The Evil Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil)

by Gena Showalter

  The past was the past. We’d both made mistakes. He’d hurt me, and I’d hurt him. We’d both had our expectations and our prejudices, each born from experience and fear.

  But we’d learned from those mistakes, and we’d grown together.

  We were making better choices now. We would have a better future.

  As I did it—as I let go—a crushing weight lifted from my chest, a weight I hadn’t even known I carried. A smile bloomed.

  “What is this?” Roth asked, tracing a fingertip over the edge of my lips.

  “I’m happy.” Was he? Though I wanted to whisper secrets to him and plan for that future, a worry began to niggle at me. Did he wish I would roll away and let him sleep?

  I mean, he was utterly relaxed for the first time in our acquaintance, his cares gone. Or maybe his cares no longer mattered because he had something to look forward to—our relationship? But I didn’t know how this afterglow thing worked. I only knew he’d been in a hurry to leave Annica soon after they’d done the deed.

  So, I did it. I said, “Good night,” and rolled away, just in case. My life story—just in case.

  He rolled me back. He was frowning. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on inside your head. Please.”

  Why not tell him the truth? “Before I came to Enchantia, I saw you in a vision. You were dressing after being intimate with Annica. She begged you to stay—at least, I’m assuming—but you were eager to leave.”

  His frown deepened. “And you think...what?”

  “That you don’t like clingers, and you don’t want to stick around after getting busy.”

  The frown faded at last, and his tone gentled. “You are not Annica. You are Everly, my sweetling.”

  “So I’m an exception?” I asked, half scoffing, half pleading.

  Okay, I might have forgiven him, but old fears remained. Noted.

  “You are my...everything,” he said, “so of course you are my exception. To be honest, you were my exception before we met. I didn’t end things with Annica because of my engagement to Truly. I knew my sister loved Truly, knew I’d never be with her in a romantic sense. I ended things with Annica because of my dream about you. I’d begun to feel as if I were cheating on a girl I’d never met.” He rolled me again. This time I ended up underneath him. “I want you to cling to me, sweetling, and never let go. Because I’ll be doing the same to you.”

  I peered up at him, wide-eyed, feeling a bit shy for the first time in my life. With his dark hair tousled, his emerald eyes sparkling, his lips slightly swollen from our kisses, he stripped me of every last defense.

  I remembered what he’d once told me. I want to look at a girl and know she’s mine alone. That I’m hers. That we belong to each other, body and soul. I want the world to stop when we’re together. I want to dream about her at night and wake for her every morning. I want to put her first, and know she does the same for me. I want...everything.

  “Do you still dream of me?” I asked, tracing a heart over his, well, heart. “Does the world stop when we are together?”

  He brushed the tip of his nose against mine. “I didn’t know it until today, but my world had stopped long before I met you. You made it start again. And dream of you? I do. Every minute of every day.”

  Reeling again... “You still think you love me?” Fatigue got the better of me, and I yawned.

  “I do not.” Before I could pout, he added, “I know I love you.”

  I drifted off then, smiling and thinking, So this is what contentment feels like.

  * * *

  A scream woke me. My own? Panting, heart a jackhammer against my ribs, I leaped to unsteady legs. “Roth?”

  He was gone. His clothes were gone, too. I dressed as quickly as possible, memories overwhelming me. The beauty of Roth’s body. The sweetness of his taste. The pleasure derived from his hands. The perfect fit of our bodies, like two puzzle pieces had just clicked together. The sultry aftermath.

  Behold. I am the Evil Queen, and I like to cuddle.

  Did Roth regret what we’d done, and what he’d told me? Or had he truly accepted me just as I was? Were we a couple now, officially?

  Gah! I needed to speak with him. Where had he gone?

  Another scream echoed through the trees, and I sucked in a breath. Hartly?

  Frantic and nearing panic, I sprinted from the tent—

  And drew up short. Ice covered the entire camp, turning it into a veritable wasteland. Tree limbs drooped, weighed down by the ice. Animals and insects were frozen midaction. Trolls were frozen, too. Violet stood half in, half out of a tent, immobilized in the middle of a hasty exit.

