by Eve Langlais
The proud fool approached, a sneer pulling his lips. “If it isn’t Captain Darius. Wanted for aiding and abetting a—”
“Guards, arrest this man.” Darius pointed.
The interruption flustered Infiero. “You can’t demand that.”
“I can since you committed a crime. Captain Infiero, I accuse you of being an accomplice in the murder of the king and demand you be tried for the attempted murder of the princess.” Darius made sure his words carried. The milling citizens heard him.
“You have no proof,” the captain said, still holding on to his arrogance.
“I have a witness. The Princess Shereen.”
A bead of sweat rolled down Infiero’s face. “She’s a liar.”
“Not if given a truth serum. The Lazuli were so very helpful during our visit in that respect.” Darius grinned. “She’s agreed to answer questions while under its influence. Would you be willing to subject yourself to the same, Captain?”
Judging by the mottled expression, not. “Arrest this man.” Infiero pointed.
“And I say arrest this criminal.” Darius jabbed right back.
In the end it wasn’t the soldiers who decided but the people. The problem with being a dick was no one took your side. Infiero protested and threatened, but the crowd carried him off, and the soldiers, at a loss, went looking for someone new to give them orders.
Darius grinned as the princess clambered down the ladder to join him.
“I can’t believe that worked,” she said, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Me either. Thought for sure I’d have to shoot my way out of that one.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. I’m here to be a good queen, not the kind that kills her subjects.”
“Then we’d better get moving. The challenge is supposed to end before twilight.” Darius pointed to the sky and the sun approaching the horizon.
The stadium wasn’t hard to find. The amphitheater boasted a crowd outside of it even larger than the one seated within. Holovideos of the interior played on the smooth stone walls to give everyone a look.
It took Jorah and Tanzie shouting, “Make way for the princess, the true heir to the throne,” to clear a path to get them through to the stadium where they could hear the roar of the crowd.
They were stopped at the entrance to the stadium. A pair of guards crossed their spears. “Halt. None may pass.”
Shereen stood tall. “Do you know who I am?”
The eyes of the guard with the red beard widened. “Princess?”
His younger partner yelled, “It’s the king killer. Arrest her.”
Darius stepped in when the spear moved. He yanked it from the guard and snapped it over his leg before tossing the pieces. “Make another attempt to harm your rightful queen, and I will break you.”
Shereen put a hand on his arm before addressing the soldiers. “The person who had a hand in my father’s death has been arrested. But the true mastermind behind that plot is inside that arena, and I need to face him.”
When the guards didn’t move, her brow furrowed, and she growled, “Now!” Her order happened to coincide with a clap of thunder in a clear sky.
Didn’t matter if it was her doing it or not, mouths gaping, the soldiers stepped aside, and Shereen strode past them. As they entered, Darius heard the bearded fellow say, “I wonder if what I heard is true.”
“What did you hear?”
“That she destroyed the Lazuli capital.”
“Who said that?”
“The representatives that arrived by train.”
Apparently, a faster method of travel than boat. It made Darius wonder how much the Lazuli might have told the Enclave, and most especially the duke.
Exiting the sunshine for the cooler air in the stone tunnel that led under the stands, they ignored the doors to the stairs that led to the viewing levels. She marched single-mindedly to the massive door at the far end, again manned by guards.
A breeze followed them, dancing at her heels, lifting tendrils of her hair. Her anxiety making itself felt.
Darius knew better than to ask her again if she was sure. The set of her shoulders said it all.
Something in her expression must have spooked the soldiers. They didn’t even argue, simply stepped aside and let her sweep in.
As Darius caught up, the guards looked at him, and he pointed. “I’m with her.”
Shereen walked into the waiting room, past the attendants tending their ladies and lords. A few had obviously gone to fight. Bruises and blood marred their features and clothes. Others lay prone on the benches. Those still coherent enough eyed them nervously. He heard the muttering.
“It’s the princess.”
“Why has she returned?”
“Can you feel that?”
They referred to the brewing storm that she carried with her and that crackled in her gaze.
As she made it to the gate, which only barely masked the sound of a cheering crowd, he took a moment to ask an attendant, “Who is leading in the challenge?”
“It’s come down to the Duke of Coral against the Earl of Dune,” said a young woman with short tufted hair.
“Any chance the earl will win?” he asked.
“The odds don’t favor it.”
“Booooo.” The swell of noise from outside signaled the unwanted outcome.
“It’s time,” Shereen stated. She had her shoulders back and hands clenched by her sides. She took several deep breaths.
“You okay?” Darius asked softly as he sauntered to stand behind her.
She stood still, body trembling. Scared and yet he felt the thrum of excitement in the electricity humming around her. “No.”
Despite his trepidation, he knew what to say. “You can do this, princess. I believe in you.”
“What if I can’t?” She cast him a quick glance.
“Try your best, and remember, I’ve got your back.”
She smiled. “I love you, too.”
“What? I didn’t say—”
She winked. “You will.” With those words, she flung out her hands and the doors to the arena of battle slammed open.
