She sinks back, exhausted from her long speech.
"Let's hope Angus realises that," I mutter. "I'll let you rest for a while. Do you need anything?"
Beira smiles. "No, but please try and enjoy the celebrations. Bad times are coming, so you ought to enjoy the happy moments while they last."
I really hadn't planned to join the party, but Beira's advice makes sense. This is the calm before the storm and who knows when we'll have time to celebrate again.
I teleport back into the Great Hall and search for Dewi, but she seems to have left already. The guys are mingling as I asked them to, but Crispin's aura is flashing with annoyance as five female Guardians are surrounding him. I'll need to rescue him soon.
Before I can reach him, a familiar God steps in my way. Thor. His aura is radiant, but it lets me see his face, like with most Gods. The stronger the God, the more I can see their expression.
"Your Majesty." He bows and smiles at me. "Congratulations, this was a most exciting coronation."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it," I say tonelessly, hoping he won't notice my lack of enthusiasm. "Are you going to stay for the celebrations?"
He grins. "Oh yes, I wouldn't miss it for the Realms. Life has been far too serious recently, and we can all do with some fun times."
That's almost exactly what my mother said, and most guests seem to think the same. The dancing is wild and boisterous, and the atmosphere is so relaxed it's almost too much so. Looking at the half-naked Guardians surrounding some of the Gods, I'm worried this might turn into an orgy soon.
"Have fun then," I tell him with a grin. I know he's married and has a daughter, so he might stay away from the naked Guardians, but I'm sure he's going to partake in all the other physical pleasures that will be offered this evening. Tamara has chosen some of the best wines from our cellar, including some from other Realms. The tables on both sides of the hall are overflowing with food and snacks, and I'm drawn to the chocolate fountain that's appeared close to the main doors.
"I need to tell you something," he says, still smiling, but his eyes are flickering over the people surrounding us as if to make sure nobody is listening in. "Dance with me."
Without waiting for a reply, he wraps an arm around my waist, takes my hand and begins to waltz. I follow his lead, hoping I won't step on the toes of the God of Thunder. That would be embarrassing. The crown on my head feels like it's going to slip, but Thor is holding me tight. He lowers his head until he's a little too close for comfort.
"There's a spy in this room," he whispers into my ear.
"I'm sure there's several," I whisper back, not surprised at all. From the beginning, Tamara was always very clear that there are several agents of our enemies living in the Palace. Sometimes, she feeds them the wrong information, and sometimes, she lets them pass on real nuggets of truth to make sure they maintain the trust of their masters.
"Yes, but not all of them have let in an assassin." I lean back to look at Thor, but he keeps his grip on me. "Don't look. There are two Crispins in this room. One is talking to some women, the other is whispering to a man I don't know. They probably didn't expect a God with excellent hearing to be present. I'll turn us in a moment so you can take a look."
My heart sinks. Not another Crispin clone. This is getting old, and having him and the real Crispin in the same room is a little obvious. Is the Morrigan this desperate? She must be aware that we all know of the Crispin clones and that all Palace staff have been warned. There are passwords that change daily... not that it prevented Flora's abduction.
Thor swirls me around in an elegant move. He really is an excellent dancer. If I was into dancing, I'd ask him to give my men some lessons, but I'm not. My hand-foot-coordination just isn't up to scratch.
"In the corner, by the dried fruit stands," Thor whispers. It takes me a moment to spy fake Crispin's blond hair in the crowd. When I recognise the man he's talking to, I'm not really surprised. I should have suspected this.
"That's Magnus, our former treasurer," I explain. "I relieved him of his duties not long ago. He's always been strange, but I thought that if my mother trusted him, I should too."
"The older us Gods are, the blinder we can be to those around us," Thor says sagely. "Sometimes it's staring us right in the face, but we no longer pay attention to the obvious. Magnus wants you removed, and the impostor said he’d be happy to oblige."
Magnus's betrayal is no surprise, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'd hoped he just didn't like me, but he actually seems to hate me enough to let an assassin into the Palace. I'm sure it was him who helped with Flora's abduction, too.
