Cassarah
“An hour? How can that be?” I demanded, confusion and panic settled into my veins.
Izel came and sat in the chair next to Paxton, facing me. “Why didn’t you tell us what you were going to do? It was obvious you had a plan, so why not fill us in on it so we were better prepared?”
“I wasn’t sure it was going to work, and I knew Pax could get me out,” I answered and turned to look at the others who stood around our chairs. “Tell me what happened?”
Reaching out, Izel took my hand, pulling my attention to him.
“You touched the queen, and suddenly, you started glowing blue as your Birthright created a shield around you. The king tried to catch you as you fell, but it shocked him, preventing him from making contact. The queen passed out as well. When I reached out, your shield let me pass, so the king moved to take care of his wife. With my Birthright, I was able to take a peek at what was going on, and I saw dark magic pulling you under until you vanished.” Frowning, I started to speak, but Izel shook his head.
“Wait, please. Let me tell you everything, then ask your questions.”
I motioned for him to continue, sitting back in Paxton’s hold, feeling he wasn’t ready to let me go.
“Once I lost sight of you, your breathing became so shallow I was worried he was killing you. Paxton came over and broke your shield, and that allowed me to start searching for you in your own mind. It was almost like you’d left…
your body was still alive, but you were gone.
All we could do was watch over you,” Izel explained, then lifted his gaze to Paxton.
Pax shifted under me as he cleared his throat.
“I don’t know how much time passed until I felt you call out to me.
Both my marks glowed, and it was almost as if I could hear you calling to me, begging me to find you.
Cassarah, you weren’t in your own body. The Lost King pulled you out and placed you somewhere else.
If we didn’t have this link to each other, I never would have been able to locate you and break his magic trapping you there.
Once I pulled you back into your own body, I felt something like a cord snap between the magic and the queen.
She woke up first, babbling about a man who’d trapped her in her own mind, forcing her to do things she never wanted to do.
” Pax hugged me tightly, burying his face into my shoulder.
“He almost took you from us again, spitfire. I’m going to go bald by the time I turn twenty-five at this rate.
You can’t keep risking yourself like that. ”
While I wanted to reassure him I wouldn’t risk everything to bring down the Lost King, I couldn’t. When I’d told Henry that to his face, I’d meant it with every fiber of my being. A world with him as the ruler would never happen while I was alive.
I pulled Paxton to me, letting our lips meet, reassuring him I was very much alive.
He’d done exactly what I needed him to do, trusting that he would save me in time.
Paxton pressed me against him as tightly as he could, almost to the point I couldn’t breathe.
When he released me from our kiss with a harsh nip on my lower lip, I knew he was really upset with me.
“Tell me your plan next time. I’ll always back you up, Cassarah, but you just need to be honest with me… with all of us. How can we be a team if you charge off ahead, and we don’t know how to help you? Even if you don’t think it’s going to work, it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Pax chastised.
Nodding, I rested my forehead against his.
“You’re right, I should have told you. I should have told all of you what I was thinking.
” Sliding out of Paxton’s arms, I stood and looked at my men.
“The Lost King pulled me out of my consciousness into that of his dragon. I didn’t know he could do that until it was already done.
While this was not handled well, I did learn a few things.
Killing his dragon will not kill him… the dark magic he did severed that connection, rendering it useless.
He’s been planning this for longer than any of us realized.
Losing the queen was also a blow. I’m not exactly sure why, but he was furious when he figured out what Pax and I had done. ”
“Maybe she will be able to tell us why when she comes to her senses,” Abbott offered. “At the moment, it doesn’t seem like she remembers a whole lot.”
“I suppose that doesn’t surprise me. For the past three years, she’d had someone else pulling the strings in her brain.
I feel it might be best for us to travel back to Creisal and investigate.
Henry started with Utros, Errit, then Norden when he had someone in place already in Creisal.
Although, I suppose we could count Lord Everett as their inside person, along with Payson for Norden,” I mused out loud.
