I can do this. I suppressed the ring lots of times, I can overpower these too.
I stand in the middle of the room and close my eyes. Focusing all my power, all of my strength on the cuffs. The room grows brighter and I can feel my magic struggling, but I keep pushing. When the ground begins to shake and wind roars in my ears, I don’t let it distract me. Nothing short of death could make me stop now. My wrists burn and I scream as hot metal drips down my hands.
I open my eyes and look down at my raw, blistered hands. The pain radiating through them is nothing compared to the wrath that’s pounding its way through me.
My magic flows out of me and acting on instinct, I throw my hands out to the side. Gusts of wind flow from my fingers, pressing into the glass with the force of a hurricane. Pain sears through every part of me causing me to scream as I push the wind harder, finally shattering the walls in every direction.
“Adeline?” Xander yells as the winds die down.
I look around as Xander helps Rosabel and the child off of the pedestals, holding them close. One glance towards Charis and I see her wrapped in her captain of the guard’s arms, sobbing.
My heartbeat slows as I look towards Emerson. He has climbed down from the pedestal and is helping the little girl down.
“You’re real?” I ask Emerson as he walks up and throws his arms around me.
“Just as real as you are.” He smirks down at me, “Do you want to break my nose again, just to make sure?”
A laugh bubbles out of me as I lay my head against his chest.
It’s over. I didn’t win, but at least this stupid trial is over.
That frustratingly helpful voice rings in my head, warning me of danger and I am moving seconds before the walls fall, revealing an army of soldiers. The archers let loose their arrows and I only have enough time for one command.
Protect them!
I throw my arms out and all of my friends are instantly enveloped in a wall of ice so thick, I know nothing the soldiers do can break it. Pride hits me as I watch their arrows bounced off the ice.
Fury contorts Emerson’s face as he tries to break the wall of ice that’s now separating us. But, I’m not sorry for what I’ve done, I won’t lose anyone else.
I stumble, barely able to keep myself upright. Blood loss, exhaustion, pain... It all hits me at once and the room begins to spin. I fight to stay conscious, my friends still need me.
I focus on my magic one last time and I'm surprised at how much weaker it feels. I'll only get one chance at this. Pain surges out of me, releasing every bit of magic I have left, and fire engulfs the room. It chases the soldiers away from the ice wall, clearing the room enough so my friends can escape. I glance at the path I’ve created, it’s not quite big enough yet.
I don’t see the arrow that hits my chest, but I feel it. Pain explodes through me, making it hard to breathe. Another arrow slams into my leg, knocking me to the ground, but I refuse to give up the path I’d made. If I can just get them out of here, even if it’s the last thing I ever do. It’ll be worth it.
My vision blurs and I can barely see as someone throws themself on top of me, blocking me from the arrows that are raining down around us.
The familiar scent of wintergreen washes over me and breaks all my concentration.
“No!” I scream, trying to shield him with my magic. “No, Xander!” I manage a weak dome of ice around us and I lay his limp body to the ground.
“Why would you do this?” The question comes out as a sob. “I was trying to protect you!”
“It was never your job to protect me. It was always my job to protect you, Addy. I love you so much. You are going to make a wonderful High Queen and be a great Aunt.” Tears fall from Xander's eyes as he smiles up at me.
My shield barely holds up against the soldiers banging against it and I can’t stop the tears from pouring down my face. “I love you too, Brother.”
How can I ever say goodbye to you?
What if you don’t have to? The dark power within me asks and I instantly know what it means. I can heal him! I don’t know if I’ve got enough magic left in me, but I can try.
I place both of my hands on his chest, take a deep breath, and force the healing light to shine through my fingers. I can feel my feeble body pulling his pain towards me. The ground begins to shake as my scream shatters my little ice dome and fire, wind, and ice swirl through the air. The world starts to fade around me, and my blood pools beneath me. I ignore it.
I don’t care what happens to me, as long as Xander lives.
An arm grabs me from behind and yanks me away from Xander.
“No!” I scream. “I can heal him!”
I spin around to meet Caspian’s furious face. “You’re going to kill yourself!”
“I don’t care! Just let me heal him.” I try fighting him, but all of the magic and energy has drained from me. My struggles don’t seem to phase Caspian.
He drags me to the side of the room and takes my hand. With a look of fury, he shoves the ring on my finger and my world shatters. The ice fortress I’d built to save my friends, crumbles into nothing and I glance over to see my family surrounded by guards with their swords drawn. Rosabel is laying over Xander’s body crying.
When Caspian lets go of me, I fall to my knees in defeat.
I have nothing left to give.
Emerson emerges from the group of soldiers and fury radiates from him as he walks up to someone. He's soon lost in the crowd again, but when I catch a glimpse of him next, he's looking at me with a smile on his face. He walks towards me and my heart flutters.
He can help me get everyone out. My heart leaps with joy, until I catch a glimpse of who he’s with. Maximus.
Emerson, Maximus, and Caspian all glare down at me.
