Wicked Queen (The Royals: Witch Court Book 5)

by Megan Montero

  “No matter what happens, we’re in this together. Whether we’re Titans or not.” His lips pulled up in a small smile.

  I sucked in a deep sigh and blew it back out, pushing aside my dark thoughts. “You’re right. I know you are. We’re going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay.”

  “Look at it this way. How many times do you get to fly to the heavenly plain guided by an angel?”

  I glanced around at the brilliant blue sky and white fluffy clouds. Though worries of my father still plagued my mind, I needed to focus on the moment, focus on getting through the next challenge we would face, and focus on not dying. “Good point.”

  “Hey! Keep up!” Matteaus called back to us.

  I’d never seen his wings fully extended this close up. They were magnificent. The deepest midnight but shinning like oil, the clouds reflected in them.

  Tucker pumped his wings hard and, in a moment, we were by Matteaus’ side. He reached his hand out to me. “Take my wrist.”

  I looped my arm tighter around Tucker’s neck and with my other hand I grabbed onto Matteaus’ wrist. The clouds turned from puffy cotton balls to wispy white with streaks of golds and pinks running through them. The cool fall air that had chilled my skin only moments ago changed to a warm spring day. The sun glowed like a candle, not blindingly bright like it was back home. No, this was peaceful, an everlasting sunset. The tightness in my chest I felt only moments ago disappeared altogether.

  “We’re getting closer. Hang on.” Matteaus tucked his wings into his back and we started to dive toward what looked like a lightning-shaped rip in the clouds. Golden light shot through it in radiant rays of sunshine. My eyes stung from the brightness and a wave of intense heat washed over my skin. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block it out. Even with my eyes closed the blinding light burned. Tears flowed from my eyes and I thought my retinas were going to burn out of my skull. I threw my hand over my face just for a moment, but in that one second I lost hold of Matteaus. “Damn it!” I reached out toward him but only grasped at air.

  “Zin, what’s happening? I can’t see.” Tucker squeezed me closer to him. The air around grew thick and tight. Tucker’s smooth flying wavered, and he jostled me in his arms.

  I peeked my eyes open. I could only make out Matteaus’ silhouette. His large wings flapped in the sunshine. The light glowed around him. In my mind I could picture him as one of the Creator’s warriors, so fearsome and strong. Glowing light surrounded him as he twisted back to face us.

  “Zin, we have a problem.” Tucker’s body tilted to the side.

  I turned from looking at Matteaus and glanced over Tuck’s shoulder at his wings. “Oh crap.” His wings of fire flickered like the flames were being smothered. The tips of his wings went out, then little by little the lines of flames that made them up started to fizzle out. “What’s happening?”

  “The air, it’s too heavy up here. My flames are going out.” We hovered for only a second longer. Tuck tilted sideways, trying to hold me up. His fingers bit into my legs and back. He squeezed me into his chest. “Hold on.”

  I wrapped both my arms around his neck and held on tight. “Thine wings have been taken, grant me the power for new flight awakened. Hold us here until the great power may arise. Hold us firm in golden skies.”

  My body went weightless and I floated up out of Tucker’s grasp. I held my arms out to the sides and hovered in midair, facing up toward the sky. Tucker drifted beside me. Instead of facing up like me, he was facing toward the ground. “What just happened?”

  “I did the only thing I could think of. I said a spell to hold us here.” I looked over my shoulder. “I’m just not sure how to get us down.”

  “Well, I guess the Titan essence stopped you from exploding.” Matteaus flapped his wings, sending little puffs of wind across my face. He turned and flew closer to my head, meeting my eye. “Thought I told you to hold on and not to let go.”

  “I didn’t mean to.” I tried to twist around to face him fully. Instead, I ended up being upside down. Blood rushed toward my head and I felt my face flame bright red. Is this how astronauts feel? I flung my arms around and kicked, trying to right myself.

