The Book of Spells and Such

by Jacquie Underdown

  Hadeon’s lips crash down on hers and his tongue probes her mouth, soft and warm as he moves inside her, permeating her body with the pleasure he can and does bring.

  “Don’t be gentle,” she says, gripping hard onto his shoulders and rocking her pelvis between the wall and his solid, unrelenting body.

  “Oh, flower,” he growls. “I wasn’t planning on being gentle.”

  Chapter 37

  “I want you again,” Hadeon says, words slow and husky.

  Ariana lies on his broad chest and nestles against him. Tracing a hand down his chest and smoothing a finger over a tattoo on his stomach, she sighs. “I’m not sure it will ever stop…the wanting.” Despite making love twice, she aches between her thighs with a need to be filled by him.

  He kisses the top of her head. “It doesn’t. It won’t.”

  She lies there silently, eyelids heavy, loving the sensation of the warm union between them. How protected and safe she feels when these arms are wrapped around her. This thought sparks another—the presence she felt in the hallway as she floated above her dead body.

  “I think I met my mother.”

  Hadeon twitches. “Pardon?”

  “After I cast that healing spell. There was this sensation of another being, one that loves me as much as you do.”

  He nods. “I doubt she’s left you, flower.”

  “I think so too.” Only now, with time to finally think, does she realize how close she got to dying again. The shock of that shifts within and just how precious Hadeon is to her resounds through her like the reverberations of a great bell. “I almost lost you,” she whispers.

  He pulls his arms tighter around her. “I know. But you’re here.”

  “Make love to me again, King.”

  * * * *

  Candlelight illuminates the halls and rooms by the time Ariana and Hadeon meet with Gideon. They find him in the meeting room with Domascus and Reid.

  They take a seat, Ariana automatically assuming her place at the head of the table.

  “We have an evacuation plan in place,” says Gideon. He informs the small group that if the Sun Queen penetrates the boundaries again, they should have a couple of hours to see all the residents escorted via ancient underground tunnels that run underneath the palace grounds all the way to Loran Bay, where ships will be permanently docked, and food and water stored, in case of such an event.

  They will then be taken deep out to sea and re-routed to a small, almost uninhabited, island thirty miles off the coast. “Tomorrow, I’ll send teachers out to educate every resident about the evacuation plan and how it is to be carried out.”

  Ariana sighs with relief. “Good work.”

  Hadeon rests his hand on top of hers.

  “But I hope it doesn’t have to come to that. So the next question is—how can we make sure that no resident’s life is put at risk?”

  “Good question,” says Gideon, leaning forward and squeezing his fist into the palm of his other hand on the tabletop.

  “We need an offense,” she says, not waiting for an answer. “I’m no longer willing to wait around like a sitting duck for the Sun Queen to do as she pleases. She wants me. I am in her way. So I will go to her, and I will be done with her. Simple as that.”

  Hadeon frowns but remains silent.

  Gideon, on the other hand, scoffs. “You can’t be so naïve to think that it will be as simple as that?”

  She stares at him for a short moment. “I’m attempting to be optimistic.”

  “I’d rather you be realistic.”

  “Fine,” she says, breathing heavily. “I have a suspicion that the Sun Queen was in possession of my spell book before it found its way to me. How it came to be out of her possession and into mine, I don’t know. Many of the spells in this book were invisible to me before I became queen. One such spell being that which masked Sora and Nyklus’s intentions from Tuti. Only a queen could have cast that spell on them. And there is only one other queen.”

  She looks at each of the surprised faces around the square table. This had obviously never crossed their minds.

  “Perhaps I can assume, and perhaps I can’t, but she may have an equal chance of destroying me. After some…kind words from the Oracle, I am even more inclined to believe that it’s definitely the case.”

  Hadeon stiffens, the pulse is his neck beating strongly under his skin so much that it shows. “The Oracle?”

  Ariana nods firmly. “Yes.”

  “When the hell did you see the Oracle?”

  She holds her head high. “She found me.”

  “Oh, I know how it works, flower. I just would’ve liked to have been let in on this little meeting between the two of you.”

  Ariana lowers her gaze briefly and takes a deep breath, not saying anything more.

  “So what did the Oracle say during this meeting I had no idea about?”

  She looks at him. “She said that ‘they’ are coming for me and seek to destroy all that I stand for.”

