Queen of Hearts (The Risen King)

by Samantha Warren

  Lea growled and her hand shot out. A blast of wind slammed into Percival and launched him into the air. His cries followed him until he smashed into a tree nearby. More lightning and arrows flew, but Leanansidhe ducked and spun. Her hands danced and she parried each attack like she was invincible.

  The wind picked up around her, whipping her hair about into a frenzy and tearing limbs from the trees. Kane glanced back behind him as he dodged a branch that had tried to decapitate him. Their battle had spun the group around and the path was right behind them.

  “Zee,” he called through the wind. Zela let a fireball lose and caught his eye. “Go,” he said. “Take him and go.” His head bobbed to the path.

  She hesitated as Leanansidhe sent a volley of ice shards slamming into Eden.

  “Go,” Kane called again. “I“ll cover you.”

  Zela moved toward Percival, who lay slumped beneath a tree. Kane surged forward and grabbed Eden's arm. The faery lay sprawled beneath a sapling, trying to right herself and brush ice off her armor. “Go with them.”

  “I won't leave you alone to die.” She rose to her feet and let another arrow fly so fast Kane barely saw her nock the bow.

  Leanansidhe moved toward them, bringing her miniature tornado with her. “You were a fool, Kane.” Her voice was magnified by the wind and danced around him. “You could have had it all. Now you will have nothing but pain.”

  “Too much talk,” Eden said. Her arrow flew straight and sank into Leanansidhe's thigh.

  The other women screamed and stumbled.

  “Run,” Eden said and turned toward the path. Kane was right behind her.

  Zela had Percival just inside and Eden tucked her other arm under him. They dragged him backward as fast as they could. Kane spun around and raised his hands. Leanansidhe was rising to her feet and his eyes met hers. She glared at him.

  “You will pay, Kane. With your life and the lives of your loved ones.”

  The lightning bolt singed the air overhead, but he managed to seal the path before she released another one.

  *~*~*~*

  “Which way do we go?” Lancelot asked. He was stopped at a crossroads in the middle of the path. It was dark and impossible to see more than a few feet in front of them.

  Galahad ran a hand through his curly hair and took a few steps to the right. “I think we turned left before, so we should go this way.”

  “Go straight.”

  Arthur glanced down at the woman in his arms. Both of Titania's eyes were swollen shut but her cracked lips held a small smile.

  “Straight it is,” he said and pushed forward. He walked as fast as he could without jarring the precious bundle he carried. If he moved wrong, Titania would let him know with a whimper and those whimpers broke his heart. The walk took a lot longer than he remembered, but he chalked it up to moving slowly to save the queen further anguish.

  “I see a light,” Galahad called from up ahead. “I think we're almost there. There's a hole. I see...”

  The knight's voice trailed off as he broke out into the open. They weren't at the bush where they had entered. Instead, they were on a small knoll behind the combined army. The battle was raging out below them on the plains in front of Castle Eiri Greine. Houses and fields burned. Soldiers lay dying everywhere. Leanansidhe's undead army was winning.

  *~*~*~*

  “Go right, go right,” Zela called as Eden raced on ahead. Percival had come around and she was running as fast as she could with her arm tucked under him. Eden took point and Kane brought up the rear.

  “She's not behind us,” he said for the half a dozenth time.

  “Maybe she thinks she can hold the castle.”

  “By herself?”

  “You know her better than I do. Can she?”

  Kane ground his teeth together. “Yes,” he admitted.

  Their mother was saved, which was all that really mattered to him, but the permanent knot in the pit of his stomach grew and hardened further as he realized how responsible he was for the fall of the South. He had been Leanansidhe's right-hand man for so long, she likely would not have succeeded without his help.

  He growled at himself and pushed the thoughts away. No sense in worrying about the past. He couldn't change that. All he could do from this point on was try to fix the future.

  They reached the end of the path and pushed out into the ongoing war. Miniature battles were being fought all around them. Soldiers from the North, South, East, and West were falling left and right to Leanansidhe's nearly invincible army.

