by K. E. Drake
Lyall and Melody dismounted their horses and secured their reins to the nearest tree.
Lyall turned to Melody. “Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.” She spoke with more confidence then she felt.
His eyes searched hers. “You know you don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do,” she insisted.
“Why?” he demanded.
“Because this is my problem too. Because I want to help.” Her heart lodged in her throat. “And because I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.”
Lyall’s expression softened. He stepped closer to Melody and tucked a loose curl of hair behind her ear. “Melody,” he whispered softly. “Nothing is going to happen. I’m not leaving you.”
She opened her mouth but no words came out. She swallowed hard and nodded.
The bell at the top of one of the castle towers rang out three times. The wedding had begun.
“That’s the signal. Remember, stick to the plan, no matter what happens.” Lyall told Melody. “Now go and be careful.” He gave her a quick kiss and then turned to go to the meeting place.
“Be safe,” she called after him and then hurried to the castle.
Melody hurried up the castle steps and waited at the entrance as the guards pulled open the massive doors for her. She went into the castle and looked back over her shoulder in one last glance to the trees. Lyall had already gone and the last light of the sun had sank past the hills, casting the forest and the courtyard in shadows.
The guards shut the doors behind her and she made her way down the familiar halls until she came to the room where the masked ball had been held. She burst into the room and ran to the front of the balcony overlooking the room.
The place was lit with the light of dozens of candles flickering from the low hanging chandeliers. Ribbons wrapped around the stair rails all the way to the leaming floor below. Dukes, lords, ladies, and the highest ranking officers in Omrie’s army were all seated in rows of chairs on the floor below.
Beyond the guests, Monet stood with a rigid posture at the altar across the room, wearing a glimmering white gown with her hair adorned. Her eyes stared unseeingly ahead and her limp hand was in the grip of King Cassius.
Melody pushed off the railing and hurried down one of the sets of stairs onto the floor. “Stop the wedding!” she shouted, causing a collection of startled gasps from the crowd as all eyes turned to her. She came halfway down the aisle and slowed to a stop.
“This man, this king, is a sorcerer!” Melody thrust a finger to Cassius. “He’s only marrying your queen out of greed for wealth and power.” She lifted her voice to reach every ear in the room.
A hum of whispers swept through the sea of the guests and many of them were on their feet at the princess’ claims.
“This is madness!” Cassius shouted, breaking away from Monet, who remained like a puppet at the altar.
“It is the truth!” Melody declared, her voice strong. She turned to the startled guests. “This man has already made an attempt on my life. He plans to murder the queen so he can take over the kingdom.”
“That is enough!” Cassius threw up a hand and a green beam of magic shot out of his jewel right at Melody.
She ducked to the floor just in time to miss the blast of magic as it flew just above her and struck the wall behind her.
Several women screamed and men and guards lunged for the king.
Cassius raised a clenched fist in the air and shouted a word of enchantment. His pendent flashed a blinding green light and the men who lunged for him were thrown backward to crash onto the floor in heaps.
Magic poured from the jewel to his feet and crawled across the floor at a rapid pace, enveloping each of the guests from their feet to their heads as it reached them. The magic faded away and everyone there was as frozen and lifeless as their queen.
The haze cleared and Cassius looked up in time to see the door to the gardens swing closed. His eyes swept over the room, but the princess was nowhere in sight.
The king growled low in his throat. That girl was supposed to be dead!
He ran across the room with long, quick strides. He took off past the people that stood frozen in place, their faces twisted in expressions of shock and horror, and Cassius ran out the same door that the princess had gone through.
That trained killer he hired had failed to eliminate one foolish princess. He had come so close to winning before she rushed in and ruined everything.
The assassin may have failed to complete his task, but if it takes my last breath, I will see that princess dead.
Chapter Twelve
With The Dawn
Melody gripped her skirt tight with trembling hands as she sprinted through the darkened woods. The curls of hair streamed behind her as she ran over dried leaves and hopped over branches and dips in the uneven forest floor.
A flaming green orb of magic shot past her head. She yelped and ducked to the side, darting past the tree that the ball of fire hit. The impact of the blast leaving a smoking hole in the tree’s warped trunk.
She was so close.
Melody made it the rest of the way and skidded to a stop in the center of the same meadow where she had first met Lyall as the wolf. She turned back to face Cassius as he burst through the line of trees behind her.
“Is that the best you have?” Melody, breathless but defiant, questioned the king.
“I haven’t even started yet,” Cassius growled. His jewel flashed and lit up the darkened meadow for a mere moment before his hand began to glow with a burning green fire. He raised the hand and a second ball of roaring flames shot at Melody.
She ducked to avoid the attack, but a ray of blue light shot from the ring on her hand and the blast of magic seemed to hit an invisible shield in front of her that flashed into a shimmering blue and rippled like water when the orb hit it. The fireball bounced off of the shield and landed on the ground a few feet away, burning a shallow hole in the ground.
Melody looked at the ring and then stared wide eyed at the air where the barrier had been. She reached out a hand and felt nothing but air in front of her.
