Queen Witch

by Elle Middaugh

  The Blood Witch hovered in the air above us, acting as a referee or something. Hands on her hips, she watched us all intently.

  By this point, at least eight princesses had been knocked out by other competitors, as well as a handful of familiars. Which left about twelve of us still battling it out.

  Izabelle snarled, her sword hilt gripped tightly between both hands, while Mei-Lien twirled her mace like a baton. Then Izabelle struck, slicing her sword at my arm. I jerked my shield over just in time, but the action left my back to Mei-Lien. She used the opportunity to try and jab her mace into my side, but I spun around and slid my shield between my body and the spikes without a second to spare.

  Damn, these girls were ruthless. I needed to get it down to one-on-one.

  Mei-Lien seemed to be the more vicious one, so I decided to focus on her first. As she reared back her mace for another blow, I charged at her, slicing my blades across her stomach, trying not to cut too deeply. But apparently all I hit was material, as her black shirt tore open without a single sign of blood.

  I shook my head. I didn’t want to do this. Hurting people for no good reason... it was simply wrong. And yet, the Trials had to go on. How was I supposed to win if I wouldn’t effectively take out my competition?

  “The same way you’ve been doing, Eliza,” Catfish said, reading my mind from a few feet away. He was still grappling with the arctic fox. “You’re halfway to winning this Trial already and you haven’t personally taken anyone out yet.”

  My eyes lit up. Of course! Just because I refused to hurt them, didn’t mean they couldn’t hurt each other.

  I waited, standing still until they were both circling me again. Then Izabelle charged, stabbing her sword straight at my chest. Quickly, I jerked out of the way, and her sword ended up embedded in Mei-Lien’s gut instead.

  It was an awful sight, watching the pain fill her entire face. I ran to the potions stand, snatched one, and quickly dumped it down her throat.

  “I’m sorry, Mei-Lien,” I said with a shaky voice.

  But the Blood Witch’s potion had already worked its extraordinary magic on her. She stood up strong, and clasped her forearm with mine.

  “Why? You’re not even the one who impaled me. Good luck, Eliza.” Then she smiled and went to stand on the sidelines.

  I took a steadying breath and returned my focus to Izabelle. Thankfully, she hadn’t attacked me while I was speaking to Mei-Lien. It was a beautiful demonstration of her character. I knew in my heart there was no way I could hurt her.

  Taking a quick glance at my competitors, I saw that at least four more princesses had been knocked out. We were officially down to eight; four groups of two combatants fighting one-on-one. The main suspects were all still in action: Nerissa and Annika Eriksson, Maren and Sasha Azikizon, Chloe Arctimo and Sheila Tasman, and then me and Izabelle Santos.

  In order to take Izabelle out without having to make the strike myself, I had to steer her closer to our brawling competitors. I scooted toward Sheila, noticing that she too had a sword. Bumping her shoulder, I waited for her spin around. When she did, she swung her weapon in a wide circle. I ducked, and Izabelle was sliced across the forearm. Nothing too major; easily healed by a clump of tall grass.

  Damn it.

  Unfortunately, Sheila’s distraction with us set her up for failure with Chloe, the girl she’d been fighting before we showed up.

  Chloe lifted her tomahawk, and launched it at Sheila, wedging it square in her shoulder blades.

  Her eyes widened and she crashed to her knees, screaming.

  I ran for another potion, and while I was gone, I noticed Chloe had already engaged Izabelle. Sasha Azikizon came up beside me and grabbed a potion for Maren, who she’d apparently taken out just a moment ago. I stared at her and she stared back, knowing we were now on course for collision.

  I hurriedly helped Sheila swallow the potion, then rushed to block Sasha’s onslaught of incoming blows.

  The girl wasted no time, attacking me with everything she had—which was actually quite a lot. She was taller than me, stronger than me, and much more aggressive than me. With every clash of her ax on my bony shield, she quickly pushed me back toward the cliff edge.

  I needed to get her away from me, or I’d be falling to my demise faster than I could blink.

