He bowed at the waist. “Your Majesty.”
“I’m so glad to see you.”
“I must apologize.” Guilt softened his sharp features. “For leaving you in Berovia. We’d presumed you’d returned. We waited as long as we could, but we ran out of the coins you gave us and had to go back to Magaelor.”
“No, no.” I waved my hand in the air. “You couldn’t have known. No one did, but please, may I talk to you about something?” I looked around us and over at where Adius stood with other soldiers. “That man can never find out you or your men helped me get to Berovia. Well, no one can.”
He nodded. “We have heard the story. We are all loyal to you.”
Something didn’t sit right, but I shrugged it off as nerves. “I will ensure you will all be paid well once we are home.”
“For now, Majesty, we are at your service. Edgar is plunging Magaelor into poverty, us along with it and all we have built. It’s not just me. Others have come who have lost their wealth.”
“Good. We need numbers, Hawk. Please, go join Adius. He is the commander. He will take you to Enchante for some food and sleep, before you all go to Fairmont. There are villages there. Plenty of space. You will have rooms and plenty of meals for your men too.”
He smiled. “I’m glad you’re alive.”
“Me too.” A weight lifted from my chest. They were loyal to me. I mean, they wouldn’t be here if they weren’t. For now, aside from the few men who’d seen me at the tavern—and they hadn’t spoken up—everyone believed me. Was I really about to get away with murder?
***
Pebbles led into the bubbling waves that lapped onto the beach. Seagulls soared through the gloomy sky, and the dark ocean seemed endless beneath the evening sky. Stepping into the freezing waters, I hissed as the cold ran through me, icing my bare feet. I lifted the skirt of my dark-green dress higher, until my ankles were submerged. “Perhaps this was why I’d put it off.”
“Or maybe it’s the creepiness of the mer king.” Cedric grinned, but worry still crowned his eyes. “That’s why.”
They could feel my spirit, or so Aqugar had said when we met. I calmed my mind and my heart, linking myself with the ocean. “I am Winter Mortis, and I am requesting the presence of Aqugar.” I looked around. “The, er, mer king,” I said for good measure, immediately regretting it. Of course they’d know who it was, unless there was more than one Aqugar, like there was more than one Winter.
Cedric cleared his throat from behind me. “Nothing’s happening.”
“Give it time.” I shivered. I wished they’d hurry up. My toes were frozen. I was worried there would be no thawing them.
After ten minutes, I hurried out of the sea. “I can’t.” My teeth chattered.
Cedric lifted me in his arms, fluttering his wings as we spiraled upward. I trembled until we hit solid ground again onto the porch of a rickety, wood house just beyond the beach. It was desolate, except for a scratchy, brown cloth on the ground and a crumbling fireplace. “It’s uh…”
“It’s out of the cold.” He blew heat into his palms and turned toward me. He sat and took my feet, then pulled off his fur coat and covered me with it.
“You don’t have to do that. You’re cold.”
He was slightly shaking, with a blue hue to his normally tanned face. “You’re more important.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I don’t deserve you,” I said as I rolled my staff between my hands, summoning sparks into a fire. I suspended them over the fireplace, hoping it’d last long enough to bring our extremities back to life.
“Don’t do that.” He rubbed his hand up and down my shin. “We deserve each other. You make me happy, and I hope I make you happy.”
I thought about my secret kiss with Blaise. My lapse in judgement. How sometimes I still thought about it. “You do, but you could still do better than me. I have a lot of flaws.”
“You’re a little stubborn,” he smirked, “hot-headed, and sometimes righteous.”
“Tell me how you really feel.”
“But you’re strong, fierce, caring, and sometimes, you can be funny.”
“Only sometimes.”
“I’ll teach you.”
I grinned. “Perhaps I’ll teach you how to be…” I tapped my finger against my chin. “More prince-like.”
He laughed. “I have zero interest in being a prince. I’m not next in line, not even close. I don’t care for politics. Our people have no real power in Berovia. Why would I care how I came across? If I did, do you really think I’d have shown my family up, broken you out of Xenos’s castle, then whisked you away to start a war with Magaelor?”
