by L. E. Bross
I stood next to Torin on the steps that led to the castle. Kalian stepped up, flanking my other side. One by one, the Guards joined us until we formed a line. Unsure what to do, the dark fey stood watching. Trolls, elves and faeries alike all panting from exhaustion.
“What do we do, Princess?” Kalian asked.
I looked around at the carnage, the wasted life that had ended here tonight. I looked at the faces of my people, the familiar ones I knew from my childhood, the ones who had protected my family for as long as I could remember.
Because I did remember. When the magic of Alcaria flooded my body, with it came the memories and I knew everything. I remembered who I was, who I needed to be and it was that spark that led me to fight for my home.
I wanted it. I wanted all of it back and I wanted my people to be safe.
And I wanted to live.
Here.
With all of them.
I wanted to be the person Kalian needed me to be. I wanted to be the girl Torin remembered. The one in the memories my mother gave me. This was my chance to become somebody worthwhile. Someone who mattered. I had the power to restore this kingdom, to bring Alacria back into the light.
Me. Meri Hope. Not the daughter of a prostitute, but the daughter of a queen.
I did this for her.
For my mother. For my father who was lost. For all of us.
Power surged through my veins, and my wings stretched out behind me. A sense of calm washed through me as I stood there. I had the ability to save my people and by God I would now.
“We will fight,” I said.
With a huge grin,Kalian lifted his blade and yelled out the battle cry. The Guards behind me joined in until the ground rumbled with the noise of it. Trolls started to fall in numbers, dark faeries impaled in mid-air. I realized the Guards were moving faster than before now, cutting down any enemy in the way.
A flash of gold caught my eye and when I looked closer, saw a small girl around six standing in the middle of the garden. Her lower lip trembled, but though her eyes were wide, it wasn't with fear. Her fingers clutched a tiny silver blade in her hands.
Something in my chest tightened then released with a burst. That could have been me. I could have stood up and fought for what was mine instead of running away. That tiny girl stood with resolve, despite the overwhelming odds around her. She looked up just then and met my stare. It wasn't just the blue that I saw, but her entire future laid out before me. That was why I chose to stay and fight now. I had a future already, not out in the human world, but here, with people who wanted me.
A dark shadow loomed over the child from out of nowhere. A huge hand wrapped around her body and lifted her high into the air. Still she didn't scream. When he opened his mouth, baring sharp pointed teeth, I knew what he was going to do. I raced across the garden, knowing I would be too late, even with my speed.
Tears blurred my vision making it harder to maneuver around the fighting bodies. I screamed, but the sound was lost in the roar of battle. Then just as the troll had moved to lower her into his mouth, her hand shot out, and she drove the blade straight into its eye.
Its howl of pain filled the air, and suddenly the girl fell. My arms wrapped around her, and I kept going toward the edge of the garden. I only stopped when I knew she would be safe. When I set her down, my hands shook, but she stood smiling up at me like nothing bad had happened.
The tears spilled over my cheeks and I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. The sounds of battle had started to fade, the ring of steel coming further and further apart.
“Go now, into the trees. That was very brave, but now you must go and let your family know you are okay.”
She nodded and flitted off, disappearing behind the druids. I turned with a smile and barely had time to realize that a troll stood there, the same one with the knife sticking out of its eye socket. A huge sword lifted in his hand. I could do nothing but stare as the blade swept towards me as if in slow motion. A figure whirled in front of his face and he staggered back several steps holding a thin red gash in his neck. His blade flew past my face with only inches to spare. The tiny shape flitted in and out, nicking the troll and making him roar with anger.
I wished I'd taken my knife after I stabbed Nephaste, but it was too late for that. The huge sword arched towards me again, but I grabbed the thick wrist and fought to keep it still. Warmth rushed through me, giving me more strength even as the troll weakened. I heard my name, gasped behind me, but I was too caught up in the power filling me to listen. It felt good. Gods, I couldn’t get enough of the energy, the life, that filled me.
“Meri, stop!” Someone shoved me hard and I felt myself flying towards the ground.
The troll crumbled, and Torin slashed across its neck, though it had barely moved after it fell.
He moved toward me, his eyes wide. “Mer?”
It was then I realized what I’d done. Just like with the earth, I’d taken life from a living thing. Something only a powerful, dark fey could do.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered.
His fingers tangled in my hair, and he pulled me against his thumping heartbeat. “It's okay, Mer. It’s over.”
