Chapter 48
Elara
The world around me had erupted into chaos.
Everywhere I looked, men lay dying, crying for mercy, most of them Norrandish.
But Cai was here, and he was still alive, and so I did as he asked and stayed put in Aries’ tent, the dagger he’d given me buried in the pocket of my dress.
I tried to search for him among the faces but there were so many soldiers that they practically merged together.
After what felt like hours but must have been only minutes, I saw Aries emerge from the fighting. His face was coated in blood, the morning light reflecting off his armour.
Aries made his way up to the tent where I sat, careful to keep my expression neutral.
He barged into the tent, grabbed the nearest jug of wine and drank straight from it.
Only once his thirst had been satiated did he look at me.
My stomach twisted.
“You look a little pale,” was the only thing he said.
I cleared my throat, looking out of the tent again. “It’s not a pretty view.”
Aries let out a snort. “Too delicate for your fragile little heart?”
I didn’t reply, knowing that whatever I said would probably get me killed.
“Though I must disagree with you.” He grabbed a nearby piece of cloth and wiped the blood from his face. “I think this is the perfect view.”
My fists clenched in my lap.
“And I must say, your dress is quite exquisite.” Of course he would think so. He’d picked it out. “But I do feel as though something is missing. If you’re going to be seated by my side, then you must look like a true queen.”
I didn’t know what he’d meant until I suddenly felt him behind me.
I tensed up, preparing to defend myself, when I felt the cool gemstones being laid against my skin.
Aries had one of the Myrgonite objects with him all this time and he didn’t even know it.
With the necklace so close, the dagger felt heavy in my pocket.
Two Myrgonite objects. Big mistake, Aries.
I watched as he placed the Argonian crown atop his head before taking my crown out from a nearby trunk.
I’d been wearing it the night his men kidnapped me.
Aries must have kept it for this very purpose, like this was all some sick and twisted game to him.
He placed it on my head and let his hands travel to my shoulders, fingers resting on my collarbone, and I tried not to shudder.
“Now we can watch.”
He took a seat on the chair next to me, wine jug in his hand. This was what he’d promised. That I could be sitting there as his wife and the queen of Argon, observing our victory, or that I would be next to him anyway, as his dolled-up trophy, watching as he destroyed everything I cared about.
The Norrandish lines were starting to fall, our men thinning out as the sheer force of the Argonians overpowered them. It was easy to believe they’d originally hailed from an ancient warrior people — brutal and fearless, they used the battlefield as their dancefloor.
We’d always known it was a long shot to take on Aries’ army, which was why we’d tried to avoid it until it was impossible. But to witness the atrocity with my own eyes. To know we were going to lose it all. Not to mention Aries now knowing where the Myrgonite mines were.
But he didn’t have the three Myrgonite objects yet.
My hand found the dagger inside my pocket. It was practically buzzing with magic.
If I had anything to do with it, he would never find the objects.
I had a choice to make. I could let Aries get what he wanted, let him win. Or I could fight.
Old instincts kicked in. I pulled the dagger out and went for Aries’ neck. But being the warrior he was, he must have sensed my movement, and he jerked away fast enough that I only managed to scratch him.
“Bitch.” Aries pressed a hand to his neck, and I used the opportunity to jam the dagger into his shin. He tried to grab it, but I was quicker this time, pulling it out before he could reach it.
I moved to the other side of the tent, putting the table between me and Aries to give me a moment to regain my composure and focus. With little effort, Aries overturned the table, spilling wine and platters of food.
I looked for the object closest to me, which happened to be a candlestick, and threw it at Aries’ head with all my might.
Unfortunately, I missed, and Aries let out a laugh that made my blood turn cold.
I grabbed another candlestick and hurled it at him.
This time, it hit him right between his eyes.
Aries was startled for a second, pressing his fingers to the newly formed mark on his head that was now bleeding.
I backed out of the tent, my heart beating rapidly. But there was something else, something more.
The magic of the Myrgonite seemed to flow through my veins. I felt stronger than I had before, braver. Something surged through me, inexplicable as if it had a mind of its own, and for the first time, I understood the danger of this power, how easily it could consume you.
