The crazed glaze in her eyes... I inhaled, the air suddenly as thick as molasses. She wasn’t just planning to kill me. She hoped to make it hurt.
Part of me wanted to shout for Leonora’s help.
Pride wouldn’t let me. Work with my mother’s killer? Never.
The phantom remained silent anyway, though I knew she was aware. I felt her stirring around in my head. But I thought she might...want me to die, so that she could jump into someone else.
She wasn’t going to die with me, I realized with dawning horror. My worst fear had come true. The phantom was deathless. She would simply float out of my corpse and find someone else to overtake. And Saxon would have no idea she was out there, because I hadn’t told him the truth.
“Make no mistake. You are going to die today. The question is, how much fun am I going to have beforehand?” The queen drew back her elbow, then let it fly.
More agony, inside and out. An explosion of it. My eyesight dimmed and blood filled my mouth. I crumpled to the floor. Punch. Kick. I couldn’t raise my hands to protect myself. So much pain...
Unending helplessness...
Raven grabbed a fistful of my hair again. This time, she dragged me out of the tent. Though I was blinded, my eyes swollen shut, I could feel the change in temperature, a cool breeze drilling into my wounds.
Tempest laughed. “How does it feel to know no one will save you? Everyone wants you dead.”
The next thing I knew, the ground vanished from beneath me. They’d carried me into the sky?
“The Glass Princess will shatter once and for all,” Raven said, drawing another laugh from her daughter.
They were going to...drop me. I parted my lips to scream a denial but only a choking noise left me.
Leonora began to laugh and laugh and laugh. She wasn’t getting what she’d wanted, but she was getting a rival out of the way and punishing Saxon for his newest betrayal.
Not knowing what else to do, I let my heart shout for the one person I wanted to see most, to tell the truth and save...to say goodbye. “Saxon!”
23
He’s late, he’s late,
for a very important date!
SAXON
Could this day get any worse?
I held a too-stiff Princess Dior in my arms as I flew her to a private breakfast on a nearby mountaintop. She’d buried her face in the hollow of my neck, too afraid of falling to glance at the magnificent world around us. Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, each peak dusted with snow and clouds. Other avian were in flight. Birds soared here and there.
There was no way I would be the winner of this competition if I didn’t give this my all. I needed to focus, to charm, to help the princess overcome her fears, so that she would enjoy the rest of her time with me. So I wouldn’t lose in the semifinals. But my mind continually returned to Ashleigh, who fit me perfectly and adored being in my arms, the wind whipping through her hair. Why did she wish to stay away from me now?
I’d waited in the stable all night, not letting myself fall asleep, just in case she changed her mind. Before sunrise, I’d flown back to my tent, thinking to clean up before I stormed the palace and spoke with her. I’d run into a messenger sent by the king, who’d informed me that my courtship was to come first.
I’d planned to escort Dior to the Avian Mountains and give her a tour of my kingdom. But I hadn’t been back since my exile, and she wasn’t the one I wanted at my side when I made my first return. So, I’d decided we would dine atop a mountain at the edge of my territory. Simple. Romantic?
My great-grandfather had built a tree house between the tallest trees on the highest peak. My family visited often and kept it well stocked. The tree house was big enough to house two servants in a wing of their own. I’d sent one of my soldiers to tell those servants to clean, prepare a meal, and leave.
Before I’d left to collect the princess, my mother had pulled me aside to say, Win Dior and forget Ashleigh. Be the king our people need. Be better this go-round and make the right choices, or you will lose everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve.
The sting of her words hadn’t faded. She’d made it clear: the avian would never accept Ashleigh. They would never see her as an innocent girl possessed by a phantom. They would only ever see her as our greatest enemy. The fire witch responsible for our worst years in history.
If I stayed with Ashleigh, my own men would reject me as leader. Did I want to lead without her, though? I’d lived that life already. Twice. I didn’t want to do it again.
I wanted the mate fate picked for me. My version of a happily-ever-after.
