Wicked Queen (The Royals: Witch Court Book 5)

by Megan Montero

  Death scoffed and rolled his eyes. “You make the same assumptions she does. As if you know your fate.”

  Zinnia looked up at me with wide eyes. “Did he just say you’re going to die?”

  “Of course not, witch.” Death leaned to the side and rested his head on his fist. “Just because I am the angel of death doesn’t mean I know when your number is up, so to speak. Well, not completely anyways. I simple mean to point out your ignorance such as my brother did.”

  “Ignorance?” Heat colored Zinnia’s cheeks and she opened her mouth to say something else.

  I reached out and wrapped my arm around her elbow, pulling her back next to me. “We need to choose our words wisely here.”

  She paused and sucked in a deep, calming breath. “What about a compromise?”

  Death rose to his feet and began walking around us. “Intriguing. What do you have in mind?”

  Zinnia spun around to face him. “I will take the crown.”

  I sucked in a breath, hoping she would. When Death smiled, she held her hand up, stopping him from saying another word.

  “Provided the other four queens of the casts rule along with me.”

  He shook his head. “No, absolutely—”

  “Brother,” Michael cut him off, “let us not be so unmoving. Compromise seems a favorable alternative.”

  If we stood here for any longer, I knew they might change their minds. It was now or never for us to get the permission we needed to move forward. “Do we have a deal?”

  Michael glanced at the other angels. Each of them gave him a single nod. He slapped his hands on his thighs. “Indeed, we do.” He motioned to the wall where only moments before it had been flat. Now it had turned into a steep staircase. “Destiny awaits.”

  Chapter 6

  Zinnia

  Nervous energy sat heavy in the pit of my stomach. After all this, was I ready to take the throne? It wasn’t something I wanted, nor did I think I was qualified for. Yet Tuck seemed 100 percent convinced I was meant to rule the witch court. But I wasn’t so certain. With the other queens at my side perhaps I would be able to do it. I sucked in a deep breath and continued climbing the never-ending set of stairs, trying to put aside all my fears and doubts. One step at a time. I kept repeating it to myself for two reasons: one, for the strenuous climb, and two, we had so much further to go before we could unseat Alataris. So why bother stressing about it? Because this whole freaking thing is stressful.

  As I took the last few steps up to the bowl of heavenly fire, I was exhausted down to my bones. My muscles burned from climbing. I sucked in deep breaths and sweat rolled down my back. The sword at my side hung low and weighed me down. As I came up the last step, the bowl came into view. The golden metal gleamed in the sunlight. Flames of all different colors danced within the bowl. I expected it to be large but not the size of a swimming pool. Heat seeped into my skin from the flickering embers.

  When I gazed into the bowl, scenes I could never imagine came into view. I held my hand out, wanting to touch the flames but not daring to move an inch. “Do you see that?”

  “See what?” Tucker stood beside me. I felt his presence like I felt my own.

  “There in the fire.” In the flames I saw myself running. I didn’t know from what. In the vision Tuck flew by my side in his phoenix form. Both of us were fleeing. My face was etched in terror as he reached out to me with his talons. He was struck in the back by some kind of energy ball. He was knocked sideways into me. We both tumbled to the ground and I saw myself scrambling back away from something while I pulled Tuck’s lifeless body along. I threw myself over him and held my hand out to something hovering over us, a shadowy figure that looked so familiar yet I couldn’t make it out. There was no sound, but when my lips moved, I saw the pleading in my eyes. I was . . . begging. Tears welled and spilled over my face and I curled over Tuck, holding him to me. That’s when the vision became clear. Alataris stood over me with both his hands held high over his head with a ball of swirling dark magic. The crown was perched firmly on his head and his eyes were a vacant black. His face was blank, impassive, as he tossed the energy ball right at me.

  I stumbled back away from the heavenly fire. I pressed my hand to my chest, checking to see that I really hadn’t been struck. Gasping breaths wracked me and I reached out and clamped my hand around Tuck’s arm. “What was that?”