I didn’t have much time to consider it before Aries was out of the tent. Luckily, he hadn’t grabbed a weapon, probably thinking he wouldn’t need one.
Aries came at me like a wolf ready to pounce but I was prepared this time.
I sliced through the air, knowing that if I wasn’t going to get in a lethal cut or stab, I could wound him until he couldn’t fight me anymore. I would make him bleed.
Aries dodged me left and right, his leg and his neck still bleeding.
He almost managed to grab my wrist but I was quicker, cutting his hand. As he pulled back, I aimed for his arm, and more blood seeped out from his skin.
“You’re a fool if you think this is going to end well for you,” he said.
I made to stab him again, but Aries grabbed my arm, and I struggled against him until we fell to the ground.
With his weight, he could easily overpower me, pinning me down.
Our hands fought over the dagger, but I refused to let go.
Aries’ hands covered mine over the hilt, and with brute strength he managed to turn the blade around so that it was facing down at me.
It wouldn’t take too much for him to plunge the knife into my heart.
Fear spiked in my chest. There was a horrid smile on Aries’ face, like I was already dead.
We both knew I didn’t have the strength to keep him from using the knife to kill me.
The need for survival overtook every thought and instinct.
I couldn’t prevent him from stabbing me.
I could only direct his aim. Knowing there was no other way out, I moved our hands, no longer resisting.
Maybe I was a fool trying to take on the King of Argon.
But I was also many other things. I was a thief.
I was a girl raised among bandits in the forest, who pretended to be a princess in order to steal from a prince.
I was the girl bound to the King of Norrandale by a force stronger than any ancient magic.
I was the daughter of King Magnus and Queen Estella, and I was the Queen of Everness.
The Myrgonite dagger sank into my left shoulder and I let out a scream.
But the movement was enough for Aries to lose his balance.
My right arm found a rock on the ground next to me, and I used the remainder of my strength to hit Aries on the side of his head.
I managed to hit him hard enough that he fell to the side, bleeding now from his forehead and his temple.
While he was disoriented, I scurried out from under him and braced myself before pulling the dagger from my shoulder.
Immediately more pain shot through my body, and I clenched my teeth to hold back a cry of pain.
I forced myself not to look at the blood that trickled down my left arm.
“I told you I would kill you,” I shouted over the battle happening around us.
“You have taken enough from this world, Aries.” Aries tried to grab me again, but I cut the dagger straight across his stomach.
He let out a cry of both anger and pain.
It was no longer me who was fighting. It was a force beyond me, stronger and more powerful than anything I’d ever experienced.
“And it’s time to pay up.”
I finally understood Cai’s anger in that moment. The hatred he felt for Thatcher after he took everything from him. I understood because I felt it too. I buried the dagger deep into his chest, twisting as I thought about every life that had ended because of him.
I stepped back, blood dripping from the dagger onto my dress. Blood filled Aries’ mouth, and he fell to his knees.
I don’t know why I expected him to look more fearful as he lay at death’s door. Instead, he was smiling.
“Even if you kill me, your army will never survive this. Nor will anyone stop coming after the Myrgonite objects.”
Before I could reply, a sword cut through Aries’ neck, beheading him.
I looked up to see Cai standing behind him, out of breath and tired but alive. He looked like he was in shock, not quite believing what he’d just done.
Aries was gone, his head now separated from his body, both on the ground before me.
But the battle was still going on at full force, the Argonians trained never to surrender even if their king was dead.
Cai was by my side. “You’re bleeding.”
“It’s just my shoulder.” I didn’t know who I was trying to make feel better because I was in a lot of pain.
Cai used his sword to cut a piece of my dress and pressed the material to my wound.
“We need to get out of here.”
I nodded, but I spotted something on the hill in the distance, a large group of people who wore no uniform or official armour. They were not Argonian or Norrandish.
“Look.” I pointed to them. “It’s Uncle Arthur’s men and the Baruk clan.”
“There’s more,” Cai said, and slowly more and more men trickled in after Donald and Olwin’s men. Not only had they managed to gather all the bandits, but they’d made it in time.