“Well, niece. You tend to surprise me at every turn. You made it through that trial fairly easy. But as I suspected your heart is your biggest weakness. I threw so many people in your path for you to love, it was easy to use them all against you. You never even realized you were being played.” Maximus' smile turns cruel as he laughs at me.
Caspian’s hard glare holds none of the friendliness I’ve come to expect and my eyes flicker from Caspian to Emerson.
Emerson’s sweet smile turns to one of sorrow. “I told you not to trust anyone, Adeline.”
He betrayed me.
They both betrayed me.
My heart breaks and agony fills every part of me.
I've lost my parents, Xander and Aileen. All for what? I still lost the trials and I've failed my Kingdom. I failed my mother.
A sob wracks my body. The pain is excruciating, and I can feel it swirling around me washing over me in waves, each worst then the last. With one last thought, I give into the darkness threatening to consume me.
If I’m going to shatter, I don’t want to feel it.
I turn it off. My magic, my emotions, all of it.
I embrace the darkness as it envelops me and pulls me from this nightmare.
The story continues in A Warrior of Water and Mist coming soon.
Keep reading for a Sneak Peek.
A Warrior of Water and Mist
A sky as dark as a moonless night hangs above me and everywhere I look, the same obsidian surrounds me, cold and impenetrable. I am nothing but bones and flesh here. There are no emotions, no pain, no heartache.
Occasionally a bright light flashes from across the distance, calling to me, but I ignore it. There is no reason to join the world again because I am alone.
The light flickers out and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Magic slams through my head like a bolt of lightning and I scream. I can tell someone is trying to pull me out of my oblivion and back into the light, but I won’t go. There’s too much pain there, too many memories, too much grief.
I slam my magic back at them as hard as I can, reinforcing the mental walls I’ve created. The light fades again and with a relieved sigh, I settle back down into unconsciousness.
<
br /> Voices are the next thing to pierce my carefully crafted darkness.
“How come she’s not getting any better?” You can hear the devastation in the man’s question.
“She’s fighting against me and she’s strong. In order for her to heal, she has to want it.” Another deep voice says, this one is full of sorrow.
“He’s right. As much as we may want to, we can’t force her to be healed.” This time it’s a female’s voice that’s ringing with annoyance. The sound of it makes my heartache and I push myself away from the voices.
“So we just wait until she decides to wake up? What if she decides not to?” It’s the devastated voice again, so full of anguish, I almost want to open my eyes and see who it is. But, every time I think about it, the pain filters back in and I fight the urge.
The female sighs and something cool brushes against my forehead, “Then we have to give her a reason too. The trials destroyed her. More than I’ve ever heard of them destroying anyone.”
A new voice speaks up now, deep and masculine with a slight accent I can’t place, “Well, from what you’ve told me. Everything she cared about was destroyed that night. Her family died, her friends were captured, the men she cared for betrayed her. She doesn’t think she has much to come back to. It’s our job to show her what she still has waiting for her here.”
You’re wrong, I am alone. I have nothing left.
I push the voices away again, happy when they fade out into nothingness.
It’s time.
The voice resonates through my darkness, yanking me back towards the light.
I don’t want to go back, I scream at it.
They need you if they’re going to survive.
Who? I have no one left, I sob.
You have more left than you think. Now wake up!
I’m jolted back into the present and my eyes snap open instantly. Something is pounding on my ceiling and voices echo from a distance away. I stumble out of the bed I’m lying on and the floor heaves, slamming me into a wall.
What in Chadonia?
Holding onto the wall I glance around at my surroundings. The floors and the walls are made of wooden planks and there is a bed along one corner. There are also blankets piled on the floor in some sort of pallet.
The thought of someone sleeping in the same room as me while I was unconscious both upsets me and intrigues me.
The room tilts again and I slide in the other direction. I’ve got to be on a ship. I scramble over to a small circular window and peer out, but all I can see are dark gray waves slamming against the ship.
Great, I wake up, only to die again.
A scream comes from above me and I sprint out the door. As I run down the hallway, I try to find something, anything indicating where I am. But there are no obvious markings or signs and I don’t have enough time to peek around. I find a flight of stairs and when I don’t spot anyone around, I sprint up them.
Bursting onto the main deck, I pause long enough to take in the pandemonium happening around me. There are people rushing around to tie things down and adjusting sails. There are air wielders blowing wind into the sails, and water wielders standing around the sides of the ship trying and failing, to calm the ocean’s waves.
Someone yells a warning as a huge wave crests into view and crashes down on the ship. It drags the sailors towards the edge of the boat. While most manage to grab a hold of something so they don’t topple off the boat, there is one person who isn’t able to grab a hold in time. I watch in horror as the person slides off the side of the boat. His blue hair shimmers in the moonlight and terror washes over me as one of the voices I had heard, fits itself to a face. The healer that I met before the trials.
Jeremiah!
I sprint towards the side of the boat and climb up on the edge of the railing. I stare down into the churning waves for a moment, but when I don’t see him, I know there isn’t much time, so I jump. Diving headfirst into the storm that brews below me.