Could Ashleigh be freed of her intruder?
Could she be saved?
Could I ever give her up?
At the thought, blood pumped to my muscles as my body prepared for war.
What would I do to keep her?
Questions, so many questions. Before I could find any answers, I had to survive this torturous meal. You have only to charm the girl, remember?
Dior’s teeth chattered, every click of her teeth a sign of failure, and I sighed. The higher we flew, the colder the temperature became—the very reason I’d asked her to wear a heavy coat. Instead, she’d chosen a flimsy scrap of silk. As an avian, I produced more body heat than mortals. I didn’t need a coat, so I didn’t have one to offer.
As soon as we landed, I hustled her inside the cabin, where a fire already blazed, heating the air.
“Oh, how lovely,” she exclaimed.
Yes, it certainly was. Twinkling lights hung from the ceiling, imitating stars. The table—I ground my teeth. The servants must have heard the word courtship and assumed I wanted the most intimate setting possible. The “table” consisted of side-by-side pillows with a blanket between them, platters of food spread over the center. No plates. No silverware. We were to feed each other.
I helped Dior ease onto a pillow, pretending to be a gentleman, then gave my pillow a discreet nudge to move it several inches away from hers. I should be dining with Ashleigh. Should only ever feed her by hand.
“Uh, whatever I did to make you angry, I’m sorry,” Dior cried.
“My apologies,” I muttered, shaking my head. “You’ve done nothing wrong. My mind is...elsewhere.”
“I see.” Her shoulders rolled in slightly. “You wish you were with someone else, yes?”
I should deny it, but couldn’t. Though the only promise Ashleigh and I had made to each other involved the parenting of our dragons, flirting with her sister felt like a betrayal to her.
“You’re right,” I admitted, without issuing an apology. I wasn’t sorry, but relieved. Perhaps my honesty would win her over. “Your stepsister has me tied in knots.”
“I thought so,” she replied with a nod. “And I understand. I do. She’s beautiful, and she’s smart. But she’s betrothed to the warlock now. According to the king, she’s too weak to ever produce an heir.”
A twitch under my eye as I motioned for Dior to feed herself. She selected her meal from a smorgasbord of fruit, nuts, and different cuts of roasted meat.
The girl had said nothing untrue, but I longed to snap at her for disparaging Ashleigh. “That engagement will end with the next battle. And there are different kinds of strength, just as there are other ways to make a family.” Ways I’d learned firsthand when Roth and Farrah had taken me in as a child.
“But don’t you hate Ashleigh?” Dior asked, her brow crinkled.
“I feel many things for her, but hate isn’t one of them.” Not any longer.
“You have no interest in wedding me, then?”
“I do...not.” Again, I wouldn’t apologize. I didn’t owe her my affections, and I couldn’t make myself desire her. “I don’t tell you this to hurt you. I think you’re a lovely girl, and I know you’ll make someone very happy one day. But that someone isn’t me
ant to be me.”
“I... I understand,” she replied, surprising me.
Before I could respond, I experienced a sudden spike of foreboding. For no reason. I frowned and gazed about. Did I sense an impending attack?
The foreboding increased, scraping my nerve endings. I stood to search out the windows. No one approached.
“I cannot be mad at you for being open and honest about your feelings, rather than leaving me to wonder,” Dior told me. “In my experience, courage is a rare quality among royals.”
“Among anyone.”
The princess offered me a wry smile. “By the way, I didn’t like saying mean things about Ashleigh, and I know you didn’t like hearing them. I just had to be certain you wanted her for the right reasons, not just to punish her.”
I jolted. “She told you about the punishments?” What else had she said?
“No, she’s very private. But I might have heard a little palace gossip.”
I bowed my head, shamed. People were talking about my abysmal treatment of Ashleigh. It was no less than I deserved. I’d blamed her for a terrible act she hadn’t actually committed. I’d hurt an innocent. There was no chastisement great enough.