“With Edgar, not Magaelor,” I stated. “But I suppose not.”
“Don’t try to change me.”
“Now who’s stubborn?” I joked.
“It must have rubbed off.”
I chuckled. He always had a way of keeping everything lighthearted. Sitting and talking with him was as easy as breathing. I snuggled closer to him. “Really, I like you just the way you are. You should know that.”
He squeezed me tighter.
I sighed. “I’m disappointed the mer king didn’t come to shallow waters to see me.”
“I know.” He brushed my hair back and kissed my forehead. “We can always try again.”
Waves crashed in the distance. I feared we didn’t have time. The war was set into motion, and with the news of my false story of Xenos sending pirates to hurt my father and kidnap me, soon more would try to come to Niferum to join me.
Many by ship, like the ones who couldn’t dock, in the distance.
And they’d be sunk.
Cedric was asleep when the evening fell into night. I moved out from under his arm, scraping my skin against the floorboards, and stood. I couldn’t sleep anyway. I was far too anxious.
I creaked open the door and ran out into the bitter night. If I did nothing, my people wouldn’t be able to reach me. The path in the mountains was too treacherous, narrow, and guarded for everyone to come through. Some did, but they were survivors.
I had to ensure safe passage, no matter the cost. I was their queen, and it was time I started acting like it.
I slid across the icy pebbles and steadied myself as I halted. Sucking in deep breaths, I brought my gaze up to the midnight sky. I could really see the stars tonight. They were beautiful, pricks of silver glistening against the darkness.
I brought my fingers down to my chest and fumbled with my blue stone necklace. When I reached the water’s edge, I pulled off my boots and stepped into the iciness, bracing myself for the sharp pains to sweep up my legs.
The muscles in my legs ticked as I held my dress above the water. “Aqugar.” I held the image of him in my mind and his name on my lips as I reached out through the sea with my thoughts. It was a strange sensation, a sense of oneness for a second. Despite the cold, the rest of my body was warming. Perhaps I was just overtired.
After several minutes, I slumped my shoulders. Tossing my black strands over one shoulder, I walked out of the water, dropping the skirt of my dress around my feet. My staff waited against my boots. The bone handle on the ash wood shone out from the black pebbles that made up the beach. I grabbed it and lifted it into the sky. From the end, lightning cracked upward. It was a useless paralyzing spell but was enough to illuminate the dark ocean, which threatened to pull me in with each lap closer.
In the distance, I saw movement. It started as a ripple, but then I swore I saw steel-colored scales. Straining my eyes, I cracked another spell. Yellow flashed the waves, and I saw it. A large tail flipped out of the water, then a set of cold, calculating wide eyes spotted me. Those of a predator. On his head, hair that resembled seaweed dripped down by his ears, which somehow faded into his skull. A crown of coral was latched onto his head, as if it were alive.
“You requested my presence.” His tone was as icy as the ocean he swam in.
“Yes.”
“Have you found them?�
�
“Not yet,” I said quickly. “I will, but I can’t get them unless I defeat my cousin and become queen of Magaelor again. I know you’ve been pushed out of the waters by Edgar. He’s placed spells shielding the shores. You don’t want that. It’s your home, your territory.”
Waves rippled around his muscular body. “What is it you are asking of me?”
At least he was straight to the point. I appreciated that. “Allow ships to pass through here and dock. I need my men, my army, to arrive safely so I can defeat my cousin and reclaim my throne. If you help me, I will be one step closer to finding the rest of the objects and uniting them. I know where they are. Most of them anyway. Blaise is helping me. Will you help, please?”
“Yes. Your ships may pass through.”
He disappeared under the surface, and with a final splash from his tail, he swam deeper into the black depths. My thank-you was still on my tongue. “I will let them know then.”
He was already gone.
“Good-bye,” I said sarcastically, although no one could hear me.
“How rude of him.”
Cedric’s voice made me jump.
“How long have you been there?” I asked.
