by Mindy Hayes
It was like a train wreck. I didn’t want to watch, too afraid of the outcome, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from them. My heart gave a jolt at every possible blow Favner tried to make, strangling my every breath. While absorbed in the struggle, I was suddenly aware that Favner wasn’t using his supremacy. Why hadn’t he been able to control Declan or Kai?
A cry tore through the air and Kai flinched back. Almost instantly blood seeped from his shoulder and Favner looked arrogantly victorious. I sucked in a breath of air. Then I heard the knife sink into Favner’s flesh and he dropped to his knees, grasping his stomach. Kai tore the dagger from Favner’s stomach and held it up to his throat.
Favner shifted his seething eyes to me and sneered. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, little girl. If you were smart—” he choked and his voice grew weaker, “you’d back down now. Run back to daddy and let the grownups take care of the important affairs of our kingdom. This is bigger than you realize.”
“Shut up!” Kai shouted and shook Favner.
Favner snickered and turned back to Kai whose eyes were closed. “Why won’t you look at me, Kai? Look me in the eye,” Favner demanded. My heart tensed, clinching my breath. What if that was his only way to control him now?
“No, Kai! Look at me!” I hollered impulsively. “Look at me!”
Kai’s control waivered but he finally peered over at me, keeping Favner firm in his clutch. Our eyes locked. In that moment something passed in the space between us. A string linked our lives, intertwining every part of me that I never realized wanted to be touched by him. I wanted nothing more in that moment but for him to live. I could feel the Supremacy slowly dwindling, the connection gradually severing, but his eyes stayed fastened to mine. He was holding my heart and I don’t think he even realized it.
I couldn’t watch for fear of losing Kai’s gaze, but out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash here and there of Declan battling with Liam and Owen. I couldn’t use my Supremacy on them as much as I wanted to, as much as it pained me not to. A booming yell tore through the air, but I couldn’t tear my eyes from Kai. Please don’t let that be Declan.
“If I’m going to die I want you to look me in the eye as you do it. No cowering from me,” Favner goaded. I watched Kai’s arm shake. “Your father couldn’t kill me either. You would make him proud.” The tone in Favner’s voice almost sounded caring, like he could have a heart, but it was weakening. “You turned out to be a coward just like him. It’s too bad I killed him so he couldn’t see how much like him you are.”
With every confession Kai’s eyes drowned, being pulled further and further in the water, farther and farther away from me.
“I looked him dead in the eye as I did it too.” He snickered breathlessly, no trace of remorse in his voice.
Kai’s composure was cracking. At that confession I knew it was all over.
“Kai,” I breathed as his eyes sunk to the bottom.
He unlocked our gaze, but not before a tear fell down his cheek. His grip on Favner must have weakened because suddenly Favner was on his feet a few feet away, ready to fight back.
“I only made him suffer for a few minutes until he bled out onto the forest floor,” Favner taunted. “His heart kept fighting—even with the dagger still in it—as he repeated your mother’s name over and over, begging for the mercy of your family.”
“Ahhhhhh!” Kai eyes grew wild as he flew at Favner with his dagger raised.
Favner dove to the side toward his dagger lying in the leaves, flipping and landing on his feet. The unadulterated determination in Kai’s eyes scared me. He was not deterred by Favner’s renewed energy. With Favner’s heartless words, I now only feared that Kai’s judgments might be skewed by his hatred. He tore through the space between them at lightning speed, slashing viciously.
Although Favner had gained some strength back, he was obviously still injured, unable to swiftly escape Kai’s attack. Favner wasn’t as agile or as precise in his combat as they circled around one another. He sliced only air as Kai dodged all his attempts to strike. Favner cried out, clutching his bleeding stomach with his last attempt to wound and Kai saw his opening.
I heard the slice and a faint thud as the body dropped to the soil. A shiver coursed up my spine and I turned my face away.
Another gruff yelp echoed through the trees, but I couldn’t look. I was frozen.
