Talon gives me a smile and makes a turn, likely in the direction the unicorns are in.
"Fair enough. Let's go."
He carries me through the magical land now my home, Avren gets shinier and a little bigger the longer he is outside. He should have left me alone to heal out here. Silly dragon. I smile and doze off. Talon is warm and I am so tired.
When I wake again, I feel tingly and warm. I look around and Avren is the same size as me. He snores terribly loud and I wonder how I slept at all. Many unicorns stand around us in a circle and magic pure and green flows around us. Talon is right I do crave grass. So much that I don’t even notice when I grab a piece and start nibbling on it.
Grass aside I do feel better. So much better. My body aches but the piercing needles are gone. I am warm but it is more wrapped in a thick comfy blanket warm not burning with fever warm.
I am tired but I don’t feel like my body is weighed down with lead. I look around, lift a hand lightly to wave, and let myself drift into a deep healing sleep. Much better than passing out.
When I wake the healers are with the unicorns communicating quite well-considering one doesn't talk normally. I am used to it, being with Avren and all, but others often flinch when he enters their mind the first time to speak. The healers are taking this well if the one-sided conversation is any indication. Though the worried faces don’t bode well for me.
"What's going on?"
I push myself up while a unicorn stands over me trying to nudge me back down and a healer runs over grasping my shoulders so I can’t move anymore.
"Your majesty you shouldn’t be moving yet."
The fact that I can move and not puke is a blessed miracle.
"Tell me what those two are talking about."
SnowDrift and the other human healer are in deep discussion by the looks of it.
"They are discussing letting Aiden on the property. He wishes to speak to you about something and they think it’s a bad idea but he insists it's urgent."
I push the healer back as forcefully as I can and stand. She helps me stand and stay standing until Avren comes over and has me sit atop him. He is like a stout pony…but with wings.
Magic keeps me from falling off as he walks slowly and very carefully over to where the arguing medical professionals are.
"Let me speak to Aiden."
They sigh but back down. The unicorn runs off and returns with Aiden. He stops when he sees me on a pony-sized Avren looking for all the world like a reanimated corpse. He looks ready to bolt. I am guessing he is regretting demanding to see me. It has to be very bad news if he hasn't apologized and taken off after seeing me.
"Aiden."
"I wish I didn’t have to do this…. the timing…but it's caused an uproar…possible dissension…"
He is mumbling and I can only pick up half of it.
"Aiden what is it? Tell me straight I cannot stand this."
"You have been challenged for the throne."
"Well throw them in jail. I am the previous king's daughter. Who else could have any sort of claim…?"
I don’t finish the question because I know. My aunt. She hadn't been to the fallen castle. She escaped. And she is here to challenge me. Of course. This couldn’t have come at a worse time. What if I collapse? What if she wins the throne from me? What if using my magic kills me right now. In this condition, it is a real possibility.
"Avren take me to the throne room. I have a duel to see too. Aiden tell my aunt I am on my way. Healers you are standby. I know not how long this will take or my condition after…Talon and Cullen you are assigned to protect Aiden from here on out. The unicorns and healers can see to me and he is going to need strong allies to keep the throne when I collapse. It will cause much turmoil."
Avren trudges along slowly as a unicorn gives Aiden a ride. I hear SnowDrift sending some of her warriors to protect Aiden as well. FireHeart will likely do the same. Cullen can rally the council with her help and Talon can protect Aiden. Everything will be fine.
Except I am exhausted. I feel better yes but I know I am in no shape to fight. I can’t say no though, it is the way of the world. You say no and soon the people start wondering if you really can do all you promise. Avoidance is like admittance and I want my reign as transparent as possible. I want the people's trust and loyalty.
"I will go as slowly as I can my queen."
"Thanks, Avren. Wake me when we near others."
I lay down as he spread his wings and readjusts them holding me in place like a bedrail used for children. I am grateful. I drift off hoping we might never truly arrive.
Chapter twenty
"My Queen we will be visible to others in less than a minute."
I appreciate his letting me sleep but I doubt I can sit and look well right now. I don’t even have the magic to waste on the spell that makes me look like I am handling things and look unfazed by it all. I look like the living dead. I cast a spell to increase my ability to use spells. It sounds insane because it is. It will burn up my body in exchange. I will look like a skeleton before this is done. I have never had extra fat on me. I am thin with a layer of muscle. I don’t have the extra calories to burn but I have no other choice if I want to win…if I want any chance to win.
"I will hurry my Queen."
I nod my agreement. I have little time now. I can feel it leeching my body away…when it can’t do that anymore it will take life-force. I am immortal…mostly. This spell could destroy that and kill me. Immortality only means immunity to diseases and old age. You can still be killed by other things…like dark magic taught to you by your dragon familiar.
"Thank you Avren."
He takes to the air and gets me there as fast as possible. He doesn’t change his size; he too needs to conserve energy as well. I know he will try to feed it to me via our connection but it is not allowed so I won’t accept it. I have to be honorable if I am to deserve this throne forever. I won’t become my father or aunt. I will be the girl my mother raised, always and forever, in her honor.
