The Evil Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil)

by Gena Showalter

  The fairy focused on me, his gaze all remorse and angst, and I gulped. If I killed Roth’s friend... If I didn’t...

  “I’m sorry, Everly. You’ll never know how much.” That said, Vikander launched my way.

  Truly launched an arrow at him, bellowing, “Run, Everly!”

  He dodged. I reeled. Leave my loved ones behind? Never. I tightened my grip on the sword and braced, ready to defend myself. If I could knock out the fairy, great. Otherwise, I’d have to injure him so badly he couldn’t stand, then try to heal him when the fighting ended.

  Halfway upon me, Vikander lobbed a metal shard in my direction. Midair, the shard grew...and grew... I dove, but not quickly enough; the metal slapped against my ankles—grew around my ankles, becoming shackles. I landed without grace, eating dirt.

  Comprehension: I now wore iron shackles while a fire raged hotter and hotter around me, jumping from tree to tree.

  The fairy tale was unfolding right before my eyes.

  We might decide the roles we played, but I was not the one who brought us to this point. My evil acts had incentivized Farrah, yes, but it was her decision to attack that brought us to this moment—the moment I would die or begin anew.

  Vikander was almost upon me. Hold, hold. He raised his arm, a spear budding in his hand. Now! I linked with the fairy, syphoning a stream of his power, then waved my hand and hit him with a spray of dirt, burying him and buying myself a moment to take defensive measures.

  I turned my focus to Hartly. Syphoning another stream of power from Vikander, I created a dirt wall around the trolls—a shield—forcing the soldiers to dig their way through and tire themselves.

  A cool tide of relief. Hartly was safe—for now. How to end this? How to win?

  To my left, a griffin pecked out a soldier’s eyes. To my right, a chimera chewed through a soldier’s throat.

  An anguished cry echoed through the trees. “Stop me,” Saxon pleaded. He circled the trolls from the air. No, no, no. If he dropped into the center of the circle...

  “No!” I shouted.

  He’d done it. He’d dropped into the circle I’d fortified with my dirt mound, giving him a straight shot at my sister.

  Heart in my throat, I crawled toward Hartly. The shackle worked with the ice to trip me up. I continued to slip. Please, let Hartly survive this! I couldn’t lose her. Not now, not ever.

  Different animals fought to reach her, too. More soldiers surged into the clearing, all focused on attacking me, forcing me to stop and defend myself.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Warick fall through the dirt wall, his chest soaked with blood. Instant panic. Hartly... without protection... Letting the soldiers take swings at me, I crawled toward the circle, faster and faster. Everything would be all right; I just had to get to Hartly.

  Through sections of fallen dirt, I caught sight of Saxon. I paused to reach out—click. Using our link, I picked up his magical string and pulled, drawing from him. A rush of heat and strength for me, weakness for him.

  He wobbled on his feet—but he still slashed his dagger in my sister’s direction. She blocked. Go Hartly! But self-defense had never been her forte. How much longer could she hold him off?

  I drew more power from him. He fell. Using his wings, he came up fast and—

  “No!” I screamed. But he did it, anyway. He sank the blade into Hartly’s side. Jab, jab.

  My sister bellowed in pain, blood pouring from her wounds. Saxon struck again. Another jab, jab. I crawled, shouting curses and pleas until my voice broke. When I slipped, I righted myself. Almost there...

  Someone latched onto my ankle and yanked me to a stop. I didn’t take time to check the culprit’s identity. I purposely cut my hand on my sword, then flung my blood at...a soldier. My venom zapped him, and he dropped, releasing me.

  I kicked him in the face. As he stumbled back, I scrambled forward once again. Hartly had fallen. Her blood... So much blood. She remained motionless. Thor whimpered and licked her face.

  She wasn’t dead. Nope. She had fallen asleep. I could patch her up and revive her.

  Saxon sprang into the air, but a mortally wounded Warick pulled himself into an upright position, caught the avian’s foot and wrenched him back to the ground, where the two grappled. A savage battle, the combatants without mercy. The troll commander bit and clawed, enraged, but weaknesses slowed his reflexes...until Saxon managed to stab him in the neck before shooting away like a bullet.