  “Magic from within my soul, give me room to take control.”

  Suddenly magic burst out in a circular wave all around me, knocking Sasha backward by a few yards and landing her flat on her ass at Annika Eriksson’s feet. Annika tripped over her, tumbling to the ground, and Nerissa took the opportunity to finish them both.

  I bent over, refusing to drop to my knees in case that counted as a loss. My head was throbbing, pushing against my eyes with each tumultuous beat.

  The necromancer’s gaze met mine. For a moment I thought she was going to attack. Then she glanced over at Chloe and Izabelle, who were still battling it out. In a strange unspoken truce, she ran their way and joined the fight. Apparently we wouldn’t be facing each other until the bitter end.

  As I waited for my head to calm down, I looked around for Catfish. But all the familiars had been taken out. My eyes met his from the sidelines. He was back to his normal size.

  I’m so sorry, Cat, I thought, hoping he’d hear my silent apology.

  He nodded. “I’m sorry, too. I wish I could’ve been there to help you with Nerissa.”

  “Me too.”

  “Kick her ass.”

  I smiled. “I’ll try.”

  As my headache cleared, I watched Nerissa run her spear through Chloe’s stomach. She pulled it out, and in the same motion, sent the other sharpened end plunging into Izabelle.

  And just like that, our final showdown began.

  Chapter 24

  Nerissa circled me, grinning.

  “You’ve done well, little sister. But give up. It’ll be easier that way.”

  I squeezed the hilts of my daggers and moved closer to her. “As if I’d roll over and play dead while you continue to raise them.”

  She glared at me. “That’s none of your business. You need to stay out of it before you get hurt.”

  “You mean like Mom and Dad? Like Gage and Nathan? Like the countless victims of our own kingdom that your zombie pet mowed down the other night?”

  Her look turned lethal. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I think I do. I was there that night. I saw the carnage for myself. And I saw Mom and Dad’s coffins just this morning. I know the evil you’re capable of. That’s why I’ll never step down. Not until you and your zombie army are defeated.”

  She threw her head back and laughed, and déjà vu overwhelmed me—it was the same vision I’d seen in the crystal ball.

  “Zombie army? Oh, Eliza, you’re being ridiculous. Mom and Dad dying was...” She paused, adjusting her double-sided spear. “...unfortunate. But trust me when I say I will stop at nothing until I’ve had my revenge. They will pay for killing Trae.”

  “Who? The Rebels?”

  “Anyone who aided in his demise!” she shouted, lips quivering in anger.

  I cocked my head and cracked my neck. “Well then, I guess you and I are going to be butting heads a lot. Because I will stop at nothing to keep you from exacting that revenge.”

  I lashed out, slashing at her arm, but she jumped backward.

  Her grip choked up on the spear. “You’re gonna have to do better than that, little sister.”

  I lashed out again, faster this time, nicking a slice of skin and drawing a little blood. I think it surprised both of us. She glanced up at me with wide eyes.

  Up until now, none of the Strand sisters had fought one another. Laken and Maren had each been taken out by a princess from a different kingdom, and Nerissa and I had avoided one another.

  Suddenly, that unspoken truce from a moment ago had come to an end.

  Her gaze bored into mine as she uttered a chant. “Magic of this clifftop’s sin, en
d this now so I may win.”

  Her spell zoomed over to me in a cloud of glittering black magic, but miraculously bounced off my skin and disintegrated into the air.

  My brows furrowed for a moment before the truth dawned on me.

  Ezra’s spell! It must’ve still been in place.

  The look of confusion that crossed Nerissa’s face was enough of a boost to urge me into action. I railed into her, knocking us both to the ground and sending her spear flying. We wrestled at the edge of the cliff as the wind whipped our hair and surf crashed angrily all those feet down below, a deadly reminder of how quickly this could all end.

  I pinned her into the dirt, but it wasn’t enough. I had to be the last one standing, so I had to incapacitate her somehow. I brought my dagger up to her leg. If I could just work up the nerve to do it, I could ensure she wouldn’t be standing for very much longer.

