Queen of the Magnetland (The Elemental Phases Book 5)

by Cassandra Gannon

  Was he kidding? Mara bit back a smile. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I was never that much of a lady.”

  “I’m not disappointed.” The words were almost inaudible.

  Mara took pity on him. The poor man looked so confused. “Likewise, I’m not disappointed that you’re more than just a gentleman, these days. That’s my whole point. We need to deal with each other as we are now. There are new versions of both of us.”

  “Mara wouldn’t like the new me, though.”

  “I might, if you put in a little effort. Showering would be a good place to start.”

  “You think you’re Mara.” He said abruptly, tilting his head at that odd angle. “You really do. You just don’t think you’re my Match, is that it?”

  “I’ve never really thought I was your Match. I think you deserved someone else. Someone from a more aristocratic background. Some who could’ve played the part perfectly. Someone who came from the Magnetland.”

  “So, it’s about the Light Kingdom.” He leaned back in his chair and fixed her with a brooding look. “It’s always been the Light Kingdom, hasn’t it? I’ve never been able to compete with those fucking trees.”

  Mara opened her mouth to deny that statement, except there was probably some truth to it. The Light Kingdom called to her, offering a sense of belonging. Standing in the jungle, she felt like she was a part of something vast. She had no idea how she could explain that to Chason. “It wasn’t the trees.” She finally said. “It was that I had a place there.”

  “And you didn’t here?”

  “No, I didn’t.” She’d never been needed in the Magnetland. She was just there, like someone who’d accidently received an invitation to a party and everybody was too polite to admit their mistake and send her home. “What was my place here? What was my role?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe… the queen?” He snapped sarcastically.

  “I wasn’t a real queen.” Mara didn’t make any decisions or help anyone or even oversee the household. The Magnet Phases had done things the way they’d always done them and Mara was left to tag behind. She was the most superfluous queen in the realm. Her entire function was to wear nice clothes and not embarrass the Magnetland at dinner parties. “I was never supposed to be royalty.”

  Chason scrapped a hand through his hair. “There’s no such thing as a ‘real’ queen and more than there are ‘real’ construction workers. No monarch is ‘real,’ by virtue of some special gift.” He reconsidered for a beat. “Well, maybe Job is. But mostly, being royalty is just like any other job. The only difference is you can’t quit and everyone blames you when things go wrong.”

  Mara blinked. No one had ever said anything like that to her before.

  “You’re right, though.” He continued thoughtfully. “Mara wasn’t a queen. Mara was the queen. When she took over the job, every other House looked like they were headed by hillbillies.” His mouth curved at something only he could see. “My God, it was the storybooks come to life when she walked into a room. She was exactly right.”

  Mara refused to be taken in by the words. “That was mostly the clothes.”

  “No. It wasn’t. She was the only ruler who made it all seem like… magic. That’s why everyone loved her. She gave people the fairytale.”

  “Did you ever wonder what happened after the fairytale?” Mara asked softly. “After Cinderella married the prince? Don’t you think it was hard, going from being a nobody to having everyone staring at her and expecting her to be worthy?”

  “Worthy of what?”

  “The handsome prince.” She shook her head, frustration taking over. “Especially, since it was just that damn shoe that convinced him. She wanted him to pick her and he didn’t. Not really. Seems like he would have taken anyone who wore a size seven and a half.”

  Chason squinted like he was trying to translate that.

  Mara kept going, driven by years of suppressed emotion. “Cinderella never even chose the shoe, Chason! It was just handed to her by the fairy and that was enough for the Prince. She could have been Rapunzel or Snow White or anyone and it wouldn’t have mattered to him. And afterwards, he never asked Cinderella if she wouldn’t rather some cowboy boots or some cute heels to wear while teaching linguistics at the university. Because, that wasn’t her expected role in his castle. She was just supposed to smile and inspire other people’s happy endings!”

  After Mara was done venting, there was a beat of dead silence.

  Chason stared at her.