  Warick collapsed next to Hartly, the remaining trolls closing in around them once more, only to part when I arrived.

  My beloved sister wheezed as she reached for Warick. See! I knew she was alive. But the light in her eyes was fading fast.

  Warick wheezed as he reached right back. Thor sat between them, licking my sister’s wrist.

  “Come on, Hartly. Come on! You will heal.” Syphoning another stream from Roth to borrow his ability, I commanded, “Hear my voice. You. Will. Heal.”

  Her gaze slid to me, and she smiled, destroying my heart. “Wisnorth isnit.” The words were barely audible, yet they wrenched a full-on snot-sob out of me. Worth it—the trip to Enchantia, giving herself to Warick, saving me.

  “You’re not going to die,” I told her.

  With her dying breath, she whispered, “Love you.” Then her body went lax, her head lolling to the side, her eyes staring at nothing.

  A tear ran down Warick’s cheek before he, too, went lax.

  Thor howled at the sky. He knew she was gone. Gone and never coming back.

  I shook my head in denial. This isn’t happening. You can’t leave me.

  But she did leave me. She had no pulse.

  No life.

  No future.

  No new beginning.

  For Hartly, death had been literal.

  Grief stabbed me and twisted the blade. I’d lost my mother, my home and now my sister. I’d killed. I’d endured rejection after rejection and months of captivity, but this...

  Nothing was worse than this.

  An anguished wail ravaged my throat. Trembling uncontrollably, I caressed Hartly’s soft but cold cheek. “How do you know I lived a good life? Because I lived it with you.”

  A troll helped me out, using his ax to sever the length of chain link between my legs. The shackles fell away.

  I had a choice. Remain here with Hartly, and likely die with her, letting her killers escape unscathed, or get up and make them pay.

  Rage boiled inside me, torching my grief, consuming me.

  I couldn’t let Farrah win. The one who’d overseen my sister’s murder should not win anything but a death sentence.

  Oh, yes. Farrah. Would. Pay. I would not rest until I’d buried her in every way.

  For the first time, I wanted to be the Evil Queen.

  I chose to be the Evil Queen.

  Ears buzzing with a rush of blood, I climbed to my feet and walked forward. Dead bodies littered the clearing. Smoke billowed and ice gleamed. Without Hartly, the mythological creatures she’d summoned lost interest in the battle and fled. No matter. On the enemy’s team, only Vikander, Saxon and a handful of soldiers remained standing, but they were outnumbered by trolls. Truly’s fiery arrows had taken out a good portion of our foes.

  Even as she sang and choked on sobs, casting her gaze to the fallen Hartly again and again, Farrah drew back her elbow, ready to pelt me with ice. It was then, that moment, that I noticed Nicolas. He stood behind her, his arms crossed over his chest, his narrowed gaze on me and filled with hate—more hate than before.

  “You cannot defeat us both, Everly,” he said.

  “How can you aid her? She killed Hartly. Why do you aid her?”

  You know why. I...did. Because he’d never forgiven me for Aubrey’s death. Instead, he’d held on to his contempt, nursed it, fed and watered it, letting it grow from
a seedling to an oak, until he was okay with murdering an innocent girl he’d once loved just to strike at me. Now branches of bitterness stretched through his mind, his heart, and his lungs, throwing shade on every thought, beat and breath.

  Hate had poisoned him. The same might have happened to me, if I hadn’t forgiven Roth.

  Nicolas had given me the condom last night to ensure I remained distracted. Betrayal rocked me to the core.

  “Why don’t you fight me yourself, coward?” I spat at him.

  “Fate says Farrah will kill you,” he replied easily. “If that is how I get what I want, so be it. You murdered my Aubrey, and you will pay for it.”

  You will pay for it. Words I’d thought and uttered today, as well. The fact that I had something in common with this man... I shuddered. “How many wives, mothers and sisters have you murdered over the years, huh?” I demanded.

  He scowled at me. I’d take that to mean “many.”

  “Don’t,” Truly shouted, aiming an arrow at her girlfriend’s heart. “Don’t make another move against Everly.”