It was done.
I let out a suffocating lungful of air and looked up at Kai, kneeling on the ground over a motionless body. The woods spun around me, shades of green and brown blurring into one. But Kai’s hunched figure remained front and center.
Kai gradually got to his feet, trembling as he did so, looking down at Favner’s lifeless shape. He cocked his head back and cried out, forming the most unbearable sound. It echoed far and wide. Tree leaves rattled. Branches creaked. The wind howled with him. My heart couldn’t handle it.
He unhurriedly peered over at me and let out a heavy sigh, slowly blinking his eyes. “My queen,” he breathed, attempting to pack the title with his typical arrogance, but not nearly hitting the mark. His head lowered. At first I thought it was in shame, but his stance was off as his torso bent forward.
Was he bowing to me?
After a moment he lifted his head to me. Tears welled up in my eyes when he gazed back at me. Anguish coated his beautiful indigo eyes. But before I could go to him he bolted into the night, nothing but a Kai shaped hole in my heart as evidence of his existence.
“Kai!” I called out to him hopelessly. I made a move to follow, but pulled myself back to the present and raked my eyes around the grove.
Blood seeped from the corner of Declan’s mouth. His chest rose and fell as he breathed heavily, having miraculously overpowered Liam and Owen. Their bulky figures sprawled out on the ground, red splatter painting the moss and leaves like a horrific mosaic.
I reached Declan and set my hand on his arm, but kept silent. My unspoken touch quieted him and he turned to me. He gently wiped the blood from the side of my face before I found myself instantly immersed in his arms, enclosing me in his warmth, his head resting on top of mine.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
I nodded into his chest, unable to find the words to speak.
We stood there under the protection of the trees that were no longer daunted by Favner, holding one another, searching for relief. Where was the relief?
Declan pulled back and looked at me, tucking a wave of hair behind my ear and tenderly held my face. He opened his mouth to speak, but then his eyes rested just beyond my shoulder.
“Allura,” he gasped and stepped around me. Declan stumbled over the ground, visibly not getting to her as fast as he wanted and finally dropped to his knees at her side.
Declan gently rolled her over, carefully brushing her tangled dreads from her battered face. “Allura,” he pled for her to respond. “Please, Allura, open your eyes.” Though her face was bloodstained and her eyes were swollen shut, she looked like an angel. “Allura, please. Don’t die on me now.” His voice cracked.
Declan shattered right before my eyes. Strong, collected, stable Declan was crumbling and I didn’t know how to fix him. As he rocked a broken Allura in his arms he let out a crushing sob and whispered a repeated plea. “Please, please, please. . .”
I wanted to pull him away, to hold him and make the scene around us disappear. But all I did was stand there and pray to whatever God there might be to bring her back to him.
There was a reprieve when she groaned faintly. Her eyes trembled, struggling to open. Tears trailed from them, clearing through the grime on her cheeks.
“Allura,” he breathed in relief at the token sign of life. “Thank the fallen fae.” He held her to him, cradling her in his arms as she quietly whimpered. She weakly brought an arm around his neck, holding him closer to her in return. Their intimate grip on one another felt like a private moment so I silently stepped away. There was more between them than he had led
me to believe. I knew that now.
There was nowhere for me to go. Everywhere I looked I was reminded of what had just taken place, reenacting the fighting and slashing over and over again. I scoured the surrounding trees with my eyes, willing Kai to return. Maybe he would hear my silent plea and come back to me.
“Where’s Kai?” Allura’s voice rasped. I turned back to them. “Where’s my brother?”
“He’s okay,” Declan assured, running a hand down her cheeks and wiping away the tears, careful not to touch the gashes marring her face.
Was that what he called okay?
Alive? Yes. But okay?
Allura sluggishly scanned the dead bodies around us to confirm Declan was telling the truth. “Where is he?” she insisted.