I turned in his arms so I could see that the battle was in fact over. We had won.
Through the smoky air, I searched for Nephaste, hoping to see him among the dead that littered the ground. Had he turned coward and run while his army fought to the death for him? Kalian stood, a golden god among the carnage and wiped his blade on the shirt of a troll. He mock-bowed at Torin and then grinned at me.
“And that’s how I protect you,” he said with an exaggerated bow. “I knew you could do it, Princess.”
I ran to him, so glad he was alive, and threw my arms around him. He quickly stepped back, his face turning beet red, and glanced around at the other Guards who watched in surprise. And amusement.
“I think you mean Queen,” I teased.
He paused and I saw his eyes go wide. He touched his heart and lowered his chin.
“My Queen.”
“I’m still me, Kalian.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but I stopped him. “For now, let’s enjoy the moment. We won. Things worked out.”
He grinned.
Happy shouts rang out as my people emerged from the trees. Cries of joy filled the gardens as families were reunited with each other. Soon the wails of grief joined in as loved ones found those that had fallen. My own eyes filled as I searched for my mother.
In the midst of celebration, I felt Kalian stiffen at my side. When I looked at him, his gaze was focused over my shoulder and filled with grief. I turned quickly, and the ground tilted. Torin carried my mother's body in his arms. A blade stuck out from her chest, the intricate carved handle of an elf's knife. I knew the blade. It was Torin’s knife, the one he’d given me before the fight started. The one I’d left in Nephaste’s hand.
“Traitor,” someone shouted.
The Guard surged towards them, and Torin stopped. His gaze met mine, and I saw the unmistakable sorrow that filled them. I was at his side in a blink. Tears splashed down over my cheeks and soaked into her dress. I carefully touched her face, but the warmth had already left it. Without thought, I stroked across her forehead, pushing the stray curls out of her face.
The Guards surrounded us and made a move towards Torin.
“Halt.” There was a command in Kalian's voice I'd never heard before.
“But he killed the Queen.” Voices of agreement joined the accuser until the air felt charged with electricity.
“He’s a Dark Royal,” someone else argued.
“He fought at your side,” growled Kalian.
“The Dark fights only for the Dark,” a female voice shouted. “Kill the elf!”
The crowd swarmed closer, and Kalian stepped close to my side.
“There will be no more killing today,” I shouted. Everyone went instantly silent. “If not for Torin, you may all well be dead. I will not allow anyone u
nder my Court to harm him, is that understood?” I looked at each and every face in the throng to make sure they understood. “That is not a request, it is an order.”
I waved my hand and the crowd parted.
“Bring her inside.” I motioned for Torin to go before me.
I walked behind him with Kalian at my back, just in case anyone decided to test my authority. The enormous castle was bursting with color now and would have been beautiful to see had my vision not been tinted with despair.
Torin carried my mother's body gently in his arms. He laid the Queen out on a brightly colored settee in a quiet receiving room and stood to the side.
“Evelina can heal her, like she did me? Right?” My voice rose with each word. “Someone go find Evelina. We have to save my mother, we need to do something before it's too late.”
No one moved. Grief tore at my insides until I thought they would burst out of me. She couldn't be dead, I'd just found her. She was finally free from Nephaste's prison.
Torin took my into his arms. “I'm so sorry, Mer. It was an elf blade. It destroyed her soul. There is no life inside her to bring back. There is nothing anyone can do.”
I drove my face into his neck and sobbed.
“Your people will want revenge…” Kalian started to say.
I stopped him with a wave of my hand.
“There will be no more bloodshed today.” The tears had not stopped, but I had to make sure that, before any decision was made, my mother was honored. “We will figure out what to do after we have mourned our dead and buried my mother. Do you understand? No more fighting.” The last words I whispered because my throat had gone tight.
Torin wrapped an arm around my waist. I leaned on him, letting his strength fill me. I wasn't alone. He promised he would be there for me and he was. Without him by my side I wasn’t sue i’d be able to get through what needed to happen next.
“They will listen to you, Guard.” Torin pressed his lips against my temple, a move so familiar that it gave me strength. “It's suicide to go after Nephaste now, with everyone weakened by the fighting. He will not get away with what he's done.”
Kalian glared at Torin. It was obvious he hated trusting a Dark Royal, but he had no choice. I trusted Torin, and Kalian said it himself, Torin fought at our side against the Dark.