"We need to separate them," I whisper. "I'll let my Guardians know and then I'll pretend I don't know he's not the real Crispin. Can you draw away Magnus?"
Thor nods. "I'll think of something. Where do you want me to take him?"
I grin. "Do you know where the dungeons are?"
His cheeky smile is all the answer I need.
We end our dance and I look for my closest Guardian. Storm is leaning against a column, looking bored and grumpy. Good, he'll be grateful for the distraction.
I join him and casually wrap an arm around his waist.
"Pretend you're kissing me," I mutter under my breath.
"I don't need to pretend," he replies and the intensity of his voice makes my ovaries jump in excitement. Down, girls. Not now. I have work to do.
He leans down until his mouth almost touches mine. His lips are hovering close to my skin and I can feel his hot breath.
"Magnus is talking to a clone Crispin," I say hurriedly before I'm tempted to kiss him and forget all about the potential assassin. "Thor is going to lure Magnus away, and I'll take care of fake Crisp. Can you keep the real Crispin away? I want it to seem like I don't realise he's a clone."
"You shouldn't be doing this alone," Storm protests but I put a finger on his lips to shut him up. He opens his mouth and sucks on it. Well, there goes that idea. Tingling spreads through my hand and I really want to take this further, but I'm the Queen now. I need to look after my subjects.
Look at me, using proper language like subjects. Soon I'll be talking about taxes and other horrifically boring stuff.
"Keep Crispin away," I repeat. "If you must, you can follow me after, but don't worry, I can handle this on my own. I'm stronger now than the last time and I have the aspect of surprise on my side. Let's just try and keep this under wraps, I don't want our allies to think that we're weak by letting assassins enter our Palace."
He nods, but his aura is darkening. He doesn't like me doing this. Well, he'll have to get used to it. I'm the bloody Queen of this bloody Realm and I can make my own decisions. I swallow my anger; it's not him I should be angry at. It's Magnus and the clone. They're ruining my coronation.
I leave Storm to look for the real Crispin and head to the corner where I last saw the two men I'm looking for. Magnus has disappeared, hopefully called away by Thor. The clone is still there, nibbling on some dried fruit. He seems to enjoy himself. That's going to change in a moment.
I smooth my expression and approach him from behind.
"There you are! I've been looking for you!"
I should probably hug him to make it more convincing, but I can't bring myself to do it. This is an impostor, someone the Morrigan created and trained. He might try and kill me any moment, although if he's clever, he's going to wait until we're alone.
"What's up?" he asks, sounding just like Crispin. I extend my magic just to make sure that he's a clone. Yes, there's none of the familiar bond I have with my Guardians.
"Tamara said she has a surprise," I tell him, "a present for just the two of us. Shall we take a look?"
He looks a little confused. Wait, I can see his face. There's no aura. How did I not notice this before? Crispin's beautiful face. His eyes, his smile, his kissable lips. But no, that's not him. And why doesn't he have an aura? Everyone does, even Gods, even dragon shifters. He's the first person in the Real
ms who I've seen without one. Very strange. Does that mean he doesn't have magic? Or is it because he's a duplicate, a shadow of someone who's already existing?
"Where's the surprise?" he asks, looking around the room as if he's searching for Tamara. Luckily, my magic has already confirmed that she isn't here. "And why only us? Why not the others?"
He's far too suspicious for my taste. I need him to trust me; I don't want him to be on his guard.
"She said in the magic training courtyard where Blaze likes to be. Maybe it's got something to do with Blaze? You know how secretive unicorns like to be."
"Oh yes." He nods, even though I'm not sure if he's ever met a unicorn before. I really hope he hasn't, because that would probably mean that the Morrigan has one captured. I don't even want to think about that.
"Good, then let's go," I say cheerily and take his hand, pulling him with me.
"You're very excited," he remarks, but he follows me without struggle.
"It's my coronation, of course I'm excited!"
