Mother sent me.”

This was Pelysian. And he’d just calmly watched Kaliera die.

Daharak seemed to accept that, but her gaze darted between him and Kaliera’s body.

Slowly, Jamic got to his feet. And he was looking at Madinia.

“My power was not returned to the fae when they used the amulets,” Jamic said. “There is something… different about it.”

Prickles slid across my skin. Next to me, Lorian stared at Jamic as if he was now a new threat.

But Jamic was still speaking.

“Do you remember that promise you made me? That you would do something for me?”

Madinia nodded. “I do.”

Trepidation raked an ice-cold finger down my spine.

“Will you keep your promise?”

“Yes.”

“Then you know what we need to do.”

Jamic held out his hand. All of us stood and watched. Asinia, wrapped in Demos’s arms, Tibris, his hand clutching Herne’s. Marth, Galon, Rythos, Vicer, every general and several curious soldiers.

Madinia took Jamic’s hand.

And he led her toward Regner’s body.

I pulled at the threads of my power.

Nothing.

Whirling, I found Zathrian watching me. His eyes flickered with sorrow.

“You fucking bastard.”

Demos bared his teeth and launched himself at my cousin.

Zathrian ducked, rolling away.

“Just fucking wait,” he snapped. And unlike on the battlefield, when he’d called me a fucking coward, there was no disdain or fury in his voice now. No, it was filled with baffled frustration.

“Leave him,” I said.

Demos cursed, turning on me.

But his eyes went wide. Next to me, Lorian jolted forward, raising a hand of his own.

But Madinia had already picked up the grimoire. Jamic held one of her hands, and his skin glowed slightly. He was channeling power into her.

Oh gods.

“Don’t open it!” Lorian roared.

She ignored him, flipping it open. Jamic used his other hand to balance the grimoire, and Madinia turned the pages quickly, as if searching for something. Her eyes…

“Her eyes are turning black,” someone yelled. “She’s lost. Kill her before she becomes a threat like Regner.”

“No,” I croaked. “No.” My voice was louder this time as I studied Madinia’s face. Yes, her eyes had darkened and her hands were shaking—as if the strain was tearing her apart. But there was no victorious flush to her skin. She wasn’t celebrating the fact that she had the dark book. No, she looked as coldly irritated as ever, as if seconds away from snarling at all of us.

She was still her.

“Give her a moment,” I said.

Demos growled. “You’ve always given her too much rope.”

“No,” I said as she lifted her head. “You’ve never given her enough.”

Power surged through me in a rush, heady and addictive. My nerves tingled with a new awareness, as if coming to life.

A strange kind of warmth settled over my body. Inside me, something that had been sleeping…something I had never acknowledged… opened one eye.

There was no pain. My jaw no longer clenched while I ground my teeth against the ache of my wounds. My power came to me easily, urging me to burn and destroy.

I was power. I was might. I was reborn.

“Madinia!” Someone was screaming. I frowned, glancing down at the book in my hands. There was something I was supposed to do.

The power reached for me, seductive, curling around my skin and stroking. It was somehow…familiar.

It was the familiarity that sliced through the fog.

I understood now just why Regner had become who he had become. It wasn’t an excuse—he’d chosen to embrace everything this grimoire offered.

But I wanted no part of it.

My power came to me easily, and I closed my eyes, visualizing it as an orb of fire. The grimoire’s magic was seeping toward my mind, whispering of all the changes we could make. The good we could do together.

I poured my fire toward the black cloud of magic, and something dark roared back at me.

Moments. I’d have only moments.

Desperately, I continued flicking through the pages. I couldn’t explain exactly how I knew, but I was certain the page I needed would—

There.

It seemed to glow, dragging my attention to it.

The words were foreign—a language my mouth had never been meant to speak—but they came to me easily.

For a single, terrifying moment, I wondered if the book had tricked me. But the dark, malevolent power seemed to howl its displeasure.

The words rolled off my tongue as if I had spoken them every day of my life.

Regner had used oceartus stones to steal, transport, and gift human power.

He’d used the curse of his webs to turn those who loved their family and friends into traitors.

I would undo what he had done. This would be my legacy before I left this continent.

I spoke the final word. The book thumped closed. For a moment, it seemed as if nothing had happened.

And then the screams sounded.

Horror sliced through me. But…

The screams were jubilant. Celebratory. Joyful.

Sparks began to rise from Regner’s body. And from every general nearby.

In the distance, back toward our camp, human rebels were raising their weapons in the air. Many of them glowed with magic.

I’d done it. I’d taken the power from where it wasn’t supposed to be and given it back to those it truly belonged to.

My knees buckled. Jamic hit the ground. And it was Demos who caught my arm. He nodded at me, his eyes filled with…respect.

Prisca limped over to me. And she was using that red stone once more as she spoke. “Let it be known across all four kingdoms. The human power was returned by Madinia Farrow.”

I winced, and she laughed, the sound rolling across the shore.