“Ashleigh is a lucky girl, to have such a devoted suitor,” Dior said. “There’s no way you’ll let yourself get killed in the tournament, especially if it means Milo gets to wed her.”
“He will never touch her.”
“There’s got to be a way you can receive the same boon as the warlock and wed Ashleigh instead.”
An idea occurred to me, a possible solution to this courtship problem. “Help me survive this portion of the tournament. Vote for me. When I win, I will choose Ashleigh. The king won’t be able to stop me.” Because he would no longer possess the throne. Would I dare to wed her, though? “Then I will introduce you to my friend Vikander. He’s a powerful fae prince and—”
“I know who Vikander is,” she rushed out, her cheeks flushing.
Had a bit of a soft spot for the incorrigible fae, hmm? Everyone did.
In a rush, my foreboding reached a shattering crescendo. I felt as if I would bleed out at any moment. My chest was so tight, my lungs couldn’t fill properly. I’d never experienced anything like this, as if...as if some kind of spell had just shattered. But, the only spell currently working inside me was—
The tracker spell that linked me to Ashleigh.
I shot to my feet even as I searched for her location inside my head. But...the map wasn’t there. Had something happened? “I’m sorry, but we must go. Now. I think there’s something very wrong with Ashleigh.”
I didn’t give Dior a chance to ask questions. I yanked her against me, sprinted out of the tent, and took flight. The ten-minute journey took an eternity. At the palace, I set a pale Dior in front of the entrance and flew off without a word.
Where to go, where to go? Just as I found a shard of the tracker spell buried deep inside my head, gleaning a possible location for Ashleigh, glass shattered above me. The dragons darted across the sky. I gave chase, quickly catching up. They’d sensed their mother’s turmoil, as well?
I took the lead. Behind me, the dragons screeched with fear and fury. People would see them, but I was past the point of caring. Get to Ashleigh. Nothing else mattered. If I lost her...
Can’t lose her.
I couldn’t give her up in two weeks. Less than two weeks. I wouldn’t. I’d meant what I’d told Dior. I would win this tournament, and I would choose Ashleigh.
We would figure everything else out.
I zoomed past the campgrounds, leading the dragons down the mountains at a steep incline. So close. Searching...searching... Two women crouched over a third.
What am I seeing? That couldn’t be...it wasn’t... Realization sank in, and there was no denying it. An animalistic sound left from me.
Pagan released a piercing roar; Pyre screeched so loud, sharp pains lanced my brain, and blood leaked from my ears.
We descended in unison. My mother and sister stood beside Ashleigh’s broken body. I flapped my wings harder, faster, swooping in.
My beautiful Asha lay partially on her side, her eyes swelled shut, her twisted body motionless. A metal shackle bound her wrists behind her back, and crimson soaked her clothes. Several bones with jagged breaks protruded from her skin.
Mumbling denials, I knocked my mother and sister aside to crouch at Ashleigh’s side. Shock. Horror. Too late? Was she...had she...
Tears stung my eyes. She couldn’t be dead. I needed her here. I needed her alive.
“What did you do to her?” I bellowed with all the rage and pain inside me.
Wailing, the dragons circled us overhead, perhaps unsure if my mother and Tempest had hurt Ashleigh or tried to come to her rescue. Both females peered up at the creatures agog, my presence forgotten.
“But, but...” my mother sputtered.
“How can this be? Dragons are extinct,” Tempest gasped out. “The avian dug up their eggs for centuries to ensure they would never again terrorize our world.”
“Enemy,” I said, pushing the word through gritted teeth.
The dragons opened their mouths to blow streams of fire, creating a circle around Ashleigh and me. My family scrambled backward.
Tempest’s shoulder got singed. Raven lost a hank of hair.
Pagan and Pyre landed, each taking a post at Ashleigh’s side.
With a trembling hand, I reached out to check for a pulse. A ragged moan left her, blood gurgling from her mouth. Then she blinked open one swollen, bloodshot emerald eye and moaned.
