Academy of Falling Kingdoms Box Set

by Marisa Mills

  I thought of the Scraps, filled with debris and broken buildings. Cracked ground and poisonous monsters. Could Aubade’s Lower Realms have been even worse?

  “We could’ve attacked Aubade itself,” Alexander said, “and by not doing so, we showed a great act of mercy.”

  “And after Reverie left, what did they do? Did they pay reparations to help us rebuild? Oh, no. They did nothing of the kind,” Celeste replied. “My father died in the war, defending Aubade’s Lower Realms. After the war was over, Aubade was stranded. We were stuck in the sky with no way down. I grew up under sanctions, after the forces of Reverie destroyed our crops and burnt our fields. The people down below, they could leave, but we were starving for years. Reverie mages are weak and spoiled. You don’t know the kind of hunger, thirst that drives true power. You’ll never understand. I’ve been waiting years for my chance to get revenge on Reverie for the destruction they caused.”

  “But this isn’t the way,” Jessa stepped forward, leaning on her cane. “I’m from Aubade, too, remember?”

  Celeste shook her head. “You’re too young to remember what it was like after the war.”

  “So are my friends,” Jessa said. “They didn’t do this, why make them suffer for it?”

  “Friends?” Celeste asked. “How pathetic. They’ll never accept you.”

  “Friendship isn’t pathetic,” I said, “and love has no borders.”

  “You sound just like your father,” Celeste said, rolling her eyes. “Mooning over his great love for Gwen. Nick was full of foolish, little witticisms. Love conquers all, or so he always said.”

  “You…you knew Nick?” Tatiana asked.

  “Oh, yes,” Celeste replied. “He was a clever man, a talented scholar. He was interested in demons, and he’d discovered this chamber. He wanted to study it, but knew it wasn’t sustainable. He was seeking alternative sources of energy, and wanted to create a plan to release the demons and systemically dismantle the floating kingdoms.”

  Sounds reasonable, Lucian muttered.

  “Reverie wouldn’t allow such a thing, but my kingdom would. We saw the value in having this bright scholar come to our kingdom.” Celeste tilted her head and smiled at me. “So Nick came and found a friend of sorts. He spent his days studying the engine keeping Aubade afloat and writing these increasingly sentimental letters to Guinevere. I can’t imagine what Nick saw in her.”

  “Guinevere disagreed with his plans,” Celeste said, “So they fought. And poor Nick had no one to come to for advice but me. Eventually, he learned that Guinevere was pregnant, and he wanted to return home. But I couldn’t allow that, of course. So I drugged him and kept him prisoner.”

  “Like any stable person would do,” Alexander said dryly.

  “And I’m sure your father has never unjustly imprisoned anyone,” Celeste said tightly. “Why, I’m surprised Amelia herself didn’t lock Nick up somewhere in her house. That’s what she did to her children when they misbehaved.”

  My stomach lurched.

  “Eventually, however, he escaped,” Celeste said, “and returned to Reverie. I’m sure he thought he was going to rush valiantly in and save Guinevere, but it just didn’t work that way. She was already dead when he arrived.”

  “So, don’t you see? Nick and Gwen were the ones who first gave me the idea of freeing the demons powering Reverie in the first place. It’s fitting that the seed of their love will die along with the kingdom that brought them together. This is what your father always wanted, after all. Now I’ll finish what he started.”

  “But you can’t,” Alexander said. “We’ll all die.”

  “So be it,” Celeste said, with a cruel grin. “I’ll die a martyr, and have fulfilled my destiny. I’ll be the weapon who brought down the kingdom of Reverie. I’ll be immortalized. Plus, Wynter, you’ve already survived the fall once. Think you can do it again?”

  She strode quickly towards the middle of the chamber, sweeping her hand forward. A blast of lightning arched towards the center column, filling the chamber with blinding light. Alexander raised his arms together, his sigils glowing as he blocked her attack. The force sent him flying backward. He hit a nearby column before slumping to the floor.