  “Are you all right?” He pressed his hand to the small of my back and immediately the heat from his touch calmed me.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. Did you see it? Did you see what happened in the flames?”

  “There’s nothing in the flames, Zin.” His voice was gentle, and his brows drew low over his liquid honey eyes.

  “Nothing that you saw, Phoenix.” Kane stood on the other side of the fire facing us. The heavenly light flickered over his features, giving him an ominous look. “But you, witch. What did you see?”

  I saw Tuck’s death. I saw my own death. I saw horrible things. “I’d rather not say.”

  A half smirk spread across his lips as he began walking around the bowl toward us. “That is your future.”

  “No.” I shook my head and took another step back from the fire. “It can’t be.”

  He held up a single finger. “Well, it’s one possibility.”

  I swallowed around the nervous ball in my throat. “Out of how many?”

  He came to stand next to me and motioned to the bowl. “Look and see.”

  I pressed the palms of my hands to my eyes. “I can’t. I can’t see that again.”

  The sight of Tuck’s lifeless body in my arms was something I’d never be able to unsee. Even now I could barely breathe around the tightness in my chest. Tears spilled from the corners of my eyes and streamed down my cheeks. I ran the back of my hand over my skin, swiping them away. Kane placed his hand on my shoulder and guided me closer to the flames. “If you wish to continue, then you must know the paths that lie ahead.”

  “You can do this. I’m right here,” Tuck whispered down to me.

  Easy for him to say. I steadied my nerves and stepped up to the flames once more. I didn’t want to see anymore. Fear coursed through my body. What horrible vision would I see now? Would it be the death of my mother? My sister? The rest of the witch court? I didn’t want to, but I had to. I squeezed my eyes shut and gathered the courage I needed to face my fate. I forced them open and stared at the flames once more. I was sucked back into them. The figures started as shadows, morphing and moving around each other. My face appeared then Tuck’s. The flames twisted and spun until the scene became clear. We stood side by side, both with our swords drawn and at the ready. A crown I’d never seen before sat perched on my head. His flaming wings were bigger than I’d ever seen. We looked powerful, looked confident . . . unstoppable.

  Alataris faced us with his weapon at the ready, yet his eyes weren’t the vacant black I’d seen in the first vision. No, this was something different, an emotion I’d never seen on his face before—fear.

  We held our swords high and charged at him, moving as one. I leapt up into the air and brought my sword down on his. Blinding light flashed and I squeezed my eyes shut. The connection between the flames and myself disintegrated and I was myself once more. When I opened my eyes I looked up into the perfect blue sky. Beautiful white clouds dotted the sky then Tuck’s face hovered over me. “Are you okay?”

  I pushed up off the ground. “How did I get here?”

  “I think you fainted.” He squatted down beside me. “Can you stand?”

  I pulled my knees up and held my hand out to him. “I think so.”

  When he yanked me to my feet, I faced Kane, who stood waiting. I pushed my wild locks out of my face and fought the nausea rolling in my stomach. “Is that it? Is that all the flames are going to show me?”

  That couldn’t be all. Kane pursed his lips. “The visions are what you need to see in order to move forward. One is fighting your fate and one is accepting it. It is up to
you to choose which path to take.”

  “But we are here, we are getting the sword blessed, we are fighting to do what’s right.” I didn’t understand. I was accepting my fate. I embraced being the siphon witch. I embraced my powers. I loved being a part of the witch court.

  He tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows. “Have you, though? Are you not concerned about taking the throne? Becoming your father? Following his footsteps? Aren’t all of these parts of your fate as well?”

  My inner turmoil was playing out before my eyes. I thought I had time to work all this out. Who would’ve thought simply by being here I would have to face my deepest fears? Yet here I was confronted with a decision to run or stand and fight. I swallowed down my doubt and fears. I’d never run before. I wouldn’t start now. “If that is my fate then so be it. I’m here to do one thing and that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “Then by all means.” Kane motioned to the bowl. “Toss it in, your highness.”

