Chapter 29
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
MADOC
W hen he doesn’t answer, I swivel around and find him engaged in a silent battle with his sister to keep her from getting the power. Waves of magic batter against each other, with neither gaining the upper hand.
“Rivan!” I yell. “Meri’s down!”
The Phoenix’s wings snap open, and he begins to fly toward us, but several lords and ladies fling magic toward him, stopping him in mid-air. He drops to the ground and pulls his sword.
My gaze swings from Meri to the power to Leandra and, finally, to Denir. His eyes are locked on the power. He frantically whispers to Cormal’s sister, whose look of fierce determination nearly matches the expression on her brother’s face.
Denir moves to intercept the power, and Leandra moves in front of him.
I glance back at Rivan and see him surrounded by the court. Theron and Arden are battling their way toward him.
Calling to the shadows, I shove the power up to the rafters and pull the dark sword at my back. Sliding into the darkness, I surf the shadows to Rivan and come up beside him. “How much time?”
“A minute, if we’re lucky,” he grits out, slamming the pommel of his sword into the chin of a nearby guard. “I need to get to her.”
Every time I try to grab on to Rivan and slip into the shadows, someone else grabs him and shoves him farther away from me. Damn it. To resurrect Meri, he has to get to her within the next thirty seconds.
A loud roar sounds from across the room. Unable to see what’s happening, I keep fighting to get to Rivan. Meri is more important than anything else. Even the crown. I slam the heel of my foot onto the toes of the lord behind me, bone crunches under my boot, then I slam a left hook into the next one who gets too close.
Callyx steps from the shadows like the angel of death and grabs Rivan, flinging him into me. “Go! I’ve got this.” Sword swinging, dark magic pours from him, and suddenly, there are six of him standing there ready to fight.
Damn. I think he glamoured the shadows.
I drop into the darkness with Rivan and come up beside Meri, well aware we’re past the window of time he gave us. “Don’t say it. Just try. Please.”
Rivan gathers her in his arms. Cradling her to him, he nods at me, and I send a wave of magic directly into his heart. Killing him. He erupts in faery fire, taking her with him into the afterlife, leaving their ashes behind on the floor.
My heart races as I stare at the pile on the ground, waiting for a sign. A minute ticks by. Then two. Three. Cormal looks at me, and I shake my head. Even Leandra darts a glance at the empty floor. Five minutes have passed.
Rivan promised not to return without her. Are they both gone?
Ashes swirl in the wind, creating an intricate pattern. Slowly, two bodies reform in a storm of fire.
Rivan stares down at Meri, his eyes burning with emotion. “Open your eyes, my love.” His voice is firm as he calls to her. “Open your eyes.”
I drop to my knees beside him. “Meri, open your fucking eyes.”
Rivan shoots me a murderous look. “Come on, my love. I know you’re in there. That’s it. Bat those gorgeous blues at me.”
Her dark lashes flutter and her turquoise eyes open, and it’s the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen. My hand moves up to wipe the wetness from the corner of my eye.
“I love you, Rivan.”
His lips find hers in a crushing kiss. “I love you so damn much. You were almost lost to me forever.” There’s a break in his voice that tells me how close she was to never returning.
I take her from him. “You scared the fuck out of me.” Unable to stop shaking, I wrap both of my long arms around her.
Rivan stands and taps me on the shoulder, but I hold on to her a minute longer, needing to feel her heart beating against mine. Finally, I help Meri stand between Rivan and me.
Leandra calls out, “Madoc! The power.” Her finger points toward the ceiling where the black swirling ball is zipping from one side to the other.
With a pop, it disappears.
“NO! Where did it go? Bring it back, you bitch!” Denir roars, his eyes darting around the hall, desperately searching for the power.
Leandra’s face is white when I give her a deathly glare. “I swear. I don’t know where it went.”
There’s something dark behind my right shoulder. It’s still here. I feel it. Closing my eyes, I try to pinpoint it, but it’s moving rapidly from one place to another.
Denir yells, and I open my eyes.
“The power is still here. Can’t you feel it?” Taunting him. I know he can’t feel it because it was never supposed to be his. It belongs to me.
He looks at me blankly, then shrugs off my question.
Desperate, he turns to Riona and orders her to give him all her power. She struggles, but his hand on the torque forces her to pour her magic into him.
Cormal sways, and I realize the toll it’s taken to pit his magic against his sister’s. They must be pretty evenly matched.
“Now, Rivan!” Cormal shouts.
