Chapter 48
Chapter
Forty-Eight
M y feet felt leaden as I trudged through the palace back to my chambers. On the road, I’d been so eager to get home and start my reign, help the mortals, and protect the people I loved.
Well, I’d been here barely more than a day, and somehow I’d lost my throne, the mortals were under siege, and the people close to me were more at risk than ever.
I had one more task to complete before leaving for Fortos, and it was the one I’d been dreading most.
My ears perked at the sound of shouting coming from my suite.
“I’m going to kill him.”
“You should be in bed!”
“Cousin, stop—”
“Get your hands off me.”
“Your wounds—”
“You promised Diem!”
“ Where is she? ”
I broke into a sprint, flying past the guards posted at my door—but not before noting that a pack of army soldiers had newly joined them.
In the parlor, Luther was red-faced and glaring. Taran and Alixe were planted in front of him, Taran’s hands on his chest, while Lily and Eleanor tugged frantically at his arms and Teller and Zalaric watched with amusement.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Luther’s eyes snapped to me. A chorus of groans and cries of thank the Kindred rose from the others as they all sagged with relief.
He scoured my body. “Did my father attack you like Garath? Did Aemonn?” Swirls of hissing shadows coated his clenched fists. “Where are they? I’ll put an end to all three of them right now.”
“I told them what happened,” Alixe explained. She shot Luther a stern look. “I also told them you had it under control.”
“He’s trying to steal your Crown,” Luther snarled. “It’s traitorous. It’s blasphemous . Blessed Mother Lumnos chose you, not him.”
I walked over and set a hand on his arm, but even that didn’t calm him. His glare lingered on the door, violence smoldering in his eyes.
“You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I’ve rested enough. I should have been there. Garath is a dead man when I find him.”
“To be fair, I attacked him first.”
“I can’t believe I missed it,” Taran groaned. “Tell me everything. Every tiny detail. Did you hurt him? Was he embarrassed? Did he piss his pants? Ohmygods, did he cry? ”
I grinned, an idea striking. My godhood stirred to life as I wooed it into doing something I’d never tried before.
I speared a thought into Taran’s mind: Do you want to see it?
His eyes went wide as he realized what I’d done. He nodded excitedly.
My mind swirled around the memory of what had just occurred. I opened my thoughts and let Taran take my place as the images played out in my head.
He let out a dramatic, breathy moan. The others stared at the two of us in confusion. “This is the greatest gift you could ever give me. This is better than drinking. This is better than sex .”
“I’m taking that personally,” Zalaric muttered.
I was so enjoying Taran’s bliss, I let the memory expand, showing him how I’d taunted the Hanoverres.
He barked a laugh, then stilled. His joy abruptly dropped away. “Oh, Queenie,” he said softly. “Your father...” He looked at Zalaric and blinked. “And your father. Fortos’s balls.”
I yanked back my magic in a panic. I hadn’t intended to let him see that deep.
“What about our father?” Teller demanded.
“Nothing,” I rushed out.
His eyes narrowed. “More secrets?”
“No! It’s not... Tel, I just—”
He shook his head and turned away.
“Show me,” Luther insisted, shrewdly picking up on what I’d done with Taran. “I want to see exactly what my father needs to answer for.”
He reached for me, and I jerked back. Guilt gnawed at me for the surprise that flashed across his face, but my slip to Taran had left me feeling defensive and overexposed. The shame over my father’s disappointment was a part of me I wasn’t ready to share—not even with Luther.
I routed around the group and grabbed a cloak from my wardrobe as I strode toward the balcony. I tucked the Crown out of sight. “I’ll be back in an hour. No one die while I’m gone.”
Luther followed. “I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I’m rested. The toxin’s gone.”
“Not here, Luther. Not to this.”
“We agreed to do these things togeth—”
I whipped around. “I’m going to see Henri.”
A cloud of turbulent emotions briefly darkened his face before he shut it away behind a cold, indifferent veneer.
“Once we break my mother out, things could get worse for the Guardians,” I said. “I have to warn him. I owe him that much.”
He watched me in silence, his jaw flexing.
“And... he and I need closure. I owe him that, too.”
In Luther’s eyes, I saw all the protests he held back, all the arguments he wouldn’t let himself make. Much as it bothered him, this was one area he knew to stay out of, and I loved him all the more for it.
