“Nay. Not the first time. We’ve crossed paths on numerous other occasions.”
Roland came into view. He looked battle worn. She moved toward him, pulling Malachi behind her.
“Why don’t I just go and get Ardal…he seems to know how to deal with Roland far better than I. I guess it’s because they are old friends.”
He raised his eyebrow to her. “I beg your pardon?”
“Ask Ardal. He says that he knew Roland when he was young. They must have been very close. Although when Roland strayed from what Ardal believed was the right path, Ardal broke their bonds of friendship.”
“Hmm…that’s something I was never aware of.” His eyes glinted with bad humour.
“Don’t attack Ardal for it. He swore to me that he was always loyal to your family. He, however, is having his doubts about the queen.”
“As am I. I don’t know if she’s acting in the best interests of her subjects anymore. She certainly never acted in your best interests.”
She sighed. “I know. I have to stop dwelling on that. She didn’t want a relationship with me, so why should I mourn something that isn’t possible?”
“You did have a mother that loved you until she died.”
“I know. I shall always remember that.”
Roland jumped off his horse. He ran toward her, before she could say anything, he’d engulfed her in an almost suffocating embrace. He smelled of smoke. She shivered.
“Am I crushing you?” Roland asked. Malachi stood close to her. He looked as if he wanted to pull her away from Roland but he was holding himself back.
“No. I’m just finding it hard to breathe. You smell badly of smoke.”
“I know.” He released her and stepped backward. “I’m sorry.”
“No need. Do you have people pursuing you?”
“No. I made short work of everyone that rebelled.”
Her heart lightened with relief. “Thank the Fates.”
“Indeed.” Roland grinned at her, his eyes locking on the amulet she wore.
“I expect you’ve found out what that amulet can do when it’s acting to protect the wearer?”
“Aye.” He looked at Malachi.
“Thank you for coming to help my daughter. I was riding as fast as I could…I couldn’t transport here by way of magic due to some nice little calling cards the warlocks left in their wake.”
“Well, you’re here now. What do we do about your army that is riding ahead? Are they still loyal to you?”
“I’m fairly certain that they are loyal to me. They are men like Lord Rutherford. They were with me before I teamed up with Blackburn, and they will be with whomever succeeds me. Which would be you, if you want to accept your blood right.”
“I don’t seek power,” she insisted, sighing heavily.
“Nonetheless, you were born into it. You have no choice. You are my heir, and if your mother doesn’t wish to acknowledge you as her heir that will make no difference when I wrestle power from her.”
Malachi’s eyes flashed with fire. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to allow you to do that.”
“My dear boy, you have no choice. You might be married to my daughter, but unless you want to tear this family apart, you will allow me to deal with Zara on my own terms.”
“No.”
“No? Well, you might want to talk to Connor about that. According to him, the executions of more than one hundred of her subjects shall be taking place once she reaches your castle. Are you willing to allow her to do that? Even that is extreme to my standards. Connor tells me the only thing they committed as a crime was to lose to me.”
She shook her head. The scenery was swaying in front of her. Her stomach swam. She stumbled, reaching for Malachi. Roland and Malachi both reached out for her.
“I feel so sick,” she gasped.
Ardal emerged from the trees, leading two horses behind him. He released the reigns, and ran toward her.
“She needs her potion. I left it behind in my haste to escape.”
Roland ran to his saddlebags. She allowed Malachi to hold her against him.
“Stay awake. Stay with me. Your father must have had the foresight to bring them with him. Just stay with me,” Malachi prayed.
“I feel like I’m floating away…” She licked her dry lips. He leaned down brushing his lips softly against hers. Annabelle could see what he wanted to do in his eyes. She couldn’t allow him to give so much of himself.
She gripped onto his cloak. “No. Allow me to be rejuvenated through the potion. Please.”
He looked uncertain. “I shall allow you to have your way. But if those potions start to not work, you will not be able to change my mind.”
“I know.” She smiled softly.
Roland came back to them. He held an emerald coloured vial in his hand. Popping the lid off, he held it against her lips. She shuddered as the cool liquid hit her tongue. Swallowing quickly, she drank back the potion, instantly feeling its affects.
Even though she felt better, she still felt weak. She clung to Malachi as he gave her his strength.
“The potion seems to be putting some colour back into your cheeks.”
“For now,” Roland whispered, looking as sick as she felt. “We will not allow you to die, Annabelle.”
“How can I argue with that? The two of you are actually in agreement.” She smiled. Malachi was summing up Roland. By the implacable expression on his face, she couldn’t tell if he wanted to throttle Roland or thank him for protecting her life to the best of his abilities.
“We should get moving as soon as you are feeling well enough,” Malachi said.
“I am okay. We should get moving now.”
“You still look far too pale,” Roland remarked.
“I’ll be fine.”
Malachi looked to the sky. “We should have a few more hours left to ride.”
She looked up. He was right. Twilight seemed to have faded, giving way to bright sunshine. It had to have been the dark magic that was blotting out the sun.
“Let’s ride. Now. Before I lose my nerve.” She forced out a laugh. Right now, the only thing she wanted was a warm bed. But looking at the way things were unfolding, she didn’t think she’d have that luxury anytime soon. She could feel another storm heading their way.