“If it were me, though, I would have moved on Creisal sooner, knowing how large their army is and they back up to the sea. It was a stronger counter maneuver, so why didn’t he?
There is something in that choice we need to figure out. ”
They all nodded in agreement, but I could tell this event so soon after the dragon attack was not going to be let go any time soon. In some ways, I understood them feeling lied to. I’d known this was the tactic I was going to try, and I did so without preparing them.
“You have every right to be upset with me, and in the spirit of being honest, I will state this now,” I said, meeting their gaze for a moment.
“I vowed that I wouldn’t live in a world where he is the ruler.
No matter what it takes or the sacrifice I have to make, I will see that promise to the end. ”
My men froze, gaping at me a moment before they exploded, all speaking at once in a volume so loud I couldn’t begin to tell who was saying what. A shrill whistle cut through the room as May stormed over, smacking each of them upside the head.
“Enough!” May barked. “This is your queen you are speaking to in front of guests, I might add. I don’t care if you are sleeping with her or not, you will act right.”
The guys shut their mouths, but I could tell by the looks on their faces that it wouldn’t last for long. “I believe now might be a good time to retire,” I commented, removing myself from them and walking over to King Thomas. “How is she?”
The queen lay there on the couch, sweating as she tossed and turned.
“I don’t know, Your Majesty,” King Thomas answered, shaking his head as he dabbed his wife’s face with a rag. “She just keeps speaking nonsense. What if it would have been better for us to leave her as she was?”
I rested a hand on his shoulder. “Have her taken back to your rooms and let her rest as long as you need. The children will be perfectly fine with Helena, and I’ll make sure she keeps them busy.
The magic the Lost King uses is known to have some side effects.
I just pray to the fates that it won’t harm her permanently.
I will send for my healers to look after her and ensure she is comfortable. ”
As I started to pull away, he grabbed my hand. “Thank you. I know I just said we should have left her, but no matter what happens, at least I know I have my wife back. You risked so much, and she’s been so cruel to you. It was right for me to make this alliance.”
Bowing my head in thanks, I gave him what I hoped to be a reassuring smile as I left.
Becka fell in alongside me, not saying anything, just lending her presence.
When we reached our chambers, I headed straight to my room with Becka, who shut the doors behind us and locked them.
Entering the sitting room, I walked to the balcony and stood at the railing, looking out at the village below.
As is always the case with Becka and me, she came to stand beside me and placed her hand over mine.
Part of me wondered if I ever should have said a word to my men about what I’d said to the Lost King.
I was queen of these lands and people. It was my responsibility to ensure I did all I could to keep them safe.
My mind went back to that moment when I thought I was the woman falling off the cliff to her death, willing to do whatever it took to protect the ones I loved.
Miranda might have lost her lovers and dragon, but she saved everyone with that final act. How could I do less?
“Did you really mean what you said?” Becka asked, finally breaking the silence.
I glanced at her, but she refused to look at me as she waited for my answer.
“Yes.” There was nothing more to say. I couldn’t give her a justification that would make any sense or make it better.
Becka nodded and turned so her back was to the railing and looked at me. “Cassarah, you are like a sister to me, and we’ve been through hell and back with your mother. If we can survive through that, I’m sure we can handle this.”
“Those two aren’t even in the same category, Becka.
My mother wanted to control and use me for her gai, but didn’t want to harm others.
Henry doesn’t give a rat’s ass who lives or dies.
How do you even begin to face off with someone like that without putting as much into it?
” I argued. “The Lost King has nothing to lose, or so he claims, but what he wants is power and the recognition he never got from his father. He believes he should have been king of Norden, but instead, he was banished to Utros. That’s what he’s after…
to prove they were wrong for doing that to him. ”
A frustrated growl burst out of my best friend, shocking me.
“So what! That man should be grateful he’s still alive.
The king was supposed to kill him, not just send him away.
He can have Utros and Errit, but why does he need everything else?
If there is no one left in the world, what good is ruling it? ”