MEGAN
I wanted to kiss the rug that covered the map room floor, but I held back. My heart still beat wildly in my chest. I was pretty sure we weren’t going to get out of there alive. And even if we actually did escape, I knew O’Malley would be back soon. I could only hope that he hadn’t seen us as we left the cavern.
Jared stared at the ring on his finger while the others talked about what had just happened. Beth was ecstatic that she got to see a Chimera up close—even though it had almost taken off her leg. Adam stood and came over to Jared and me.
“Can I see it?” he asked.
Jared hesitated before giving it to him. As soon as it touched Adam’s hand, he jerked back, dropping the ring to the ground.
“That burned me.” He cradled his hand and stared at it in shock. “How can you touch it?”
Jared picked it back up. “I don’t know. It seems to like me, which sounds weird, but it’s true.”
Louie walked over to the door. “Guard it with your life, then. Others will try to get it. You’ve seen what it does to us when we try to touch it. I can’t even imagine what it will do in O’Malley’s hands.” He paused. “Congratulations, Jared. You now hold the most powerful magic in the world.”
Louie left, and the rest of us stared at the door. It felt kind of nice knowing I wasn’t the one with all the magic anymore. Or in my case, luck. The ring almost seemed to glow as he put it on. As much as I ached to touch it, I was actually glad that I didn’t have that responsibility on top of everything else. And I knew Jared would take better care of it than anyone else would.
Jared slipped it back on his finger and flexed his hand. “Well, now that we’re all weirded out by this ring, what’s next?”
“What we’d been planning to do already. We stop O’Malley, find a new fairy queen, and go home. And since O’Malley was at the cave just a couple of minutes ago, we know where to go after him.” I turned to Adam. “Are you okay?”
He shook his hand. “I’ll be fine. I just wasn’t expecting that shock. Apparently, Merlin likes Jared better than me.”
Beth kissed him on the cheek. “Isn’t it obvious? Jared had to be fairy king somehow, and the ring chose him. It would be weird to have a brother and sister be the royalty.”
“Yeah, maybe that’s it. Or Jared was just the one it chose. Pure and simple.” One of these days, Adam would have something going for him. Besides Beth. He got pretty lucky there. “Look, O’Malley was at the cave when we left. If we could send Puck and his army there right now, maybe we can stop him.”
Jared pointed at the cave on the map. “I don’t think so. Everyone is gone.”
Adam stood next to Jared. “O’Malley’s not just going to sit still. He’s going to come after the ring, and he’s going to be tricky. He proved that he’s a coward at Phantom Falls. He let everyone else fight, which means if he can’t get in easily, he won’t. So it’s time to have our people suit up. And if Colin’s around, we’re going to need him and his army as well.” He studied the map for a moment. “With this castle being where it is, we’ll need armies on every side. Archers here, swordsmen here, and any magic users surrounding us here. Why they put the castle in a bowl is beyond me. Worst security ever. We took the queen, and it was just the four of us for most of the time.”
I stared at Adam. “That’s … impressive. I’m just going to let you plan the battle, and I’ll go figure out how to stop O’Malley.”
Beth’s look of pride for Adam turned to shock when she looked over at me. “You’re actually letting us do something for a change?”
“What? You guys fight with me all the time.” I took a step back when they all turned to stare at me. “Okay, so usually I have to jump in first, but still.”
Beth laughed. “Megan, you wouldn’t let us do anything without going first. Ever. I think this whole queen thing has been good for you. That, or you got hit over the head with a rock last night and don’t remember who you are.”
“Fine. You’re right. But O’Malley’s not going to be easy to beat, and I’d rather just concentrate on him instead of dealing with the rest of the battle.” I was surprised to hear myself say that, but I was tired. “Oh, and sometime in there, I have to decide who will be the next ruler.” I dropped into the chair behind me.
Beth knelt down next to my chair. “Hey, Megan? Go get some sleep. We can take care of things for a while. We’ll come and get you if anything happens.”
