The Queen

by C. J. Abedi

  The other two female warriors went after Puck, who laughed in delight.

  Alderon unseated Kristianna, and she fell off her horse. He lunged toward her with the sword but I threw my body in the air, holding one of the Valkyrie shields, protecting her body from being pierced. The sword ripped through the shield and barely missed my shoulder. I swung my foot out and used all my strength to hit Alderon.

  He wasn’t expecting the impact, so he fell to the ground. I took the moment to leap on top of him, using my magik to find his body. I grabbed hold of his neck as he tried to swing at me with the sword, but he was still weak. I could feel it.

  Kristianna threw me a small dagger and I used it to stab him in the arm that held the sword.

  He screamed in pain.

  And the sword fell from his hands. I wasted no time and grabbed it. Holding it high above my head, ready to pierce him, thinking of his death. Of Caroline. Keeping her safe from his machinations and ill-founded rage.

  “Devilyn!” I heard my mother scream out to me.

  I looked up and saw Tara standing not ten feet from me.

  “No!” she seemed horrified.

  My mother’s voice caused Alderon to pause. His eyes widened in shock.

  I stared at him.

  At her.

  And then I heard Caroline scream out in agony.

  I jumped up and looked over to where she stood. But she was unharmed.

  Caroline was staring at the carnage by the tree. Both monsters were twitching on the ground, writhing in pain, taking their last breaths.

  Odin had destroyed them.

  But he had been hurt.

  I watched him drag his body toward the tree and lean up against it.

  Our eyes met.

  His hand was over his heart and I knew he had been hit. Hard.

  “Father!”

  Chapter Eighteen

  “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

  and treat those two impostors just the same;

  …you’ll be a man, my Son.”

  —Rudyard Kipling

  The Fates

  There is a place, high above the heavens, past the stars, where human and immortal eyes cannot see, where there exists a great tapestry where all lives are connected.

  It is in this tapestry where destinies are forged. Where we see a future for all souls.

  Long ago we wove a birth with our thread.

  A human.

  A Fae.

  Star-crossed love.

  A child created from this union would unite two kingdoms. They would come together as one. See no darkness. Or fear. Only love.

  One people.

  One kingdom.

  United together.

  We, the great Fates of life, prophesying the future, dictate lives, turning a blind eye to love, loss, and sorrow.

  As we watch the sad tale unfold, we wonder…

  What will our judgment be from the Creator?

  C

  I was in a science class one day, and I remember my teacher speaking of cause and effect. For every action there was a reaction. A ripple that would take shape and move across time.

  I understood causality now.

  My life had affected so many people.

  Here I was, in the middle of a monstrous battle, and I was affecting all the lives around me.

  I watched as Devilyn jumped up from Alderon’s body, leaving the sword of Nuada on the ground, and made his way to Odin.

  I knew Odin was dying.

  He had risked his life for me, for Devilyn. For our love. And now, he paid the price. I wanted to offer Devilyn comfort, but I was afraid to draw near. This was his time with his true father. These last precious moments belonged to him.

  “Father!” I heard Tatiana scream out as she left Rowan’s side and made her way to Devilyn and Odin.

  I had never seen Tatiana cry or even show much emotion, and her look of utter devastation was more than I could bear. I felt the tears stream down my face as I turned away from the scene and focused on the battle before me.

  The Valkyries were fighting against Puck, who seemed unbeatable. Three of Odin’s female warriors had fallen.

  Was my life worth more than theirs?

  It didn’t matter that I was destined to be a queen.

  I wasn’t worth this.

  I watched as Alderon rose from the ground and turned to face Tara, who stood there like a beacon of ethereal Light. Her face was grief-stricken as she stared at Alderon.

  I recognized that look on her face.

  It was one of true love.

  And it took my breath away.

  I understood that she could not bear to see him die. Even though he had changed into something cruel, she loved the man he had been. They had shared a part of their lives together. They had created my Devilyn in love. Pure love.

  I heard death shrieks and watched in horror as Puck used the spear to pierce the hearts of the remaining Valkyries, who had attempted to attack him from both sides.

  Now only Rowan remained.

  “NO!” I screamed out. “No! Rowan! Please!”

  But Puck had a different plan.

  He ran over to where Devilyn had dropped the sword. Even Alderon seemed to have forgotten its presence, momentarily stunned by the appearance of his wife.

  Alderon and Tara faced each other.

  Rowan ran over to me and grabbed me by my shoulders.

  “We must get you out of here!” he shouted.

  I shook my head.

  “I cannot leave them,” I whispered.

  The wind howled around us, whipping my hair in every direction.

  “Caroline!” he shouted. “Listen to me! We have to leave!”

  I looked past Rowan’s shoulder and watched Puck pick up the sword of Nuada in triumph. He now had the spear and the sword, two of the Tuatha de Danann’s greatest weapons. I thought he would turn to me but instead he raised the spear and aimed it at Alderon.

  “Alderon!” I screamed out instinctively.

  Alderon turned when he heard my bellow. His eyes were wide with horror.

  But I was too late.