I kissed his cheek and slipped my hand beneath his tunic to lay flat against his hip. My magic surged through his skin and scoured his wound, probing for any trace of the godstone’s presence. When it came up empty, an unexpected sob caught in my throat.
Luther sighed, his hand pressing to the hollow of my back to draw me closer. He gave a soft grunt of pleasure as the wound mended and finally closed. His godhood happily entwined with mine, their combined joy so pure that I couldn’t resist lingering a moment in his arms.
“Gather what we need,” I said. “When I return, we’ll leave for Fortos.”
“Be careful. And don’t...” His hand flexed. “Just be careful.”
Grudgingly, I pulled away and headed for the balcony, where Alixe was waiting for me at Sorae’s side.
“Let me come,” she said. “Or Zalaric. Someone who can hide you, if things go wrong.”
“I’m not hiding. I want the mortals to see me. The army, too. I want them both to know I’m not afraid.” Sorae snorted a puff of smoke in agreement and lowered to let me mount. “Besides, it’s better if we keep our distance now. You’re Remis’s new High General.”
She balked. “I am?”
I smiled. “Even Remis knows you’re the woman for the job.”
“Is this a good idea? If he orders me to betray you...”
“Then do it. Stay in his favor, and use that to keep everyone safe. When this is over, I won’t hold any of it against you.” I paused for a moment. “He swore to me he won’t harm the mortals, but if he goes back on his word...”
“I won’t let that happen,” she vowed.
“Good.” I thumped a fist to my chest in salute, and so did she. “I trust you, Alixe. Do what you believe is best for the realm, whatever that may be.”
I threw a final look to Luther, who watched in solemn silence as he leaned against an arch. Sorae launched into the air, and we left the palace behind.
From the moment Sorae soared above my run-down village, every eye was on us—including every soldier’s. They followed my path, gaining in number until an unnervingly large group gathered to await my arrival.
I wanted to be seen , but this was looking more like a confrontation.
Sorae banked toward the forest, and I led her to the ground in a clearing near my old home.
“Keep them distracted,” I told her as I slid off. “I’ll call you when I’m ready.”
She nuzzled my hand and huffed.
“Yes, I promise I’ll also call if anyone needs a good roasting. Go, before they see I’m not with you.”
She trilled softly, then leapt toward the sky at breathtaking speed. Her wings flattened out, angling to conceal the spot where a rider would sit.
I grinned up at her silhouette. “Clever girl.”
Her answering howl rumbled across the forest.
The sound of approaching bootsteps sent me scurrying up the nearest tree just as soldiers flooded the clearing. I carefully searched their eyes, spying various colors, none of them brown.
Descended, all.
Even their search tactics reeked of their privileged upbringing. With the trees bare for the winter, I was plainly visible among the branches. Any mortal would have looked there first, but these soldiers barely lifted their eyes above the ground.
They’d been raised in mansions, their childhoods filled with tutors and toys. As adults, hunts were structured affairs for social leisure, their prey hobbled in advance to make for an easy kill on the ground. Even as soldiers, they traveled on roads and slept in inns, not in the rough of the Emarion wilds. Climbing a tree to stalk prey or gather fruit—or, Kindred forbid, just to play—was a concept their pampered minds simply couldn’t fathom.
A wise man would have sent some mortal soldiers to guard a mortal town, and I’d heard enough from my father to know the Fortos King was a bastard, but he was no fool.
So why hadn’t he?
“This must be where the gryvern landed.”
“I hear it—it’s back up there in the clouds.”
“Is the Queen still on its back?”
“I’m not sure. Wait... yes, I think I see her.”
“Follow it. Don’t let the Queen out of your sight.”
The soldiers sprinted off in pursuit, and I barely held in my laugh until they were gone. I shimmied down the tree, tugged my hood low, and set off into town.
The streets of Mortal City were packed, many with faces upturned to watch my gryvern doing circuits in the sky. As I ducked my head and wove through the throng, morsels of various conversations floated to my ears.
“Her fault these soldiers are here. Maybe if they catch her, they’ll leave.”
“I thought they put her in prison with her mother.”
“That’s why she never had friends. We always knew she wasn’t really one of us.”
“She hasn’t been here once since the Challenging. She’s already forgotten us.”
“Is it true her whole family are Guardians?”
“ Hush . Don’t mention the rebels out loud. My neighbor did it once, and he hasn’t been seen since.”