I shook my head. “I can’t. I’ve slept too much since I got to this place. And there’s too much to do. Besides, if O’Malley wants to find me, he’ll find me. And I’d rather not be sleeping when he gets here.”
“Good point.” She stood. “As far as rulers go, there are a few people who could do it. But more of them are men, so that doesn’t work for the fairy queen. I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
“That’s my problem too. Anyway, we can worry about that later. You guys go do what you need to do. I need to go work on my magic again. I have a feeling it’s going to take more than just my luck to beat O’Malley this time.”
Jared took my hand as we made our way to the training ground. Adam and Beth went the other direction to go find Puck. He drove me crazy, but he was an awesome asset when it came to war.
“Are you sure this is a good idea? Last time you practiced, O’Malley showed up.” Jared sat down in the bleachers like he had the time before.
“Exactly.” It was probably stupid to take him on myself, but since that’s how he tended to work, I figured I’d run with it.
Jared’s eyes narrowed. “I knew there was a reason why you gave up so easily with Adam.”
“No, I really did want him to take over the army part. He knows what he’s doing, and that means I can concentrate on other things.” When Jared’s expression didn’t change, I sighed. “I promise, I’m really just out here to practice. Besides, O’Malley wouldn’t do anything yet anyway. He wants to take that ring on your finger, and you and I both know that won’t happen anytime soon. If it zapped Adam, just think of what it would do to O’Malley if he tried.”
Jared looked down at the ring. “You’re right. But I’m going to help you instead of just watching, okay?”
“Of course. That’s what I’ve been planning. It’s not my fault you wanted to be lazy and hang out while I did all the work.” I grinned at him and ran when he came after me with a growl. He caught me and held me tight.
“That’ll teach you to underestimate me. I was just waiting for the right moment.” He leaned down and kissed me.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, enjoying the closeness. Training could wait. After a few breathtaking moments, I pulled away. “And that’s how you fluster the enemy.”
He grinned and kissed my nose before letting go. “Well, in that case, I’m all yours. Take me prisoner.”
“I already did that. You just didn’t know it.” I backed up a few steps. “Now, stand there so I can throw a fireball at you.”
“What?” He laughed.
“Hey, I need a target, and you’re it. Now just stand there.” I lifted my arm and formed a fireball. Just as I was ready throw it, Jared put up his hands to defend himself.
And a large blue barrier formed between us.
We both yelped and jumped back. The fireball dropped from my hand, singeing the grass. I stepped around it and reached out toward the shield. Jared put his arms down, and the wall dropped.
“Uh. What was that?” I gestured toward the ground where the shield had disappeared. “Was that you?”
“I . . . don’t know.” He flexed his hands. “I don’t have magic.”
O’Malley wouldn’t have stopped me from throwing the fireball at Jared. He would have thought it was a perfect opportunity to get rid of the fairy king. It couldn’t have been him. But it didn’t stop me from searching the arena for anyone else. Once I was sure the place was empty except for the two of us, I walked back over to Jared. “It had to be you. Did you feel anything?”
Jared lo
oked down at his hands. “There was some kind of pull from the pit of my stomach, but things happened so fast, I didn’t even think about it.”
“So, let me get this straight. You put that ring on your finger, and suddenly you can do magic?” I squealed. “Jared, you’re using Merlin’s magic!”
“But how? I didn’t even try to use it. I just didn’t want you to hit me.”
“Oh, brother. It’s not like I would have. I was going throw it at the armor behind you. But let’s do it again.” I backed up again and formed another ball of flame. “Just do exactly what you did before.”
“I don’t know what I did—” He ducked as I threw it toward him, narrowly missing his hair.
I sighed. “I told you I was going to throw it. Now this time, think the same thing you did before. Whatever it was. Ready? Set?”
I formed and threw the fire just as he held his hands up and the barrier came up just in time. It was thicker than before, and instead of being nearly transparent, I could barely see Jared on the other side. “Perfect. Now, drop it and try again.”
