Emerald Wars (The Dream Traveler Book 3)

by Nicole Knight

  I slid a sword from a disarmed opponent across the ground towards Trin, who was still kneeling next to the unconscious guy. “Hopefully you don’t need this,” I told her.

  Then I turned towards the stairs and quickly ran up them. This was starting to feel like dejavu, from when we first took this castle from Eduard. Now here I was taking it back again, this time from real enemy hands, with the knowledge I’d be freeing Eduard shortly.

  I went down the main hallway that ran at the top of the stairs. I crept quietly, hoping to take my opponents by surprise. I spotted someone standing outside my office, and that did not make me happy. How dare they invade my space! If someone had also been sleeping in my bedroom, I’d make them regret it.

  I hit the guy with a blast of water, and then quickly froze it in place. He had just started to move forward and charge me when his armor froze. His sword was pointed in his outstretched hand. He started screaming to alert the others.

  There went my element of surprise. I should have anticipated that and frozen his lips shut. Oh well, too late now.

  Four more guards rushed into the hallway from various rooms. One of them had been in the library, and another had been in the throne room.

  Why?

  I froze them all in place with well placed blasts of water. I was glad that the windows had been left open, it was much easier to pull water from the moat than to create it with my magic. That took a little more time than what I had.

  They wouldn’t stay frozen forever, but I couldn’t bind their limbs together while they were frozen. Instead I lifted their frozen forms and tossed them inside of a spare room. After making sure there was nothing in there that they could use to unfreeze themselves, I closed the door off, with a large wall of ice. It would take them a long time to melt their way through it. If they used their body heat, they'd likely give themselves frostbite. Especially after spending a while covered in ice.

  I cleared the remaining hallways, only finding three more guards, and I made quick work of them with my vines. I tossed them in another room, freezing them behind another wall of ice.

  Then I moved to the tunnels, and I recoiled at the sight of some of the remains of people. Many of them were wearing clothing belonging to the castle staff. I felt sad for their loss, but I was relieved that none of them had appeared to be some of the staff members I had taken a liking to.

  When I confirmed the only people in the tunnels were those no longer living, I walked back up the tunnels. I was just about to cross back out into the hallway from behind the tapestry when I heard someone speaking. I of course eavesdropped, wanting to know what situation I was in.

  “Word just came. Prince Alexander, Prince Kennan and Princess Samantha have fallen in battle. No wonder the Queen and her crew returned. They won their victory and are here to reclaim her throne. There won’t be any reinforcements sent to aid us.”

  “Do we just surrender then?” the other asked.

  I stepped out into the hallway.

  “That’s the option I would recommend,” I said proudly. I made sure I appeared as terrifying as I could, balancing the fire and ice in each hand. I threw a ball of ice up in the air, then caught it with the other, melting it instantly into water, which hissed loudly as it turned into steam.

  “We surrender,” they said instantly, dropping to their knees.

  Finally, something easy.

  I bound their wrists and forced them to walk down the stairs to the foyer where Trin, Thomas and Axel were waiting for me.

  “We were just about to go looking for you,” Axel said.

  “Sorry, my area to search was a little large. I have guards trapped in two rooms upstairs. You’ll know from the giant ice walls blocking off their doors. Let’s mobilize the armies and have them remove the prisoners, and a small crew will sail them back to Tate and to the custody of their king,” I said.

  “Who is our king now?” one of the prisoners asked.

  “The same man who has always been your King, Alexander’s father, my Grandfather.”

  The guys gasped, not realizing the family relationship.

  “Yup, one day I may be your Queen, so I suggest you cooperate with my forces, and have the others do the same as well.”

  All the prisoners in hearing range nodded enthusiastically, clearly getting the picture. They stood a chance of going unnoticed once they got home, as long as they didn’t put up any more of a fight. I would blame Kennan for their actions, they were just knights following the orders of those above them.

  I looked around at the mess the castle had become. I had missed it at first when I was caught up in the action, but there was mud everywhere. Trash piled up in areas, and I could not stop smelling the stench of the dead bodies rotting in the passageways upstairs.

  “Trin, we have our work cut out for us,” I said sarcastically.

  “Tell me about it,” she said and rolled her eyes. Then she smiled, and so did I.

  We were home.