We land and once again Avren lets me lean on him, we are not so obvious but it allows me to take some of the pressure off so the spell won’t eat me up so fast.
"Aunt I have had my people looking for you in the human kingdom. I searched the entire castle filled with worry. I cursed myself for not knowing the secret passages. I could only pray you made it out alive since I didn’t find your body."
I hope she will be willing to back down and live here under my rule but I know it is a lost cause. My aunt is an alpha through and through. It is why my father sent her away to rule another kingdom. Not only did he get a treaty, but he also got rid of his only competition. It lessened the likelihood of getting a knife in the back.
"You can worry all you want but as you can see, I am very much alive. In fact, I think you should hand over the throne. You look terrible."
I haven't bothered looking pretty. Waste of magic, one she is using. No one looks that great after making the trip across the country on foot. I could dispel her spell but I don’t bother. Let her hold onto her status as always perfectly put together. It is all she will have when I kill her.
"I have to refuse. Father is dead, I am his daughter, and this is the natural course of things. You are welcome to stay though. You are my aunt; you will be treated with respect."
She laughs and cuts herself with a dagger then tosses it into the air. It lands on the floor in front of me. Well, that hole will need fixing. Damn challenge daggers are so enchanted they will pierce whatever the other person is standing on. They should enchant it to fix the floor after you pick it up.
I sigh wishing this wasn’t so. She is officially challenging me. I could have walked away if it didn't come to this. I can’t get out of this. I bend and pick it up slicing my own hand and throwing it back. It lands between the two of us and a barrier erupts. Neither of us will be able to leave until the other is dead. If she had just thrown it I could have knocked her out and been done with it. Bl
ood means a challenge to the death.
"I already lost my mother, my father and now I will lose you. Why must it come to this?"
She shrugs and smiles. Avren walks out of the containment knowing I won’t allow his help. Being my familiar he can come and go but no one else will be allowed in or out. My aunt is waiting for me to make the first move. She looks so elegant and demure. I want to remember her because it is the last I will ever see of her. The last of my blood kin.
"Darling niece you know the ways of the elves. We crave power, we all do. We are no different from humans in that manner. The difference is Elves are powerful enough to take it. So, we do. You should know the same blood runs through your veins."
"I don’t want to be that way."
"Yet you will rule all the kingdoms. Do you think I didn’t see your people going to help the humans? Paving the way for you to take over."
I can’t dispute that but even if another ruler is to take up ruling the humans, I will still send aide. The people don’t deserve to go hungry or suffer for their ruler's mistakes.
"They need help and I can provide it. No one stepped up to take the throne so I am. Nothing more or less."
"I stepped up! You should have supported me! I am your aunt!"
It is my turn to sigh. "And yet here you refuse me when I offer you a comfortable position by my side. Instead, you choose to kill me."
"My queen you cannot drag this out with talk anymore. The spell…"
Only I can hear Avren but he is right.
Laughter fills the air.
"Child you are so young and idealistic. Playtime is over. It is time for the grownups to work."
I barely have time to put up a shield before her spell hits. Fire. So destructive. Even with the shield, I can feel the heat. My body starts buckling from the force. Holding back her magic is so much harder than I could have imagined.
"You don't seem to be as all-powerful as I was led to believe! Prophecy is so very overestimated these days!"
That bitch! I have never thought that about any female, no matter the species, but her rubbing my lack of strength when I am a prophecy child (which I don’t want to be) is just over the line. I get down on one knee and hold the shield with one hand as fire continuously streams from her to me.
It gives me more stability and if people believe she is winning all the better. If they believe it she will as well. My other hand touches the marble and I begin to whisper a spell. A shield I can hold but summoning an earth spirit is not quite as easy.
Much to my dismay, the spirits don’t answer. Well, that’s what I get for messing with dwarves. Still, the spell drains me. What a waste. Well if I can’t go down, I will go up.
I force myself to stand and reach my free hand to the air. She will see this and know it is coming making it less likely to work but I have to try something. So, I summon a storm and direct it to her. Gale force winds whip around her throwing her off a bit. She drops her flame to keep herself from being swept off the ground. I drop my shield hoping if I have to, I can raise it up again in time to not be toasted.
She shrieks and thrust both her hands to the side breaking the storm. I am trying not to sway as I look her over. Her glamour is broken. She is covered in blood, dirt, and her hair looks like an old bird's nest. I can’t help it, I try not to and fail. I laugh. Her eyes burn like fire and if she could perform a full-on curse, I would be covered in layers of them right now.
"I am sorry aunt. I shouldn’t have laughed. I just remembered my steward how I look so put together when I deal with the court. It's nothing compared to being out and about in the world. Travel is hard when you don’t do it as royalty isn't it?"
She looks less than amused in her torn dress. No shoes, no combs, no bathing. It doesn’t agree with her. She has too much pride to stand before others like this. I hate that I am taking that from her before killing her but, well, she had to know dueling would lead to this.
"Enough talk human scum!"