  Matteaus rolled his eyes. “Clearly.” With a single flap of his wings he came up between Tuck and me. He poked my shoulder, sending me spinning in a circle. My stomach flipped around to my toes and the world blurred by like I was on a carnival ride. Beside me he spun Tuck as well. At the same time, he reached out with both hands and grabbed our wrists. “Now that I’ve got a hold of you, perhaps we could go through without incident?”

  I pressed the back of my free hand to my mouth to stop the nausea from hurtling up my throat. Before we left on this journey my skin was glowing from within. When I looked at my arm, the one Matteaus held, I noticed it was dimmer than it was before. Motion sickness, ugh. “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Don’t puke on the feathers.” Matteaus pumped his wings and we shot forward. I thought I might’ve grown used to flying after doing it so many times with Tucker. This was so much faster than Tuck ever flew . . . and I was not ready for it. Yet here I was, drifting at his side at speeds I knew my body shouldn’t be able to handle, but I was withstanding it all. Thank you, Titan Potion.

  Matteaus dove straight toward the rip in the sky, into the golden light. This time I didn’t close my eyes. I forced them open. We shot through the opening into the most perfect blue sky. My skin warmed and the wind ruffled my hair. Up ahead a single set of golden gates stood in the middle of a thick cloud wall. The sun glinted off of them catching hues of pearly white, shining amber and rainbow prisms. “Is that music?”

  The sweetest sounds drifted on the wind, giving me a sense of peace I hadn’t felt since I found out I was a Queen Witch. Matteaus sucked in a deep breath and let it out. His normal scowl deepened to a pained look of longing. On his other side Tucker pointed down toward the gates. “Who is that?”

  We swooped down lower. Though we were still a few feet away, I could make out who Tuck was pointing to. Behind the pearly gates stood a towering angel. His hair was cut shorter and curled away from his face. It had a perfect balance of salty grays and peppery black locks. His face was regal and chiseled with a long, straight nose and high cheekbones. His sun-kissed skin shimmered with gold flecks. When we landed just in front of the gates, he made no move to open them. “Matteaus.”

  When Matteaus dropped me to my feet, I half expected to fall through the clouds. Instead, the clouds only cushioned my feet perfectly. I fought the urge to kick my boots off and walk around barefoot. Matteaus’ brows drew low over his piercing blue eyes. “Kane.”

  I felt like a small child among giants. Matteaus was at least six and a half feet tall. Kane matched his height and muscular build. Tucker was only six inches shorter than them. And here I was all five-foot-three of me ready to stand with them. Kane glanced down at me. “Zinnia Heart, your reputation is notorious.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good thing of a bad thing?” I glanced at Tuck. He just shook his head and shrugged.

  “It is what it is. Although this glow you have about you is new.” Kane sucked in a deep breath, sniffing the air. He arched one eyebrow at Matteaus. “Titans?”

  Matteaus held his hands up and shrugged. “Mistakes were made.”

  “That’s an interesting route to redemption.” Kane shook his head and sighed.

  “When in Rome.” He motioned toward Tuck. “This is Tucker Brand.”

  Kane peeked at him through the gates. “Prince of the phoenix clan. I know who he is. What I’m wondering is why you’ve brought them here glowing like Christmas trees with Titan power?”

  Matteaus crossed his arms over his chest and his face turned two shades redder, yet he didn’t say a thing. Kane glared at Matteaus. Power rolled off the two of them, the kind of power that caused world disasters. It stuck to my skin like thick mud. I wouldn’t even know what to do with power like that if I siphoned it. I held my magic firmly in place, thoug
h the Titan essence in my body clamored for me to reach out and take it all for my own. I stepped forward. “We don’t mean any harm.”

  “Don’t you?” Kane arched his eyebrow at me.

  My eyes went wide. Tucker stepped in closer to the gate. “If you’ll excuse me. We haven’t come here to start any trouble. We’ve come here to have a single sword blessed in heavenly fire. It’s the only hope we have.”

  I pulled the sword from the belt hanging around my waist and held it out. “It’s the only way to stop Alataris.”

  “Right, so you bring me two supernaturals overflowing with Titan power along with a sword made by Hephaestus and you expect me to just let them waltz right through the front door?” Kane shook his head. “It hasn’t been that long since you’ve been up here. Do you take me for a fool?”