  Nicolas had distracted me—again—to allow Farrah to reposition, preparing to nail me with ice. I shuddered. If not for Truly’s outburst, I would have lost this war.

  “I must do this,” Farrah sang. “Don’t you see? We cannot have our happily-ever-afters until she is vanquished.”

  All of this, for a happily-ever-after? Then that is what I will take from her.

  “You’re right.” I smiled at Farrah and sauntered to Truly’s side. “I did steal her away from you. Your brother, too. Haven’t you heard? He’s in love with me. Shhh, don’t tell, but I think he’s going to propose. Just think! I’ll be your stepmother and your sister-in-law.”

  Farrah’s cheeks mottled with rage.

  I wasn’t done. “The men in your family can’t get enough of me, huh?”

  That did it. That pushed her over the edge. With a war cry, she punched her hand in my direction. Ice daggers flew from her fingertips, hurling straight toward me. Expected. Like before, I unleashed dirt magic, stopping the daggers midway.

  What I didn’t expect: Nicolas had linked with someone who created water. He conjured a jet of water to wash away the dirt, giving the next set of daggers a clean pathway. Daggers Farrah did not hesitate to unleash.

  I drew from Vikander, planning to craft a metal shield with my dagger.

  But Truly threw her body into mine, knocking me down, stopping me. The daggers cut through her, slicking in one side and flying out the other.

  Dizzy from impact, I scrambled to my knees. “Truly!”

  My twin rolled to her back, gasping for breath. Blood gushed from multiple wounds on her torso.

  I’m to lose her, too? I was supposed to watch my twin die? I clasped her hand, her grip limp. “You fool! Why did you do that?”

  “Love you.” Blood poured from the corners of her mouth, too. “Didn’t get...enough time... My fault...”

  Finally, Farrah stopped singing. She screamed and dropped to her knees.

  “Shhh, shhh. Save your strength, love.” Frantic, I scanned the crowd around us. Vikander and Saxon appeared shell-shocked. “Help me. Help me save her. Please!”

  With tears streaming down her cheeks, Farrah crawled to her fallen ex, our war forgotten. “Truly, you have to be all right.” She patted my twin’s cheek. “You have to heal. I never meant...You weren’t supposed to...”

  Act! Now! Tears streamed down my cheeks, blurring my vision, but I didn’t care. My enemy had willing placed herself in striking distance. So I struck, sinking a dagger into her—

  “No!” A spray of water had just whisked the weapon from my grip. Nicolas!

  Farrah continued patting Truly’s cheek. Truly tried to say more to me, but blood gurgled from the corners of her mouth, muting her voice. I could guess what she wanted to convey—Do not hurt Farrah.

  I. Didn’t. Care. I must. Farrah couldn’t be allowed to live.

  As I readied my sword, Saxon flew over, grabbed her and carried her away.

  “No!” Allow her to live, even one more day? “Bring her back!”

  Displaying superhuman strength, despite the power I’d boosted, Vikander lifted the frozen Roth, planning to carry him away.

  My rage boiled over. “Stop him!”

  A troll slammed into Vikander, tossing him to the ground empty-handed.

  The fairy fought back, shouting, “Let me take Roth, Everly. I will help him.”

  “I’d rather die than let you have him,” I roared.

  Vikander took my words seriously. He raced away, shouting, “Retreat! Retreat!”

  The remaining soldiers followed him, Nicolas among them. Why hadn’t he struck at me again? Were his batteries running low?

  Some of the trolls gave chase. Others remained behind to deal with the wounded, friend and enemy alike.

  I turned back to Truly. Her watery eyes pleaded with me as she tried to speak. Blood still gurgled from her mouth.

  Not knowing what else to do, I syphoned a little more from Roth, more, more, until my tongue tingled with readiness. Careful, careful. If I saved Truly only to kill Roth in the process...

  I shouted, “You will heal, Truly. Now!”

  43

  The time has come to pick a side,

  for you will never bridge the great divide.

  Was I too late? Roth’s compulsion magic couldn’t bring back the dead. But life still glowed in Truly’s eyes, a pulse thumping at the base of her neck. She had to heal. So I waited.

  And waited.

  I’d told Hartly to heal, too, and still she’d died.