Declan gave Allura the short version of the events that transpired, starting when she passed out. I didn’t hear any of it as I zoned out. I couldn’t bear to hear the details repeated now. I had been there and watched it all play out and yet it felt unreal. Had that all just happened? It felt like a lifetime while it took place, but now it felt like a vivid nightmare.
“I should go find him,” Declan murmured.
“I’ll go with you,” Allura said, trying to get to her feet and failing, wincing from the pain. Declan caught her and wrapped his arm around her to steady her, taking all of her weight on him.
The look on Kai’s face and the heart wrenching sound he made was burned into my brain. It played over and over in my mind, like a merciless broken record. Now was not the time to bother him. “Let him be,” I said quietly. He would need time. He deserved time.
Declan met my eyes and nodded respectfully.
A reverence blanketed the forest, quieting all the nature surrounding us. A look fell across Declan’s eyes as he gazed at me, realization setting in. He smiled kindly then humbly took a knee, helping Allura kneel beside him. Allura lifted her mouth, trying to make an effort to smile. What were they doing? Their eyes lightly closed as they bowed their heads.
To me.
Favner was gone. I was Queen of Faylinn.
It was all over.
And yet it was only the beginning.
Epilogue
One Week Later
Declan agreed it was best when I told him I needed to take a few days to recuperate and collect my thoughts after it became official. My inauguration to officially become queen was tomorrow. Or what did Declan call it? Faylinn didn’t call it an inauguration. It was a. . .a Dawning. As in the start of a new day. I was the start of a new era. My Dawning was scheduled for tomorrow morning.
I didn’t hear from Kai after that day. He never came back to our spot. I worried about him. Though I knew he could take care of himself, my heart ached for him. How did you pick up the pieces after something like that? Learning about the reason your father no longer lived by your side, then looking into the eyes of the man who did it and taking that same action against his executioner. How did you put yourself back together? What if he couldn’t?
Declan and I met on a daily basis as he filled me in on the happenings of Faylinn since Favner’s take down. There was rejoicing and festivities of celebration, but soon that would end and guidance was going to be required. He told me of the talk of the fae as my existence became public. There was excitement, but mainly skepticism, which I knew would come. I was preparing myself for the booing and gnashing of teeth. I accepted it. It didn’t make it any easier, but I accepted it.
“Declan, why couldn’t Favner control you or Kai? It was as if his supremacy wasn’t effective anymore.”
His aqua eyes looked at me kindly. “As soon as you decided to acknowledge Faylinn as yours, it became yours. You became the rightful controller of Supremacy. I think the only reason why Liam and Owen obeyed Favner was because they didn’t know and they had been loyal to him for so long it had become second nature. The rest of us became free the moment you accepted us.”
The weight of his words hit me with a heaviness I’d never experienced in my life. I had realized the decision I had made was not one to take lightly, but the full weight of my acceptance hadn’t truly set in until he spoke those words. As soon as I acknowledged Faylinn as mine, it became mine. Their loyalty was to me now. Their lives were in my hands.
• • •
Before sunset Declan was going to guide me to Faylinn. I suppose it was crucial for me to be prepped and ready for my Dawning in the morning. I was going to be sleeping in a completely new place tonight. A place I was going to eventually call my home.
After deciding I needed a few days before going to Faylinn I was then reminded of the way Cameron and I had parted ways and I wanted to escape to Faylinn as fast as my feet would carry me. It was spineless, though, so I didn’t do it. But it took a couple of days before I built up the nerve to show up on his doorstep.
“It’s really happening?” he asked.
“I leave Saturday evening,” I confirmed as we sat on his front porch swing.
We shared a moment of silence before he spoke. “Do you remember when I told you what the worst day of my life was?”
I nodded. How could I forget? Cameron’s mom walked out on him and his dad when he was ten. He didn’t tell most people why she left or that she even did, but when the day came that he felt confident enough in our friendship to tell me, that was the day I knew we’d be friends forever. Most kids didn’t recover after something like that, but Cam did.
