Chapter 63
Sixty-Three
LUCCA
King Ruel brings us to his secret compound in Cliffstrong, which is miles and miles away from Mistral, Aquila’s capital and where Queen Maewe is gathering her forces.
Manu and Karl have been here, but they’ve only seen the lab where King Ruel and Castiel, the prince of Lynx, have been breeding shadowbeasts for who knows how long.
His compound is, in fact, a small castle with all the luxuries a king desires.
The decoration is different than Mistral’s palace, though.
Instead of silver and blue tones, everything is touched by gold and light warm colors.
The sun is depicted almost everywhere. Maybe this is a homage to his homeland, the Vega Kingdom.
I just notice what’s impossible to miss. The ache in my chest hasn’t lessened. I’m going out of my mind with worry for Vivi and our baby.
“Can you sense Vivi now?” Rikkon asks his father as soon as we’re all together in his throne room.
“Give me a minute, son. I need to concentrate.” He closes his eyes, and I can actually see the magic gather around his body in a shimmering veil.
“Yes, I see her.” He opens his eyes, and I don’t like one bit the concern shining in his gaze.
“She’s with Merissa and the human. They’re in Silver Grove, by the ancient mother tree. ”
Rikkon’s jaw slackens. “If they’re there, that can only mean one thing.”
“What?” I bark.
King Ruel narrows his eyes, the muscles around his mouth getting tense. “They’ve found the Magna Vis, and they’re going to perform the ritual.”
“Why would your sister kidnap Vivi and Adrian to perform the ritual without you?” Uncle Raphael asks. “What aren’t you telling us, Ruel?”
“I have no idea, and I don’t appreciate your insinuation.”
“It doesn’t fucking matter why!” I yell. “We need to get to Vivi before Queen Maewe does.”
The double doors to the throne room open, and Castiel enters accompanied by a blond soldier and a massive black wolf with blue markings on its face.
“If you’re planning to walk the wind into Silver Grove, you’re too late,” he says without preamble.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Maewe has cast a protective ward around Silver Grove, hasn’t she?” King Ruel cuts in.
“Yes. As soon as she sensed someone had crossed into the sacred land, she sealed it. Queen Merissa only brought a handful of knights with her, hoping to enter the area undetected. Now they’ll be vastly outnumbered.”
Kind Ruel shakes his head. “No, that’s not why my sister only brought her personal guard. She’s counting on finishing the ritual before Maewe gets to them. I’m sure she also cast a protective barrier around the ancient mother tree. She’s an arrogant fool.”
My stomach clenches so hard, it makes me sick. “I don’t accept this. There’s gotta be a way to get to Vivi.”
King Ruel begins to pace. “We can walk the wind close to the wards. I’m sure I can break them with Rikkon’s help.”
“By then it might be too late,” Uncle Raphael retorts. “That’s what Maewe is counting on.”
“I agree with King Raphael,” Castiel adds. “But we’ve discovered something peculiar about the wards.” The wolf whines, and Castiel places a hand on its head. “I mean, Luna did. It’s keyed to prevent anyone trying to break through, except two people—you and Lucca.”
“Why would she do that?” Saxon asks.
“It’s a trap,” my uncle replies. “It doesn’t matter, though.” He looks at me, and I read the resolution in his gaze.
“We’re going,” I finish his train of thought.
VIVIENNE
I fall onto my knees at the base of the hill where the ancient mother tree stands tall because my legs are too weak to hold my weight.
Whenever Nightingales are forced to walk the wind with someone else, it takes a toll on our bodies.
Queen Merissa knew that very well, and she still ordered her lackey to bring me here instead of allowing me to walk the wind on my own.
“Vivi!” Adrian drops to his knees next to me. “Are you all right?”
My head is splitting in two, but then I have another contraction and the only thing that comes out of my mouth is a ragged scream.
“Get up. We must complete the ritual before your mother realizes what we’re doing.”
Her knights try to lift me off the ground, but I raise my hand and send them back with my wind magic. “Back off!”
There’s a ripple in the air, and I sense another type of magic was triggered.
“Shit!” Queen Merissa curses. “You shouldn’t have done that. You just alerted your mother of your presence.”
“You shouldn’t have brought me here against my will like a fucking psycho. You’re no better than my mother.”
She leans down and grabs my chin. “I’m nothing like your mother. If I were, I’d take the powers of Aquila for myself instead of allowing you to have them. Now get up and quit your whining.”
Queen or not, I’d kick her ass if another contraction didn’t rob me of strength. Adrian, bless his heart, rubs my back and tells me to take deep breaths.
“Do you think you can stand now?” he asks.
“Yeah.”
He helps me to my feet, and together we make the trek to the ancient mother tree while Queen Merissa orders her knights to take defensive positions.
If I’d known using my powers here would alert my mother, I wouldn’t have done it.