  I groaned. Nicolas and Ty—nowhere in sight. Noel and Ophelia—nowhere in sight.

  Where was Hartly? Truly? Roth?

  A strange melody floated through the air. A woman’s hum? The sound chilled me to the bone.

  Teeth chattering, I spun. Any leaves not iced now rippled like magic glass, as if in...warning? The firepit still blazed. Truly stood behind it, lighting the tips of her arrows before firing at a contingent of Sevón soldiers.

  Fear for her, for them all, kindled. We were under attack.

  The fire spread, melting sections of ice, but also charring sections of forest. A blessing and a curse. As trees went up in flames, dark smoke thickening the air, and I coughed.

  The flash of sunlight on gleaming swords drew my attention to a group of trolls, and I whimpered with relief. They had formed a circle around Hartly and Thor, protecting the two as my sister lifted her arms to summon more animals to our defense.

  Among the enemy soldiers were Vikander and Saxon. Why would they go to battle against Roth? Unless the king had bidden them here?

  No, no. He wouldn’t betray me. Something more was at play here. But what? And where was he? Growing queasy, I searched the terrain. Soldiers battled trolls with their customary brutality. No mercy. Metal slammed against metal, creating a macabre symphony. Whoosh, clang. Grunt. Groan. The scent of rusted copper tainted the icy breeze.

  How could the world—my world—have changed so drastically, so quickly?

  “Roth!” I shouted. If he’d been hurt, or worse...

  Whack! Someone crashed into me, throwing me down. My head knocked into a rock, stars distorting my vision. Oblivion beckoned, but I fought, blinking until my sightline cleared.

  Three Horns! He pinned me down and bared his teeth, and I nearly vomited.

  “You killed my youngest brother, and your sister has ruined my older brother,” he snarled. “Now I return the favor.”

  He swooped down to sink those fangs into my neck, but I punched him, breaking his nose. Cartilage snapped, and blood poured. Unfortunately, I’d only slowed him down. He dove back down, fangs piercing skin and muscle with brutal precision.

  Fire flooded me, no part of me unscathed. The pain! Too late I recalled I still had a link to Roth. Though I hated weakening him, even for a moment, especially during battle, I syphoned a small stream of power and shouted, “Sleep! You will sleep!”

  The troll shuddered atop me, his eyes closing. As he slumped forward, metal slicked through his throat—from behind, the blade slashing from one side to the other. His head slid off his neck, thudding to the ground before his body. A body about to land on me while spurting blood from its severed artery. Except, a booted foot kicked it away, saving me from a literal bloodbath.

  Roth stepped into a beam of light, and I nearly sobbed with relief. He was alive, and seemingly unharmed.

  Noticing the puncture wounds in my neck, he dropped to his knees at my side. Agony twisted his features.

  “Sweetling,” he croaked. “You were bitten. My magic cannot negate the toxin once it had been injected.”

  I lay there, muscles jerking as my level of pain magnified. This was it, then? My end. Journey over.

  Losing track of th
e world around me, my life began and ended with Roth. Combating tears, I told him, “Do what needs doing, princeling. I understand.” My survival instincts screamed protests, but I paid them no heed. I would not make this harder for Roth, and did not want him dealing with guilt forevermore.

  Never had he looked more torn. “You’re not supposed to die this way.” Anguish had turned his voice to gravel.

  “I know, but it’s happening, anyway.”

  “No.” He gave a violent shake of his head. “How am I supposed to go on without you?”

  This boy really does love me. “You must.”

  Tremors rocked him. He raised his sword. The troll’s blood still dripped from the metal. I braced, ready and not ready.

  He roared and dropped his arm to his side. “I cannot do it. So you will heal, Everly. You will fight the troll venom. You will overcome it, and you will heal. You will not die. Please.”

  My pain only escalated, weakness infiltrating my limbs, darkness peppering my thoughts, and I knew he was right the first time. He couldn’t compel the poison away. In this, I would not be an exception.

