28. The Princess
Sudden clarity pierced through the dark haze of my mind, and a violent array of sensations assaulted me all at once. My skin felt hot and cold, the light shining through the windows was far too bright, and an animalistic screech of fury made my ears throb.
Slowly, my eyes opened, and I jerked to my feet just in time. Claws swiped for me, and I ducked and rolled away, righting myself with my dagger in hand.
I faced Calista, whose long, red claws extended from each hand, fury boiling in her eyes.
“How?” she roared, advancing toward me.
I backed up a step. “How what?”
“How did he heal you?”
I faltered, unsure of what she was talking about. But she gestured to the throne room floor, and my heart stuttered in my chest.
Theron lay dead at my feet.
No. No.
“He… what?” Theron was no healer; he was a necromancer.
In a flash, the memory came back to me: Calista, glamoured as Theron, giving me a sparkwood apple that was infused with her poison. Darkness overcame me, and I was certain I had died…
Theron had power over life and death. But he couldn’t heal a fatal wound. He’d only stopped my wound from bleeding out in Tolston, and it had only been temporary.
Something shimmered in the sunlight, and I gasped. A glowing blue thread was suspended between Theron and myself, as translucent as a spider’s web.
It was the same shade of blue as Theron’s magic.
Blood and ice…
Theron had given me his necromancy. But how?
Warmth tingled on my lips, an echo of what I’d felt just before waking up. I brushed my fingertips along my mouth, my hand shaking. Theron had kissed me. But it had been more than just an ordinary kiss…
Calista lunged for me, and on instinct, I draped my invisibility over myself, narrowly dodging her attack.
“That trick worked once on me, foul brat,” she spat. “But it won’t work again.”
I danced out of her reach, my footsteps feather-light. She snarled, her nostrils flaring as she sniffed me out. She was right; I couldn’t avoid her strikes forever. As a dark fae, her senses were heightened.
And with the juices from a sparkwood apple still in my system, my invisibility wouldn’t last long.
How long had I been unconscious? I remembered screaming, signaling to my allies to move forward with the plan. But if I was unconscious for the next phase, the plan couldn’t continue.
I was so disoriented by my thought process that I didn’t see Calista moving toward me again. Something heavy slammed into me, and I crashed to the floor, tumbling across the marble, my limbs throbbing. Pain speared through me, and I sensed my invisibility fading.
Shit.
With a groan, I rolled out of the way just in time, narrowly avoiding another strike of Calista’s claws. Gasping, I climbed to my feet, hastily checking my body for open wounds. All it took was one drop of blood, and she would have me…
“Go ahead,” I rasped, glaring at Calista. “Use your dark fae magic, Calista. Show me who you really are.”
Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits. “I can kill you easily, girl. With or without my unseelie powers.”
I spread my arms. “Then go ahead.”
She smirked, triumph gleaming in her eyes. “I don’t have to. I have plenty who will do the deed for me.” She closed her eyes, and power thrummed around her as she no doubt tried to summon soldiers using her blood magic.
I waited, still trying to catch my breath, my eyes fixed on the throne room doors, which remained closed. Come on, I thought. Tell me I’m not too late.
Calista’s smile vanished, her eyes flying open, shock etched into her face. Either her soldiers were busy fighting for their lives, or they were dead and couldn’t respond to her summons. “What—” She, too, glanced toward the doors, then back at me, accusation burning in her eyes. “What did you do?”
“I did whatever it took to claim my birthright,” I said. “That throne is mine, Calista.”
Fangs flashed as she bared her teeth at me. “You don’t have what it takes to rule this court. Your weak bloodline will fail this kingdom.” She waved a hand toward me, her face twisting in disgust. “You may appear a queen, but your beauty is only skin-deep. In truth, you are nothing more than a cold statue, carved in ice and glass. Beautiful on the outside, but void of anything substantial on the inside. I alone am strong enough to protect the realm.”
“With what? Your dark fae gifts? You’ve been lying to your people for years! Hunting those of us who aren’t full-blooded seelie fae, as if we’re less than you. If the court knew that you were the very thing they were hunting, this entire kingdom would collapse!”
“If they knew what I was, they would still follow me over you!”
“Are you sure about that?” I reached into the folds of my tunic and withdrew the hand mirror.
Calista froze, her eyes going wide. “It’s been with you this entire time…” she murmured. “I should have known you would never leave it lying around.”
I thought of the soldiers pillaging Tolston, searching every home. “You were looking for it.”
Her sneer returned. “Stupid, foolish girl. You have no idea the magic that mirror contains.”
“It contains the truth,” I said. “I can expose you, Calista.”
She barked out a harsh, grating laugh. “You truly are clueless, aren’t you? That is so much more than just an enchanted mirror. It is bound to my very essence. I can sense when it is near. Its magic calls to me. Go ahead and try to use it. With my essence near, it will only obey me.”
It can’t be…I stared at the shining silver mirror in my hands, my thoughts whirring. That was how she knew I was in Tolston. She could sense the mirror was close.
But she didn’t know exactly where it was at all times. Otherwise she would have pulled it off my body immediately.
It will only obey me. Calista couldn’t lie.
My plan depended on using the mirror to expose her. If what she said was true, this entire mission had already failed.
Her teeth flashed in a smile. “You were planning on using it against me.” She laughed again. “Stupid girl. You’ll never take this throne from me.”
Calista advanced, and I draped my invisibility over myself again, trying to calm my racing heart.
I’ve failed. I’ve failed. I’ve failed.
Calista’s smile only grew. Even with my invisibility, she knew she had me.
The throne room doors crashed open. My heart lurched as seven familiar faces appeared: Denton, Stella, Gareth, Huck, Tansy, Penelope, and Lark—the human nobles. My closest friends stood in the open doorway, flanked by soldiers wearing red bandanas and brass breast plates.
The rebels. My rebels.
A relieved smile broke across my face. They’d done it. They were here.
Calista’s head whipped toward the newcomers, her face twisting with rage. “Guards!” she shrieked.
“No one is coming, false queen,” Denton said, his voice booming. “The castle is ours. All that stands between our true queen and her crown… is you.”
As one, the soldiers and my human friends raised their swords. Pride swelled in my chest, and tears burned in my eyes. Until this moment, I hadn’t truly realized the loyalty these people had to me.
I was their queen. Their leader. And they were prepared to die for that truth.
I dropped my invisibility and lifted the mirror. “Step down, Calista,” I commanded, my voice ringing with authority, “or I will show the world who you really are.”
Calista’s nostrils flared, her eyes wide as she looked around the room as if searching for allies. She would find none.
We had won.
A low, feral snarl built up in her throat. Spit flew from her lips as her features twisted. Huge, leathery wings sprang from her shoulders, and her pale skin darkened until it was as black as her hair. Darkness spilled from her feet, spreading across the floor like ink.
“You want to expose my true nature?” Calista hissed. “Go ahead. I’ll kill all of you before you utter a single word.”
Before I could object, darkness swallowed me whole.
And then the throne room erupted in screams.