I gritted my teeth. So many lies and misconceptions. So many faces I’d once treated as patients, now all too happy to treat me like a villain.
The belief that I’d abandoned them was most troubling of all. Before I left, I’d make my presence—and my intentions—known to them all.
But first, I had business to finish.
I veered into a quiet alley, following a series of turns my feet knew by heart. When I made the final left, the street lit with the amber glow of firelight through a white-paned window.
A raucous laugh echoed from inside and squeezed around my heart. Even if I hadn’t been standing outside the post office he ran, I’d know it instantly as Henri’s father.
This place had been like a second home. Henri and I had chased each other around its bins of boxes and letters before we were even old enough to read the writing on their labels. His family home was in the back, and we’d spent countless nights on its creaky wooden porch trading fantastical stories of the adventures we’d have together one day.
Not once had we ever imagined this .
I walked toward the post office door when murmurs caught my ear. A low, honeyed voice, then a giggle.
I craned my neck, and my heart leapt into my throat. Barely visible around the corner, a mop of ash-brown hair fluttered in the winter wind.
Henri.
I felt more on edge, more desperate to run, than in any combat I’d ever faced. Sword-wielding enemies, I could handle. Battle and blood were where I thrived most. But love and heartbreak? That’s what I truly feared.
My breath came shallow as I crept along the building’s side. Henri’s hair wavered again—and I froze.
It wasn’t the wind that had jostled it. It was a hand—a distinctly feminine hand, tangled in his unkempt curls.
Then came the unmissable sound of kissing . Deep, impassioned kissing, with its smacks and muffled moans. Another hand appeared on his back, clutching at the fabric of his shirt.
My feet moved forward, drawn more by habit than conscious thought. The wooden overhang came into view—and with it, two intertwined bodies. I knew Henri’s instantly, but the other...
Petite and slender. Skin so porcelain it might never have seen the sun. Gold curls stretching down her back, neatly tied with a mint green ribbon.
Their kiss broke apart. Henri gazed down at her with his impish, lopsided grin, the one I’d looked at nearly every day I could remember.
She looked down, whispering something followed by a pretty tinkling bell of a laugh. He poked her in the side—
Then I saw the apron.
An apron I’d clung to, as a toddler. An apron I’d longed for, as a young girl. An apron I’d earned, as a grown woman.
A healer’s apron.
I laughed.
I laughed .
It burst out without warning—abrupt, but loud.
Too loud.
Loud enough that two heads swung my way, two pairs of brown eyes flaring in matching shock.
I couldn’t help it—I laughed again. I wasn’t angry or jealous. I was relieved .
“Diem,” Lana gasped, yanking violently out of Henri’s grasp. “I mean, um, Your Majesty.” She curtsied, her gaze falling to the floor.
“Hello, Lana,” I said. “I told you before, you can call me Diem. After all, we’ve worked together for so many years at the healer’s center.”
Fine, perhaps I was a little bit angry.
Lana’s face flushed fiery red.
Henri’s surprise twisted into a scornful glare. “You’ve got some nerve giving her a hard time, after what you did.”
“I guess that means Vance is back in town,” I drawled. “How’s his arm?”
“Gone,” Henri snapped. “How’s your new lover’s godstone wound?”
“Healed.” I smiled tightly. “A miracle from the gods.”
Henri spat at his feet.
“Diem, I’m so sorry,” Lana pleaded. “We wanted to tell you, but you were out of town.”
“ Out of town? I was drugged and chained up as a prisoner. Tell me, Lana, did you know about that plan too, or was it only my betrothed who kept it from me?”
Her eyes widened. Henri’s narrowed.
“Don’t apologize to her, Lana. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“ Henri ,” she hissed. “You know that isn’t true. We agreed to be honest when she came back.”
He clenched his jaw and looked away.
Lana stepped off the porch, tentatively approaching me as she chewed on her lip so hard I thought it might bleed.
“I’m glad you’re safe,” she said. “And I’m sorry you had to find out about us this way. Things weren’t handled as they should have been.” Her eyebrows slowly rose. “Perhaps that’s true on both sides. Still, I’m sorry for my part in it. I never wanted to hurt you.” She took a deep breath, her shoulders straightening. “But Henri is mine. I may not be a Queen like you, but I care about him, and... and...” She swallowed. “And you can’t have him.”