  But while I debated the pros and cons of such an awful action, she bucked me off her and jumped up into crouch.

  “Very good, little sister. But not good enough.”

  She grabbed her spear and charged at me, ramming the point deep into the meat of my shoulder. With a sick suctioning noise, she removed the tip and watched, waiting to see what I’d do.

  I screamed and dropped one of my daggers so I could clutch the wound. Agony exploded from the origin point and rushed to my head and chest. Blood gushed hot and thick through my fingers.

  “Magic of my heart and soul, seal this wound and make me whole!”

  Light shone through as the cavity quickly sealed itself up, leaving me with another throbbing ache in my skull.

  “You fucking stabbed me,” I said, surprised, as I picked up my dropped dagger.

  She grinned. “Last woman standing, Eliza. I need to make sure that woman is me. Besides, there are potions nearby. No one’s died yet.”

  I circled her, trying to steer myself away from the cliff edge. It must’ve looked like my glare was as sharp as my daggers, but really, my eyes were just so strained from the headache, I could barely keep my eyelids open.

  Over Nerissa’s shoulder, I saw the princesses watching, and beyond them I noticed that we’d drawn a crowd. Gage was near the back, but he was muscling his way to the front. Having him so near gave me strength and confidence, but it also distracted me.

  Nerissa lunged in my direction, causing me to slip as I tried to dodge. I went down hard on my knee, but quickly scrambled out of the way and sprung up again.

  “Don’t let lover boy distract you,” she teased.

  I might’ve spat something like “he’s not a distraction” but that would’ve been total bullshit. The truth was, he was a distraction, but he was also an incredible support for me.

  “Don’t let yours distract you,” I threw back.

  When she stole a quick glance at Julian, I attacked. I sliced my blade across her arm and immediately drew blood. My daggers were apparently deathly sharp. It was like cutting through butter.

  She let out a high-pitched scream before uttering a healing spell of her own. “Spirits of the suicide cliffs, heal my wounds with your dark gifts.”

  Before she healed up entirely, I attacked again, slicing her other arm. Then, finding the courage I didn’t have before, I jabbed the blade down into her thigh. Blood spilled like water from a spring onto the ground beneath her.

  Surely this was enough? I glanced at the Blood Witch, but she merely stared back, unmoving. Apparently I needed to do more. But I really didn’t want to. I hated this, in fact. Nerissa might’ve been a dark witch who raised the dead, she might’ve killed our parents and some of our citizens, but that didn’t mean that I had to be the one to dole out justice, did it? Surely there was another way?

  Nerissa growled and yelled out another spell as her leg bled.

  “Spirits of the dead and drowned, heal my body all around.”

  She stood and glared at me as I thought over everything the Blood Witch had said at the beginning of the Trial. The only phrase that kept coming back to me was “you need to be the last woman standing.”

  If I’d learned anything from these trials, it’s that things were never exactly as they seemed. Maybe being the last woman standing was less about violently knocking out my competition and more about literally being the last woman standing.

  I suddenly had a super clever idea. I could try a levitation spell.

  I stood tall and slowly raised my arms to the storming sky.

  “Magic light if you so dare, raise Nerissa in the air.”

  I smiled smugly as she floated higher and higher, her body tumbling aimlessly as antigravity took hold.

  Then I glanced at the Blood Witch. Surely I had won?

  She smiled at me, but shook her head.

  Son of a bitch.

  I squeezed my palms shut and Nerissa dropped to the ground, landing like some sort of professional acrobat or highly trained assassin, with one leg out and one knee bent. She palmed the ground and took a deep breath.

  Suddenly, every last blade of vegetation began disintegrating into magical dust. She must have been chanting under her breath. Whatever she was planning was going to be huge.

  I couldn’t let it touch me.

  “With every ounce of light in me,” I chanted quietly, “save me from her dark debris.”

  Light erupted from my chest and circled around my body in a pearlescent dome. But if Nerissa could see it, she never once let on.