  Mara’s eyes widened, shocked by herself. She’d just shouted at him right there in the dining room. For complimenting her performance as queen. The old Mara never would have done that. Never would have tried to explain how hard it had been for her to adjust to life in the Magnet Fortress or how much she wanted Chason to want her just for herself.

  And the old Chason wouldn’t have known what she was talking about, even if she had.

  This Chason’s gaze flickered over her face as if he was reading each freckle. “You think Cinderella had it bad? Well, the prince never even got a name. He was just there as a supporting player in her book. A nonspeaking part. He got to sit and wait for Cinderella to finish the ‘real’ story on all those other pages. All the parts of her adventure where he wasn’t interesting enough to even be included. His only purpose was to get left behind at the ball.”

  “I never left you behind.” Mara said defensively.

  Chason stared at her for a beat and then laughed. It wasn’t a pleasant sound. It sounded like an unholy mixture of frustration and craziness. She felt the darkness seize hold of him, twisting along their connection. He very carefully set his fork down and stood up, bracing his hands on the table.

  Mara’s throat went dry, fascinated rather than frightened. Seventy years Matched to Chason… and she had no idea what he was about to do. All the dependable, easily categorized parts of him were gone. Now he was a passionate, unpredictable mess, who made every part of her stand up and take notice.

  Zakkery had been right. This Chason wasn’t the man she remembered.

  Since Mara got back, she’d been annoyed at how many times Chason had called his saintly Match “perfect.” But wasn’t she guilty of that, too? For years she’d tried to be perfect, because she’d thought Chason was perfect. How unfair to both of them that was.

  This man wasn’t perfect, at all.

  This man was more.

  Chason must have been practicing his glare while she was away, because the one he leveled at her was a ferocious expression to behold. “You have left me behind. every. fucking. day. since we first met.” He ground out, each word punctuated by his hand hitting the tabletop. “Every one. Even when you’re with me, it’s just because you haven’t figured out how to leave again yet.”

  “That isn’t true.” Only she looked into his eyes and saw that he believed it was.

  “You have never been here and you never wanted me to go there.” He pointed in the direction of the Light Kingdom with an emphatic sweep of his palm and she felt his powers going wild. “If you didn’t pick the glass slipper, I didn’t pick this fucking castle. You don’t want it?!” Magnet energy slammed out, ripping apart the wall separating the dining room from the kitchen in one immense push. It collapsed in a heap of magnetized rock and horribly tasteful wallpaper, the whole palace rocking as it fell. “Well, I don’t want it, either! It means nothing to me.”

  “What are you doing?!” Plaster fell from the ceiling and she scrambled to her feet. “You’re going to collapse the house, Chason!”

  “I’ve already collapsed the House!” The darkened chandelier was ripped down and crumpled in midair. “Being enslaved to this fucking House and trying to be perfect for it, kept me from the only thing I ever wanted!” The massive lighting fixture went flying through the broken windows out onto the lawn, skipping across the dead grass. “It should all fall. What Magnet Phases are left fled to the Earth Kingdom, because I wanted them gone. I let Lansing and the Reprisal soldiers leave, t
oo. I just want everyone to go away and let me go crazy in fucking peace!”

  Mara’s lips parted, gaping at the destruction he’d wrought so easily.

  “Except… you.” His head tilted at that odd angle, his eyes focusing on her. Madness swirled like bats in hell. “You will not go anywhere, princess. Not without me. I don’t give a shit what kind of shoes you wear, just so you’re wearing them with me.”

  The whole table went flying, clearing the quickest path to her.

  He gripped the edge of the immense wooden surface that had separated them over a thousand breakfasts and threw it against the wall like it weighed nothing, at all. Mara jolted as it splintered into pieces, but her eyes never left his. She couldn’t have looked away from him if her life depended on it. He prowled towards her, straight across the territory he’d claimed, like a warlord who’d just conquered the world to reach her. Her body went damp and she just stood there, waiting for him. He certainly didn’t look like he was thinking about the dead and ladylike Mara, now.