  Jessa dropped her cane and ducked into one of the postures I recognized from Professor Conrad’s class. She grimaced in pain, as she transitioned into another pose, the sigils running down her back glowing red as they held her spine together. Vines shot out of the ground towards Celeste, but in a quick series of movements, she’d taken control of the vines and cast them back in our direction. They snaked towards us, wrapping around Jessa’s ankles and pulling her off her feet.

  Lucian swept forward, his jaws sinking around Celeste’s arm. Celeste’s sigils glowed, and Lucian snapped his head back with a roar of pain. He sank against the marble floor, his wings spread, fighting past his tiredness.

  A sharp, clear note drifted through the air, Tatiana summoning her powers. Celeste held her palm out. Tatiana screamed as a skeletal hand seized her by the throat and lifted her into the air. It tossed her against the wall, where she lay doubled over and gasping for breath.

  I turned my attention back to Celeste as she pressed the tip of her pen to her hand and slowly drew out more sigils. The chamber rumbled, and I covered my ears as thousands of demons clamored for freedom, filling the air with a hiss that pierced my eardrums and brought me to my knees.

  “This ends now,” Celeste said, wiping away the blood that was dripping from her nose. I drew in a breath, and my eyes widened as it came out in a thick white cloud. Something wet and cold landed on my cheek, and when I looked up the air was full of white flakes. It was snowing. The floor shimmered. Celeste stepped back, her brow creasing, as ice crackled along the floor.

  Twenty-Five

  “STAY WHERE YOU ARE,” CELESTE shouted, her fist held out. “Or I’ll kill them, Dorian.”

  Droplets of water slid down the columns and pooled over the floor, crystallizing into ice, but it quickly became slush and water again. Weeks ago, before the final examination that sent me plummeting from Reverie, Lily had mentioned having difficulty with ice. It took a lot of practice and skill to make the water freeze and crystallize.

  But Dorian had that skill. This wasn’t him.

  She doesn’t seem to realize that, Lucian muttered. She thinks she’s about to be attacked by a battle-mage.

  Alexander lunged forward, his rapier ready. The tip of the blade struck Celeste’s arm, drawing blood, but she whirled around and uncurled her fist. There was a burst of light and the crash of thunder. His blade shattered, and Alexander flew backward and slid across the floor. He stumbled to his feet, as blood soaked through his shirt.

  Celeste kept her eyes on me as she backed away.

  “Nobody try anything!” she snapped.

  Who knew she’d be so afraid of your nobleman?

  Lucian edged forward. His head snaked around me.

  Celeste didn’t seem to notice. She strode to the columns, like a hunter stalking her prey. In a sudden, fierce motion, Celeste swept her hand forward. The column before her exploded with the force of her lightning, and a shrill scream split the air.

  That scream seemed to jolt all the way to my heart.

  “Viviane!” I shouted.

  Between the burst of light and debris, I barely caught the sight of Viviane, ducking behind another column. Alexander was still on the ground. Tatiana had stumbled to her feet, but her knees still shook. My breath came in sharp sputters. Celeste raised her hand again, preparing to strike.

  Lucian’s fire roared inside me. I heard flames crackling in my mind. I stepped forward, as if I’d had a sword, and swept my arm forward. Lucian’s fire burst forth and caught the back of Celeste’s blouse. Celeste screamed and drew her pen once more. She traced sigils on her hand, and the flames died. Her face twisted in anger as she turned to face me. She crouched to the ground and began drawing, but before she could finish, Lucian ro
ared and flew forward.

  Celeste ran aside, barely dodging the fire Lucian unleashed. She felled another column, and Lucian swept aside, out of its path. I ran and ducked around the debris, halting when I found Viviane, who sputtered and coughed, blood staining her teeth and her chin.

  I seized her wrist and pulled her up. She stumbled after me; the blade in her hand scraped along the ground. Celeste launched a volley of lightning towards us. Unthinking, I raised my hand, still tightly clenched around Guinevere’s charm. The air before me rippled like water and glowed. Then, there was an earsplitting crack, followed by Celeste’s scream as her lightning shot back at her.

  “She’s so strong,” Viviane rasped.

  Celeste’s lightning crackled through the air again, filling it with light and static. Lucian’s tail whipped across the floor, aiming for Celeste’s ribs, but the light before Celeste glowed. She vanished before Lucian’s tail even reached her.