  I flinched at the sound of the royal address but didn’t say anything. I held the sword out toward the flames. Kane’s eyes widened. “Know this. Once the weapon is blessed it will be coveted. Others will come for it.”

  Without this sword we had no other option to combat Alataris. I looked him dead in the eyes and threw the sword into the flames. “Then let them come.”

  The flames hissed and sizzled. The sword levitated up into the air, hovering just above the bowl. Golden strands of magic circled around it and up toward the sky. The flames morphed and changed once more. Images of small angels flew around it in a tornado of beautiful white wings. One by one the angels flew into the blade of the sword. Each time one hit the metal it changed colors.

  The sword was an array of beauty I barely understood. Kane explained, “Red is fire, green is earth, blue is water, purple is death, white is spirit, and black . . . war.”

  The sword shot straight up into the air and brilliant sunlight emitted from it. I held my hand out, shielding my eyes until the blinding rays finally diminished. The sword drifted back down to the base of the bowl. Still the sizzling hiss continued. “Does it hold power over all those things?”

  A sword that could master all of those elements would be a weapon of mass destruction in the hands of the wrong person. Kane shook his head. “No, but it is blessed by each of those things. It’ll be up to you to unlock its power.”

  I stepped closer to the edge of the bowl and extended my hand out. Hot! I jerked my hand back away from the fire. Tuck stepped up close to me. “Let me.”

  He dipped his hand into the flames and reached for the sword. He pressed his lips together and the muscle in his jaw ticked. Sweat beaded his face and his skin turned to a bright red. Convulsions wracked his body, the veins in his neck popped, and the breath froze in his lungs. His legs gave out and his knees slammed into the floor.

  “Tuck!” I dropped down beside him. One of his arms was still hooked into his bowl and he hung onto the side. I threw my arms around him and dragged him back. He slouched back into my arms with his back pressed to my chest. When he held his hand up it was covered in large white blisters. He pulled it in to his chest and curled into me, groaning in pain. When he looked up at me, his eyes were pure milky white.

  I held him closer to me. “What’s happened to him?”

  “The sword is meant for only one person.” Kane squatted down across from me and held his arms out. “Hand him to me.”

  I shook my head. “No.” I clutched Tucker closer. “Don’t worry, we’ll get you back to the healers.”

  “Zinnia, hand him to me now.” Kane’s words were laced with power but even in my Titan fueled state I wanted to listen to, to bend to what he said. Yet I still held on to Tuck. My powers slid down my skin, glittering all around me. We’d been nearly drowned, attached by guardians of the light, questioned endlessly, and now burned. Silver sparks danced down my arms.

  Tuck rolled off of me to lie on his back. His chest heaved with breaths and he held his hand cradled over it. “I’m okay.”

  “You’re not.” Before I could say another word, the blisters marring his arm from his elbow all the way down to his fingertips smoothed out. The skin that’d been bubbly, red, and falling off in some places was knitting together and returning back to the tan smoothness it normally was. My mouth dropped open. “How is that even possible?”

  His lips turned down into a painful scowl. “Phoenix.” He sat up. “We don’t burn, or at least not when it comes to fire. But I think this one is up to you.”

  He lurched to his feet and brushed his hands down his pants. When he offered me his hand, I took it and let him pull me to my feet. The glow he’d gotten from the Titan potion was barely there. He pressed his hand to his chest and cleared his throat. “Go on, it’s meant for you to take it.”

  I stepped up to the bowl and dipped my hand in. The fire was uncomfortably warm against my skin yet not burning. The flames danced around my wrist and up my arm as I wrapped my hand around the handle of the sword and pulled it from the flames. My powers flowed over my body and into the hilt of the blade. I held it out, examining it, feeling exhausted down to my bones. My eyes rolled and I swayed on my feet.

  “Damn, I thought this would happen.” Kane bent down low and met my eye.

  I swayed on my feet. “Why are there two of you?”

  He grabbed my arm and held me in place. “I hope you make it out alive.”

