The next second, Queen Bitch sent a fireball blazing through the air, headed straight for my face. I quickly threw a fireball of my own, meeting hers in the middle. They both exploded in a colorful blast of magic, glimmering particles of energy raining down like ashes.
She launched another, and another, and I blocked them both in the exact same way. By the time she launched a fourth, the king had had enough.
As I was getting ready to counterattack, he put his palm out and blew me backwards with an invisible force-push. I landed in a mob of vicious fighters, catching a few stray fists and elbows on my way down. I hadn’t even made it onto my hands and knees when I felt the power dragging me back to them.
Scanning the room for anything to use in defense, I settled on an upturned leather sofa. With my magic, I lifted it into the air and whipped it at them, knocking them over like bowling pins. I used the spare moment to scramble back onto my feet.
“Why?” I screamed at them. “Why are you doing this? Why do you hate me so much?”
The queen rose from behind the couch and shot me a daggered look. “We knew from the time you were a child that you lacked the attitude of a proper witch leader. You were too soft. Too lenient. Marrying you off was literally our only option for salvaging what was left of your worth, and you couldn’t even do that properly!”
I squeezed my fists, and magic lit up around them. “So you hate me for being merciful and compassionate? For refusing to roll over and play dead when you auctioned me off to the strongest vampire coven?”
“No,” Dad said, cutting Mom off. “If we hated you, we wouldn’t be here now. We hoped this unlikely union would end the war. But when Lyra told us that Lord Varek was sharing you like a common whore, we had to do something. Our reputation was on the line; people were beginning to question the strength of our rule.”
I was astounded. There were so many things wrong with what he’d just said, I didn’t know where to start.
“Varek never whored me around, for starters. The only man I was with over here was Darren, the one I was supposed to marry in the first place. And that had nothing to do with your stupid competition, considering I met and fell in love with him before it ever began.
“Second, I love how you didn’t come here to rescue me when you thought I was being abused. You came to uphold your reputation and solidify your rule. Classy.
“And third, you might’ve wanted an end to the war, but you never wanted a peaceable one. Tell me the truth. You sent Lyra as an excuse. You probably told her to get any dirt she could so that you could use it against the vampires and attack. Didn’t you?”
Dad chuckled. “From the moment Lyra came to us, she was an elite vampire huntress, constantly on the prowl for her next victim. We admired her spirit and skill, her drive and determination. So we put her undercover as your handmaid, hoping she’d pick up your slack when you inevitably failed to do what was required of you.”
A tear burned down my cheek. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Oh, get over yourself,” the queen spat. “You’ve never done a damn thing to deserve our trust or respect.”
I could feel the ball of magic around my fists getting stronger. It was hard to hold the energy back. It wanted to flow like my tears and emotions, to wreak havoc like their words had done to my heart and soul.
I swiped at my cheeks. “This is a tiny battle in the grand scheme of things. One you will lose. You will never win the war with this ridiculous plan of yours. So what were you hoping to achieve?”
Dad chuckled and squeezed the back of the sofa. “You honestly believed our plan was so poorly put together? No, Autumn. This spans multiple covens, multiple kingdoms. All over the world witches are infiltrating covens in the guise of peace, and soon enough, those covens will crumble. This is the beginning of the end.”
“You’re wrong,” I murmured quietly, dangerously, as I shook my head. “This isn’t the beginning of the end; it’s the beginning of a revolution. I am the rightful queen of this kingdom. I will claim the throne and put an end to this madness. And I will do it right fucking now.”
With that, I unleashed the full fury of my power. It stormed away from me like a hurricane, capturing my parents in a cyclone of flailing limbs and shattered furniture. The lights flicked off and on. Paint peeled from the walls. By the time the wind calmed, their bodies had smashed into a wall and crumpled to the floor. The whole room went deathly silent.
Darren appeared at my side from out of nowhere and brought my hand to his lips.
“My queen,” he muttered against the skin of my wrist. “We won.”
The weight of his words hit me full force, and I blinked, confused. “What?”
But then I looked around. The room was a ruined mess of blood and ashes. Varek knelt behind Darren, along with Jared and all the remaining vampires, and half the witches; the other half was either crossing over to our side, or being apprehended. No one was fighting anymore.
“We won?” I whispered to him. I still couldn’t believe it, even though I’d seen it with my own eyes. A tiny battle, not the whole war, but a monumental victory for us nonetheless.
He smiled and pressed his forehead down to mine. “Yes. We did it, Princess. Now people can be free to love whomever they please. Especially us.”
My heart fluttered faintly in my chest. Now that the adrenaline was fading, my muscles had started shaking. I needed his hold on my body to keep me standing upright. I’d never been so relieved, so completely gratified in all my life.
He brought his lips to mine, and for the first time ever, I felt the freedom of our love blooming into all it could be.
“I know you already called me your future king,” he muttered against my lips, “but I still need to ask....”
The faint beating of my heart quickly picked up into a nervous throbbing.
“Yes?”