I fought to school my stunned reaction. My eyes darted to Henri, who was looking at her warmly, clearly proud of her courage. It reminded me so much of how Luther looked at me.
“I, um... I appreciate your honesty, Lana,” I said. “I wish you both the best. I won’t get in your way.”
She whooshed out an enormous breath.
“I would appreciate a chance to talk to Henri alone, though. One last time.”
Lana looked back at Henri. He sighed and nodded, raking a hand through his hair. He reached out for her, and as she joined him, he tugged her hard and wrapped her in a showy, passionate kiss.
I averted my eyes, a strange discomfort in my chest. Even though I was genuinely grateful to see Henri find someone who truly cared for him, a part of me would always think of him as my Henri, the boy that young Diem thought she’d have forever at her side.
But he wasn’t that boy anymore, and I wasn’t that girl.
“She’s a good fit for you,” I said after Lana left. “She’s the kind of woman I always thought you’d choose. Sweet. Sensible. Easy to get along with.” I smiled grimly. “All the things I’m not.”
He leaned a shoulder against the post of his porch, staring off into the distance with a glare.
“When did it start?” I asked.
“When did you and that Descended Prince start?” he shot back.
“The day of the Challenging. I came here to end our engagement the night before.” Henri snorted, and my temper spiked. “I felt so guilty that night. Little did I know you were in Arboros, planning to blow me up with bombs.”
He crossed his arms, saying nothing.
“I could have died, Henri.”
“We were careful. We made sure you weren’t hurt.”
“I meant the Challenging. Do you understand how close I came to not surviving it? And you, my best friend, the man who was supposed to love me—you couldn’t even be bothered to stay in the realm.”
His jaw worked. “You’re the best fighter I know. I knew you’d be fine.”
“ Well I didn’t! ” I shouted. “When I came to see you that night, I thought it was goodbye, Henri. Not just for our relationship. Forever.”
His anger faltered for a moment, but when his eyes dropped to the pendant at my neck, his glare returned.
“I was fighting for the mortals. That requires sacrifice—not that you would know anything about that while you sit in your palace with your shiny gold jewelry.”
My hand closed around it defensively.
“We used to make fun of the Descended, and now look at you,” he said. “Wearing their clothes, living in their city. You’ve barely stepped foot in Mortal City since it happened. Admit it Diem, you love being one of them.” He made a guttural, disgusted noise. “I don’t even recognize you anymore.”
Every word felt like a stab, every angry curl of his lip a new gaping wound.
There was too much truth mixed in his words. Part of me did thrill at being Queen. At being powerful and having control, at wearing pretty things and making strong men kneel. Perhaps it was because I’d grown up with none of it, or perhaps I’d been told one too many times I was special, and like a spoiled child, I’d begun to believe it.
And to have that worst, most pitiful part of me pointed out so plainly by the man who had known me best...
I looked down, fighting the burning in my throat. “You didn’t answer my question. When did you and Lana start? After the Challenging or before?”
He was silent for a very long time.
“You were never around,” he said finally, his voice quiet. “You were pushing me away. I thought you were avoiding me because you were too scared to tell me you didn’t really want to marry me. And you were—”
“—a Descended?” I finished for him. “Look me in the eye and tell me your feelings for me didn’t change the second you found out what I was.”
He shuffled his feet, looking down. “Yeah. Maybe. But I did love you, Diem. I really, truly did.” He glanced up. “Did you ever love me?”
I stiffened. “I... I care deeply for you, Henri. I always will. And... yes—yes, of course I loved you, but...”
“As a friend,” he said. “Only ever as a friend.”
I winced, unable to deny it.
His face turned terribly, heartbreakingly sad. “I wanted to marry you. I wanted to start a family with you.”
“I tried to want that, too. I just don’t think I’m that kind of person.”
“Are you going to be that kind of person with him? ”
I couldn’t answer. That same question haunted my own thoughts.
Henri laughed harshly. “Well, make sure you warn him so he doesn’t waste his life pining for a woman who will never fully give herself away. Give him the courtesy you never gave me, and let him leave before you break his heart, too.”
My hand squeezed around the necklace Luther had given me. A burst of heat spread where my skin brushed the glowing ruby he’d imbued with a spark of his magic. My godhood stirred in recognition, as if sensing his presence nearby.
It should have calmed me. Instead, it planted a seed of fear.