  “Heal, Everly.” A hot tear dripped from his cheek and splashed onto mine.

  “Save my sisters,” I pleaded. “And Roth? I...” I frowned. The pain and weakness were...dissipating, strength returning to me, bit by bit?

  I didn’t understand. I was healing?

  Something Noel said last night prodded my mind. Venom destroys venom.

  “Roth,” I said, daring to hope. Once, he’d told me troll venom couldn’t hurt animals. Arachnids must qualify, the spidorpion venom in my veins eradicating the troll taint.

  “The black...it’s fading,” he said, shocked and jubilant, even as he turned and lifted his sword to block an incoming blow. Metal clanged against metal. He dodged the next strike, spun and delivered a deathblow.

  The rest of the world came rushing back into focus. Someone still sang that haunting song—what was that? Trolls still battled soldiers. “Why are Sevón soldiers attacking you, their king?” I clambered to my feet.

  When the soldiers broke through the first line of trolls, more trolls rushed our way to form a wide circle around us, preventing the soldiers from reaching us while I continued to heal.

  “Magic. The siren’s song.” The song grew louder, and Roth’s features contorted with pain. He pulled at hanks of his hair. “It rouses an urge to attack you specifically, and it’s fierce, powerful...never experienced anything like it. Fighting it...”

  Attack me? Why would a siren want me dead? I’d never hurt one...except the one I’d stopped Roth from choosing at the ball.

  “I love you,” he said. A vein throbbed in his forehead. “I will never harm you. I would rather die.”

  The song grew louder, louder still, until the sound scraped my ears. Like nails on a chalkboard. “That’s right. You love me.” I petted his face, trying to soothe him, relieved when he leaned into the touch. “Concentrate on me. Good, that’s good.” With danger all around, the future was more uncertain than ever, yet I had no defenses left. “I love you, too.” Truth. I loved his strength. His wit. His intensity. Loved that we were both like pieces of the same puzzle and somehow fit together perfectly. Even when he’d hated me, he’d treated me well.

  I craved a future with him.

  His eyes flared with enough heat to singe my soul. “When this battle ends, tell me again.”

  Crisis averted. He’d regained control of his actions. “Have you seen Nicolas, Ty, Ophelia or Noel?”

  “No. They were gone when I awoke.”

  On our own, then. “I’m going to syphon as many soldiers as possible. If black lines appear in my skin, do not touch me. Actually, no more touching me, period, just in case.” Syphoning from Roth again would be foolish. He would weaken. But I needed to wield my illusion and earth magic ASAP. The soldiers were close to overcoming the trolls.

  Where were Violet’s men? Why weren’t they helping us?

  “Do not syphon from them,” he said, slapping a dagger into my hand. “The soldiers are under the siren’s spell, tasked with killing you. If you take from them, you might find yourself under her spell, as well.” He picked up a fallen sword and handed it to me, too. “At first, she told me to leave you. I was helpless and unable to resist, until I heard you shout my name. Concern overrode everything else.”

  Concern...symbolic for true love’s kiss?

  Roth shouted, “You will stand down,” but no one listened. His magic couldn’t undo the song.

  Amid grunts and groans, the bespelled soldiers finally succeeded, sweeping past the trolls.

  “Do not leave my side,” Roth commanded me, even as he struck at an opponent. Then another. And another. He should have fought to kill, thinning the herd, but always he did his best to only wound and immobilize the soldiers. Men he’d trained with and fought for.

  The stakes had never been higher. I helped, fencing like a pro. In deference to Roth, I delivered injuries rather than death...but my mercy came with a steep price. The injured got up and kept fighting, allowing more and more men to surround and attack us. How many cuts, slices, bruises and cracks I sustained, I didn’t know. At least a constant flow of adrenaline helped dull each new flare of pain.

  Vikander and Saxon cut through the trolls, heading our way, and they had no problem slaying their opponents.

  “Stand down,” Roth repeated. “That is an order from your king.”