  Viviane collapsed to the ground, coughing blood onto the marble. Dorian’s sword, streaked with bloody sigils, clattered to the ground beside her. I squeezed Viviane’s shoulder. “Are you all right?” I asked.

  Viviane’s face twisted in pain, and a low whine tore from her throat. “I didn’t…think…”

  Lucian roared, and when he twisted around, his tail left a trail of blood. I took a deep breath and called his fire to me. The ground tore nearby, and tiny sprouts of green burst from beneath the marble. Jessa was trying to help, but Celeste was nowhere to be found. And Viviane was coughing up blood because she’d used too much power. Tatiana had crawled over to Alexander, whose face was flushed; blood stained his clothes. All my friends were hurt. I was the only one left.

  The world shifted into a sharp, crystalline clarity.

  I released Viviane’s shoulder and called Lucian’s fire to my hand.

  Lucian twisted around. His feathered wings were pulled close to his back, and his head moved from side to side, his jaws snapping at empty air.

  “Face me, Celeste!” I exclaimed.

  I unleashed my fire in an arc before me, and it rippled through the chamber. Celeste’s yell split the air. She appeared at once, her clothes burned and her skin reddened. Her violet eyes were wild and her face twisted, nearly manic. Lucian lunged at her, but an invisible force knocked him back.

  “You know, Wynter,” Celeste said, “I really don’t know why you think these people are worth fighting for. You should just let me kill them. I might be inclined to spare you, even.”

  She’s trying to distract you, Lucian hissed.

  “And you believe you’re someone I’d join?” I snapped. “After you’ve hurt all my friends?”

  “They were in my way, Wynter,” Celeste said, “and you act as if they’re some great loss.”

  Lucian pressed his weight back on his haunches, preparing to pounce. Celeste swept down and pressed the tip of her pen against the ground. “Don’t try it, demon,” she warned.

  Lucian growled and spread his wings; the edges of his feathers were singed. He was tiring and hurt. Lucian hadn’t used this much power ever that I remembered. Maybe he’d never used this much. And like me, his powers weren’t limitless.

  I squeezed Guinevere’s charm, drawing on its power.

  Celeste was drawing a shield; complicated seals burned in a ring around her.

  “I won’t let you hurt them,” I said.

  “Then you’ll die with them.”

  I raised my hand out, and Lucian lunged. The air before Celeste shone brightly as Lucian’s fire collided furiously with her barrier, sending out gusts of hissing steam. With a burst of sound, Celeste’s barrier fell apart. Lucian fell back and shook his head, dazed, before disappearing in a puff of smoke and blue sparks.

  “Lucian!” I shouted.

  “It’s just you and me now, little mage,” Celeste snarled. No sword, and no demon. All I had left was my mother’s pendant. I didn’t know if it would be enough. Lightning flashed between Celeste’s palms, and the chamber rumbled as she gathered her power. She twirled her finger, and the shattered pieces of Alexander’s broken sword floated up near her face. With a wave of her hand, she released them and they flew towards me like gleaming arrows.

  Alexander pushed me out of the way just in time, jerking as the jagged metal pierced his body. We rolled to a stop a few paces away and I hovered over him. Blood bubbled on his lips as he smiled up at me.

  “I told you, Wynter, that we’d be good for one another.” Then he went limp.

  ***

  My arms shook in rage as I stood up to face Celeste, my hair fluttering around me in the vortex of energy created by Gwen’s pendant, which now shone like a blue moon, casting light throughout the chamber. I clenched my jaw and swept my hand forward, unleashing decay like a poisonous cloud. I didn’t know how to control it, I only felt the anger flood out of me, seeking to destroy everything in its path. Celeste screamed as her skin began to curl and crack, breaking apart like a dropped teacup. Blood oozed and poured over her torn skin.

  Celeste stumbled backward and drew a sharp line across her arm. She vanished. I tensed and waited, expecting another attack, but this time there was no sound save my own ragged breathing. Slowly, I lowered my arm. My shoulder throbbed, and I dug a chunk of shrapnel out of the wound with my fingers. I took a deep breath and my skin tingled. The blood in my veins became cooler and the pain lessened.