I keep him at my side, so I can see what he's doing. I have no intention of getting stabbed in the back.
"I can't wait to see what she got us," I babble, trying to make myself sound careless and overly happy. I want him to be less tense.
"Yes, neither can I." He doesn't sound enthusiastic at all. "It must be something special if it's just for you and me."
"I'm sure she's put a lot of thought into it." By now, I'm almost expecting Tamara to be in the courtyard, but when we enter it, it's abandoned, just like I'd hoped. Everyone is in the Great Hall to celebrate, and the only rooms that are guarded are the Royal Quarters, which is why I couldn't take him there.
I have no idea where Blaze is. I'd expected him to come to the coronation, but he wasn't there, and he's not here either, in his favourite spot. Maybe he's left the Palace? He came without warning, could he be gone without saying a word either? No, he loves attention too much for that, he'd probably want us to hold a big farewell ceremony for him.
"There's nobody here," Crispin remarks, his voice turning cold. I think he knows that he's been discovered.
"Maybe she's running late?" I suggest while gripping my magic and wrapping it tightly around me as a barrier. I make it hard, but invisible, an impenetrable armour that will keep him from injuring me physically. My mental barriers are up and strong. He's got no chance of injuring me unless he uses some very powerful magic.
"Or maybe she was never here." He looks me straight in the eyes, the blackness in them so unlike the beautiful warm eyes of the real Crispin.
"Maybe," I agree. "What now?"
"I'm not here to kill you," he says calmly, dropping all pretence. "I've been sent to deliver a message."
"Why were you talking to Magnus?" I ask, ignoring what he just said.
The clone shrugs. "He's my contact here. I was to deliver a message to him as well, but he got called away before I could."
"Liar," I hiss. "Your conversation wasn't as private as you thought. I know you want to kill me."
He laughs coldly. "Want? Yes. Allowed to? Not yet. I just told that old man that to make him trust me."
"Why wouldn't he trust you?"
"Not everyone is able to tell whether I'm real or not. I needed to convince him that I'm the Morrigan's."
"Why are you working for her?" I ask, even though I know that he's likely too far gone to be swayed. "Don't you know what she's doing?"
"She's creating a better world, and once her vision is complete, I'm going to be at her side, looking down on our new creation together."
I laugh and he frowns at me. "Seriously? The Morrigan doesn't do together. She'll discard you as soon as you're no longer useful to her, just like she does with all of her allies. She's not interested in anyone but herself."
"You're right about that." The smile slips from my lips. The clone's voice has changed, it's higher now, almost shrill. His face is blank, looking even less like my Crispin. "Hi, sweetie. It's so nice to finally talk to you." He giggles girlishly. "Nice crown. It will go well with my other one."
"Morrigan?" I ask, even though I know it's her. The blackness in his eyes is the same I've seen in Crispin's memories. Somehow, the Morrigan is possessing her creation.
"Just the same." She giggles again and I'm tempted to slap her. What did Crispin say about giggling girls earlier? No wonder he doesn't like it.
"What do you want?" I don't even try not to sound hostile. If I knew I could kill her while she's possessing the clone, I'd do it in a heartbeat. She killed my mum. Sparks are dancing before my eyes as I try to hold back my anger and hate. She's not really here. I can't hurt her. Well, that's what I think at least. To be honest, I have no idea how she's doing this.
"I thought I'd come for a little visit. He did tell you that he was bringing you a message, didn't he?" She grins and looks down at her male body. "He's so handsome. I remember his body, how he felt when he was touching me... So talented, that boy, so very talented."
I shudder in disgust and erase the image of her and Crispin from my mind. He was forced to do it, it wasn't his choice. First, he was brainwashed, then she kept him under control by threatening a baby's life.
"What do you want?" I repeat coldly.
"To send a message. You'll understand in just a moment. I'm glad you got us outside, the view will be so much better from here."
I have no idea what she's talking about.
"Just give me your message and be done with it," I growl, tightening my grip on my magic.