“This is a close second,” he murmured, staring straight into the woodlands across from his house.
“Cameron,” I breathed, lowering my head.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that in the way it came out,” he said, laying his hand on my leg. “I just. . .I want you to stay and there’s nothing I can do to keep you here. Not being able to have control over the most important things in my life makes me feel. . .” he trailed off.
“Helpless,” I finished the sentence for him. “I know. Trust me. I know,” I murmured.
“I love you, Callie, you know that? I know it doesn’t change anything. I know it won’t make you stay, but it’s out there. I’ll always be here, waiting in the wings if you decide to come back. No pun intended.” We chuckled. “All of my cards are on the table and I have no regrets.” He peered over at me, his light hair draping just across his blue eyes. His hand, still comfortably resting on my leg, squeezed gently.
I leaned in and lightly kissed him, barely brushing our lips, a whisper of a kiss. “I love you too, Cam. I always will.”
• • •
My parents stood on the edge of the trees, delaying the goodbye more than I was.
“Are you sure it’s not possible for you to come with me?” I asked, hopeful. A part of me was still in denial. I wasn’t actually doing this by myself was I?
My dad shook his head. “They closed off Faylinn to me after I left. They saw my passing down of the kingdom as a betrayal. I won’t ever be welcome there again.” He peered over at my mom.
I nodded, though I felt, as queen, I had to have some power to be able to get him back. There had to be a way. I was on my own from here on out.
My eyes met Mom’s and tears fell down her cheeks. She pulled me to her; embracing me so tightly my breath was all but smothered. We held each other silently, taking in our last moments. When I attempted to pull away she held onto me even tighter. I wasn’t sure if she was going to let me go.
“Mom,” I softly scolded.
“I know,” she said. “I encouraged you. I told you it was the right decision, but I don’t want you to go anymore.”
“Now you tell me,” I chided, only half-joking.
She released me, holding me at arm’s length. “Why should they get to take you from me?”
“Melody,” Dad murmured, resting a hand on her shoulder.
“No,” she resisted, tearing her arm from his touch. “She’s my daughter. My only daughter.” I heard the tears rasp her voice.
“Mom,” I breathed. Why was she making it so much harder on me? She h
ad the power to make me change my mind.
“This wasn’t how it was supposed to be,” she muttered, putting her hands tenderly on my face. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t bring myself to reply. There wasn’t anything she could say to make this easier. She swallowed, struggling to gain her composure. “Okay,” she exhaled. “I know. I know. You have to go. You should go. I’ll stop blubbering.”
Mom didn’t blubber. She was the no nonsense parent. She clenched her teeth fighting more tears.
“Faylinn will be honored to have their rightful heir back,” Dad said, bringing us back to the reason for our blubbering. “I’m so proud of you for making this decision. No father could be prouder.”
I chuckled without humor, peering over at him. “They won’t feel honored. They’ll feel cheated. I have no idea what I’m getting myself into.” The words Favner had spat rang in my ears. She knows nothing of our kingdom. She knows nothing of our fae. I felt so inadequate. I was just some ignorant seventeen-year-old half-breed with only the royal blood to tie me to the kingdom. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, little girl. This is bigger than you realize.
“It’ll come to you,” Dad confirmed.
I gulped back my rising insecurities. “They told me that humans tend to forget fae. . .for our protection. Does that mean you guys will lose your memory of me?”
My dad shook his head. “Your mother and I won’t. You are our flesh and blood. I can’t say the same for Lia and Cameron. There really is no telling, but I assure you. . .we will always know who you are.”
Gosh, I hoped so.
Before he said a word I felt him. I turned back to the woodlands to see Declan, hovering behind the first row of trees. He smiled warmly and nodded. That was my cue and now I wasn’t ready. I hesitated when I turned back to my parents. It wasn’t as if I wanted to drag this out, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave, feeling the finality of it all.
