Chapter 22 #2
Her fingers trembled as she reached for the roll, eyes wide with both hunger and fear.
I knelt to her level, forcing a smile. "It's okay," I whispered, holding out the bread. "You're safe."
She hesitated, standing back, hand out, then snatched it and ducked behind her mother’s apron again. A second hand reached out—another child, cheeks smudged with ash, eyes too old for such a small face.
More came forward, silent and watchful.
The villagers at first seemed curious about me, but more came out, bowing their heads, taking the fresh fruit and loaves of bread that we had provided.
Warmth flowed through my chest.
They weren't looking at me with hatred.
More fae peeked through windows, and doors opened just a sliver of a crack. The braver fae came forward, some of them so disheveled they looked like they'd been rolling around in the mud.
These fae should be treated better. This village sat right outside the castle, no more than a mile away.
A hush settled over the crowd, and not the peaceful kind.
Wind rolled through, stirring the nearby petals.
Then came the first hiss of displeasure: “Human scum.”
I turned around, looking to see who’d spoken, but it was so soft, almost a whisper.
A crowd gathered in the square, creeping closer. The guards tightened their formation.
Something wet and cold smacked me in the side of my face.
I froze.
A slow, viscous drip slid down my cheek and into the corner of my mouth. Sour. Rotting. My stomach turned, and I stumbled forward, dropping the basket. The fresh bread rolled into the mud.
“Stand back!” one of my guards said.
A tomato launched at my face, smacking me and splattering me in a spray of red. I gasped, my vision blurring from the vegetable guts splattered into my eyes. The sting of humiliation hurt worse than the rotten tomato.
Raking my fingers across my face, I fought back the tears. If I cried now, in front of all these fae, any respect I’d tried to earn would be gone instantly.
I couldn’t appear weak.
A guard stepped in front of me, unsheathing his blade and charging at the peasant.
“No!” I said, knowing that so far, vegetables were my greatest threat. “Don't hurt them.”
Laughter broke out from somewhere behind the crowd. Then came the next barrage—faster, heavier. The stench of overripe fruit filled the air like poison. The square became a blur of movement and color.
“Protect the queen!” Gideon screamed.
Covering my head with my arms, I ducked as various squashes and rotten food slammed into me, each smack a hit to my resolve. Head bowed, I did my best to cover myself.
Someone grabbed my arm. I looked at the villager who sneered at me, eyes fully black, two fangs hanging over their bottom lip. I didn't want to use my magic and hurt these people. These were supposed to be my people now.
A guard ripped the villager off, shoving them to the ground and putting an arm in front of me.
“Get the queen out of here!” Gideon screamed, though I couldn’t see him anymore.
The crowd hissed. Some villagers argued with each other as if it wasn't everybody who seemed to hate me.
Pieces of soggy cucumber and stale bread stuck to my hair. I picked them out with shaking hands.
A guard grabbed me by the waist, pulling me out of the crowd.
“Liora!” I screamed, watching my handmaiden stand in front of the other servants. She glanced back at me as her white hood fell away; the golden rings around her eyes glowed.
“Do not fear, my queen,” she said. “I'll be safe.”
“No, you won't!” She had no weapon and there were too many villagers.
One darted forward, fist raised. Liora threw up her arm, blocking the attack. Taking the assailant’s arm, she twisted it, turning him around and shoving him out of the way, the move quick and fast.
I blinked and she was on to another one.
My handmaiden could fight.
The guard tugged me out of the crowd. Someone yanked on my dress, ripping the tulle. I fell to the ground as two fae with horns protruding out of their brows and pointy teeth sprang at me.
Their muddy-colored skin and claws raked against me, tearing my dress. Another guard came forward, taking his blade and stabbing it through the fae.
A massive black panther appeared out of nowhere, growling at them, bigger and more terrifying than anything I'd ever witnessed. The image of it wavered for a second and I glimpsed Gideon, his eyes bright, his hand out.
Was he creating the beast?
The guard lifted me up. Something knocked me in the head. Blood trickled into my eye. I wanted to lash out to protect myself, but after my power acted so wildly in the grove, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to control it here, and I was not going to hurt these people, no matter what they did.
They weren't to blame for their hatred.
A portal opened. The castle glimmered in the distance and the guards dragged me through the crowd, Gideon and Liora and any remaining guards blocking me from view. The guard pulled my arm and we ran into the portal, three more covering our retreat.
When we arrived, they shouted, “The queen has been attacked! The queen has been attacked!”
Kane stood at the entrance of the castle, speaking with the Master of Coin. He turned around, his gaze landing on me. His amber eyes glowed and he stomped forward, black blades protruding from his palms. “Who did this?”
The guard released me and I fell to my knees, shaking.
Kane kneeled in front of me. The blade in his right hand disappeared as he took my chin and turned my head, examining whatever wound appeared on my forehead.
He wiped a piece of rotten fruit off the side of my face.
His skin rippled, pale flesh replaced with scales. “Who. Did. This?”
The question ended in a roar as he started transforming.
He pulled away as talons replaced fingers, and his body elongated. Spikes trailed down his head. Shadows seeped out of his skin, now a scaly dark red.
“The villagers attacked her," my guard said. “Our men and Lord Gideon are taking care of them.”
Fully dragon, Kane roared, “They will die.”
“No,” I screamed, launching myself in front of him. “Kane, please!”
He swung his giant head toward me. “You expect me to allow this insult?”
His guttural voice sent a wave of panic through me.
“They attacked the queen, my queen.”
My heart did a strange thump at the way he said my queen, as if I actually mattered to him. “They're frightened of me, but they will hate me more if you retaliate.”
He roared, and streams of black mist poured out into the unsuspecting trees. They disintegrated under his breath.
Walking forward, meeting his gaze, I hoped that the breath weapon wouldn't land on me next.
I held out a hand. “I'm okay. What I need is for my king to stay his hand.
Let your guards handle the attackers. Not everyone deserves your wrath.
They're hungry. The children…” I held a hand to my chest. “They're scared. Please, Kane. No more death. No more bloodshed.”
After reaching my magic out to the destroyed trees, I found their roots deep within the earth. Slowly, I poured my magic into those roots. Beneath my fingers, the earth warmed.
A soft tremor stirred the ground as trunks sprouted, branches blooming with fresh leaves and tiny white flowers. A young sapling stretched to the sky as it forged into the beauty it once was, now decorated with new life.
“The destruction has to stop,” I said, resurrecting the life Kane had destroyed.
My fingers tingled with magic. I’d never fully restored a tree to life before, and I prayed that was a sign of something greater to come.
Kane huffed, his gaze stuck on the restored trees. Those gigantic eyes blinked twice, almost as if he was assessing what just took place.
When he didn’t speak, I dropped to my knees, bowing my head, hoping he would listen. A lone tear raced down my cheek.
Things will never change. Not when Kane has so much hate in his heart.
The only way I can help anyone is if I can free myself.
Something warm touched my face. I opened my eyes to Kane back in fae form, kneeling in front of me.
“Just this once,” he said. “I'll listen to you.”
Without waiting for a reply, he lifted me up into his arms.
“Go,” he said to the guard. “I want whoever attacked her arrested and sent to my dungeon. They need to see what happens when they harm the queen. This cannot go unanswered.”
He said the last part to me and I nodded. “I understand.”
“Good.”
He looked back at the guard. “I will take care of the queen.”
What does that mean?
Black shadowy wings protruded from his back, growing so large they cocooned around us. I had done nothing wrong, yet seeing the anger in his gaze, the magic pouring out of him, made me question what take care of actually meant.
Because it didn’t sound good.