"So impatient," she cackles. "Your mother would be disappointed. Well, she might be, for a few more seconds. Then she won't be able to anymore."
"What?"
"Oh sweetie, you're rather stupid, aren't you?"
She's smiling at me with Crispin's face and it makes me want to throw up. She's planned something bad, and it's about to happen.
The view... I look up. I can see several of the highest towers from here, including that which houses my mother's quarters. Oh no. She's going to attack Beira. What's the point though? My mum's already weakened and I'm now the one in control. Getting me out of the way would make so much more sense. Unless... she's the Morrigan. She likes to make people suffer.
Beira.
I spread my wings and jump into the air, flying towards the tower as fast as I can. Down below, I still hear Crispin's high-pitched laughter. I throw a fireball in his direction and beat my wings even faster. I need to get a better idea of the situation, and I can't get that by teleporting into my mother's quarters. I doubt the Morrigan would be doing something in there where nobody can see. No assassins this time. No poison. She wants everyone to know how we're not safe even in this Palace.
I pull on the bond connecting me to my Guardians, alerting them to danger, then spread out my magic to feel for threats.
Find whatever's endangering my mother, I beg it, hoping that for once, she'll do as I ask. She quickly races through the walls into the tower, exploring the rooms. I send her into my mother's bedroom first. There are no other people in there besides Beira, sleeping in her bed. Maybe there's some kind of magical artefact hidden in her quarters?
My magic finds something and I immediately teleport to where she led me. It's a round orb, floating in the air, pulsating with black, strange light. It's almost as if the light of the room is sucked into it and that's what's making it shine.
"What is that?" I whisper, not expecting an answer.
The pulses begin to become faster and the orb seems to expand slowly. Whatever it is, it can't be good. I wrap some air magic around it and throw it out of the open window, as far away as I can. It fights me, wants to stay, but I'm stronger. I run to the window and look at the orb. It's almost the size of a person now, thick and black and entirely evil. I push it even further away, out of reach of any of the buildings of the Palace.
My magic warns me a fraction of a second before it happens, but it’s not enough warning. The orb suddenly explodes and my magic is pushed away from th
e explosion, slamming back into me, throwing me onto the floor.
"What's going on?" my mother asks weakly, barely managing to lift her head.
"The Morrigan," I answer grimly and jump back to my feet. Outside, a black fire is burning in the air, hovering where the orb was before. I don't want to imagine what would've happened had the sphere still been in this room. It would have been a massive explosion.
Ash is raining down from the sky as the blackness is slowly disintegrating. It could almost be beautiful if I didn't know what almost happened.
She's going to pay for this.
I teleport back into the courtyard, but the Crispin clone is lying on the ground, unmoving. I have my magic check him, but I already know that he's dead. He was wrong and I was right. The Morrigan doesn't do together.
My first Council meeting as Queen comes a lot earlier than planned. After the near attack on my mother's life, I couldn't just go back to the celebrations. I didn't stop them, either, but I had the Council members informed. Now we're all sitting in our usual meeting room, but the mood is even more sombre than it has been in the past weeks.
"How did he die?" I ask Theodore, the healer.
"There are no external injuries, no signs of poisons. It seems his heart stopped without a physical reason."
"Then let's just assume the Morrigan killed him. What I don't understand is why she would warn me in time to prevent the explosion? She could have waited a few minutes. We were outside anyway, we would have seen it even without her telling me in advance."
"Good question," Tamara mutters. "Maybe she wanted to show off? Got a bit overexcited?"
"She may be a psychopath, but every single one of her actions is calculated," Crispin says. I've asked my Guardians to join this Council session and they're sitting by my side at the head of the table. "She wanted you to stop it. Why?"
Nobody answers. How should we know? It doesn't make any sense. This was supposed to be a surprise attack. If Thor hadn't overheard Magnus and the clone, we would likely never have noticed that we had yet another Crispin impostor in the Palace. The orb would have exploded without any of us the wiser. We may have assumed it was Angus rather than the Morrigan.
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