  Matteaus turned away from the gate and paced. He shoved his hands into his hair and tugged at the strands. He stood back from the gate and threw his arms out, motioning toward Tuck and me. “Just use your damn angelic sense. Or hell, open your eyes and take a look at them. They’re not here to hurt anyone.”

  I stepped in closer to Tucker. We hadn’t come this far to be turned away now. We were so close to finally getting a way to even the playing field with Alataris. “Please, Mr. Kane, I swear we are only here for this.”

  Kane ducked his head lower and met my eye. “If you enter beyond this gate, there is no going back. You will be tested, you will be challenged, and even though you’re here now, if that potion of yours wears off, you will die here.”

  Tucker reached out and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, drawing me closer to him. I leaned into his side. He pressed his fingers into my skin, giving me a little squeeze. “We know, but his crown was forged in heavenly fire and the only way to destroy it is with an equally strong weapon. If we don’t do this now, we might as well be resigned to lose.”

  Tucker was right. If we didn’t get in, if we didn’t get this sword blessed in heavenly fire, we would all lose everything . . . including our lives to Alataris.

  “Very well.” Kane waved his hand and the gates clanged and shifted as they began to open.

  They drifted apart only enough for Tuck and me to walk through. I took a step forward then looked over my shoulder at Matteaus. “Aren’t you coming?”

  He pointed his finger toward his black wings. “My road to redemption is still being paved.”

  “This task must be completed on your own. There can be no further intervention from us or Matteaus. He’s well aware of that.” Kane’s harsh words made me turn back to look at him.

  The difference between the two was night and day. Matteaus had midnight wings. Kane’s were white and sparkling. Matteaus wore only a black fitted tank top and leather biker pants. Kane was draped in a roman-like white toga that left his upper body fully exposed and hung from his hips all the way down to the ground. Matteaus had a darkness about him, an oppressive dangerous edge that couldn’t be denied. If I didn’t know he was one of the “good guys” I would be terrified of him. The two were so different, yet each stood on the side of good and I could only wonder what Matteaus had done to become the leader of the Fallen. What atrocity could my headmaster have committed? In my mind, I couldn’t connect the leader of our school, the man who educated and guided supernatural children to learn their powers, with the man who did something so awful he was kicked out of the heavenly plain.

  I glanced over my shoulder at Matteaus once more. “Don’t worry, you’ve all taught us well at the Academy. We’ll be okay.”

  “I wish I could do more.” Matteaus looked beyond my shoulder into what used to be his home. His face fell into a pained scowl. “One mistake.”

  He shook his head and turned away from us, leaving Tucker and me to take on whatever was about to happen next. Tuck tugged me forward and I forced myself to stop watching Matteaus’ back and step into the heavenly plain to face our next challenge.

  Chapter 3

  Tucker

  All my life I’d lived with the constant burning in my chest, an inferno that if I let go it would torch everything and everyone in sight. I thought the kind of power I had was unlimited. I thought wrong. The potion we took amplified everything I felt. My inner phoenix inferno beat at my chest and head to be let out. Flames continued to erupt in the palms of my hands and dance up my forearms. I quelled them each time, but the power flowing in me wanted more. It wanted to dominate, to rule, to destroy things. My only saving grace was Zinnia standing at my side. She calmed me, kept me centered, stopped me from giving into the volatile side of this Titan potion.

  The wings in my back itched to be released, but I doubted Kane would appreciate me letting red flaming wings erupt up here. This place was serenity in all its glory. My chaotic energy would do nothing but get us kicked out. So here I was following behind him as he walked us down a long, winding path, trying not to mess up the mission before it even started. Golden bricks lay before me and I focused on stepping on them instead of using my powers on anything else . . . follow the yellow brick road . . . well, golden brick road . . . follow the golden brick road. All I needed was Dorothy, Toto, the scarecrow, the tin man, and the cowardly lion. I wanted to whisper to Zinnia we weren’t in Kansas anymore, but she wasn’t paying attention to me.