“I hate them,” Henri murmured. His hands were white-knuckled and fisted, his body quaking. “First the Descended took my mother, now they’re taking you.”
“We can still be friends, Henri. I’m not dead.”
“You might as well be dead to me.”
It was more painful a blow than the knife I’d taken in Ignios. I flinched and wrapped my arms around myself as tears slid down my cheeks.
“How can you so easily throw me away?” I whispered.
“You already threw me away.” There was hurt in his voice too, buried deep beneath the anger. “You went off to Lumnos City with all your new Descended friends, and you forgot that I existed.”
“You know that’s not true. I begged you not to give up on me. I risked my life to convince you I was loyal. And then my father died, and you were nowhere. My world was collapsing, and I was alone.” My words choked between my sobs. “I was so fucking lost, Henri. I needed you. You can’t imagine how badly I needed you.”
His anger seemed to deflate at the sight of my tears. He took a step, his hand twitching in my direction, then stopped himself. “I know. I should have been there.” He took a slow breath and scraped his hand down his face. “But I did try to come see you. You threw me in the dungeon, remember?”
“You came there to kill Descended. Not for me.”
His face hardened. “And if you had let me, maybe Mortal City wouldn’t be overrun with soldiers. Do you know how many mortals have gone missing since they arrived? It’s not even Guardians—they’re choosing people at random to keep everyone on edge.”
I swore and wiped at my cheeks, desperately scrabbling to pull some strength back into my bones. “I didn’t know. They found a way to keep me off the throne, but I’ll do what I can to stop them.”
“Isn’t the Crown supposed to be the strongest Descended? Why not just kill anyone who tries to stop you?”
“I’m not Vance. I don’t solve every problem with murder.”
He scoffed. “You had no problem murdering mortals in Arboros. Vance told me everything before he left here for Montios.”
“Everything?” I snapped. “Like how he held me down and sliced my wrists open? How I saved his life by sending my gryvern away? How I tried to escape to save my mother, but he and his men chased me down and nearly killed me?”
Uncertainty surfaced on his features. The small part of him that still trusted me was wrestling with whatever lies Vance had fed him.
“Vance is not a good man, Henri. All he cares about is hate and violence. I know you—you’re a better man than that.”
His eyes shadowed. “Maybe I’m not anymore. Maybe hate and violence are all I have left.”
I walked toward him, my heart aching at the way he bristled. Slowly, tentatively, I reached for his hand. He went rigid at my touch, but as I laid my other hand on his, tension loosened from his shoulders.
“I would never ask you to leave the Guardians,” I said. “I know how much you want justice for the mortals, and so do I. But I am begging you, Henri—don’t follow Vance. His brand of hate will destroy you, and I care about you too much to see that happen.”
He stared at our joined hands with a deep frown. “Vance is our leader.”
“My mother is your leader.”
“Your mother’s in prison. She can’t lead us from there.”
“That’s why I’m breaking her out.”
His head snapped up. “You are?”
I nodded. “Today. But when I do, things could get worse here. The Regent’s new High General is a friend—she promised to help the mortals, but the army doesn’t answer to her, and there’s no telling what they’ll do.”
He perked up with sudden excitement. “I’ll warn the others. We’ll be ready. Whatever happens, it’s worth it—the Guardians need Auralie back. Without her, everything has fallen apart. The cells are fractured, no one can agree on what we should do. She kept us united. Under her, we were strong.”
His face glowed as he gushed over my mother’s leadership. The way he spoke about her with such admiration sparked a light in him I thought had died forever.
“With Auralie, we really might win this war. When Vance told me she had gone to the island, I—”
He froze. Stiffened.
It took me a moment to realize why.
“You knew,” I breathed, understanding dawning. “This whole time, you knew where she was.”
He pulled his hand free and edged away. “You weren’t a Guardian then. You know the rules. I couldn’t say anything.”
My godhood raised its mighty head, sensing a brewing storm.
“I cried in your arms for months .”
“I told you the Old Gods had showed me she was alive. I thought it would give you hope.”
“Hope?” I shouted. “ Hope? ”
My temper flared sun-bright. I wanted to rage at his deceit—but the memory of Teller’s voice, thick with scorn over my similar betrayal, still played in my ears.
My skin lit with a glittering radiance, light and shadow rising to my palms. In the sky, Sorae let out a piercing snarl.