Rivan’s a blur as he bullets toward Denir and Riona, his hands outstretched. His body slams into theirs, knocking them to the ground.
Denir stands and peers down at his chest, his brow furrowed. Blood seeps from the outer edges of the golden scarab attached to his chest, its onyx eyes unblinking as it stares back at him.
He stumbles over to Riona and pulls her to her feet. When he sees a similar one on her chest with golden unblinking eyes, he begins to roar.
“No, no, no,” he rages. His fingers claw at the edge of the scarab, trying to peel it off, but it refuses to budge.
Cormal’s harsh chuckle makes Denir swing around. “I found these little beauties in the light Fae palace. In a storage room, of all places. Tossed in there like an old sword. They called to me, so I took them. It wasn’t until I received Evren’s note that I realized what they do. They break all binding chains, turning the master into the victim.”
Denir glances from him to Riona, and he knows what will happen when she gains the upper hand. In one last burst of fury, he raises his hand, but not toward Riona. His head swivels to where Leandra stands on the sidelines, and faery fire erupts from his finger. She ducks behind the nearest pillar.
Enraged, he turns toward us, and I raise the shield I was taught from birth. The only one capable of withstanding the faery fire he flings toward us.
Cormal steps up and recites the spell on the piece of paper sent to him by Evren.
Khepri, hear my plea
Let the scarab sun undo
And the scarab night release
Undone is done
The faery fire ceases, and I lower the shield around us. Hands trembling, I fist them against my thighs. It takes a tremendous amount of power to create that particular shield.
Leandra moves out from behind the pillar to watch the scene unfold, pure satisfaction in the depths of swirling, mad-filled eyes. This is the moment she’s been waiting a thousand years to see.
Dark blue eyes light up, a fierce flame in their depths. Riona cracks open the torque around her neck and destroys it. Gold dust rains to the floor. She jerks Denir to her.
“Your reign has ended. Death is your reward.”
His body turns to dust in her hands.
Leandra laughs, and we all turn toward her. Dust is flaking off her skin as her body begins to decay right in front of us. “I tied my life to his long ago, but the years meant nothing without her. My revenge is complete. I go to be with my daughter.” Seconds later, she, too, is gone.
The crowd looks from one to the other, then starts shouting. Callyx, Theron, and Arden move to stand with us, and we close ranks. The court pushes forward, but suddenly stops, pointing to the dais.
I follow their gaze and find the power zipping in circles around the throne. Holding out my hand, I call it. Slowly, it stops moving and turns in my direction.
A massive hand reaches out and palms the power. “I’ll take that.”
The crowd scrambles back a step. Massively tall, with a long beard, the fierce old man on the throne squints at me with his one eye. Hard to believe he leads The Wild Hunt.
Furious, but unable to do anything against him, I bend a knee and bow.
“Odin,” I hiss at Cormal and the others. “The Wild Hunt. Kneel or die.”
Cormal must decide the power Odin wields is more than he can fight because he slowly kneels beside me.
There’s a collective movement as the rest of the room follows our actions.
Odin heaves a huge sigh. “Whatever. Get up. I know your respect is real.” He holds out his hand and shows me the swirling orb of power. “I listened to everything and waited for the dust to settle. Unfortunately, you didn’t get Leandra to transfer the power from Meri to you. According to our laws, you failed to get it back.”
He stares at me with blue starry eyes. “This predicament pisses me off because I do think the power should be yours, but rules are rules. You have to earn it. To get it back, you’ll have to run the gauntlet.” Standing to his full six feet nine inches, he lowers his brows and jerks me to him. “The clearing in the Wilds. You know the place. Midnight. Tomorrow. Bring them with you.”
In a flash, he disappears.
Lifting my chin, I pivot to face the dark Fae court with my usual scowl. “This might take another night to resolve, but make no mistake, the crown will be mine.”
Oryn walks up to the dais where Riona stands and takes her hand in his.
Standing beside the throne, I watch the crowd digest what just happened. Denir is gone. I’m likely going to be their next king. One they tried to kill. Without a single acknowledgement, they shuffle out the door, murmuring amongst themselves.
Cormal jumps up on the dais and strides over to his sister. He reaches over to hug her, but she backs away. She rips the scarab off her chest and studies it closely. He points to the eyes, then steps over and grabs the one from the pile of dust on the floor and shows it to her as well. Hand outstretched, he waits for her to give it back to him, which she does.