Cassius growled and spoke another quick spell under his breath. Glowing cuffs snapped tightly around Melody’s wrists before she was picked up and thrown backwards into a tree.
She cried out in pain and pulled on her wrists, but the cuffs held fast to the tree.
Roaring flames engulfed Cassius’ hand once again and he took a step to Melody.
A growl filled the air and the wolf lunged out of the trees at the king. They fell hard to the ground and the giant wolf clamped his jaws on the king’s shoulder, ripping his sleeve and slicing his arm open.
Cassius gave a yell and his hand flashed bright with magic flames. He swiped at Lyall, leaving a long gash on the wolf’s neck.
A beam of magic shot from the jewel and Lyall was blasted off the king, hurtling through the air to land on the grass across the meadow.
“You again?” Cassius roared and got back to his feet as Lyall moved to stand. “I thought I was rid of you!” He thrust out his hand and his hand glowed green with magic, but he stopped short and didn’t attack. The king’s glaring gaze moved from Lyall to Melody.
She strained harder against the immovable cuffs, her thoughts rushing through her mind at a frantic pace. This was not a part of the plan!
“So,” Cassius scoffed, looking back to the wolf, who stalked around the meadow several paces in front of him, his muscles tensed and ready to pounce. “You’re fighting for this girl. How perfect. Now I can be rid of you both once and for all.”
“Don’t you touch her!” Lyall growled, the fur along his spine bristling.
“I should have killed you when you first tried to cheat me. I let you off easy. Not this time.” A glowing green dagger flashed into Cassius’ hand and he hurtled it at Melody.
Lyall leapt between Melody and the weapon just before it hit her, and the dagger struck him, plunging into his heart
instead.
“No!” Melody cried out. “Lyall!”
Time grew painfully slow as he fell to the ground with a jarring thud. He took one last shuddering breath before he grew still and the dagger vanished like a vapor on the breeze.
“Lyall, please, get up.” Melody pleaded. He didn’t move.
Her throat constricted and she strained against the bonds holding her. Stinging tears burned her eyes and she cried his name again. “Lyall!”
He was dead.
Another dagger formed in Cassius’ grasp and he closed the space between him and Melody in a second.
He clutched Melody’s throat and his fingers slowly grew tighter until she gasped for air that wouldn’t come. Cassius raised the dagger above his head and he plunged the blade down at her heart.
A blinding blue light exploded between them. Melody shut her eyes against the glare and Cassius was flung back through the air by the force of the shield. He was thrown to the ground near the edge of the meadow and lay there a moment, wounded and stunned.
The magic cuffs evaporated and Melody collapsed to her knees on the ground. Her body was racked with painful coughs and she gasped air back into her tortured lungs. Slowly, the coughing subsided and she looked down and saw she was untouched by the king’s blade.
Out of the corner of her eye, the sapphire in her ring glimmered so quickly that she thought she had imagined it.
She drew in a shaky breath and looked up at the king, who eased himself up onto his knees.
“You’ve tried to kill me.” Melody said slowly. She pushed herself to stand with weak legs and took an unsteady step forward. “You planned to kill my mother!”
Cassius growled and threw a hand up to strike out at her, but nothing happened. He stopped and clutched for the jewel at his throat, but it wasn’t there.
“You killed the man I love!” Melody’s throat tightened and she moved closer to the king. She stepped on an object in the grass and quickly glanced down to see the jewel lying loose in the grass.
She put her heel to it.
“He was no man,” Cassius spat. “Only a beast.”
“Because of your curse!” she shouted. “Well no more. No more pain. No more death. You’ve caused enough.” Melody brought her foot up and stamped it down onto the jewel, cracking the surface.
A sudden gust of wind burst into the meadow and Cassius roared. “You miserable girl!” He jumped to his feet and lunged at Melody.
She dodged his attack and stomped on the jewel once more. It shattered into pieces and Cassius cried out. He fell to his knees and the rushing wind roared around him.
Melody stumbled back against the force of the wind and she braced herself as it strengthened, nearly knocking her off her feet. She stared into the vortex swirling around the king as his body began to crumple in on itself and disintegrate into dust.
Cassius screamed into the air, but the sound was swallowed up as he turned completely to dust and blew away in the rushing wind.
The roaring stopped as suddenly as it had come, leaving the meadow in peaceful silence.
Melody became weak and she fell to her knees once again in the grass. She stared at the place where the king had been only moments ago and shook her heavy head. It’s over. It’s all over.
She drew in a shaky breath and turned to look to Lyall’s lifeless body. She choked down a sob and crawled to him with what little strength she had left.
“Lyall,” she whispered helplessly to him, crumpling beside his body. She dug her fingers into his silky silver fur and gripped tightly as tears began to fall. “You promised. You promised you wouldn’t leave me.”
Her heart lodged in her throat and she strangled sob. She pressed her face into his neck and cried.
She stayed with him all night.
Melody turned her face to the sun as it rose beyond the trees, illuminating the peaceful meadow.