Henri’s face went pale.
“Tell the Guardians the blood Vance stole from me won’t work,” I growled. “And if they attack the palace again, I’ll kill them myself.”
“Diem—”
“I wish you and Lana happiness. I hope she gives you everything I couldn’t.”
His expression shuttered. He shoved his hands in his pockets and tightened his jaw. “I hope he does for you, too.”
“I’ll see you on the battlefield, Henri. I pray we’ll still be fighting on the same side.”
I turned and walked away, feeling like a cave was collapsing at my back. Every step was a falling boulder, cutting off that path forever and obliterating the treasured moments we’d never share again.
My best friend, my lover, my betrothed.
And soon, perhaps, if the gods were cruel—my enemy.
Heartbreak and anger mixed with bittersweet relief, turning me into a volatile emotional cauldron. I poured it all into my godhood, who ate it up like wind to a wildfire.
Magic leaked into the air around me. Streams of light formed a whirling arc that sizzled and cracked. Wind whipped at my hair as pebbles trembled under every step. Trees in the forest creaked as their branches stretched toward me.
“Lumnos magic only,” I murmured. “We’ll keep the rest our little secret for now.”
As if in answer, the magic pulsed across my skin. Shadows coated my cloak and cascaded to the ground in a train of smoky curls. Glowing swords formed in my hands as I restored the Crown to its place atop my head.
At the midday hour, the town square buzzed with a swarm of bodies. Within seconds of my arrival, a hundred heads had turned my way.
A circle formed as they edged away. I let my gaze drag lazily over the throng, noting so many familiar faces. Some screamed and cowered, others ran. Several reached for their blades.
A few began to kneel, faces ashen with fear. I held their eyes and shook my head.
“Don’t kneel to me yet.”
They shared confused glances, some moving closer as they arched their necks to see.
I raised my chin and threw my voice to the edges of the market. “I was raised in this village. I know the struggles you face because I faced them, too. I went to school with your children. I healed your loved ones. I feared the Descended, just as you do. I hated them, just as you do. I watched as they treated us lower than rats, and I, too, dreamed of a day when their reign would end.”
Scattered heads nodded, eyes narrowed. A few spit and muttered low epithets.
“All that time, I believed I was a mortal. Though I now wear a Descended Crown, do not think for one second that I have forgotten where I’m from. Mortal blood runs in my veins.” I raised a sword. “And that’s blood I’m not afraid to spill on your behalf.”
The hum of murmurs grew louder.
“These past weeks, I’ve lived among the Descended, learning their ways. I did so expecting to loathe them all. Indeed, many are as wicked and soulless as we all believed.” I took a deep breath. “But there are others. Good people. Some I now call friends. Some... even more than friends.”
The chatter rose to a roar, a resentful tide turning back with ire. Shouts of traitor and Descended scum rang out, a few beginning to walk away.
My heart picked up speed.
“One of them believes I was chosen by the gods to unite our people and bring peace to Emarion.” I laughed. “If you don’t believe that, you’re in good company. I’m not certain I believe it myself. But I’m willing to try—for all of you, and for all the mortals who died fighting for us over the years. And everyone who will keep dying if I fail.”
The din fell to a silent, expectant hush.
“My mother, Auralie... she taught me to heal —to save lives every chance I get. My father, Andrei, taught me to fight —to end lives, but only when I must. And my brother, Teller, taught me to think —to lead with reason, not prejudice. That is the Queen I strive to be. I will not demand that you bend your knee. Past Crowns have done enough of that. I will only vow, on my blood and my soul, on all that I am, and all that I hold dear, if you give me your faith, I will do my best to earn it—” I crossed my swords at my chest. “—and I won’t stop until my dying breath.”
Conversation stalled, no one quite sure what to do with me and my grand declaration. Mortals whispered in huddled groups, looking between me and each other with doubt in their eyes.
“She’s here! Commander—in the square.”
Shouting arose from a back corner as Emarion Army soldiers violently shoved a path through the crowd.
“Took you long enough,” I called out. “The army’s gone downhill since my father retired.”
As his soldiers fanned out in a circle around me, a man with heavy regalia and red eyes—Fortos eyes—stepped forward and assessed me with contempt. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“This is my realm. I can come and go as I please. You, on the other hand...”
“An edict has been issued,” he barked. “You’ve been summoned for questioning by the Crowns.”