And she wonders why the humans hadn't bowed down to her. She throws magical daggers at me and I know I am not fast enough to dodge them all so I do the next best thing. I use my momentum to make sure none land in anything vital. All hit the target, me, but nothing vital is poked.
"You are slower than I remember niece."
I try and fail to shrug. I care very little what she thinks of me. If I hadn't just given the unicorns their home, I would have beaten her before anyone could blink.
Blood pools down my extremities hitting the very pretty and expensive white marble floor. I sway landing on my knees. It looks so bad for me. The magic daggers don’t fall out. She is leaving them in to drain me of consciousness. Killing someone passed out from blood loss will be so easy.
It is a wonderful strategy and leaves me with only one option. I have to use the one spell I hoped to never use, especially not in front of another. During my time of searching for a way to give my father his magic back I found a spell similar to the ones placed on the cuffs. Except instead of slipping the cuff on him and draining him I only need a piece of their magic.
Aunt has provided it for me in the form of these glowing magical pieces of her might. So, I pull them inside me, deeper and deeper as I scream. I hear people outside screeching and see them turn away. They think she is doing this. Her confused face and hesitant movements prove otherwise but no one is watching her.
I smile as tears make their way down my face. I force myself to stop screaming and mutter the spell quickly and quietly. I tether her to her magic inside of me and start draining. It is a wonderful mage spell. I am not a mage but I am powerful enough to overcome that little fact.
Suddenly it is my aunt screaming and people step back wondering why she is clutching her head cussing and agonizing. My pain becomes hers as I stand feeling more powerful, letting the body draining spell drop as my new source of power is her. I feel the rush of Elvin magic enter and breathe a bit easier. She drops to the floor rolling and screeching.
"I offered you a way out. Remember that when you pass on."
I walk to her my voice booming so all can hear. I am physically weak but the magic coursing through me carries me forward and holds me upright.
"No! Please, Elainne you can't kill your own aunt!"
Those surrounding us lean forward to hear us better. She can’t magically enhance her voice because all her magic is in me right now.
"I gave you every opportunity! To stay by my side as family! You could have joined my council! You could have advised me…helped me learn to shoulder this burden! Instead, you chose power! It has corrupted you as much, or more, as the others! My rule will not be like that! I will end the tyranny here and now with your death!"
I pull her power externally making an enormous spear above my head. She is crab-walking back until she hits the barrier wall
"Please Elainne. I don't want to die."
She is whispering and I no longer hold the spell allowing everyone to hear me. I lean in shaking slightly from the weakness spreading inside of me right now.
"Neither did I aunt. But you didn’t care about that."
I stand straight and harden my resolve. I lift an arm almost touching the spear above me. I feel the power and try not to shudder. One swipe down and the spear goes into my aunt's chest creating a hole where her organs had been.
To ensure she can’t heal, who knows what kind of survival spells or jewelry she has, the power spreads out through every part of her still intact. The body twitches and smoke rises up. Her pale skin turns orange, her hair black, and then it is over. No more power, no more twitching, no more life.
There is no cheering and I am glad. Anyone that cheers for death and loss is not someone I want near me. It is silent people watching as the barrier drops and stepping back from fear. That is why I never wanted to use this spell but I’d been left with that or die.
Aiden breaks the silence coming forward and grabbing me before I can fall over. I barely hold on to my consciousness and I know I can’t
summon the magic to keep up appearances. I have nothing left.
"The clear winner is Queen Elainne. Everyone back to work or home. Clear the way the Queen needs rest."
I am glad to have Aiden. Talon and Cullen help magically discourage people from lingering and Avren huffs out smoke making everyone worried they might end up next on the list to be fried. No one lingers after that and I am okay to fall.
Aiden can’t stop me from dropping, no one could have held up my dead weight at the moment. My body is heavier than the dead. Avren can and does catch me on his back. Aiden moves me so my extremities are in place and I can hear him whispering to Avren to take good care of me and call him if I need anything.
Avren reminds Cullen and Talon to help Aiden continue the situation and then flies off. I feel better in the sky, numb even. I don’t know if that is my body dying or if my brain is turning off so I don’t have to face the fact that I just killed my own aunt. Either way, it can’t be good. Yet I can’t fight it. It is up to the healers now. My life is in their hands.
Chapter twenty-one
When I wake next my ear is buzzing, at first, it confuses me then I realize poor Aldamon likely has no idea what is going on and what he should do. Luckily the spell required to contact him lays in the blood put into its creation so it won’t drain me any to answer. Not opening my eyes, I open the mental pathway. I can’t shield but it matters not. Avren will be gone soon so he doesn’t really have time to judge.
"Aldamon. I am sorry we have not talked. How are you?"
"I am avoiding your healers and those bringing food to the people nearest the castle town. I wasn’t sure if they should know of my presence."
"You are not in the Elvin kingdom which is where you were banished from. When I rule all the only true banishment you could have would be death so I only banished you from here. So, are you well?"
"Yes. I have been spreading coin around so those that could travel away from the castle town had money to do so. I will need more soon. It has led to much goodwill towards you so it is a job well done."
Champion Complete Series Page 58