  And Puck’s strike wasn’t meant for the Dark King.

  It was meant for the one weakness Alderon had ever had.

  Tara.

  I fell into Rowan’s arms when I saw the spear pierce her chest with force. She flew back from the impact and hit the ground a great distance away.

  “NO!” Alderon roared into the night.

  The sound was piercing. It vibrated through my soul, the most devastating cry I had ever heard.

  Alderon ran to her body as Puck turned to face me with a triumphant grin.

  He had won.

  D

  “Finish it,” Odin said to me as his body trembled in pain.

  I had reached my father within seconds of seeing his mortal wound. I couldn’t stop the river of tears running down my face.

  He was dying.

  There was no escaping it.

  As I watched him take his last breaths, I wanted to scream at the Fates for this cruel, cruel blow. This man was my father. He had been all that I could have ever asked for and more.

  He had taken me in.

  Supported me.

  Believed in me even in my darkest hours. Even in times when I had no belief in myself.

  But most importantly, he had loved me. He had loved me with all of his heart and all of his soul. His love had given me strength, afforded me opportunity to rise above that which I had been born to be. And it had given me hope.

  His chest bled from the wounds that Wrath and his mate had inflicted upon him. His body was a mess of blood and wounds. The pain he was in had to be excruciating. And still, like always, he held on for me. Because he couldn’t bear to see my suffering. His entire life had been dedicated to sacrificing himself for those he loved. And he even did so now, at the very end.

  “I cannot,” I whispered to him as I cradled his body in my arms and leaned in toward the great tree. We
were underneath the magikal carving that Alderon had inscribed. The very place where Fate had cast the tale.

  “You must, my son,” Odin said softly.

  Even in this moment.

  In this darkest moment, his eyes still reflected love.

  “Please, father—” I begged. “Don’t leave me.”

  He raised a shaky hand and brushed it along my cheek. The pain was etched all over his face and yet he still smiled for me.

  “I am not going anywhere, Devilyn,” he told me. “I am here. I will be in the mountains. In the sky. In the trees. In every sunset and sunrise.”

  He wiped the tears from my eyes.

  “I will always be walking next to you,” he continued. “When life is difficult, I will hold your hand the way I did when you were a little boy, and my love will guide you along. I will never be gone. How could I ever leave my son?”

  “Father,” I sobbed.

  “And one day,” he promised me. “One day, long and far from now, when you are old and gray and have a dozen children surrounding you at your bed, when you have lived the life I always wanted you to have, when you have fulfilled the great destiny that you were born for, then, and only then, will you join me.”

  He squeezed my hand and brought it to his heart.

  “And we will laugh as we always have. We will take the longs walks in the heavens and talk the way we always did. And we will look down on all those that you love and forever watch over them, like stars twinkling in the sky.”

  His voice had become but a whisper as death came for his soul.

  “You are my son,” he told me. “My greatest accomplishment…”

  I closed my eyes in pain as I watched my world shatter before me.

  “ You and your sister are the only legacy I have that matters to me.”

  My breath lodged in my throat. I wanted to scream out in grief but I could not bring him any more agony. He had suffered enough.

  So I said the only thing that mattered.

  “I love you, father.”

  Odin smiled as his eyes began to focus on something behind me. I knew there was nothing there. At least nothing I could see in this world. It was a vision only saved for those going to the other side.

  “Forgive him, Devilyn,” he said as his gaze moved to capture mine. “Forgive him.”

  And then it happened.

  With our eyes connected, my father let out his last breath. And just like that, he was gone.

  I sat there in stunned silence. Rocking his body. Holding him. Kissing his head. His hands. Telling him how much I loved him. How incredible he was to me and Tatiana. To the world. How there would never be anyone like him. How I already mourned the long years ahead without him by my side, guiding me as he always had.

  Never had I felt such staggering sadness.

  And never had I felt more alone.

  “Father!” Tatiana cried out as she fell to his side, sobbing in horror and pounding the ground. “No! Devilyn! No!”

  She threw her body over his and rained it with kisses, whispering incoherently through her tears.

  “We must go,” I told her.

  She looked up at me and her pain echoed mine. We had been given a life of love because of this man, and the Fates had taken him from us. Just like that.

  “What do we do?” she whimpered.

  I did not answer.

  “Devilyn!” I heard Rowan’s voice call out to me. I turned around and lost the ability to breathe.

  I took in the entire scene within seconds.

  My mother was dying.

  I was cemented to the ground.

  I could not move.

  Everything went by in slow motion around me. Life slowed down and I saw carnage and death, the ones I loved in perilous danger, and I knew even more was to come.

  My eyes met Caroline’s and my heart clenched at the sight of her grief-stricken face. I knew she blamed herself now. I could see it in her eyes.

  I shook my head at her, silently telling her that it was not the case, afraid she would do something foolish.

  “Take Caroline!” I yelled to Rowan.

  Then I grabbed hold of Tatiana’s shoulders and shook her hard.

