CHAPTER 48 #3
“Oh no.” Her hand reaches her mouth as she lets out a raging, high-pitched laugh. “I won’t bear the curse that comes with killing the Prophecy Queen.”
“You may call me the damn Scorching Queen.” My lip rises, catching sight of Florian and Koen flying in over the charcoal mountain tip behind Tilly. “And you’ll burn for what you have done.”
“And your most crucial memories will be locked away until those stones are mine. You have forgotten, you have been gone a long time, and I have been flourishing with the Darklands.” Her wrist flicks, lava rising from the cracks of the charred ground and up into the air.
It twists and rolls until the crimson-red lava is molded into a glistening silver piece, almost resembling half of a necklace.
She wields the lava, just as she wields the blue flame that controls Koen.
Five glistening, white lights pull from Tileatha’s hands and up towards the piece molded and forged by the dark fire that pulses under this land. My heart beats against my chest as I take a step back.
“What the hell is this?” I holler towards her.
“I told you, I will always be more powerful than you, little sis.” Her pearly-white teeth peek through her sinister smile.
The light trickles around the floating silver piece, lava mixing in with the pearly-white flickering hues until a bright red fire blasts from the air that surrounds it.
I stumble backwards, holding my arm over my eyes to avoid being blinded. The wind blows, howling in the air as if the lost souls are screaming at what she has done.
And as soon as I let my arms fall, the metallic piece she molded from the molting lava slams into my face, burning into my skin.
Scorching my flesh.
I let out a scream, falling to my knees as my hands tremble over my face. My fingers frantically glide along it, feeling the metal attached from temple to temple, gliding over my nose.
What feels like five stones, dangling from it.
My eyes whip up to her, stuttering a breath. “What the hell is this!”
“I told you, you will never remember the most important memories I took away from you unless I have your dragons. You will never fully rise to become what the Gods intended you to be without them.” She lets out a cackle, sending a violent shiver along my body. “Now, this is quite fun, isn’t it?”
I rise on my feet, rage burning in my veins. “You took my memories!”
Her pointy finger glides along her chin. “I mean you’re already remembering some, but those, the ones tucked away in those metal stones forged by the lava that can kill you, are safely locked away until I allow you to have them.”
“You are far worse than Queen Antivianna.” A single tear glides down my face.
She tucks her white hair behind her ears. “Now that is the nicest compliment I have ever received.”
Wings beat against the wind, catching the attention of the Darkland dragon, and its wide mouth snaps, barely missing Koen’s wing.
Theon and Kaine leap from his back, landing on the ground as Theon rolls, tripping over his own boots as he rises.
“Oh, more are here,” Tilly scuffs, rolling her eyes. “You think these men can defeat me? That they can help you?”
“And a woman.” I cock my head to the side. “Yeah. I do.”
My cheeks burn by the metal, praying to the Gods it cools off soon.
I hear the boots slamming into the ground behind me, knowing the others are finally off of the dragons as my sister pulls her arms across her chest. The crackling sounds of fire popping in the dragon's mouth makes my throat tighten.
“To think you fell in love with a damn shifter,” Tilly sneers, glancing towards Koen and Florian behind me.
Klayra kicks rocks as she makes her way beside me, noticing the blood that gushes from my thigh. “You need to heal.”
“I know. But not until my sister is dead.” I nod towards her. “Where is Dryden?”
“He isn’t doing well. He is resting behind the rocks as Koen and Florian unshift.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “We need to get you both to the sea.”
Tileatha begins to clap her hands, startling me as I close my eyes and take a deep breath. “Your little followers are cute.”
“Friends,” I hiss, stumbling forward, but Klayra catches my arm, gripping my suit tightly and holding me back.
“You can’t fight like this,” she hisses. “What the hell is on your face?”
I snap my gaze towards her. “I know, and I’ll explain later.”
“Do we have a later?” Her voice trembles, eyes flickering between mine.
“Did you hear about my mother’s death?” Tilly snatches her dagger from her sheath attached to her onyx leather pants and twists it against her finger. “Such a shame the Queen had to die.”
“Mother?” I heave. “Our mother died before she cursed the lands!”
“No!” she bolts, veins bulging against her pale skin as her neck flushes with red. “Your mother cursed the lands!”
I reach out to steady my balance against Klarya’s shoulder, gripping the fabric of her suit. “I don’t understand what you are saying, Tilly!”
She points the dagger towards us. “Father was busy being unfaithful to your mother because she couldn’t bear a child.” She walks over to us, stepping on dead logs as they crunch into ash while her dragon waits patiently behind her. “How do you think Queen Antivianna became Queen anyway?”
No.
“What are you saying!” I heave, my chest rising and falling rapidly.
I hear the sounds of boots stumbling behind me, and I glance over my shoulder, noticing Florian and Koen striding up to us.
“I found out later that our so-called mother was not my mother. But she took me in to show the Kingdom that there was an heir to the throne.” She breathes a heavy sigh. “I was the chosen one to rule the Realms, until she became pregnant with you. You took this away from me!”
“Do not tell me this mad woman is my sister?” Theon walks up, shaking his head as he crosses his arms.
Tilly’s lip curls into an amused smirk. “Half sister.”
“Damn. Why are all the women in my family insane?” Theon scuffs.
“You have yet to see insane.” Tileatha snaps her fingers, and I hear the rocks tumble against the cliff beside us. “The throne was always mine! But the Gods wouldn’t choose me because I was born from another woman! You took everything away from me!”
“What are you going to do!” I scream, removing my distance from Klayra and striding towards Tilly as I feel the ground beneath my boots tremble. The rocks dance along the surface. “Kill off everyone who is in your way to become Queen?”
“That is what I have been doing.” Her lips curl into a wicked grin. “Father and Mother, easy. You destroyed them with your love for this bastard! And now the only way to break the curses of the land is to kill the Wailing Mother, your mother… and you will never have the guts to do it.”
I hear a grumble ripping in Koen’s throat as his dagger slices against his leather sheath. I know he is ready to throw it right into her chest.
“Now, for Queen Antivianna, my mother.” Her brows lift as she takes an exaggerated sigh. “That was much harder to convince Skie and Lykia that you two were the one who killed her. Not me.”
“You killed the Queen!” Florian’s voice twists into a deep growl.
“And no one will ever know.” She shrugs, the dagger twisting in her hand. “You will all be dead.”