“Please go help the people find their loved ones who fell and make sure they are given a proper burial. I would like a few moments alone with my mother.”
Kalian bowed, hesitated, then left the room, quietly closing the door behind him. As soon as the door clicked, Torin led me to my mothers side. He didn't say a thing, didn't have to. I had seen it all in his eyes when he carried her to me. He knew my loss, my pain, like no one else could.
I laced my fingers with the cooling ones of my mother and leaned my forehead against them. Tears rolled down my cheeks. The intense, overwhelming surge of love threatened to choke the very breath from my body.
I had not forgotten the feeling of looking into my mother's eyes. To know how very much I was cherished after all. To know that every single choice she made was to keep me safe. I had my memories now and I knew how much she loved me. How much I loved her.
It humbled me after the years of indifference. How had I ever buried this feeling so deeply? It was what I had yearned for as long as I could remember.
“I love you…Mom,” I said through hiccupy sobs.
The words I'd never said to anyone before came easily now. Torin laid his hand on my shoulder as a gesture of comfort, one I gladly accepted.
I mourned for all the time we lost together. All the years I had kept myself hidden by forgetting. For not keeping her safe when everything today had been for her. I even grieved for the woman who had been my mother for the past ten years.
Suddenly I felt so much older than eighteen. All of this was mine now. The castle. The title. The people who didn't trust me. What was I going to do with everything? How would I protect this kingdom when I could barely take care of myself?
A soft knock sounded, and three women entered the room. None would even look towards Torin as they set about cleaning up my mother's body. I could feel their censure thick in the air. At least this was familiar territory. I was used to being looked down on because of who I was. I left the room with my head held high and with Torin, walked up the stairs that led to the Royal Chamber. I moved to the the balcony that overlooked the garden.
Overhead the moon shined bright, unhindered by any clouds, and it lit up the gardens below. I said nothing, only stood and waited, let them have their moment. One by one, they stopped what they were doing and looked up. The whispers started and then stares of open hostility.
Torin was my strength, and I didn’t care if anyone else liked it or not. Kalian stood off to the side, his face neutral of all emotion. I knew I disappointed him, but I had to do what was right for me. It was the only way this would work. I was going to need Torin but I was also going to need Kalian and all of the people of Alcaria.
The fight wasn’t over.
I had made an enemy that would come for me. For us.
I didn’t know how to be a leader, much less a queen, but it was my responsibility now. It was a fate I accepted as soon as I decided to fight for my home.
I stood tall under their scrutiny and waited. I couldn't make them follow me. I wouldn’t do that to them. Hell, I wouldn't blame them if they chose a new ruler. I didn’t know what I was doing, and had a darkness inside that I didn’t understand.
Kalian and Torin had seen it.
I didn’t know what it meant.
Movement caught my eye as Kalian stepped forward, standing right below the balcony. He sank to one knee and lowered his head. One by one, the Guards followed suit. Soon others followed, though most reluctantly, until my kingdom knelt before me.
Torin squeezed my hand.
Kalain lifted his head and stared into my eyes.
“Long live the Queen of Alcaria.”
The End
Acknowledgments
I wrote this book about ten years ago, and as it happens sometimes, it never found a home. Over the years I’ve gone back to it, always feeling like there was something there, but I’ve never had the courage to as Nike says, “Just Do It.” So this is me doing, and I have to say that it’s exciting and terrifying and everything in between. But the best part is that I finally get to share these characters that have not left my heart in over ten years. That means everything to me.
I couldn’t have taken this step without some amazing behind the scenes cheering. I have the best writer friends who never fail to deliver a motivational speech or a swift kick to the butt when needed. Brigid Kemmerer I really don’t know what I’d do without our daily texts. You make me laugh and cry and are the most amazing cheerleader out there. I’m not sure I would have dared to do this without your enthusiasm cheering me on. Dawn Dalton, I KNOW I never would have done this without our daily texts. You spurred me on to do something outside my comfort zone and I will be forever grateful for that! You both are the BEST! <3
I found a fabulous editor the first time out and really appreciate what a great job Pauline Creeden did for me, as well as tackling the formatting to make this book look beautiful.
Readers, I love you. I’ve been writing and publishing for ten years and it never fails to humble me that people are out there reading my words. Without you, we writer’s would literally be talking to walls. (Or more accurately writing on them!) So thank you for your time and for trusting us to take you on a journey that you’ll remember for a long time.
About the Author
More books by L.E. Bross visit www.leebross.com
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