Her eyes were red and puffy from the tears she shed, her tears now spent. She pressed her cheek into Lyall’s shoulder and drew in a deep, shaky breath. Melody pushed herself to sit up and looked at his face, restless and tense even in death.
She smoothed his sleek fur and her quiet voice broke as she told him one last time, “I Love you.”
At that moment, the rays of the sun shone over the hill and through the trees into the meadow, the rays shining onto Lyall’s form. A glimmering, golden piece of the light broke apart from the sun’s rays and floated down to land lightly on his body.
The piece of light sparked and then rose back into the air just above him.
Melody gasped and pushed herself up onto her knees. She watched as the glimmer grew and spread out over him.
The light wrapped around him until it completely enveloped him and he was lifted into the air.
She scrambled to her feet and stumbled several steps back.
The magic seemed to thrum and golden rays shot outward from his body. His tail disappeared and his limbs were replaced with human arms and legs. The magic grew brighter and suddenly burst outward.
Melody shielded her eyes against the light and it glimmered brightly before slowly fading.
She moved her arm from her eyes and looked to see Lyall standing where he had laid dead moments before. He was human again. He was alive.
Melody kept completely still and watched with her hands over her mouth as Lyall glanced down at his fine clothes. His hand went to his heart where he was no longer wounded and he laughed softly. He looked around the meadow and his eyes found her standing only a few paces from him. His lips turned up in a warm smile. “Melody.”
That one word brought Melody out of her daze. “Lyall.” She stumbled a step forward and gave a breathless laugh. “Lyall!” She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, almost sending them both tumbling to the ground. “You’re alive!”
Lyall wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. “My brave girl,” he whispered into her ear and kissed her head.
“How?” Melody pulled back to look at his face. “How are you alive?”
“The curse was broken. All these years I was wrong about it,” he mused, smiling as he shook his head.
“How was it broken?” she asked.
“The heart of the beast saw the light. The light of dawn.”
“It wasn’t true love?”
“It would seem so.” Lyall laughed softly and kissed her brow. “But even if true love didn’t break the spell, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t find it.”
Melody beamed at him, but the smile slipped into a frown and she slapped his shoulder hard. “You told me that nothing would happen to you! You promised that you wouldn’t leave me and then you got yourself killed! I was terrified. I thought I lost you forever. I thought-”
Lyall cut off the string of protests by kissing Melody until she stopped resisting and fell into his warm embrace.
He pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry, Melody. I only tried to protect you,” he whispered. Protect her… Cassius. He lifted his head and gave a closer look around the meadow. Patches of grass and trunks of trees were scorched from the aftermath of magic. Leaves were scattered about the ground and limbs had been ripped off trees from the force of the magic induced wind. His eyes fell back to Melody. “Our plan? Did we make it?”
Melody swallowed the lump in her throat. “After you… died, the king came after me.” She felt Lyall’s muscles tense but she continued. “He tried to kill me too, but something forced him back. He lost his jewel and I was able to shatter it.” She told him, remembering the magic that protected her. She looked down at her engagement ring. “It’s enchanted, isn’t it?”
“With protective magic. I knew that when I gave it to you,” he explained. “It was my father’s. He bought it from a mage and gave it to my mother when they were married. My mother gave it to me just before she died. And now,” he took Melody’s left hand and laid a gentle kiss on her fingers, “it’s yours.”
Melody’s heart fluttered. He threaded
his fingers through hers and she took that moment just to relax in his arms and to let herself know that this wasn’t just another dream. “I still can’t believe you’re back,” she whispered. “I really did think I had lost you forever.”
Lyall shut his eyes for a brief moment. He pulled her in closer and pressed a warm kiss to her hair, looking to the rising sun beyond the trees. “I’m back, and I’m here to stay with you. Now come on. Let’s get out of this place.”
Melody walked with Lyall down the corridors of the palace on their way to the throne room. Rays of the early morning sun shone from the cloudless sky through the windows lining the hall, giving the promise of a beautiful day ahead.
They moved down the corridors, passing army men and several servants that carried breakfast trays for the visiting nobility before they soon came to the throne room entrance.
The guards at posted there saw the princess approaching. They pulled open the doors and Melody marched through into the great hall, Lyall following closely behind her.
The pair hurried down the long carpet that stretched from the doors and ended at the dais where Monet sat on her throne, speaking to the general of the army.
The pair slowed to a stop a few paces behind the army man. Melody cleared her throat and the queen glanced passed the general and gasped.
“Melody!” She breathed a heavy sigh of relief and hurried down the dais to wrap her arms around her daughter.
“I seems I’ll no longer be needed,” the burly general spoke. “It’s good to see you’ve returned safe and sound, Your Highness. Your Majesty.” He bowed to the princess and the queen and then made his exit from the throne room.
“What happened to you?” Monet pulled back from Melody and gripped her arms tightly. “I’ve had search parties out looking for you all night!”
Melody hesitated, but the queen watched her expectantly and the princess gave a sigh. “I think we had better sit down. This is going to be a long story.”