  “It's nearly impossible to kill them,” Eden said as she loosed an arrow.

  “But not completely impossible. Aim for the head.” Kane swung his sword and shortened a pixie at the neck.

  Nearby, a knight of the North screamed his final death cry as a banewolf ripped out his throat. The creature bounded off, but another faery, dressed all in black with a red hand on the hood that covered its face, stepped forward. It placed its long, spindly fingers on the knight's head and chanted a phrase. The knight's eyes went from dull to a deathly gray pallor and he rose to his feet.

  “What is that?” Eden cried. She took a step back.

  “One of Leanansidhe's servants. She calls them death lords.” Kane climbed atop a nearby stump and looked around. “There are six of them,” he called down to Eden. “And she's using them all.”

  “What do they do?” Percival leaned against the stump and pressed his hands to his rib cage. Zela had determined that three ribs were broken and the young man was having trouble breathing.

  “They raise the dead. To fight on her side.”

  Eden's teeth clenched. “So for every one of ours that die, she gets one back?”

  Kane's nostrils flared. “Pretty much.”

  “Why didn't you tell us this before?” Zela glared at her brother as she slammed her sword into the skull of a nearby faery.

  “They never left her dungeon before. I didn't think they could.”

  “We have to retreat,” Eden said. “We can't fight like this.” She caught sight of her brother's dragon flight soaring toward them. “I'll have Etain spread the word.”

  She raised a hand to her brother and caught his attention. He waved back and his gryphon turned toward them. As his arm was lowering, an arrow flew from somewhere in the chaos. It caught him between the armor and armpit. His fingers lost their grip on the reins and he toppled from the beast.

  “No!“ Eden's scream echoed across the plains. She pushed and shoved her way forward, struggling to reach her brother. Kane was right behind her, slicing and dicing as he went.

  “Etain!“ Eden sank to the ground and pulled the body of her brother onto her knees. His eyes were wide, but his chest was still. The arrow had pierced his heart. He never felt the impact with the earth.

  “We have to go,” Kane shouted at her. Zela had sounded the retreat and the hordes of faeries were all fighting their way backward.

  “I won't leave him,” Eden cried. “I won't let him become one of them.”

  Kane beheaded another faery and slammed his sword into its sheath. He bent down and grabbed the body of Etain. “Let's go.” He slung it over his shoulder and pushed through the crowd back to Zela. Together, the three of them fought their way to an open path that was quickly flooding with faeries.

  *~*~*

  TWENTY-FOUR

  *~*~*

  “They're retreating. Why are they retreating?” Galahad stepped forward and shouted down at the soldiers who were running away from Castle Eirii Greine. “Fight, you cowards! Fight for your queen!“

  Most ignored him or didn't hear. A few faeries sent him rude gestures to share their feelings.

  “Stop, Galahad,” Arthur chided the young man. “If they are retreating, it means one or more of the generals felt the battle was lost.” Arthur looked down into the shallow valley below him “I think they are right.”

  Titania coughed in his arms. “Arthur,” she whispered in a broken, pained voice. “We must g
o.”

  Arthur bowed his head. “Yes, your highness.” He looked around. None of the immediate landmarks were familiar to him. “Where?”

  Her hand lifted a mere fraction from where it lay cupped over her stomach. “Over there, nearer the cliff. There is a rock shaped like a flarpos.”

  “Like a what?” Galahad looked at the queen and then his father. Lancelot shrugged.

  “It's a small tree.”

  The young man trotted over to where she was pointing. “This?” He set his hand on top of a stone that had an odd shape to it. It immediately started to vibrate at his touch and he jumped back with a yelp.

  “Yes.” As Arthur approached, Titania waved her hand. The stone grew and morphed and a hole formed in the middle, just big enough for a grown man to walk through. “This will take us near Castle Daor. To the woods there.”