Jared let go of the shield. “Are you sure this is a good idea? We don’t even know how it works. What if I suck out all the magic or something?”
He had a point. We knew the ring held magic in it, but not how much. But if he didn’t learn to use it, what was the point of having it? And it was obviously meant for Jared. No one else could touch it.
“I think you need to learn how to use it. O’Malley’s going to come after it, and you’re the one he’s going to attack. But I think this stays between the two of us. Beth and Adam can figure out you can use magic later if you end up needing to use it.”
“Good idea. But we still have to be careful. There’s no point in training if I use it all.”
“Okay, so let’s get this one down, and then we can try a few other things. See if there’s a way to combine our powers.”
After practicing a few more times, we decided it was time to move on. By that time, the barrier completely surrounded him.
“Okay, teach me now.” I stood over by him and watched his movements. “Do you say anything?”
“Nope, just picture it and push it. Or, at least that’s what I think I did.” Jared showed me one more time.
I pictured the barrier he’d made and pushed it out of my hands. A small gold barrier came up, as small as Jared’s had been the first time. “Oh! I did it.”
“Awesome. Now teach me how to do the fireball.”
“Uh. Okay. Just … do the same thing. I think. Pull on the ring like I would pull on my luck.” I pictured the flame, and it appeared. “See?”
“No. But I’ll try to make it work anyway.” He concentrated on his hand, and jumped when fire appeared on it. “Awesome!”
I laughed. “Now throw it.”
We both threw toward the target on the other side of the field, and his went farther and faster than mine. I would have been jealous, but I was too thrilled that he had magic like me. He finally knew what it felt like.
“This is incredible. No wonder all these magical creatures fight for power. It’s intoxicating.”
“Uh …” I didn’t like the sound of that. I wasn’t okay with my fiancé turning into an evil power-grabbing psycho.
He looked down at me. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m not power hungry. It’s just a thrill to use it. But I think we need to be done for the day. I’m exhausted, and the others are probably looking for us.”
“That’s probably a good idea. And Jared? Let’s have you avoid the magic as much as possible, okay?” I took his hand as we walked back into the castle. Servants bustled about as we walked past, carrying linens and dishes.
“Were we having a party tonight?” I asked. Maybe something had been planned while I was sleeping.
Jared glanced at a small cart that rolled past us. “Not that I know of. We canceled all the events, and I assumed that meant the banquet as well.”
“That’s what I thought too.” I followed the servants into the banquet room. If we weren’t supposed to be having a nice banquet, someone forgot to tell those who worked in the castle. I searched the room until I found Ethan in the corner. I made my way over to him. “What’s going on?”
Ethan looked up from the scroll in his hands. “Puck told me the banquet was back on. I couldn’t find you, so I figured we’d go with it. Besides, we’ve all been through a rough couple of days. I think we deserve it, don’t you?”
I wanted to argue, but he had a good point. And I was the one who’d caused the earthquakes, so I did owe them. “Fine. I like the idea, but make sure you don’t poison any of us. Got it?”
He nodded. “Of course. We have the best cooks, who have worked in France for the last several years.”
“France? How’d they get here?”
“They were here for Midsummer’s Eve and didn’t make it back home on time. And they are not happy about it, by the way. I only got them to work by assuring them that you were going to open up a way to get back there. So, uh, I suggest you do that.”
No pressure or anything. “Of course I will. Oh, and we need to keep an eye on the dwarves. They’ve been a little testy, and I don’t want them going after Beth again.”
“Already taken care of. They’re on the opposite end of the banquet hall, and they were warned that they would be kicked out of the running for the crown if they don’t behave.”
Not that I would even choose a dwarf after what had just been happening. “Sounds good. Thanks, Ethan. Need any help?”
He chuckled. “No, Your Majesty. You should be getting ready for the banquet. Jared, you also need to get ready.”
