Chapter 47
VALANCE
I crawled out from beneath the smoldering corpse of the giant. Most of him had been burned away down to the bone, hints of silver magic shimmering dimly in the remaining flesh before dissipating.
He’d been big enough to keep the killing magic off me but not enough to protect himself.
Around me, the beach was a blend of silver ashes and snowy sand, deep cuts scoring the ground. The sky drowned in thick, silver clouds, the sun and the sky lost to the constant rolling of the cloud.
Brigid floated out from under the giant to face me. “It’s all gone.”
Kormac remained dead, those eyes still open and devoid of life.
In that moment, I couldn’t stand it. I stepped around the giant to take in more of the beach and the surrounding land, anything to not look down upon my lost one.
Ruined. Everyone dead, trees burning or felled, more deep gouges in the frozen earth.
Silver ash fell in place of snow, delicate little puffs landing harmlessly on my cheek.
“She changed Faerie,” I said.
“She destroyed it,” Brigid responded, floating with me. “There’s nothing left.”
“Do you think it’s only Winter?”
She didn’t answer me, floating over to a struggling body.
My grandmother.
I followed the old woman in quick strides. Within moments, I stared down at the broken body of the former queen.
Her eyes met mine, blinking between obsidian and her usual blue—a blue nowhere near as wonderful as Kormac’s.
“Valance…” she struggled.
The magic within her worked hard to try and heal her, tried to repair the hole in her left cheek exposing her jawbone, the open wound in her chest, the terrible burns all over her arms and legs.
But it struggled, hurting her as much as it helped.
“It was never meant for you,” I said. “Or Lord Florent. It is my power.”
Brigid floated away to return moments later with the silver shard. She dropped it at my feet. “Take it, Valance. Make things right.”
I glanced at the shard, staring at the inanimate thing that had changed my life. An instrument of taking, crafted by the first darklings many centuries ago.
Hello, silver thief…
“Valance…” My grandmother wheezed. “Please…”
“Please, what?” I said, still focused on the shard.
“Let me… let me try again.”
Only one choice presented itself to me here. The magic may not be for my grandmother, and she may be trapped in this undying state, but it didn’t mean she wouldn’t try again. Find a way to get to her feet, to somehow make me suffer again.
I picked up the shard.
“Valance…”
“Grandmother.”
“Have mercy…”
“Like the mercy you have shown me over the years?” I countered.
“Please…”
I plunged the shard into her chest, drawing the power from her. She thrashed violently as the magic leached out of her and sank into me once again.
I staggered back, dropping the shard as the power became one with me.
“Your Majesty?” Brigid asked, drifting close.
I held out a hand, asking for a moment as the magic settled. The berserker curse broke once again.
A return to me…
I straightened, composure restored. The first thing I did was send my undying energy to Kormac. It did nothing. He was lost to me. Again.
Are you an angelus again? Will you return a second time?
My broken heart numbed, as if my body were conditioned to such pain now.
The undying power did, however, bring my grandmother back. She sat up, gasping for air. Her coughing pleased me greatly.
Brigid glanced between us. “What are you doing?”
“Giving you a gift,” I replied.
I restored Brigid’s body, taking in mind the curse that had aged her.
Undid it, returned her to her youth. Her skin flushed into a beautiful copper, her hair becoming long, glossy black waves.
Time turned back before my eyes, everything about her making her stand tall.
I conjured her some purple armor with silver trim, a decent sword and shield to complement it.
My grandmother got to her feet, clearly panicked. “Brigid!”
The not-so-old woman examined herself. “I don’t believe it.”
“Neither do I,” I said. “Especially after the insults you threw at me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, darkling. You’ve done enough to help, no matter how twisted you are. I want to repay you.” I looked to my wretched grandmother. “She still lives, so she can be yours.”
Queen Dovelar tried to run.
I enchanted her to halt.
“No!” she cried. “No, Valance! You can’t do this to me!”
“Enjoy your reunion,” I said to Brigid. “Make every second count.”
My grandmother’s terrified wails were delicious dessert for the ears.
Brigid bowed, thanking me. “I will.”
“This is where we part ways. Forever. I do not want to see your face again.”
“I understand.”
I watched Brigid force my grandmother to walk beside her as they both left my life, vanishing into the ruin of Winter.
Turning to face the water, I tried to restore Kormac again.
Nothing.
I brought Lord Cullen back instead.
He stood up with a roar, stretching his bulging muscled limbs above his head.
I kept my eyes on him, not the dead body trying to draw my attention.
Come back to me, Kormac. Please…
“Your Majesty,” Lord Cullen said. He took in his surroundings. “The world… Is it over?”
“I think so.”
He noticed Kormac. “Oh, no.”
“Don’t worry, My Lord. I will make things right again. I will give you back your wife, your home. All you have to do is return to your haven in the mountains and wait.”
“Your Majesty?”
“Walk back. Live your life. Enjoy your Winter Rose Creams.”
“And you, My King?”
I closed my eyes, reaching into the soil with my magic, touching the sea, the skies. Faerie, my world, was hurting. A dead world of ashes brought upon it by the madness of my grandmother.
“I will walk alone. I will heal the world,” I answered the giant.
“I can’t leave you alone.”
“You can and you will. This is my duty as king, not yours. You have done enough for me. Now go and be happy. Be free.”
My inner darkness held no voice, at least not much of one anymore. No vengeance lived within, only a desire to fix the wrongs. Everything had changed. My old plans dead. This was to be the future now.
I faced the sea, the waves tainted with silver light as much as everything else. I would clean that tainted water, every drop of it on Faerie.
“Goodbye, Lord Cullen.”
“Your Majesty…”
It took him a while to accept my request, but eventually, he made his walk home, leaving me to my tears on the beach.
No matter how hard I tried, Kormac would not come back to life.
And so, my tears took an age to relent.