Dear auntie should have been more honest from the start.
Her distrust may have caused our doom. If being so suspicious of everyone and everything is the price of the crown, I don’t want it.
But if I don’t take part in the ritual, if I don’t strip the powers of the land from my mother, we’re all as good as dead. I’ll do anything to protect my baby.
When we reach the ancient mother tree, I hear my mother’s voice in my head. “You can’t win this fight, Vryenn. Give up now and I may let your disgusting offspring live.”
“Get out of my head!”
“Holy Mary, Mother of God,” Adrian breathes out as he stares at the valley below.
My mother has come and brought her entire army. Normally, that sight would strike fear into my heart, but instead, I’m filled with strength, and it’s not only my own. It’s coming for the ancient mother tree.
“Good, the powers of the land are already reacting to you,” Queen Merissa says.
“How do we start the ritual?” Adrian asks.
“It has already started. Don’t worry about Maewe. I’ll keep her occupied. Just focus on completing the ritual.”
She steps in front of us and makes rapid movements with her arms, weaving a dome of shimmering light that seals Adrian and me with the ancient mother tree.
I want to yell that I don’t know how to complete the ritual, but I have another contraction, and that takes my focus. They seem to be getting closer together and lasting longer. I feel faint, so I brace my hand against the tree. The trunk pulses against my palm, shining where I touch it.
“What can I do to help?” Adrian asks.
I close my eyes for a second when the pain is too much. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Yes, you can. Sit down. I’ll help you to the best of my ability.”
“We need to finish the ritual,” I say through clenched teeth.
“I think delivering your baby is the key to finishing it.”
I study his face, and then my eyes drop to the medallion around his neck. Even though the Magna Vis is inside him, the medallion is its representation. “How do you know?”
“A hunch. Or maybe it’s the Magna Vis telling me it is so.”
I sit down, resting my back against the ancient mother tree. It gives me strength, and the labor pains become more tolerable. “Have you ever delivered a baby before?”
He grimaces. “Never.”
I lean my head back against the tree. “That’s great.”
There’s a battle cry, and then I lose sight of Queen Merissa as she charges down the hill. Her alone with her pitiful personal guard won’t stand a chance against my mother and the might of her army. I foresee this ending too soon.
“Come on, baby. It’s time for you to make an appearance.”
The labor pain intensifies, and even with the ancient mother tree taking some of the ache away, the contractions are debilitating. Adrian urges me to push and to take deep breaths, but all I can think about is how I wish Lucca were here.
“Vivi!” I hear his voice. I must be hallucinating. He can’t be here.
Adrian looks over his shoulder. “Oh my God.”
“What is it?”
“It’s Lucca and Raphael. They’ve come.”
Tears fill my eyes as my heart rejoices. But then a loud boom follows and I remember this is a battlefield, and that my mother will take great pleasure in killing Lucca and his uncle. I can’t just sit here and not assist them.
“Help me up.”
“The baby is coming, Vivi. You need to focus on that.”
“Help me up, please. I can do both.”
He finally gets me back onto my feet, and I see Lucca and King Raphael engaged in a fight to the death. Why they didn’t bring help is beyond me. Maybe they couldn’t.
I lift my right arm and bring forth the power of the wind, letting it concentrate on the palm of my hand while Adrian holds my left arm.
As my power grows, I sense the Magna Vis blending with it, or maybe it’s the ancient mother tree.
I’m not sure anymore where the foreign magic is coming from, nor do I care.
The magic bursts from my hand in the shape of a tornado that spirals at a hundred miles per hour, heading straight to my mother’s soldiers and sparing Lucca and King Raphael.
But blasting them comes at a cost. I also destroyed the protective dome Queen Merissa created, and now Adrian and I are vulnerable.
I sway on the spot, and Adrian has to lower me back to the ground. Black dots appear in my line of sight. I’m fading fast now.
“Vivi!” Lucca says, sounding much closer now. In another second, he’s next to me, holding my hand. “Vivi, my love. I’m here.”
“I knew you would come.” I smile, then scream when my body feels like it’s splitting in half.
“I see the head of the baby now. One more push, Vivi,” Adrian urges me on.
Grunting, I scrunch my face and push until I feel something give out, and the wailing of a newborn baby cuts through the noise of battle.
“It’s a beautiful baby girl.” Adrian cradles my baby for a second, and golden bands form around her, coming from his hands.
“What’s happening?” Lucca asks.
The bands of power also wrap around my body, and then I’m levitating off the ground.
Lucca tries to tether me, but my hand slips from his grasp as I soar high into the sky.
I feel it then—the power of the land enters me, mixing with my soul.
I can hear and see everything that’s happening in the entire kingdom of Aquila.
The land pulses inside my chest in sync with my own heart.
In the distance, someone shrieks, but it doesn’t matter anymore.
I’m the queen of Aquila.