“I just got here before he swam away. He said yes. That’s great.”
I inhaled deeply. Tears prickled the corner of my eyes. “I did it, Cedric. I negotiated for my kingdom. It was my first negotiation. Maybe I can do this after all.”
He wrapped his arms around me. “I never doubted you could.”
They could come now, my people. But then, a dark thought crossed my mind. If my ships could come, so could Edgar’s.
I hoped ours arrived first.
THIRTY
Ships dotted the horizon. My next breath caught in my throat, and tears bubbled under my eyelids.
“They came.”
“You’re their queen,” Morgana stated. “Families are arriving too, fleeing Magaelor.”
I pressed my hand to my chest. “Does Edgar know the sea is safe for now?”
Morgana lowered her head. “Yes. Winter, I have something to tell you.”
That didn’t sound good.
She continued. “We have managed to stop the spell on the dragons, for now. It may not last, but they’re too weak to break free, I believe. We will keep trying.”
“That’s good. Why do you look so grieved?”
Her brown eyes glazed. “Edgar is coming.”
My throat tightened. “Sorry, what? We’re not ready.”
“He knows the ships have left to come to you. He has Xenos’s backing. They’ve sent two companies and generals to aid Edgar.”
“That’s at least three thousand men.”
“They’ve underestimated us.” She touched my shoulder, then squeezed. “Adius has done an excellent job at preparing the soldiers.”
“Half of them aren’t even trained!” I panicked, pacing in a circle. “They’re fishermen, traders… blacksmiths for goodness’ sake. We don’t have enough men to beat him. Unless…” I worked over each word. Men. Always men. “What about the women? Wives, daughters… of age, of course. If we brought them into our ranks, we’d easily outnumber Edgar with the fae on our side too.”
Her eyes widened. “Female soldiers. It is a good idea, one no one will see coming.”
“I know not everyone will agree. It’s not proper, but if we can get Adius on board, I just know there are women out there, like you and me, who are brave and smart and want to fight for their kingdom, rights, and families. Naturally, any who don’t wish to join mustn’t. Only those who want to fight. Especially if they have children. They can’t be left alone.”
“We can work out details. Now you’re thinking like a queen. Like I said before, out with the old.”
She sandwiched her hands between mine. “Many ladies are fed up sitting on the sidelines. This gives them a chance, a voice. We must tell Adius.”
Adius reached the beach. Pockets of freezing air hit us as we stood inches apart. Morgana stood by his side. They’d always been good friends, even at the castle when I was young.
He bowed at his waist. “Your Majesty.”
“Adius,” I said, my gaze flitting from his to Morgana’s. “I want you to gather all women of age.”
He stood straight. “For what reason, Majesty?”
“To ask them if they’re willing to fight. They’re not to be forced. They do not have to. But any who are willing can step forward and be trained along with the men as soldiers. As you have already heard, Edgar is coming, and we need numbers.”
Adius’s eyes bulged. Absurdity pinched his mouth into a hard line. “Women?” he asked as if I might have been mistaken.
“Yes. Women.”
“As soldiers?”
“Yes.” I slowed it down for him. “I know it’s not the proper thing, but why not? I am fighting.”
“With all due respect, Your Majesty, you are our queen. You are the exception. I believe this is a mistake. We will continue as we are. We don’t have the numbers, but we have the strength.”
“I am not asking, Adius. You will do as ordered by your queen,” I commanded, standing as tall as I could. “Bring the women together, and the ones who wish to fight, train them with the men.”
His eyes darted from me to Morgana, hesitance guiding his tone. “I believe it’s a bad idea. They’re weak, and we need them to stay behind to take care of things back in the villages for once the battle is over. As your commander, I am strongly against this.”
“If I need your advice, Adius, I will ask for it. Otherwise, you will do as I say. You came here to be the commander of my army, to stand at my side. I am asking you now to trust me, as your ruler.”
“Of course, Your Majesty. I will obey a command by my queen.” He bowed once more and walked away, his fists visibly balled at his sides.