I wasn’t sure if my nerves could handle much more. Every passing millisecond felt more like an eternity. I glanced between his beautiful hazel eyes and held my breath.
“Autumn Delarose,” he said with a sexy grin in that alluring accent. “Will you marry me?”
I was pretty sure I died in that moment. My heart had to have just stopped completely. I knew for a fact that I wasn’t breathing. But then I surged back to life, as if lightning had struck my blood and electrified my soul.
“Yes!” I cried, as I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“All hail the King and Queen of the Witches and Vampires!” Jared shouted from the front of the crowd.
And as everyone rose and erupted into a chorus of cheers and applause, I knew in my very bones that everything had happened exactly how it was meant to.
Epilogue
Autumn
Months passed, and from the ashes of war our desolate world slowly began to bloom. It was awkward at first, and uncomfortable for some, but overall I was pleased with how willingly our kinds had come together.
Darren and I had married as soon as my annulment was final. It was an elaborate ceremony that was joyfully celebrated across the kingdom, and for nearly a week in the capital of Delphina. In other words, it was a great excuse for the entire population to be shitfaced for seven days straight.
We’d also settled in quite nicely to our new roles of king and queen. The people seemed to genuinely like us, and we did our best to show our fondness in return by being kind and just rulers.
When the time came to assigning a new Lord to Wells Coven, we’d taken a ridiculous risk and allowed Varek to continue leading. He’d given us the benefit of the doubt once, and we wanted to repay the favor. So far, that decision had yet to backfire.
My parents had been telling the truth, though. Battles had broken out all over the globe. Many were extinguished quickly, but some were still raging on. Darren and I had sent as many witches and vampires as we could to aid in the cause, and the tides were slowly turning. I had no doubt that peace, love, and freedom would ultimately win in the end.
Everything seemed to be going perfectly.
That night, Darren and I sat at the head of the dining table, side by side, with Jared, Deidra, Varek, and Yasmin as guests. Honestly, it was nothing special. We'd taken to having “family” dinners like that every Friday night without fail. And yet, it was special. These were the people I cared about most in the world, the ones who’d stood by us, unwavering, in the face of uncertainty and possible death.
They say blood is thicker than water...
But now that I wore a crown born from the blood and ashes of the fallen, I can honestly say it doesn’t even matter. I don’t know if blood is thicker than water. But I do know that love is more than either.
A rapping suddenly sounded at the dining room’s closed double doors, echoing ominously through the room.
I glanced at Darren, then across the table to the eyes of our friends.
“Come in,” Darren called, taking a quick sip from his glass of blood.
A servant rushed in carrying an electronic tablet under his arm. He paused between Darren and me and bowed.
“Your Majesties,” he said, then straightened back up. “Communications just received a message we think you’ll want to see.”
He spun the tablet around, and Darren and I both leaned in to read it.
It wasn’t much. Just a quick sentence about a girl I’d never even heard of. But Darren’s eyes immediately widened and locked onto Jared.
“It’s for you,” he said quietly.
Jared looked like he might be sick. “Just spit it out, bruv. What’s it say?”
Darren cleared his throat. “It says... Michelle Bommer is alive.”
Jared swallowed hard. His pale face whitened further. It looked like he’d just seen a ghost.
A smile suddenly tore across Darren’s lips. “Your long-lost love is alive, mate!”
The End
Get ready! Jared and Michelle’s story is coming next!
Acknowledgments
I’m going to keep this short and sweet!
Thank you to my awesome family—the ones that love and support me no matter what. Especially Brent, Courtney, and Geegee. And thank you to the wonderful friends who make my life a little less crazy (or more crazy lol looking at you, Jess)! You guys are absolutely irreplaceable and I love you so much!
To my readers... I can’t say enough about you guys. The fact that you read my words at all is amazing to me! I hope you’ll always stick with me on this writing journey. Please know that I appreciate each and every one of you!
A huge thank you to the fantastic editors and proofreaders at Hot Tree Editing! Especially Becky, Olivia, and Aria! You girls rock! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book!
And finally, thank you to Rebecca at Bewitching Book Covers. I’m so thankful that you took a chance on me, and this story idea! Your work is always incredible!
About Elle Middaugh
Elle Middaugh is a USA Today bestselling author living in the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania with her wonderful husband and three beautiful children. She spends most of her time raising kids, writing stories, playing video games, reading, and attempting to keep a clean house.
She’s a proud Navy wife, a frazzle-brained mother, a fan of health and fitness, a lover of hot tea and iced tea, and a believer in happily ever afters.
Sassy. Seductive. Spellbinding.
www.ellemiddaugh.com
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Also by Elle Middaugh
Standalone Books
Siren Awakened
Enchanted Royals Series
Book One: A Crown of Blood and Ashes
Book Two: A Sword of Scales and Song (2019)
The Queen Witch Trials Series
Book One: Queen Witch
Book Two: Royal Witch (2020)
The Essential Elements Trilogy
Book One: Elemental Secrets
Book Two: Elemental Lies
Book Three: Elemental Betrayal
A Crown of Blood and Ashes Page 17