  Just over Kane’s shoulder Tuck stumbled and grabbed onto his temples. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the floor. I reached out toward him with my free arm. Every ounce of my strength seeped from my body and my knees gave out. “What’s happening?”

  Kane swept his arm under my legs and picked me up. “I do believe you’re dying.”

  Chapter 7

  Tucker

  I floated face down over the floor. I wanted to move, to run, yet I couldn’t. My body was locked down with pain. So much pain I couldn’t move a single one of my muscles. Drops of sweat fell from my face. The words I wanted to speak were stuck in my throat. My only view was of the back of Kane’s legs and Zinnia’s wild midnight hair swaying with each step he took. Was she thrown over his shoulder?

  The power I’d felt only hours ago was gone. Exhaustion like I’d never felt before overcame me. Is this what dying feels like? My eyes rolled in my head and the world went black. I shook my head and forced them open again. I was in the heavenly plain. I should’ve taken comfort in that, but we’d been attacked, tested, and chased up here.

  “What the hell is this?” Matteaus’ voice was deep and stern.

  I floated forward and spun in midair to face up. I drifted out past the gates and hovered beside Matteaus. My arms, legs, and head hung back from my torso. Blood rushed to my head and the pressure built just behind my eyes. Kane hefted Zinnia off of his shoulder and flung her into Matteaus’ waiting arms. “I suspect whatever potion they took burned away more quickly than expected when they reached into the heavenly fire. So right now, I’m pretty sure your students are dying.”

  Matteaus threw Zinnia over his shoulder and grabbed onto my upper arm. “Fu—”

  “Language, Matteaus. You are after all an angel.” Kane rolled his eyes and walked away.

  Matteaus didn’t wait to see the gates close behind Kane. He forced his wings from his back and took off like a shot. The wind whipped past my face and ruffled my hair, yet I couldn’t move. Pain exploded in my scull and over my body. I wanted to throw up, curl in a ball, and sleep all at the same time. Zinnia groaned in Matteaus’ arms and every muscle in my body fought to get to her. Somehow, I found the strength to reach out to her and wrap my hand around hers. “Shhh, it’ll be over soon.”

  It wasn’t a lie. One way or another it would all be over. We would either return to Evermore and survive this or we would die in route. If I could only hold on to her, keep her hand in mine, she would be okay. I knew it. If we were together, we would be okay. Matteaus pumped his wings harder
. “Hold on, Phoenix. We’re nearly there.”

  That air changed from freezing to a comfortable cool. The stars were blinded out by the lights emitting from the sky-high buildings. The sound of horns blaring, the smell of food from a million different restaurants blended together. The smell and sounds were like no place else I’d ever been. New York. Matteaus pulled his wings in and dove straight down. My stomach dropped into my toes as we plummeted.

  My body snapped around like a rag doll as Matteaus slammed into the ground. Dirt exploded up from under his feet, yet I didn’t let go of Zin’s hand. Not even when debris flew up into my eyes, making them sting and burn. Matteaus laid me out on the ground with Zinnia by my side. Drops of sweat beaded her forehead and fell back into her hair. Her brows were furrowed in pain, yet she didn’t open her eyes. I dug my elbows into the ground and pulled myself closer to her.

  Matteaus spun in a circle. “Niche, Ophelia, now would be a good time!”

  The sound of lingering voices filled the air. School’s still in session? The sun had barely set. Fall colors filled the sky as it started to dip lower in the sky. Ophelia’s voice carried over the hum of the students. “Here! I’m here.”

  Ophelia rushed to my side. Her heart-shaped face filled my vision and her straight black hair fell over her shoulder. She held a vial of turquoise liquid over my lips. “Drink this. It’ll help with the withdrawal.”

  I tried to shake my head and push her hand away. But my neck didn’t move and my hand was firmly in Zinnia’s. I could barely speak, “Her first.”

  Ophelia bent down to whisper in my ear, “You are in far worse shape and if anything happens to you, I do not want to be the one to tell my sister.”