  Arthur took a step toward the hole, but Lancelot stepped in front of him. “I'll go first. Just to be safe.”

  The queen's lips quirked. “Do you not trust me, Sir Lancelot?”

  The knight raised his head and straightened his shoulders. He tilted his head in her direction. “With all due respect, your highness, it is not you I don't trust. Leanansidhe is the wickedest woman I have met and we cannot know where her plans lead.”

  The queen's smile grew. “Of course. You are wise, dear knight. Please, proceed.”

  Lancelot stepped into the hole with his sword drawn. Arthur followed, with Titania in his arms, and Galahad brought up the rear. The hole closed and plunged them into darkness. A small glow blossomed from Titania's hands and floated up into the air to hover over Lancelot's head.

  They walked along in the crowded tunnel for awhile before Titania spoke. “The end is just ahead.”

  “That was a lot quicker than before,” Galahad grumbled from behind them.

  “I am a queen, my child. Paths open to me that open to no one else.”

  As she spoke, a light bloomed in front of them and the darkness opened to reveal the woods surrounding Castle Daor. The fields below them were slowly filling with the first of the faeries to retreat from battle. They tumbled out of the paths and many fell to their knees, trying to catch their breath after the hard-fought loss. Some tucked their heads and let tears stream down their faces.

  Arthur stepped out of the woods and walked toward the gates of the castle. The faeries parted before him, staring at the bundle in his arms.

  “The queen,” one whispered, and the whisper traveled through the ranks.

  Titania gathered what little strength remained and forced herself to sit straighter in Arthur's arms. She raised a hand and waved, a brave smile plastered across her face.

  “The queen,” another faery shouted. “She lives!“

  The defeat laying heavily across the soldiers evaporated. The South had been lost, but the queen was saved. Hope remained. Cheers ebbed and flowed as other faeries flooded into the field and heard the news. Even Arthur's spirits were raised by the time they reached the gates.

  “Open,” he commanded the stone guardians. They jumped down from the walls and parted the gates wide enough so he could walk through with the queen and his knights. He turned just inside and let Titania continue to wave to the crowd until the gates were shut, then she sagged into his arms once more.

  “I need to rest,” she whispered.

  “Of course, my queen.” Arthur carried her into the castle and up to the room at the very top.

  Aiofe lay in the bed, propped up on pillows. Lilia hovered around her like a hummingbird.

  “What happened?” Aiofe cried as Arthur carried Titania across the room.

  “Go retrieve the physician.” Lilia bowed at Arthur's command and scampered out. When she was gone, Arthur laid Titania on the massive bed. “Leanansidhe, of course. That woman is evil. She will suffer for what she has done.”

  Aiofe grabbed a wet cloth from a bowl on her night stand and squeezed some of the water out. Then she scooted across the bed and began to pat at the blood on Titania's face. Arthur and the other two knights stood over them, unwilling to leave, but at a loss for how to help.

  The purple-haired physician scurried into the room. “Move move move,” she cried before she was halfway across the floor.

  Arthur shooed his knights out of the way and they went to stand beside the window.

  “No,” the physician said. “Out.” She pointed to the other side of the room and fixed the men with a glare. “I must examine her in peace.”

  “But I--“ Arthur started to protest, but the woman cut him off.

  “Men are annoying,” she claimed. “They hover. Always in the way. Go there.” She pointed to the other room again.

  Arthur glared at her, but did as he was told. Once Lancelot and Galahad joined him, he pulled the curtain shut to give the women some privacy. He found himself once again next to a window. The field outside was filling fast.

  “Do you think they made it?” Galahad stood beside him. The young man's brow was knit with worry as he searched the faeries below. It was nearly impossible to pick out a particular person from that distance, but it didn't stop him from trying.

  “I don't know. I hope so.”

  They fell into silence, each man sinking into his own thoughts as they watched the remnants of the four greatest armies Arthur had ever seen admit defeat.

  A throat cleared behind them sometime later. “Your highness?” The physician's head poked out through the curtain.