  Her eyes were wide with wonder. With each step she took her head tilted to one side or another. Spirits of the dead glided around us. Each one of them was ghostly in form but smiling happily and didn’t bother to acknowledge us. The angels, on the other hand, visibly stared. Some had swords strapped to their backs the way Matteaus did, or had long swords hanging from their belts.

  Kane held his hand out to them. “Be at ease. They mean us no harm.”

  “Why are they scared of us?” My eyes locked onto one of the warrior angels we passed. He rested his hand on the hilt of the sword hanging from his hip. Though he tried to appear casual, the threat was clear. His wings sprang out from his back, not fully, but enough that he would be ready to attack in the blink of an eye. He too wore the white toga-like robes that hung from his waist.

  Kane tilted his head back and chuckled. “First, they fear nothing and no one. Not even your little Titan powers. We have faced the Titans before. They are trapped in Tartarus and we are still here.” Kane spread his arms out wide, motioning to the perfection around us.

  The smell of hot coco and cinnamon washed over me. I sucked in a deep breath. It reminded me so much of what it smelled like back home on Cindelore. It reminded me of my mother. The nervous tension that was coiled in my stomach eased to a low hum with each breath I took.

  Kane waved us on. “Come on, neither of you is meant for this . . . just yet.”

  Just yet? What did that mean? Did he know our destiny? Was it to die like all the other queens and knights who came before us? Cryptic bastard. I continued to follow behind him as we walked up a small rise. White flames with flecks of every color of the rainbow in them danced on the horizon. My gaze was locked on the flames touching the perfect blue sky. When we climbed higher, the giant gold bowl holding the flames came into view, then the tower it stood upon. It reminded me of the opening ceremony of the Olympics. The only difference was, it stood in the middle of a small island surrounded by a crystal-clear lake. “Holy ssshhhhhh”—Kane shot me a cutting look—“shhh crap. Holy crap, I mean.”

  “It’s breathtaking.” Zinnia bumped me with her shoulder. “Isn’t it?”

  When she looked up at me with those bright blue eyes and wild midnight hair, I wanted to pull her into my chest and hold her closer. I wanted to take in this scene while I held her. My fingers twitched with the need to touch her. Yet I held myself off. I was sure the rest of the crew knew something was going on between us, yet our relationship remained forbidden. I smiled down at her and didn’t take my eyes off her. “It really is.”

  Kane cleared his throat, drawing my attention. He angled his head to the side, looking from Zinnia to me and back again. “Aren’t you two cute. But if you’d like
to get down to business.” He pointed to a small row boat that sat at the edge of the lake. Aqua sparkling ripples gently lapped at the edge of the boat. “You must row across the lake of purity toward the island where the flame is kept. If you are pure you will make it across. If not, well, then I guess I’ll be seeing you again sooner than I thought.”

  Purity? How pure are we talking here?

  Zinnia bit her bottom lip. We both made no move toward the small row boat. Pure was something we most certainly were not. I didn’t regret a single second of it. Being with Zinnia in that way was the most pure kind of love there possibly was. If it made me unqualified to get the sword blessed in heavenly fire then so be it.

  Kane clapped his hands together. “Off you go.”

  We both didn’t move.

  “What, what’d I miss? Isn’t this what you came here for?”

  Zinnia rocked back and forth from her heels to her toes. “Well, um, you see. This is a lake of purity and we, umm . . . well, we aren’t . . .” She blushed and looked away from Kane.

  Kane smiled for the first time since we’d been here. “Purity of heart. The other things won’t interfere with that. The body should always be respected, but I have seen the way you look at each other. I know the path you share. The love between you is pure, even if the two of you aren’t.”

  “And on that note.” I motioned to the boat. “Let’s go.”

  Zinnia gave me a quick nod and stepped away. “Yep.”

  “Teenagers.” Kane sighed and turned away from us.

  I followed Zinnia down the winding path toward the lake. “Well, that was . . . awkward.”

  “Seriously, who likes to talk about that stuff with an ancient angel? Not me.” She waved me forward. “Come on, let’s row this boat.”