  Chason stared down at her, his chest heaving. “You won’t leave me behind. Ever. Again.”

  The enraged order echoed through the castle, dust from his unplanned remodeling projects filling the air. He loomed over her, both of them breathing hard.

  After a heartbeat, Chason sort of… blinked.

  “I’m,” he brought his hands up to his temples and squeezed, “oh fuck. I’m sorry. I…” He met her gaze and then quickly looked away in shame. His eyes swept over the ruined dining room, suddenly realizing what he’d done. She saw fear in his expression.

  Fear for her.

  “Darling, it’s alright.” She started to touch his arm, not even noticing when the endearment slipped out. “I’m fine.”

  “No!” Chason backed up a step, holding up a hand for her to stop. “You can’t be near me.” He decided wildly, his gaze ping-ponging around the destruction. “I’m dangerous. I could hurt you and not even know it until it’s too late.”

  Mara stopped moving, afraid he might jump from the room if she didn’t. “You would never hurt me.” She believed it on the most fundamental level of her soul. Chason, of the Magnet House was the greatest man she’d ever known. Right now he was wounded, but that didn’t change what kind of person he was or the pull she felt towards him.

  Chason needed her.

  “Stay away!” His head shook back and forth like bugs were crawling in his brain. “I’m too far gone. I could’ve killed you, all over again.” His voice went higher. “You have to leave. Now. Don’t tell me where you’re going. If you tell me, I know I’ll just follow you.”

  In that moment, Mara knew what she had to do. She very deliberately turned to look at the fallen kitchen wall. “I’m not worried that you’ll harm me, Chason.”

  She arched a brow and the heap of rocks on the floor began righting themselves. One huge block piled up on top on another, rebuilding the wall in less than ten seconds. It was more power than she’d ever used in front of anyone. More than he’d used blowing out the wall in the first place

  Chason had destroyed the wall. But, Mara put every pebble right back where it belonged, without even having to think about how they fit.

  It was surprisingly easy to manipulate the blocks with her Magnet energy considering she ignored her powers so thoroughly. They just flowed through her, feeling free and right. Very Empire Strikes Back.

  Mara swallowed as the last stone slid into place, glancing back over at Chason expectantly. She was worried about what his reaction might be. That he might find her less attractive or be threatened somehow. Any other Magnet Phase male would have been.

  Even as strong as he was, Mara still had more energy.

  A lot more.

  “My God.” He was gazing at the repaired wall in something like reverence. “That’s why you were holding back. You’re more powerful than I am.”

  She blinked back tears, amazed that he seemed so impressed. Ashamed that she’d hidden her energy from him. Afraid that he still might be angry. “I know.”

  She’d been the strongest Magnet Phase alive since before they even Phazed. She just hadn’t thought Chason or his father would appreciate that fact that her powers could crush theirs, before she even came of age. The former king, Berke, had been a hard, proud man. He would have been so furious. He might have insisted that Chason renounce her. Mara would never have done anything to jeopardize her Match or make Chason think less of her.

  But he didn’t seem upset or repulsed.

  Just as she’d hoped, seeing the weight of her energy made him visibly less concerned that he’d accidently squash her. His panic faded, the frantic tension of his energy easing.

  After a long moment, he crossed his arms over his chest and fixed her with a level look. “So, you have that much power and you let Zakkery pin you down, yesterday?” His tone was now disapproving.

  Of all the things he could have said, that was his first thought?

  “It’s unfair to use powers during a fight…” She began automatically, only to trail off. Fighting fair meant very little when a man was trying to rape you. Honestly, it just hadn’t even occurred to her summon the Magnet energy. “You’re right.” She agreed. “I should have used my powers. My first instinct was to call for you, though. And you came back.”

  “What if I hadn’t?”

  “You would always come back for me.” Mara said softly.