  Arthur turned from the window and walked over. He found Titania tucked into the bed next to Aiofe. Her face was still swollen and she looked terrible, but the blood and dirt had been cleaned and she was breathing softly beneath the blankets.

  “How is she?” he asked as he walked over to perch on the edge of the bed next to Aiofe.

  “She will live,” the physician said.

  Relief flooded over Arthur and audible sighs came from the other side of the curtain as the two other knights listened in. The woman's voice held an edge, though.

  “But?” Arthur asked. There was always a but.

  “But she will not rule again.” The woman's face was a mask of sadness, pity, and a touch of fear. “She is broken, in both body and mind. She will not heal completely, and she will never have strength enough to lead as she must lead. She can no longer be queen.”

  The lead weight that dropped on the room was stifling. Aiofe's hand snaked out and gripped Arthur's. “What do we do?” she whispered. “The South has to have a queen.”

  “Mother!“ Zela's shout echoed up through the castle. Her feet pounded on the stairs as she raced up them. Lancelot and Galahad stepped aside as she entered the room and pulled the curtain apart to allow her to pass. “Mother,” she cried again as she flew to the queen's side.

  Kane wasn't far behind. He paused at the curtain and watched his sister fall to her knees beside Titania.

  “Is she...” He couldn't bring himself to say the word.

  “No,” Arthur said as he squeezed Aiofe's hand. “She's alive.” He pushed himself to his feet and kissed Aiofe's fingers before walking over to stand beside Kane. “But we have a problem.”

  “What is it?” the other man grumbled.

  “We need a new queen.”

  Kane spun on him and took a step forward, closing what little gap was between the. “Repeat that.” His lip was curled into a snarl as he issued the challenge.

  “Kane, stop.” Titania's voice was soft, but firm.

  Arthur's hands slowly unclenched as Kane spun to face his mother. Titania held out a hand to him and he crossed the space between them in swift strides. His fingers gripped hers and he fell to a knee beside his sister.

  “Mother,” he whispered. “Mother, I'm so sorry.”

  Titania's smile was small, but visible. “Now is not the time for sorry, my son. It is time for action. You must help them choose a new king and queen. You know what the South needs. You know what the people need. You must help them make a wise decision and choose rulers that c
an do what they must.”

  “But Zee--“

  Titania shook her head. “No, not Zee.” She patted her daughter's tear-stained cheek. “Zela would be a wonderful ruler, but her heart is not in it. It never has been. She is a warrior, a leader on the battlefield, but not on the throne. Politics would not suit her.” Titania's smile quirked. “Plus, she is in love with a human. A human cannot rule.”

  Zela straightened and her cheeks colored. “Mother, I'm sorry. I failed you.”

  A small laugh escaped Titania's cracked lips. “No, darling, you did not. I have known you would not rule since you were a small child. I trusted you completely with my army, but I would never trust you with my throne. Percival is a wonderful boy. He compliments you very well. You have my full blessing.”

  “I can rule.” Kane's voice held something Arthur couldn't quite put his finger on. It wasn't hope. It was almost like fear, as if Kane were afraid his mother would agree.

  “No, you cannot rule either. You have too many wrongs to right and not enough time to right them. Your betrayal is too fresh and the other queens would never allow it.”

  “Who do you suggest?” Arthur stepped forward from the curtain. “We must have a meeting soon. We must call the queens and their generals together and decide on a ruler.”

  “Two rulers,” Zela said. “Each land must have a queen and a king. They must rule together as one.”

  Arthur's eyebrows pressed together. “Titania ruled without a king.”

  “Temporarily,” she said. “I was searching for a replacement to my husband. I loved Oberon dearly, but one is weaker without the other. I was running out of time.” Her face fell. “If I had chosen sooner, things may have not turned out the way they have, but I cannot change that now. Things have gone they way they were supposed to, though maybe not the way we would have liked.”

  No one knew how to respond to that, so they let it hang for a moment.