  “We will mourn him. We will mourn him for years to come,” I told her. “But now, you must survive. Go with Rowan and Caroline—”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want to leave him—”

  “He’s gone, sister.” My voice sounded hoarse. “Please, go with them, I cannot bear to lose you as well.”

  Tatiana’s eyes widened at my words, but she slowly stood and chased after Rowan and Caroline.

  I looked for Puck.

  He was nowhere to be found.

  I could only hope that Rowan and Tatiana didn’t encounter him.

  Alderon was hunched over my mother’s body, his body trembling. Tara was on the ground. The great spear was sticking out of her chest in a gruesome way. Alderon held her hand tightly, whispering words of love. I sat on her other side.

  She was angelic.

  Even now, she looked as if she was from another world.

  Her gaze turned to meet mine. I could not stop the river of tears.

  She lifted her hand and took mine. One was linked with Alderon, the other with me.

  “We are finally together,” she whispered.

  “Do not speak, Tara.” Alderon’s voice was somber. “We will get you—”

  He could not even finish his sentence, for it was a lie. There was nothing either of us could do for her.

  “I must,” she said to Alderon, her voice weak. “Here I am, about to face the great Creator of life, surrounded by the two men I love above all else in the world.”

  “Please,” Alderon whispered hoarsely. “Do not leave me.”

  I understood his grief.

  “The Fates have blessed me, my love.” She gave him a fragile smile. “With my last breath, I see you and our son. United at last. It was all that I had ever wished for.”

  Alderon’s shoulders shook. “Tara—”

  “You are the love of my life,” she said to him. “For eternity.”

  And then Tara, the greatest beauty from the Kingdom of the Light, closed her eyes for the last time.

  My mother was gone.

  Alderon threw himself on her. “Tara!”

  I couldn’t stop myself from reaching out and placing my hand on his shoulder.

  His body jerked from the touch but he finally looked over at me. His face slowly took its former shape, not moving into mist as it had done before, when I had cursed him. It was wet from tears as he sobbed.

  His love for my mother was undeniable.

  “She’s gone,” I whispered.

  His eyes widened in rage as I said those words.

  “How dare you!” he screamed out.

  He pulled the spear out of her chest and was on top of me in a flash, the weapon poised above my chest. But I couldn’t contemplate fighting. I felt empty.

  I was drained from all that I had just lost.

  Death might be welcome.

  My eyes met his.

  “Do it,” I told him. “I will not fight you.”

  My words gave him pause.

  Here I was, my body right next to my mother’s lifeless one, about to share the same fate. I took hold of her hand.

  His gaze moved from mine to Tara’s, back to mine. I saw the love he had for her. For centuries, it had blinded him.

  If the Fates had given me a turn, I could have become this man. I had many times been so overcome by my love for Caroline that I had acted without caution.

  I understood.

  Forgive him.

  Odin’s words rang through my mind.

  And in that moment, when Alderon was about to pierce my heart, I forgave him, because I finally understood why.

  “I forgive you.” I said the three words out loud to him. Ones I never thought I’d utter in my life.

  “I forgive you, father.”

  C

&nbs
p; “I have a plan,” I told Rowan as he raced me through the woods. I managed to pull my hand out of his as Tatiana caught up with us. I knew Puck couldn’t be far.

  “There is no time,” Rowan replied.

  I stopped.

  “It’s the only way,” I told him. “Our only chance.”

  “We have to go!” Tatiana shouted, trying to pull me along.

  “Go,” I said. “I’m going to wait here.”

  “To die?” she yelled. “Then all of this is for nothing! Odin dying, Tara, and God knows what’s happening to my brother—”

  “Tatiana!” Rowan shouted.

  She was right.

  That’s why I knew I had to do this alone.

  “Trust me—” I began.

  “Trust a spawn who has left such devastation in her wake?” Puck called out as he reached us.

  “I would be careful if I were you.” He gave Tatiana a wink.

  She tried to run forward but Rowan grabbed hold of her waist. Puck held the sword of Nuada in his hand.

  “Let them go,” I told him.

  “Caroline,” Rowan said, but I waved him off.

  “No!” I shouted at him. “This is my choice. And you will not take it from me!”

  “Brave girl,” Puck stated. “You do know that I intend to kill you?”

  “Yes,” I replied to him.

  Puck gave Rowan and Tatiana a gleeful smile.

  “There, then. That settles it,” he told them.

  Rowan stepped forward. “I will die before I let you touch her.”

  “Then say goodbye to your queen,” Puck responded as he lifted the sword.

  “Stand back, Rowan,” I commanded.

  He didn’t budge.

  “As your Queen I command it!” I did not even recognize the authority I heard in my voice.

  Rowan looked at me in surprise.

  “Look at that,” Puck laughed. “Not even a crowned queen and already giving orders.”

  “Don’t do this,” Rowan pleaded with me.

  I tried to give him a brave smile.

  “I must,” I told him. “It is and has always been my battle.”

  “Please—” he began.

  “I’ve made up my mind.” I turned to Puck. “We do this my way. Unless you’re scared.”

  Puck’s eyes narrowed. “You do not frighten me, little mortal girl.”