“How about I issue my own edict instead?” I spread my arms wide. “I formally declare to the good citizens of Lumnos that the Crowns of Emarion are summoned to kiss my half-mortal ass.”
Laughter rolled through the crowd. The soldiers looked around and rocked uneasily on their feet.
“If you will not go willingly, I’m authorized to bring you in,” the man warned.
My smile stayed, but all the humor in it vanished. “Go ahead, then. Bring me in.”
His sword hissed as it slid from its scabbard. His other hand curved into a claw at his side. Though I couldn’t see it as easily as Lumnos light, I knew how lethal the death magic of Fortos could be.
“Come peacefully, without a fight,” he urged.
“All these people came to see a show.” I shrugged. “Can’t let them go home empty-handed.”
The crowd cheered their agreement. The man’s eyes darted around at his soldiers, but he made no move to attack.
“What are you waiting for?” I teased. I let my swords dissolve into mist and wiggled my fingers. “I’ll make it easy. No weapons.”
His hand tightened on his hilt. Still, he held his ground.
I grinned. “You can’t, can you? You have no authority to attack a Crown.”
“You haven’t been coronated. You’re not yet considered a Crown.”
Sorae swooped from the sky and soared across the open square. Her wings snapped in a thunderous beat, the powerful downdraft sending the soldiers stumbling backward.
“I think she disagrees,” I said.
His glare hardened. “Soldiers, take her in.”
I tutted in disapproval. Tendrils of light sprouted from my palms and slithered across the ground. The soldiers hacked in vain as the glowing vines wrapped around their hands and hilts, then swore as the metal in their hands turned a molten red. Melting blades dripped to the dusty stone in puddles of steaming orange-yellow sludge.
“You’ll have to do better than that,” I taunted.
“Fine,” the man ground out. “No weapons. We’ll do this the Descended way.”
The soldiers hesitated. Descended were reluctant to use magic in front of mortals for fear it might reveal their weakness, and in this crowded square, there was no shortage of riveted mortal eyes.
But the Fortos commander’s pride was on the line, and there was no greater enemy to good sense than a wounded ego. His eyes glowed scarlet as his palm rose and his fingers curled.
Unlike the female Fortos Descended, who all had healing magic like the kind I’d used on Luther, the Fortos men wielded a rotting, deadly force that decayed their victims’ bodies from within.
It left me wondering—if I had all the Kindred’s magic... did that include the Fortos power to kill?
His magic hit me like a foul odor, a rank wave of rot and mold. My skin briefly tingled, then flared with light as it harmlessly absorbed.
I cocked my head. “Is that it?”
His nostrils flared wide. “Soldiers, attack!”
This time, there was no hesitation. The crowd gasped as magic erupted from every angle and pummeled me in waves of sparks and fire and wind and snow. I held my ground, and my chest rose in a slow, calm cadence as my energy built.
Alixe once told me that godhoods fed on our emotions—perhaps that’s why mine was so strong and so frequently out of control—and with each brush of magic, I caught glimpses of its wielder. Some hateful, some angry. Some terrified of my reaction. Some wishing they could just go home.
My skin grew brighter, and so did my smile. “Are you done, or shall we keep going?”
The soldiers gawked at their commander, awaiting an order I knew would never come. The thinly veiled panic in his eyes told me I’d finally made my point.
I jerked my chin to the left. “I’d move, if I were you.”
He frowned. “Why would I—”
A massive shadow fell over his body, and his words cut off in a yelp. He dove out of the way with not a second to spare as Sorae slammed to the ground where he’d just stood. She growled, low and vicious, and snapped her jaws at the circle of soldiers to push them back.
I mounted her back and turned my glare on the Fortos commander. “Know this—I am not afraid of the Emarion Army, and I am not afraid of the Crowns. If I hear of one more mortal going missing from my realm, every last one of you will repay their loss in blood. I am the gods-damned Queen of Lumnos. If my people suffer, so will you.”
Sorae arched her neck and snarled out a sapphire fireball that swirled into curling smoke.
I let my gaze linger on the soldiers’ faces until both they and I were certain I’d committed each one to memory. With a thunderous howl, Sorae stretched her wings and sent us airborne.
As we soared for the clouds, a ripple of movement drew my focus back to the ground. In the dirty, downtrodden square of my beloved Mortal City, one by one, the mortals lowered to their knees.