  Hadeon’s nostrils flare and his eyes darken. “They can fucking try,” he roars.

  “We’ll be ready, King,” says Domascus, his features tense.

  Ariana nods. “We’ll do our best to stop her. I don’t know if at this stage I’m stronger than her, or if I’m simply one step ahead. But I want to be both. And in the end, this battle is going to come down to two people—myself and the Sun Queen. So why wait? Why not just get it over with, but in a way that I control, not her. Not waiting behind a barrier that may or may not hold up to her attempts to break through.”

  Gideon clears his throat. “I never intended we sit like ducks and wait for her, we’ve waited long enough. Twenty-one years to be precise.”

  Ariana nods. “I know. And I thank you for your service during that time. Now, there is a very real possibility that I may…” She hesitates, trying to find a sugar-coated way of phrasing it, but can’t grasp anything nice, so simply says, “…die in the end.” She steadies her breaths when she notices Hadeon flinch at those words. “I’m not so naïve as to dismiss the possibility. But it’s only a matter of time before we meet. The outcome will be as it may. So why not just get it over with?”

  Everyone but Hadeon nods. He remains rigid with his head down.

  “I don’t have experience with battles. Absolutely none. And I know we have many, many in our path. So that’s what I need you to organize, Gideon. I want you to mastermind that. Domascus, you are second in charge. Work with the Enchantresses and coordinate a plan that will see me face-to-face with the Sun Queen.”

  Putting Hadeon in charge isn’t even an option. He would never leave Ariana’s side. It goes against his innate nature, like flying or willing oneself to die. He is her personal Warrior and everyone in the room knows it without question.

  She stands, shifting her chair back. “I need to continue with my studies, so I’m as armed as I can possibly be. I also want to recommence my martial arts training,” she says, meeting Hadeon’s grim expression. “I would like defense and magic classes held in the village. I want swords produced and at least one weapon given to each household. We need people who can fight for themselves, particularly if numbers are not on our side. I’ll meet with you again tomorrow evening to discuss the battle plan.”

  Gideon nods. “Yes, Your Highness.”

  Hadeon rushes to his feet and follows her from the room. He catches her hand in the hall and pulls her to him. Palms pressed to her cheeks, he kisses her hard on the lips.

  “Don’t dare think that I don’t support you. Yes, it pains me to hear about possible eventualities, but I know this needs to be done and I’ve got your back, flower.”

  Ariana’s throat thickens at seeing the passion in his gaze, the love, and the undying devotion. “Thank you. I needed to hear that. I wouldn’t have done anything differently if you had disagreed with me, but I did need to hear you say that nonetheless.”

  Hadeon grins.

  She leaves him to plan with the others, intent on
reading as many of the new spells as she can. Hopefully, as passed on in folklore, there is one that can end the Sun Queen.

  Chapter 38

  Ariana sits at the desk in her bedroom and opens the spell book. Her stomach is a tangle of anxious knots as she contemplates the possible power the Sun Queen possesses. If she has had her hands on this spell book, then Ariana would do well to assume that the Sun Queen possesses the same knowledge and skill as she does.

  Ariana glances through each new page, assimilating the spells so they become a part of her. She is absorbed for many, many hours with the unfamiliar spells, new information, and the recounts of Fiore’s history—how people are assigned their positions in life, how communities work together ensuring each person has all they need.

  She reads about the Spring Blossom House’s success in keeping order, peace, and love in this ancient land, since the beginning of time.

  The previous queens are outlined in great detail, including her mother and grandmother, who were the first in an innumerable line to die young.

  Queen Phelissa was killed four weeks before her daughter’s twenty-first birthday after a fall from the window of the library located on the third level of the palace. Her body was found in the moat surrounding the palace by King Walston, who later, heartbroken, leapt to his death, unable to live another moment longer without his love.

  And then, tragically, six months later, Queen Harmony and King Romar were murdered in a spiteful move to usurp the throne. They left only one surviving member in the Spring Blossom House, Harmony (named for her mother), who was crowned queen on her twenty–first birthday and married the first Warrior to join the royal house in millennia, King Hadeon.

  Seeing her life now as written scripture in the spell book makes her dizzy. All those years of reading about this kind of life in the fairy-tale books have shown her enough of unreality that she gazes upon these words as fiction.