  Epilogue

  Violet

  It’s been six weeks since we took back the castle, and defeated those in my family who were a disgrace to their Kingdom. My grandfather had since passed, peacefully in his sleep., but before he went, he addressed his kingdom renouncing the legitimacy of the actions taken by his son, Alexander. He proclaimed my father as his rightful heir. He announced peace with all the kingdoms, including mine. He publicly thanked my kingdoms and I for help in ridding Tate of an evil greater than he had ever known.

  My Grandfather had also sent me a letter, which made its way to me after his passing.

  My Dear Violet,

  I thank you again for what you have done for my kingdom. It was what I could not do in my old age, and I am grateful that it was the future Queen who was the one to save it. While I have only known of your existence for a very short time, I do love you. I look forward to meeting you again, in the Spirit World in a long, long time from now.

  Your Father shared with me in confidence the extent of your powers. If someday you get the ability to walk the Spirit World while still afoot in the land of the living, come find me.

  Your grateful Grandfather,

  John

  P.S. I know now it wasn’t Victoria I saw in Arlington, it was you. Don’t feel bad for lying, I would have done the very same for my kingdom. I suppose I will see Victoria soon.

  It was weird to think my Grandfather had been in love with my Great Grandmother from the other side of my family. I was grateful that none of it worked out, or else my family would really look a lot different. The age gaps could only be explained by magic and youthful appearances. Afterall, Victoria looked to be about my age when she was brought back from the Spirit World. I’m not sure how much her body had truly aged by the time she asked Eduard to kill her.

  Speaking of Eduard, I had released him from his prison, and brought him to Arlington. I eventually told Axel that I had left him alive, and what I had done with him. To say Axel had been angry, would be an understatement. But once he shut up and listened to my explanation, and how much Eduard’s information had helped us, he calmed down a bit. He refused to be there when I brought Eduard to Arlington, but that was ok. At least there wasn’t this secret between us anymore. He would eventually get over his anger, especially after my explanation. It had brought some closure.

  Back in Arlington, I told Mom about everything that happened. She was worried, and scared for everything that I had been through, but I assured her that everything went as it should have. She was excited when I told her she could come to Morthsoul with me. When she did visit, she was amazed.

  “It’s like a scene from a historical romance,” she said.

  “Not quite,” I teased. “There’s some weird shit here that wouldn’t be any part of Earth’s history.”

  She laughed at that.

  Axel had been crowned last week, and he was officially my equal. If I were to perish, he could rule in my place, until his broken heart took him. Then either our future children or Trin would ta
ke over.

  The ceremony had been grand. We wanted to flex our power, while sending the message that we want peace, for everyone. I think we accomplished that, because the celebration after was nothing short of amazing. We held an outside party, with as much spirits, food and entertainment as we could find. It was like a massive block party. We allowed our people regardless of position or wealth to mingle with us. I met so many people who were grateful for what we had done for the Kingdoms.

  Even my father was invited to attend, and he did. It was a way to show that I approved of a relationship with Tate, despite the recent wars, and that we were on the path to mending our war torn kingdoms.

  Trin and Thomas were finally together, both of them had made their feelings clear shortly after we took back the castle, and they were officially dating. I was happy for them, and I hoped that there would be a bonding ceremony for them sometime in the near future. I couldn’t wait to plan it for her.

  I also met several pairs of soulmates. They thanked me for opening the borders between the Kingdoms to everyone, that’s how they found their other half. I had a feeling that Venia was being nice when she said that I had fulfilled my part of the prophecy. Looking at the couples who were now happy with their soulmates, I knew I had a lot more people to help find their match, and I couldn’t wait to get started.

  I thought about what Venia had told me about the portal that the Emerald Mountain could open for me. That way I could just be in one world at a time. I decided to leave that decision to the future. For now, I still had ties to Arlington including my grandmother. Modern medicine would be what was best for her, and the nursing home could give her that. If in the future she was no longer around, I might reconsider my position, but for the time being I’d continue traveling in my dreams.

  And good dreams they would be.

  The End.

  Thank you!

  Dear readers,

  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for going on this journey with me. This series all stemmed from a dream I had, and as I sat down to right it, it took on a life of its own. It's been a labor of love to get the full story down into words, but I did it. I feel as tired as Violet did after finally taking back her castle, but I'm just as overjoyed. If you enjoyed this book, please share it with your family or friends, or consider leaving a reveiw.

  I am toying with the idea of making another spin off series with the next person in the prophecy. If you want to know what happens next, feel free to contact me on social media to let me know, or mention it in your Amazon review.

  Thank you again,

  Love

  Nicole Knight