Chapter 21
It was one thing to be brave in the safety of the ship. Another now that Shereen had entered the stadium.
The building for sport and concerts remained much as she recalled. A place with stone tiles forming the floor and blocks lifting the walls that held the stands. In the center of the space, a lagoon filled with seawater, fed by a channel that started well below the ground.
Standing by the edge of it, his arms raised as if enjoying the booing of the crowd, was the duke. Crumpled at his feet, a body she assumed was the earl. Hard to tell what with him wrapped in tentacles, his face smothered by the body of the creature that had been called forth as a weapon.
One of the duke’s skills.
She’d had time during their short voyage over to rack her memories for everything she knew of the duke. He tended to be low key about his psionic abilities, which seemed at odds with his power-hungry intentions. The only thing she knew for sure was his Deviant ability involved control of the mind, but not over human ones. He was especially strong with sea creatures and had saved their wharf more than once when the bigger monsters came to cause havoc. That might not be his only power, though. She’d have to watch for other mind tricks.
The duke had his back to Shereen and had yet to notice her arrival. He was too busy getting angry at the citizens. The people wanted nothing to do with his victory and still booed.
“Honor your new king.” The duke projected his voice. “Respect me or—"
“You are not the king. I challenge you!” Shereen didn’t even realize she’d said it until the words popped out of her mouth. Not that anyone heard her. The noise in the stadium was too great.
“Let me get them to quiet,” Darius offered.
She cast him a glance, glad for his presence, but shook her head. “I have to do this on my own.” Had to fight like she’d failed to do the n
ight her father was killed.
Shoulders back, she stepped farther into the stadium, moving out into the open, ensuring the crowd noticed her presence.
As the jeering began to die, the duke could be heard nattering on. “…first decree as king shall be to—”
“You will never be king.”
This time her statement was heard.
The citizens quieted, and the duke turned. Despite his battle with the earl, the duke’s white hair remained combed back, his nose square and lifted. His sneer quite distinctive. “Why if it isn’t the murdering fugitive. Come to turn yourself in?”
“I didn’t kill my father!” she hotly retorted. “You were the one that had him poisoned and, when that failed, hired the assassin that threw the knife.”
The duke smirked. “And if I did?”
At his admission, she gaped. “So you admit to murdering him?”
“I admit to doing what the kingdom needed. Du’mer was old and weak.”
“He was a good king.”
“I’ll be an even better one.”
Her rage simmered, and the light failed as clouds began to gather. “The throne doesn’t belong to you.”
The duke swept a hand to show his latest victim lying at his feet. “My being the last one standing says otherwise.”
“But you’re not the last one. I challenge you.”
That brought a disdainful chuckle. “Challenge me with what? Your wits? Obviously, you don’t have many if you think you can win against someone with Aunimaa skill.”
“Did you know my father kept a secret? From you and everyone else.” She used her fear to draw forth a sharp, cold wind. “Turns out, I do have power.” Lightning crackled, arcing down and pitting the stone floor.
It drew the duke’s gaze and caused a frown. “Since when do you have a weather aptitude? You were tested. I saw the results. You don’t have an active Deviant gene.”
“The funny thing about psionics,” Shereen said, spreading her hands, feeling the rage within boiling, answered by deep rumbling, “is you can’t see them. They can be hiding inside a person, waiting to get out.” Lightning flashed in rapid succession, punctuated by deep rumbles of thunder.
Rather than look impressed, the duke sneered. “You’re only a storm mage like your mother. Probably just as weak. Although, to give her credit, she was a good breeder. Who knows how many psions she would have whelped if she’d not been taken care of.”
The shock at his statement froze her. “You killed my mother?”
“Don’t forget your brothers, too. Your stupid father punished the wrong man. Just another reason why he needed to die.”
She stood trembling, trying to deal with the truth. The fact that this man had taken away everything from her. Her family, her home…
The rage fueled turned bitter with sorrow. She couldn’t help but whisper, “Why?”
“Because the throne should have been mine. Your father was soft. Unable to see the possibilities.”
“You mean kind and fair? My father was a great king.”
“If he’s so great, then why is he dead?” The duke sneered. “Under my rule, we will become great again. A force to be reckoned with and rich.”
“The title will never be yours,” she stated.
“And who’s going to stop me?” The duke arched a brow, and she suddenly heard a voice inside her head, booming, “Kneel for your king.”
She gritted her teeth instead and growled, “Never.”
“Then die.” The duke raised his arms, and the water at his back agitated, frothing and churning, spitting out creatures with pinchers. The giant blue crabs, which were usually so hard to catch but delicious to eat.
They came at her, clacking their claws, their eyes on googly stalks. She slashed an arm through the air, and the wind came at her call, bowling over the crabs, but they came back. The duke chuckled.
She couldn’t waste time playing. She had to focus, make her attacks count.
Crack. Snap. Pop.
The lightning hit to devastating effect. The crabs dropped dead even though their legs still twitched.
The duke didn’t appear bothered one bit. He flung his hand, and more monsters emerged from the lagoon.