I was shaking.
Morgana’s eyes appraised me. Pride etched onto her features. “You did a good job today.”
“He wasn’t going to accept my request.” My eyebrows furrowed. “I mean at first.”
“Just because you are queen does not mean you will immediately be respected. It is earned. Right now, they see you as a girl queen, their rightful leader but a woman and a teenager nonetheless. They think they can rule your decisions. You must show more strength than your father ever needed to. It is the world we live in. With the right counsel and guidance, you can be better than any king.”
“I feel like I did the right thing.” I moved my gaze from hers back to the ships, which grew closer.
“Let Edgar come. Let him bring his armies. We will win.” My voice charged with hope. “I can feel the scales shifting, Morgana, in our favor. Keep trying to disrupt the work being done on the dragons. Once we have fought our battle, we will rebuild. It may take years, but eventually, we will have enough resources to take down Berovia. Once Edgar has fallen, Xenos wouldn’t wage war straight away, not with our people ready to fight. He needed my cousin to take Magaelor. They knew they couldn’t turn the people to them unless their king or queen made it so. That’s why Kiros wanted to marry me. It was a clean way of taking Magaelor. If they truly thought they could have it by force and win, they would have.”
“You’re right,” Morgana replied. “They know lunas won’t relent. What is the point of taking a kingdom if all their inhabitants are dead?”
“Exactly.” A self-assured smile spread across my face. “We can do this.”
She linked her fingers with mine. “We can. I’m by your side, Winter. Your closest friend. Your family, even. Through anything.”
***
With bright-blue eyes, shoulder-length blonde waves, and a smile despite the cold winds and sea-sprayed journey, of course it had to be her.
“Florence Montague,” I said in greeting. “I’m shocked you’re here. The last time I saw you, you didn’t want me to be queen someday.”
“Things change,” she said too brightly, peering around me. “Where is Adius?”<
br />
I arched an eyebrow. “Why?”
“I’ve come to see him too. I want you to win. I mean, you’re not as bad as Edgar.” She forced a snarky smile. “So I guess I’m on your side.”
“Fantastic,” I replied, trying to keep the spite out of my tone. “He’s over at the camps. There are horses to take you into the town. Also… if you would like, you can fight with us.”
She scoffed a laugh. “Like a soldier?”
“Yes. Like a soldier.”
Her thin eyebrows pointed downward, her forehead wrinkling. “I mean, it’s not the worst idea.”
“I’ll take it as a compliment.”
Morgana gave me an assuring nod and mouthed “see.”
“Ah, I see Adius.” She beamed. “Good to see you, Winter. I mean, Your Majesty,” she said, then hurried to the horses and guards.
I turned toward Morgana, wide-eyed. “I can’t believe she came. I really didn’t think Edgar was that bad.”
“He fell for Florence,” she explained. “He wanted her to be his wife and was unrelenting in his pursuit. She’s in love with Adius. It’s obvious, even if they won’t admit it to each other yet. Although, I’m sure their time will come. War brings out the truth in many hearts.”
“Oh.” It did explain why he flushed when I mentioned her the day he arrived. “I didn’t think Edgar was like that with women.”
“Honey.” Morgana touched my hair, smiling. “You don’t know your cousin at all. Your father described him as someone who is passive, a pushover who wants good things, but getting to know him while he was king, we saw his true colors. His ego will be the death of him. He cares too much what others think. He acts as if he is above it all. He despises our religion. He thinks he knows best and lets Berovia call the shots. He’s insecure but proud. Don’t dismiss him, Winter. He believes in everything we don’t, and some of those views are good, but it doesn’t make him a good person. Power has rotted him. Some people can’t handle it. It ruins them.”
“I understand.” The sea looked to blend with the sky as they both sank into deep grays and blues. The last of the ships, before Edgar would be here, arrived unscathed. Aqugar had kept to his word. “So when will Edgar attack? Has there been word on his position?”
The Fate of Crowns: The Complete Trilogy: A YA Epic Fantasy Boxset Page 50