She wouldn’t be able to sleep easily until the rift between her mother and she was resolved. She also couldn’t allow Zara to continue on her path of ruin. If she did, Thaliana would end up in ruins. She knew that Roland wouldn’t give in, and that she would be powerless to stop the final showdown between Roland and Zara.
She looked over at Malachi. “Why can’t we just travel the same way you came here?”
“Because I had to fight my way through many shields, if I have travelers with me, I might not be so lucky on the return flight.”
“He’s right.” Roland nodded his head. “I know that Zara herself has erected shields between this county and the county that houses Malachi’s lands.”
She swallowed, looking uneasily over at the horse. “I think you’ll have to ride with me, Malachi.” She looked up at him.
“Not a problem.” He swung up on the horse and reached down to lift her magically on the horse so she sat in front of him.
She looked over at Roland. He, too, had mounted his horse, as had Ardal. “Well, we make an unlikely group of travelers, don’t we? Enemies have become so-so friends, and now we hope for a truce between Zara and you.” She directed her attention to Roland. He looked away.
“I will not broker a truce with Zara. She has gone too far, done too much damage. I will however, broker an alliance with your husband.”
“Her husband has a name,” Malachi’s voice held an edge of annoyance.
“I’m sorry, Lord Markham.” Roland inclined his head to him.
She was jostled as the horse’s gait changed from a gentle walk to a canter. She was beginning to get motion sickness, on the back of a horse! Gradually, she started to feel slight
ly contented. Sighing, she leaned back on Malachi. She felt safe and loved. It was the best feeling in the world.
Too bad it wouldn’t last forever.
Chapter Twenty-Four
One minute, Annabelle was sitting almost being lulled to sleep, and the next minute, the sky was filled with fireballs.
“Get down!” Malachi jumped off the horse, reaching for her. They ran into the nearby thicket of trees.
“Who’s attacking us?” She looked over in expectation at Roland. He shrugged his shoulders.
“They aren’t my forces. They are Zara’s.”
“And how do you know?” she sighed. “Never mind. You can obviously sense it, right?”
“Correct.” He crouched down with Malachi and Ardal.
“Do you think they’re fighting your army?”
“In all likelihood, yes.”
“They haven’t reached Malachi’s lands yet. Why would they attempt an attack?”
“Because they know I am not with my army, and Zara seeks to take advantage of that.”
“She will be murdered! She has to know that she is outnumbered,” Annabelle gasped.
“That’s never deterred her before.” Roland stood up. “You stay here, Annabelle. Ardal, Malachi and I will ride on ahead to access the situation.”
“I’m not in the habit of following your lead, Roland. But in this situation, I think I just might ride alongside you,” Malachi relented.
“I want to go with you.”
“No. You’ll be safer here.”
“What? You have to be kidding me? Safer alone than with the three of you? Give me a bloody break.”
Roland had already mounted his horse. Ardal followed his suit.
She reached for Malachi. “Be careful. You could get yourself killed getting caught in the crosshairs.”
“I’ll be careful.” His eyes filled with love. “You just wait here for us until I return.” He took off his cloak and settled it around her shoulders. How had he known she was cold? She had given no discernable sign. She sighed, watching him get on his horse and leave. She coughed as dust billowed up from the road.
Sighing, she settled back against a tree, and waited.
*****
Malachi didn’t like the scent of magic that was in the air. He could tell that someone in the battle was using dark magic. Roland didn’t even reek of dark magic. Could Zara be the one tapping into the terrible force?
He looked over at Roland who rode on his right side. Roland had an air of determination about him. He wondered, if he, too, suspected that Zara was using dark magic. He glanced up at the slowly setting sun. He hated night battles.
“She will most likely try to kill me once she senses my presence.” Roland’s voice carried over the wind to him.
“I won’t say I’ll try to stop her, but I will give you warning if I see her before you do.” He called back.
Roland glanced at him. “You are just the sort of man I would wish for Annabelle. You are a good man. Nothing like I envisioned.”
“I look like a monster.”
“Only on the outside.” Roland directed his attention back to the road. “Do you feel that? Whoever is using the dark arts is near.”
“I can feel it.” Ardal had turned a greenish colour.
“On second thought, Ardal, why don’t you go back now and stay with Annabelle.” Ardal looked over at him, giving him an uncomfortable smile.
“I will stay with you. I wish to see if Shaylah is among the fighters.”
They all drew in on the reigns of their horses when suddenly the wind shifted. The dark magic had moved behind them. Which could only mean one thing.
It was gunning for Annabelle.
“Annabelle!” Roland and he both spoke at once. They turned their horses, speeding back to Annabelle’s location.
*****
Annabelle felt lightheaded. Something sickly smelling drifted on the wind. She placed her hand to her mouth, forcing back the gagging sensation boiling in her stomach.
She stood up when the sensation intensified. She could sense the presence of something, or was it someone?
“You look like your mother.”
She froze at the voice, so like her own, and yet it held none of the warmth hers held. She shivered. Squinting her eyes, she tried to make out the profile of the person approaching her.