As soon as I plunge into the water, I regret my impulsive decision. Not the decision to rescue Jeremiah, but the one where I didn’t think to bring some sort of a floatation device. The waves pound against me, dragging me under the water and I quickly lose all sense of direction.
I try to swim to the surface, but I don’t make it very far before the waves knock me back down. The burning in my lunges tells me I’ve been under the water too long, I need air. I look around frantically. For what, I’m not sure. Jeremiah, the surface, something magical appearing to save us.
Magic. I gasp in realization and immediately regret it as water fills my lunges. I’d completely forgotten about my water magic. I try to hold in the coughing that wracks my body as I focus on the little strand of water magic in me that I’d been able to manipulate before. But, this time, instead of a little strand, I feel a power as vast as the ocean. I can feel the water leaving my lunges and the burning ceases.
Gently, I push my magic out and silently beg the water for help finding Jeremiah. When I spot him unconscious and some ways away, dread fills me and I throw all of my magic into getting me to him. Suddenly I can feel my magic flowing around me pulling me through the current at such a speed, the water blurs around me. When I near him, I reach out and my magic pulls him towards me until our hands are linked.
I close my eyes and focus on the ship. Putting all of my efforts on directing us too it. My magic flows around us again, lifting us through the water and into the air. Wind whips around my hair as the water guides us to the boat and sets us gently back on the main deck.
“Ma’am?” I turn around to find a wide-eyed sailor holding out his hand to me. He looks like he’s seen a ghost. Maybe I really have died this time.
Another warning yell causes us to turn towards the oncoming wave. “Take him,” I order the sailor and push Jeremiah towards him. The man nods and drags the unconscious healer below deck.
I’ve seen how powerful my fire-wielding is and now I’m curious about how strong the rest of my magic might be. Fortunately for me, this seems like a perfect time to test it. I walk back towards the railing and climb onto it, once again focusing all of my magic on the oncoming wave. I can feel the currents shifting in the water below us. Focusing on that, I heave all of my magic towards the wave and force it backward, away from the ship. The air whips around me and I calm it too.
I can feel a strong magic out there telling the water to turn around, to drown us. So, I close my eyes and reach out with my magic, following it far across the ocean. I struggle with the distance, I’ve never let my magic travel this far before. Finally, I close in on an island.
This isn’t an place I’m familiar with, I think with a frown. I find the water wielders, hidden amongst the swamp and the trees.
Please, I call out to them. I mean you no harm.
And who are you? What makes you think you can demand safe passage to Lithmore? A female voice rings out.
Why am I on a ship going to the rebel island? I ignore my curiosity and focus back on the water woman’s voice.
I am Adeline of Centralia. I have no official title anymore and I am no one of importance. Most of Chadonia probably thinks I’m dead or wishes I was. But, if you allow us entry to Lithmore. I promise, no one from this ship will cause you any trouble.
I’ll just have to make sure of it.
Very well, Adeline of Centralia. You may be granted passage, on the condition that when you arrive, you’ll be brought straight to the Queen for a meeting.
Agreed.
I open my eyes and I’m back at the boat. I watch as the wind calms and the waves turn gentle. I feel the wind caressing me, and with a start, I realize I’m no longer on the main deck of the ship, but the wind has carried me up and I’m floating in a current of air that whisks around me. I gently release my hold on the magic, carefully landing back on the main deck.
A cough startles me and I turn to find sailors staring at me, with their jaws slack and eyes wide.
They seem to want me to s
ay something. “We have been offered safe passage into Lithmore.”
One sailor claps, then another. Before I know it, they’re all clapping and cheering.
One sailor that’s around my age, walks up to me. His hair gleaming white in the moonlight and his startling blue eyes are nearly the color of the ocean that surrounds us. “That’s the finest water wielding I’ve ever seen.” He grins at me as he puts both of his hands on my face and plants a kiss right on my lips.
Startled, I stand still, not knowing what’s going on.
A blast of magic twines with mine and flings the sailor away from me. I throw out my arm and my magic sends a blanket of air to catch him before he slams onto the ship.
I don’t even have to look to know who’s behind me.
By the Ancient, I’m going to actually kill him this time. I gather all of my magic deep within me and let it simmer as my anger rises. Slowly, I turn around and glare at him.
I must have been asleep for a while. Where his face used to be clean shaved, a dark beard has grown in and his hair has grown out where it falls into his face, giving him a disheveled look.
“Princess.”
One word. That’s all it takes to spark the anger that’s boiling in my core. I launch every magic I have at him. Water, fire, ice, and wind pummel him, throwing him against the ship's mast.
Thank you for reading!
I poured my heart into A Princess of Fire and Smoke and I had so much fun writing this book. I would love to know what you think about it. Did you love it? I appreciate all reviews both good and bad. If you would like to leave me a review, you can do so at Amazon and Goodreads.
Copyright ©2020 by Stephanie Bell
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.
Princess of Fire and Smoke (Forbidden Court Book 1) Page 26