“The kingdom will be in an uproar until Madoc gains his power. If you want to stay at my place in The Underworld, it will be safe for you,” he offers in a gruff voice. Unable to take his eyes off her, he scans her from head to toe. “I never forgot you. All these years, I searched and searched. Became immortal so I could continue to look for you. I followed up on every lead. That’s how I found you. Oryn asked about your background, and one of my spies reported it back to me.”
Riona’s blue eyes flicker to Oryn, then down to their linked hands. “Thank you.”
Oryn sweeps a piece of hair behind her shoulder. “I could see you in there. Once I realized he was controlling you, I tried to find more information on your background so I could figure out what to do.”
Meri goes up to them and holds out her hand toward Riona. Her wide smile must convince Cormal’s sister that she’s not a threat because she grasps her hand. “I’m Meri. Cormal’s better half. If you want to know anything about him, ask me. Him and I have known each other for a long time.”
Riona’s smile is weak, but it’s the first one she’s given. “Nice to meet you.” For a second, she pauses, then continues, “I’m sorry. I don’t remember him.”
Meri pats her hand. “It’s okay. It will come back to you. Give it time.” She flicks a glance at Cormal. “The first thing we need to do is get you away from here.”
Oryn steps forward. “I’ve got a small place by the lake in Winter. She’ll be protected on Theron’s land. It’s peaceful too.”
Meri raises an eyebrow. “What do you think? Does that sound good?”
Riona slips her hand from Meri’s and gives a firm nod. “For now.”
Cormal steps forward and holds out his hand. “Please. For a second. I need to know you’re real.”
When she places her hand in his, his emotions break and his eyes water with unshed tears. “It feels so good to see you, but touching you reassures me this isn’t a dream. Thank you.”
She pulls her hand from his. “Can we go now?”
Oryn hesitates, his eyes sliding toward Cormal. “Let her decompress for a couple of days. I’ll call you every day and give you an update on her progress.”
Cormal reluctantly agrees, and Meri takes his hand in hers. They stand there while Riona and Oryn walk away.
Meri throws her arms around him and squeezes him tightly. “She’ll come around. Give her time.”
He takes a deep breath. “I know.” He lifts her chin and kisses her deeply, devouring her lips for several minutes. “That’s the last fucking time I want to see you dead. Do you hear me?” His blue eyes glance at me. “Can we get the fuck out of here now?”
Rivan turns toward me. “What the hell is the gauntlet?”
“It’s a brutal test of strength and endurance. Pain delivered at the hands of the elite soldiers and monsters of The Wild Hunt. The last, and only person, to come out of it alive was Konnyr,” I explain. A laugh bubbles up and escapes my infamous control. Everyone stops to stare at me. “I’m literally fucked.”
“First, we need to take care of them,” Meri reminds me, pointing to the two piles of dust.
I’m tempted to have the servants sweep Denir out with the trash, but he did rule for three thousand years. Beckoning one of the brownies over to me, I motion to Denir’s remains. “Please see to it that he’s buried in the royal crypt.”
She nods, and with a twirl of her finger, scoops him into a royal-looking vase and seals it, then heads out the side door.
Meri walks over to the pile on the floor. With a wave of her hand, she conjures a water pitcher and magically scoops up Leandra’s ashes. “Remind me to replace the one at The Abbey.”
Cormal steps forward and places a hand on her back. “Where do you want to take her?”
“To the Flames of Hell,” Meri replies thoughtfully. “Her soul is gone to be with her daughter, but I want there to be zero chance she’ll be resurrected by anyone.”
I turn to Arden, Theron, and Callyx. “I can’t thank you enough for all of your help. I’m not used to having friends. But I know we couldn’t have done this without you. We’ll return to The Abbey once we take care of Leandra’s ashes.”
Meri stands at the edge of the black, jagged cliffs. The Flames of Hell burn below us, a field of eternal death. She taps the glass with her nail as she chews on her bottom lip. “I don’t know what to say. All these years, I never thought I was enough. Not enough power, not smart enough or mean enough or pretty enough. The list goes on and on.”
She shakes her head, then smiles. “Now I know she never even saw me as a person. I was a tool for revenge. Nothing more or less. Honestly, I don’t know if she could care for anything. Her heart died with her daughter. She chose her path a long time ago.”
Tipping over the pitcher, she pours the ashes into the fire below. “Today, I take with me the lessons of the past but not the bitterness of it. Strength. Courage. Freedom. Love. Those are the pillars of the path I choose to follow going forward. Our destiny is ours to define.” She tosses the empty pitcher into the fire, turns her back, and throws her arms around the three of us. “Right?”
My heart swells with her words. “Fuck yeah it is. Let’s get out of here.”