  “What if I couldn’t, then?” He rephrased, conceding the point. “You couldn’t fight him off physically, so your first instinct should have been to strangle Zakkery with his bicycle chain bracelet.”

  “I don’t think Zakkery would have really harmed me.” Mara grumbled defensively.

  “He was Banished for doing worse.” The Chason who’d relentlessly trained soldiers every day for two centuries glowered back at her. “What you did was careless and could have gotten you killed.”

  Damn it, he had a point.

  That just annoyed her.

  “Well, I’m sorry. I’m not used to fending off attackers. Why would I be?” She threw up her hands. “Every day of my life, either you or Kahn has protected me, even when there was nothing to protect me from.”

  He seemed to consider that. “I never thought about teaching Mara how to defend herself. I doubt Kahn did, either.”

  “Thank you.” Finally, he was getting it. “This is a huge overreaction. I’ve always been perfectly safe.”

  “Except when you died.”

  “Oh for God’s sake, I didn’t die! And even if I had, how could training me to use my powers possibly have stopped it?”

  “I don’t know, but this isn’t a safe world. It never was. I was just too naive to know how quickly it could all be taken away.” He shook his head. “You need to know how to protect yourself, this time. I’ll teach you. I lost Mara. If I lost you, I’d…”

  She cut him off. “You won’t lose me. You couldn’t.” Her mouth curved. “Don’t you see, Chason? I would always come back for you, too.”

  He stared at her for a long moment and then vanished.

  “Chason!” Mara automatically cried, even though he’d jumped out of the Magnetland and couldn’t hear her. He’d left! Oh God, where could she start looking for him?

  Thirty seconds later, though, he was back and holding an armful of what looked like women’s shoes. Stilettos and flats and sneakers and slippers and sandals in a barrage of colors and styles. He dropped them onto the floor in front of her.

  Mara gaped down at them and saw that each pair was a size seven and a half.

  “Wear any of them. All of them.” He told her solemnly. “Wear and do and say whatever you feel like. Just… wear and do and say it here with me.”

  “What if I’m not your Match?” She whispered.

  “I don’t care. I want you.”

  For a long moment, Mara’s throat was too tight for her speak. Finally, she looked back at him. “Tell me one thing first.” She said seriously. “And it had better be the truth.”


  “Anything.” He seemed to brace himself.

  “…Did you pay for these shoes?”

  Chason blinked at her, realizing that she was teasing him.

  Mara laughed, overjoyed that things were going so well. “Of course, I’ll stay with you, Chason. Where else would I ever be?" She shook her head at his amazed expression and bent down to examine her bounty of footwear. “And the weirdest part of all of this…? I’m pretty sure this is the most enjoyable breakfast we’ve ever had together.”

  “I was thinking the same thing.” Chason said… and very slowly smiled.

  Chapter Eleven

  War was their one care and only pleasure.

  Down to the deepest element of death these men descend.

  Then blackness seized them and they vanished forever from the bright light of the sun.

  Hesiod-“Works and Days”

  Chason stood under the shower, his hands braced against the wall, and let the water pound against the back of his skull. It felt… good. Like so much else in his life, hygiene had seemed completely unimportant after Mara died. He’d barely noticed if he bathed or changed his clothes or shaved. Now, he recalled that he’d always liked showering, though.

  It seemed strange that he’d forgotten that.

  Just like it was odd that he hadn’t noticed there was no electricity in the fortress. The water was freezing cold and there were no lights. How long had that been going on? He had no idea. Had others pointed it out and he just not heard them?

  Chason blinked at the tasteful stone tiles of the shower wall. In a way, it seem like he’d spent the past two years in a coma, just like the woman. Everything since the Fall felt like nothing but a rapidly fading nightmare, now. Like it had never happened, at all.

  Like Parald, of the Air House had never rained his destruction down on the universe. Like Lansing, of the Dust House had never trained soldiers where Chason’s mother’s trees had once grown. Like Chason had never gone crazy or started the Reprisal or spent his seventieth anniversary in a human jail.