  Her black magic soared at me at lightning speed and crashed into my dome, radiating off like rainbow-colored flames. It chipped and peeled at my barrier but was never quite able to crack it. When her onslaught ended, I dropped the magic shield.

  “How are you doing this?” she screamed at me in frustration.

  I shook my head. “Dark magic isn’t the only powerful magic around.”

  She scoffed. “Oh so you’re a light user now? Like our goody two-shoes Blood Witch?”

  “Leave Ezra out of this.”

  Her brows rose. “Wow! You’re on a first-name basis, are you?”

  “At least I’m not on a first-name basis with dead dudes and drowned spirits.”

  She glared at me. Then she faked me out, swinging her spear at my face, but at the last minute, shoved it into my side.

  I hit my knees, in so much shock I barely felt a thing. Blood soaked into my black attire and streamed onto the ground.

  She yanked her spear back.

  A misplaced look of regret and disgust was plastered on her face.

  “It’s over, Eliza.”

  Chapter 25

  I swallowed hard and took shallow breaths. I wouldn’t die; there were healing potions directly to my right, just in front of the awestruck crowd that stood gaping at us. But if I didn’t get the fuck back up, I was going to lose the Trials.

  I refused to believe it was over.

  I struggled to my feet. It took the use of my abs to push to standing, but part of them had literally just been severed with a spearhead.

  “Magic light that’s left untried, do your best to heal my side.”

  Light shot from the hole and sealed it shut. But an all-encompassing headache ripped across my vision and throbbed through my entire upper body. It was like hammers were nailing me from every direction. I couldn’t even see. All I could do was stand there cradling my head.

  “Eliza, please!” Nerissa shouted, from... somewhere. I couldn’t tell where. My senses were barely functioning over the pain in my skull.

  “I don’t want to keep doing this!” she pleaded. “Just go down and stay down!”

  The broad length of her spear hit the side of my shoulder and knocked me to the ground.

  My head roared louder, threatening to black me out.

  Damn it! Light magic was supposed to save me, not debilitate me into failing the Trials!

  I forced my eyes open. Everything was bleary and tear-streaked. I felt like my brain was being sawn in half.

  But still, I stood back up.

  Nerissa growl
ed at me. I knew she was just about pissed enough to deliver a finishing blow. Not to kill me, but to ensure she won once and for all. I couldn’t allow that to happen.

  My options were extremely limited, though. I could barely move, let alone defend myself, or, God forbid, go on the offensive. I would have to use magic in order to win, but I literally could not use what little energy was left inside me. It would either kill me or knock me out—neither of which would enable me to win.

  I had two daggers, one shield, and a familiar that was down for the count.

  Suddenly Gage’s words popped into my head. “After using so much power, I bet you’re famished.” I recalled how he’d nursed me back to health with food.

  Could it be that simple?

  Well, not exactly simple, because as far as I knew there was no food anywhere around me. I wracked my brain. Ways I knew to replenish energy: sleep, eat, drink, or siphon it from others.

  I couldn’t siphon it. At least not from people. I’d crossed that line once before and never wanted to do it again. Who knew if that person from the Second Trial was actually okay afterward? Maybe he was now deathly sick. I swallowed hard and tried to forget.

  I couldn’t rest, sleep, or pass out, or I’d lose.

  I couldn’t drink a potion—that was a last resort to save me from death at the bitter end.

  So that left... food. And the only source of food nearby was swimming in the ocean hundreds of feet below. Then again, fish also made a great source for siphoning. I wouldn’t be able to reach them with my magic. Unless....

  Could the waters that killed so many before me seriously be the key to saving my ass?

  I guessed we were about to find out.

  I rubbed my eyes, clearing them of the tears as best I could, just in time to see Nerissa charging at me. Her teeth were bared and her spear was held high in one hand. It made her look like a goddess of war with fire for hair.

  I took a deep breath, and just as she was about to strike I spun around and tackled her as she passed me by, sending us both plummeting off the cliff in a tangle of limbs.