  “We can’t,” Vikander shouted. “Your sister performed a ritual. The one Challen attempted with Everly, killing a siren and stealing her power. When Farrah sings, we obey.”

  This was Farrah’s doing.

  My rage ignited, my only source of warmth as a new wave of ice swept through the camp. Trolls froze midaction, and icicles grew from tree branches. Seconds later, Farrah crested the far hill, her arms spread wide as she sang. Nails. Chalkboard.

  Wearing the same dress as before—now splattered with blood—she glided over the sea of ice. Her hair... She’d chopped off her hair to free herself, the chin-length bob framing her face.

  The perfect Snow White, with an edge. Both regal and menacing, she ended her journey on the other side of the firepit.

  “Farrah,” Truly gasped out, lowering her bow. “You must stop this. Please! People are dying.”

  Longing passed over the princess’s face, quickly erased by hatred. “I will stop,” she sang, eerier and eerier, “when Everly is defeated. The sorceress has bewitched you. You are not in your right mind. But I will save you, even from yourself.”

  How could I be the one labeled “evil”? In this situation, I was more like Snow White.

  The answer crystalized at last, all made clear in the light of the morning, and I sucked in a breath. The reason none of us had figured out the one character we were supposed to be was because...we weren’t just one character. We had the potential to be any character we wanted to be. The sweet Snow White. The jealous Evil Queen. The conflicted Huntsman. The protective Dwarfs.

  Every day, our choices decided who and what we would be. Here, now, Farrah acted the part of Evil Queen. When Violet had tried to kill me, she’d played the part of Evil Queen, too. When Roth had judged me for my parentage, he had been the Evil Queen. At some point or another, evil had worn each of our faces.

  “Farrah.” Roth spat out a mouthful of blood. “You have always striven to help our people. Now you seek their harm, just to hurt the girl who showed you mercy, despite the fact that you’d never done the same for her.”

  “You get no say in this. I am your sister, she is nothing, yet you chose her over me.” She waved in his direction, unleashing a tsunami of magic.

  From head to toe, ice sprouted over him.

  Shock—yes. Fury—absolutely. The urge to murder this girl—off the charts! Will make her fear me. How dare she hurt the boy I loved. Her own brother. �
��I walked away, left you alive. I had no plans to attack. Now? You’ll be lucky to crawl away.”

  All but spitting fire, she sang-shouted, “You, a sorceress, have taken everything from me. My father, my home. My brother. My one true love.”

  “That’s right. I’m a sorceress.” I linked with her, intending to drain her once and for all. Or tried to. Something stopped me; mystically, I bounced back.

  Instinct told me another sorcerer had already linked with her.

  She laughed, manic and gleeful, even crazed. Still singing, she said, “You think I learned nothing from my father’s battle magic? I planned for every eventuality. You cannot syphon from me while I’m linked to another.”

  Who had linked with her? Nicolas and Tyler wouldn’t betray me like this...would they?

  As I floundered, desperate for answers, she waved toward me. I dove to the ground, passing the firepit, grabbing a flaming log as I shot to my feet. Excruciating pain left me gasping, blisters popping up all over my fingers.

  I lobbed the entire piece of wood at her. Contact. With a scream, she reared back. Flames licked over her dress.

  As she stopped, dropped and rolled to douse the embers, she sang, “Kill Everly. Kill them all, save for Truly. Leave the princess unharmed.”

  Ding, ding. Just like that, the battle resumed. Soldiers versus trolls and Truly’s fiery arrows. More of Hartly’s animals arrived—wolves, griffins and chimera. Even a unicorn. As they drove back the soldiers, I began to hope. We could win this!

  Of course, that was when Farrah decided to spray her ice indiscriminately, blasting her soldiers, the trolls and animals all at once. Only Truly was safe.

  “Kill the troll commander and his mate,” the princess sang next. “Kill, kill.”

  Un-iced soldiers focused on Hartly and the remaining trolls surrounding her. I wouldn’t let myself worry. The trolls would protect her; they would prevail. I needed to take out the source of the friction.

  “Vikander, you will kill Everly,” Farrah sang.