My rage flared anew. “Leonora,” I snarled. “You hear me, I know you do. Use your magic to help her heal or...” There was no threat great enough. “I will... I will do what you’ve always desired.”
What would I do to be with Ashleigh? Anything.
“Let her die,” my mother commanded from beyond the flames. “Do not make the mistakes of your past.”
Blue flooded Ashleigh’s eye, some of the swelling in her face already beginning to fade. Leonora was taking over, healing Ashleigh’s body with her power, the battery of her magic. Because with my promise, she’d won our war, and I’d lost it.
I didn’t care. Relief nearly bent me over. As gently as possible, I gathered Ashleigh close. In my past lives, I’d told Leonora I craved peace she could never give. She’d sought what she’d thought was my love ever since. Here, now, I knew she’d sought my surrender. Now she had it. But I also had my peace.
Peace wasn’t a cessation of turmoil, as I’d once believed. It was utter calm despite it.
Ashleigh was my peace. She was everything I’d never known I’d needed. The reason I’d been reborn.
Once Leonora had healed her enough for flight, I would do as I’d told the phantom. Then I would take Ashleigh to Roth and Everly or Ophelia. I would pay any price to have the phantom contained.
I would keep my end of the bargain. I would wed the one Leonora possessed.
But I owed the phantom no more.
Was Ashleigh back in solitary confinement? Was she in torment, alone and afraid, now that Leonora was at the helm?
My claws lengthened, but I cooed, “I’m here, Asha. I’m here.” Could she hear me with Leonora in control? “I’m going to take care of you and make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
“You are worse than a fool,” Raven hissed.
The circle of flames was dying, the smoke that curled from the ground growing thinner by the second. When she took a step forward, I clutched Ashleigh closer, every protective instinct I’d ever denied roaring to the surface, becoming a primal drive to kill anyone who threatened the treasure in my arms.
Pagan blew another stream of fire at my mother, ensuring she came no closer.
I clashed eyes with the woman who’d given birth to me. She’d disobeyed m
y order because she’d felt she could do so without consequences. Because she believed she could defeat me and put Tempest, the only other Skylair heir, on the throne. I’d heard the whispers this morn. But I was still here, still crown prince, and I would enforce my rules. I would show no mercy, no matter who the offender happened to be.
“Your crimes will not go unpunished,” I vowed. Here and now, I had something more important to do.
The bruising faded from Ashleigh’s face. A bone in her calf popped into place, her skin weaving closed.
Leonora had kept her end of our bargain.
I removed a bracelet from my wrist—the yellow one reserved for my bride.
Furious protests erupted from my family.
Every life I’d led, every breath I’d taken, had led me here, to this moment. I didn’t hesitate. I slid the bracelet over Ashleigh’s wrist.
Just like that, it was done and it couldn’t be undone. The material was magically bound to her now—at least until she made a decision about our union. If she accepted me, it would remain on her. If not, it would fall off. But the action alone—the sharing of the bracelet—had marked her as my intended queen. In the eyes of all avian, we were now as good as wed. No one could touch her, not even a former queen or a princess.
They might not yet respect me as king, but they would respect our traditions. Was this as foolish as Raven believed? Probably. I’d given Leonora what she’d always wanted. More than that, I’d done it before I’d told Ashleigh that I was working with Roth and Everly, and we had bad things planned for her father. She deserved the truth before I asked her to share the rest of her life with me.
To accept, she had only to verbally agree to be mine.
I would hear Ashleigh’s acceptance, not Leonora’s. The phantom’s agreement meant nothing to me.
I worked my way to my feet, as careful as possible with my precious bundle. “Know this,” I announced as my family cursed my actions. “If she dies, you die. If anyone helped you do this, they’ll die with you. If she lives and you dare to touch her again, if ever you send someone to harm her, I will do more than kill you. I will personally introduce you to the Destroyer.” I flared my wings and took flight.
The Glass Queen Page 33