“Who goes there?” Annabelle called out.
“Someone of royal blood. You should be on your knees in front of me, girl.” She bristled at the hard edge to the woman’s voice.
“I go on my knees before no one.”
“Ah, you are a spunky creature. So much stronger than you were all those years ago, when I made sure you were lost.”
“Lost? You gave me up.”
“No. You have no idea what I did.”
“Annabelle?”
She looked wildly around at the sound of Melody’s voice. “Melody? Where are you?”
The figure in front of her started to shake something she held in her hands. She could hear the grunts of two people, one a woman, the other a man.
“Do be quiet! I am busy right now.”
The next time Melody spoke, she sounded as if she was in great pain. “Annabelle, you must run. You have no chance against this woman. Run!”
She tried to move, but her feet wouldn’t comply with her mind. She let out a frustrated scream.
“You aren’t going anywhere, Annabelle. I want to kill you now, before you can get in my way. Roland will be devastated by your loss. He will be paralyzed, he won’t even fight back when I move in for the kill. As for Malachi …he shouldn’t be hard to kill either. He loves you so much, you’ve become his very world.”
“You are a nasty vile woman. Who are you and what have you done with Lady Melody?”
“I’ve trapped her. She and her darling husband. They know too much. They had to be stopped. None of this ever would have come about had I just killed you the same way I killed your mother.”
“You are my mother. You are Queen Zara.” The woman finally stepped into her line of vision. Her heart sank when she recognized her as the Queen of Thaliana.
“Not your mother. No. I could never be a mother. To have a child growing inside of me would be the worst thing to ever happen to me. Your mother was my sister, my twin.”
Annabelle’s heart sank. Her knees wobbled. Whatever the queen was doing, her strength was being weakened. It was as if she was able to sap her life force right out of her.
“I don’t understand.”
“In that case, you’ve inherited your father’s less than stellar intelligence.”
She shook her head. “You are Queen Zara of Thaliana.”
“There you have it wrong. I am not Queen Zara, I am her sister. Zara died twenty-three years ago. She died giving birth to you. Well, she wouldn’t have died, but I helped her along by giving her a potion that would make her bleed out.”
She felt chilled to the bone at the woman’s callous words. “You a monster.”
“No. I am an opportunist. I found an opportunity to finally have what always should have rightfully been mine. She never wanted to be Queen. She only wanted to be Roland’s wife, and your mother. I solved that.”
“Why didn’t Roland die when you killed your sister?”
“As far as the binding was concerned, she had died of natural causes in childbirth. She had not suffered a violent death. The only way both you and your binding mate can both die when one dies, is if they die a violent death. She died safe in the knowledge that you had lived. I promised her I would take you to your father. Instead, I took you to Melody, and took on my sister’s guise. It nearly killed me to play the part of the little Queenly angel, but I did. I played it rather well, too.” She laughed maniacally. “Then, when you turned twenty-one and your powers were released, I knew it was only a matter of time, before Roland sensed you and came for you.
This whole bloody war was started over you. You have torn our kingdoms apart. I am now
going to finish a job I should have finished years ago. I’m going to put you out of my misery.”
She raised her hand toward her.
Annabelle looked down expecting her dragon ruby to light up…but it remained dull. She swallowed. Maybe this was the way it was supposed to end. She couldn’t seem to tap into her veiling magic…or else the Queen wouldn’t think she could still kill her.
“Anastasia, you will pay for this!” Melody’s voice screamed.
“That’s my name, Anastasia. Twin sister to the princess that would be queen. She is named Zara, while I get named after an old aunt that had an almost invisible life.” She laughed again. “Well, I’m the last one standing, so I guess names aren’t everything, eh?”
She looked around for something to defend herself with. There was nothing.
Anastasia looked behind her. “Riders approach. It’s your father, and your husband. I have to go, but I’m not leaving without you.” Annabelle felt like a puppet as Anastasia made her stand up. She sucked in her breath, willing herself to speak, but no voice came out. She placed her hand to her throat, in terror.
“You’ll get your voice back just before I kill you. But for now, you need to be quiet.” Anastasia pulled Annabelle to her, and then in a black cloud, they disappeared.
Malachi arrived just in time to see Annabelle disappear.
“No!” He shot a bolt of his magic out toward the black cloud. They had to see if they could track the magic.
“She is gone. We will need to pursue them. Are you ready to do whatever is necessary to save Annabelle?” Roland demanded.
He looked over incredulously at Roland.
“Why wouldn’t I? I would go to the ends of Thaliana and beyond to protect her.”
Malachi placed his hand through the air. “I can sense someone else that means a great deal to me.”
“Malachi!” He turned his head at the sound of Gabriel’s voice emanating from Annabelle’s horse’s saddlebags. He walked toward the horse, searching inside the bags for a mirror. When he found it, he pulled it out and came face to face with Gabriel.
“You must act quickly, Malachi. Annabelle’s life is in great danger, as are your parents’ souls.”
“Souls? What are you talking about?” A sinking sensation filled the pit of his stomach. Now he knew what he’d been feeling only moments ago.
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