  “Lucian?” I whispered.

  I’ll be fine, he murmured. I just need to rest for a bit. I think I’ll hide in your shadow for a little while. You should check on your princeling.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Lucian brushed his cheek against my shoulder, then slowly shrank until he was the size of a newborn kitten. Then, he drifted apart in a burst of blue, star-like lights. A shadow swept across the floor and joined with mine. I turned and looked across the floor at my friends, who’d clustered together on the floor around Alexander’s body.

  His shirt was torn open, and Tatiana’s hands and pen were covered in blood as she tried drawing the healing sigils across his pale skin. Jessa sat quietly nearby, wringing her hands. Viviane was absentmindedly wiping Dorian’s sword across her trousers, smearing the fabric with blood. Her face was stained with tears.

  I dropped to my knees before Alexander.

  “Tati, let me try,” I said.

  “It’s no use,” Viviane said. “He’s lost too much blood.”

  Tatiana edged aside and I squeezed in next to Alexander. I took a deep breath and pressed the charm against Alexander’s chest, but the light was already fading and a wave of dread flooded through me. What if I was already too late?

  Concentrate, Lucian murmured.

  Alexander’s blood was hot beneath my hand. He was bleeding from multiple wounds across his chest, where the shards of his sword had punctured his torso. I could feel his injuries, and gasped in pain. It was like touching something soft and broken. I tried to remember the sting of the whip and the hotness of my blood. I’d just wished myself better. I’d wanted it to happen, and it had. My hand tingled, and Alexander tensed. We breathed as one, and I pulled the fragments of metal from his body and cast them to the side. Love conquers all, my father had said. I felt a flood of emotions fill my body. Then the warmth shifted, from my heart to his. I shuddered as my strength left me, and I sank back against the stones.

  When I looked up again, Alexander gazed at me through half-closed eyes.

  “That was impressive,” he muttered.

  I smiled. “Fortunately, decay and life go together.”

  “I’ve never known anyone who could use them, though,” Jessa said, her eyes widening. “The closest we have are the healing sigils.”

  Viviane sank to the ground and pulled her knees up to her chest.

  “We did it,” she said.

  “Thanks to you,” I said. “How did you find us?”

  “After Tati broke the glass, I stole Dorian’s sword and followed you,�
�� Viviane said. “I…thought I could help, with his ice magic, but she was too strong.”

  “You were great,” Tatiana said. I nodded in agreement.

  Viviane swept her hair over her shoulder and lowered her head.

  “Though I suppose he isn’t my uncle anymore,” she said slowly. “He’s just…His Lordship.”

  Viviane’s green eyes settled on me.

  “You heard all that?” I asked. “What Celeste said?”

  Viviane nodded, biting her lip. “It’s true, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “But they’re still your family, no matter what.”

  I was thinking of Briar, and how he’d always be my brother, but my mind also flashed to the vision I’d seen in the forests below Reverie. I had parents and knew their names and who they were. I did belong here, and I just hadn’t known it.

  “I wouldn’t let them cast you aside, Viv,” Alexander said. “You don’t deserve that. And no matter where you started, it’s clear you’ve become a true mage.”

  Viviane shuddered.

  “What about your uncle?” Viviane asked, her voice shaking. “Or the man you thought was your uncle. He’s still down there, and he’s responsible for all this. Will he come after me now?”

  I bit my lip. “I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe Gabriel isn’t your uncle either. I don’t know anything anymore. But he can’t hurt us up here, and if I—if I had to claim one, I’d pick Dorian.”

  “I can’t believe I almost grew up in Plumba,” Viviane said, wrinkling her nose.

  “We call them the Scraps,” I grinned. “Might have to work on your accent if you want to fit in down there. And it’s not all bad. Claribel is a kind woman. When Briar and I were small, she used to read us fairy tales to us.”

  “Briar is your brother?” Viviane asked.

  “Something like that,” I said. “And Claribel has a son named Sterling. He’s great, my best friend. Brave, strong and loyal.”