She called more lightning. The bodies and gore made the floor slick. In between waves, she noticed the silence of the crowd. A brief glance showed them riveted.
“Only a storm mage, eh?” she muttered, stalking toward the duke.
He was beginning to frown. “Still not giving up?”
“You killed my mother, my brothers, and my father. Prepare to die.” She lifted her hands, and lightning slammed down all around the duke.
Not one hit him because he’d somehow erected a power shield that deflected.
Frustrated, she ran for him, ready to tear him apart with her bare hands if need be.
But as she’d suspected, he’d hidden some of his abilities. A fist of nothing hit her and punched the air right out of her chest. Gasping, she hit the ground on her knees and had no chance to recover before that same invisible force was yanking on her, dragging her toward the water.
It lifted her before the edge, dangling her. All the lightning and wind she summoned could do nothing against the invisible hand holding her.
“And now it’s time to say goodbye.” She had a chance to see the duke’s triumphant smirk before the water closed overhead.
She sank immediately. The fluid pressed against her, trying to force its way past her lips into her lungs, weighing down her clothes and limbs, making her chest so tight she thought it might burst. This was her nightmare come true. The one that had plagued her for so long.
Despite knowing it was futile, she thrashed, kicking to find the surface, but everywhere she looked there was only murky fluid. She had no idea what direction was up or down. Her chest burned. Her lungs screamed and she wanted to cry with the frustration and knowledge that she was about to die in water.
The element her father had loved and that she’d always feared. Feared before the block was removed from her power.
Why am I afraid?
The water wasn’t her enemy. The duke was. And he would win if she didn’t do something. Perhaps it was time to finally embrace her heritage.
Eyes wide, arms spread, she welcomed the water and opened her mouth to let it in.
Chapter 22
Darius wanted to act. More than anything. He would have, too, if his fucking brother hadn’t held him back.
Roark sat in the stands, and while his gaze was on the fight, his voice was in Darius’s head. You can’t interfere.
But Darius wanted to. How long could Shereen battle the sea creatures the duke kept tossing at her? Apparently longer than expected. She actually made it through unscathed, and he had a moment to think she might win when she was dragged and dumped into the water.
She sank. The ripples on the surface disappeared. The arena fell silent.
It meant the duke’s cackle could be heard. “And then there were none.”
Even Roark couldn’t stop Darius from charging across the floor. He screamed a challenge, “Think again, squid fucker!”
He raised his gun, only to have a hand of air slap it away. His dagger almost ended up stabbing his foot.
Unarmed, he meant to throw himself at the duke, only that same invisible hand shoved him, slamming him into the arena wall.
The duke laughed. “Not so tough now, are you? You should have minded your business and stayed at sea.”
Darius smirked. “But then I would have missed you getting your ass whooped. Look behind you, asshole.”
The duke whirled and gaped, much like everyone else did. Shereen didn’t so much emerge from the water as have it present her. It lifted her until she stood upon it, extended like a moving carpet of fluid that deposited her on the ground, and then gathered around her in spitting twirls that spun and spattered before regrouping.
“That’s not possible,” the duke gasped.
Shereen smiled. “
I told you I’d never let you be king.”
The duke dropped to a knee. “I yield.” A cowardly thing to do.
Shereen wasn’t having it.
“Duke of Coral, by your admission, you committed murder and must be punished.”
“I demand a trial,” the duke declared.
“Very well. Let the sea that is the basis of our kingdom be your judge.” She flung her arm forward, and the water rolled out of the basin, flowing in a wave that covered the cowering duke. When it receded, the lord was gone.
The citizens went wild.
As for Darius, he suddenly couldn’t help but remember what Tanzie had said to him. How Shereen needed a partner who could support her. Who would stand by her side and be a shoulder and shield. What Shereen didn’t need was a pirate.
He slipped quietly out of the arena and returned to his ship, listening as the city celebrated. He was too depressed to even drink. He sat at the back of his boat, feet dangling. A soft voice startled him.
“You didn’t stick around for the celebration.”
He glanced over his shoulder to see Shereen standing behind him, clad in a gown that made her new rank all the more obvious. He still wanted her.
She sat beside him with no care for her gown, dangling her legs beside his. “You should have come. I mentioned you in my speech.”
He cast a glance at her. “You did?”
She nodded. “I told them about the heroic Iron Pirate who saved me from certain death and brought me back to reclaim my throne.”
“You kicked some serious ass in that arena.”
She smiled. “I know.” She yawned. “I thought I’d fall asleep during it. My father’s old manservant kept feeding me adrenaline shots.”
“Meaning you’re ready to crash.”
“Beyond ready. Will you watch me while I sleep?”
“Me?” he said on a high note as she leaned her head on his shoulder.
“I only want you,” she mumbled.
Then she was snoring softly, and he grinned stupidly. He then realized that having the new queen sitting out on the deck all night probably wasn’t the brightest thing, so he carried her to his cabin. Jorah let the castle know the queen was safe but resting, and Darius spent the night watching her.