  Worry made me feel as if my skin was peeling away. I was raw and exposed, every whip of wind making me jerk with pain. “Come on, Truly. Heal!”

  Her gaze found mine, an apology shining in her eyes. She gasped out a word I didn’t understand just before her lids closed, and her head lolled to the side.

  No! Bordering on hysterical, I dropped my sword and straddled her, preparing to administer CPR, careful not to let my poisoned blood drip on her skin. When I pressed my palms over her sternum, however, I encountered a beating heart. She was alive? I slumped over, tears spilling down my cheeks. Tears of relief, impotence and more rage.

  As she mended, the trolls corralled the fallen soldiers who’d been too injured to retreat. Then, those trolls shouted, “For Warick and his bride!” and attacked.

  I gaped. The violence, the savagery. The sheer malice...

  Would I be next? Did the trolls know I’d killed Three Horns?

  They approached me when they finished, one after the other, all soaked in blood. I gripped the sword hilt once again and geared for a fight, ready to defend my twin until I took my final breath, but each male bowed his head, slammed a fist over his heart and paid tribute to Hartly.

  “We loved her.”

  “Your loss is our loss.”

  “She will be missed.”

  I sniffled. I cried. I thanked these warriors for caring for my sister all these months, and for aiding us today. Without them, Truly and I would be dead, too.

  The army stalked from the clearing, leaving me alone with the carnage. I wanted to scream and never stop. Blood, char and ash coated the trees. Smoke billowed, thicker than before. Roth and Violet remained imprisoned in ice.

  A crack appeared in Roth’s ice, and I knew he was fighting from inside it.

  I sent a stream of power across our link, infusing him with strength, then used the dagger to chisel from the outside. As soon as he was free, we needed to set out to search for Noel and Ophelia. I wouldn’t waste my time looking for Tyler. No doubt he was working with Nicolas.

  Betrayal cut through me, sharper than any blade. When would I learn? Trust no one.

  Thor started barking up a storm, and I frowned. Was something wrong? He remain
ed at Hartly’s side and—

  What was that? A bright green sprout had broken through the ground—through Hartly’s body. I rushed over, shouting with shock and dismay.

  The bud expanded, growing like Jack’s magic beanstalk, quickly encompassing her entire body. And still growing. Soon, a massive tree towered in Hartly’s place. Tall, strong, majestic, with black bark and white leaves, the limbs already heavy with white apples.

  My sweet Hartly had become the apple, the one used by the Evil Queen. Maybe all bonum et malum became trees when they died, maybe not. I didn’t really care, I just wanted Hartly back.

  I beat my fists against the trunk. The bark scraped my hands raw, droplets of my blood splashing the leaves—leaves now withering. I didn’t stop. Finally I understood “hurt so good.” Every punch provided a slight release of the agonizing pressure teeming inside me.

  I punched and screamed, punched and screamed, creating a chorus of heartbreak. Around me, animals wailed, mourning Hartly’s death.

  For most of my life, I’d had a single job: protect Hartly. I’d failed her today. I’d failed Aubrey, too.

  Another scream, then another. My heart had been hollowed out, and only a shell remained.

  Strong arms circled me, stopping me. Familiar heat and the scent of cinnamon fogged my head.

  Roth! He’d gotten free. I turned and beat at his chest. I don’t know why I did, or why he let me. But he did. He withstood my abuse and cooed words of comfort at me.

  “I checked on Truly,” he said. “She’s healing nicely. Should awaken any minute.”

  When the last of my strength abandoned me, I collapsed against him and buried my face against his neck, sobbing violently.

  “I’m sorry for your loss, love,” he crooned over and over. “I’m so sorry.”

  Eventually, I quieted. My eyes were swollen, my nose stuffy. My hollowed-out heart filled up again, overflowing with my rage. I’d castigated Farrah for her choices, yet I’d made mistakes, too. If I had killed her when I’d had the chance, Hartly would still be alive. This was my fault. All of it.

  According to Noel—who still hadn’t showed—Hartly had been safe inside the troll dimension. I’ve seen Hartly’s future. As long as she remains in the troll dimension, she doesn’t just survive. She thrives.