“Sounds good. We’ll be back. And thanks again.” I turned and went back to my room. Beth was already there getting ready when I came in. “Hey, how was the army maneuvering?”
“Good. Your brother has everyone right where they should be. On paper, at least. You should have seen him out there. Everyone listened to him, and his ideas were pretty amazing.”
I grabbed a towel from the wardrobe. “After watching him for just a minute in the map room, I knew he would do an awesome job. I’ll be right back.”
Once I showered, I went back to the wardrobe to find a dress. I figured the gold would be nice. Even if I’d already worn it a few times.
“There you are, Your Majesty.” Nessa stepped in front of me holding a deep lavender gown. The embroidery around the bodice and the sleeves was done with silver thread. “Ah, this will do quite nicely with your coloring. Now hurry—we must get you changed.”
I closed my eyes, my face burning as Nessa and the other servant girls helped slip on my dress and tightened the ribbons in the back until I couldn’t breathe.
“Hey, loosen that up, please. Just a little.”
Once they were done, they shuffled me over to the chair and worked on the mane of messy hair by brushing and yanking on the knots. My head ached by the time they finished pulling it up and then curling the strands that had come free from the twist.
Beth came out from behind a curtain dressed in a cherry-red gown that hugged her waist. Her hair was down and wavy. “What do you think?”
“I think Adam’s going to be speechless. I love that color.”
“I do too. They wanted to have me wear orange, but I told them I refused to look like a pumpkin.” She watched as Nessa made the final touches to my cheeks and lips. “I didn’t think they could top what they’ve done before, but I think they did it.”
I stood and turned to the mirror. The dress was a perfect fit, as always. And while I still had a few white streaks, most of my hair was back to gold. Nessa set the tiara on top of my head and clasped her hands together.
“You are ready.” She pushed me and Beth toward the door. “Your escorts are waiting.
Jared and Adam stood outside in their suits. Their jackets matched the colors of our gowns. Jared had a crown on his head, and Adam had one that was slightly smaller. They took our arms as we followed our guards to the banquet room.
I’d seen the decorations just a couple of hours before, but I was blown away by the transformation. April and her friends swooped in and out of the streamers and balloons that covered the ceiling. April had traded her normal ragged jeans and T-shirt for a ball gown of her own, and her hair was in tight curls. When she spotted me, she flew down and stopped just inches from my face.
“You need to tell your guards to let me in next time. I’ve been trying to talk to you for days.” She glared at the escorts around me.
“I’ll see what I can do. I’ve been wondering where you were.” I let Jared guide me to the head of the table, the spot where Oona had sat.
Jared glanced over at me before sitting where Jakob had been, his expression unreadable.
Ethan stood in the corner and announced people as they came into the room. Colin, Exander, and Alleya sat near us at the table, and Cam came in shortly after with a date. He smiled over at me before sitting down.
The dwarves were at the other end of the room like Ethan had promised. It didn’t stop them from throwing dirty looks toward us. Puck had actually dressed up and didn’t look half bad after he’d showered. He had a cute girl with him, and he helped her into her chair before sitting down. Hopefully, that meant he wouldn’t keep trying to flirt with me.
Other creatures continued to file in. Naiads, dryads, elves, and I was surprised to see a few leprechauns besides Louie, Patrika, and Eoin. I frowned when they were seated back by the dwarves. I turned to say something to Ethan, but he shook his head in warning.
Jared squeezed my hand and leaned closer. “This isn’t cool. The others are already moving away from them.”
My heart hurt for my friends as they were treated poorly by the others. Louie had been a huge help, and now he was being treated terribly. I wanted to stand and scream, but Jared was right. Even though I was queen, now was not the time to throw a fit. I’d just have to help prove that leprechauns were good people who deserved more respect. After we destroyed the other evil leprechaun …
At a cue from Ethan, Jared and I both stood. I waited for Jared to speak, but he stayed silent. That meant it was up to me. Again.
No Such Luck Page 12