  But the inky ribbons of scrawl speak the truth. Fiore is her reality now. And she is under the same threat her parents and grandmother faced. The same threat that killed them all. A fate Ariana could inherit, and it would end the Spring Blossom line and leave the Sun Queen to become the next ruling faction.

  Ariana shudders as she recalls the burnt landscape, Rissa’s soulless stare, and the desperation of Paulao. This will become normalcy for Fiore if she succumbs.

  “Sun Queen,” she says to the book.

  The pages remain flat and unmoving.

  “The spell to defeat the Sun Queen.”

  Again nothing.

  Ariana groans. “Who is the Sun Queen?”

  Nothing.

  “Where is the Sun Queen?”

  Nothing.

  Ariana slams her fist on the desk. “So now you won’t cooperate.”

  She flips the pages back to the beginning and, one by one, manually flicking each, looks for something on the Sun Queen. She comes to the final page and reads it.

  Intention existed before words.

  “So that’s all you’ve got!” she yells, slamming the book closed. She rests her forehead on the hard cover, shaking her head from side to side. “I’m screwed.”

  The door clicks and a draft blows through. She doesn’t rise from her apathetic position.

  “Oh no,” says Hadeon, his footsteps and the swish of his kilt sounding closer. “That doesn’t look like a good sign.”

  Ariana groans as she lifts her head to peer up at him. “There’s nothing in here,” she says, jabbing the spell book with her index finger, “about the Sun Queen. Absolutely nothing. There is no grand-fangled freakin’ spell. I’ve read everything. Every single page.”

  Hadeon is silent.

  “Do you realize I’m the last in the Spring Blossom line?”

  He nods.

  “If I die, it’s all over.”

  “You won’t die,” he says, emphatically pronouncing won’t.

  She stands and throws her hands in the air. “You don’t know that. No one does. And if this…” She lifts the book up and pitches it across the room. It hits the wall and slides to the floor. “…is all I have in my arsenal, then quite frankly, we’re all fucked.” Her breaths are heavy, her head drooping as her gaze stays solid on her feet.

  “Ariana,” says Hadeon, stepping closer.

  Tears find their way down her cheeks.

  “Ariana,” he says again, louder, closer now.

  She wipes at her wet cheeks and looks up into his eyes. He frowns and takes her hand in his.

  “I can’t let everyone down, Hadeon. I can’t.” Tears start falling faster, rolling down her cheeks until they leave their salty taste on her tongue. “But I think I’m going to. I’m clueless about even where to start…what to do… I don’t even know where to find her.”

  He pulls her into his arms. “Ariana, it’s perfectly okay to be afraid. But not if it destroys your self-belief. You must face what’s ahead of you, ahead of us, despite the fear. Because that’s what courage is—acting despite the fear.”

  She sniffles loudly. “I know you’re right. I know that. But this isn’t something insignificant like jumping out of a plane or swimming in a cage with sharks. People’s lives and happiness are at stake. And all that rests on my shoulders.”

  Hadeon shifts a step back and lifts her chin so she is looking at him. “You’re the right person for this job. Mother Nature does not choose imposters. She chooses exactly who is needed—always. Without exception. No one else, not one single person, is capable of being in this position. Do you understand that?”

  Ariana nods as she sniffles again.

  “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—you must face forward. You can’t be frozen by this fear of what may or may not happen. Face forward. I’m with you. And I have complete faith in you, even if you can’t find it within yourself yet. Doubt brings death, Ariana. There’s no room in your heart for it.”

  For a long moment, she stares at his genuine face, doing all she can to heed his advice and shake off the doubt and fear. But when you have lived your entire life having all that you love taken from you, or treated inhumanely, and being stopped at every turn, it’s difficult to think that won’t happen again.

  “Remember what I said about destiny, Ariana?”

  “I remember,” she says. “I’m the creator of my destiny.”

  Hadeon grips her shoulders and nods. “Yes. Even if you just fake it until you truly do start to believe it.”

  She nods and wipes at her cheeks.

  “I love you,” he says.

  Again the nod. “I know. I love you too. And thank you.”

  He wraps his arms around her and leads her to the bed. Hadeon sits and pulls her onto his lap. He kisses the top of her head as she cradles against his chest, breathing in his warmth and strength.

  “Tell me what you know about the Sun Queen. Have you seen her?”

  He strokes hair from her face and kisses her head again. “I’ve never seen her, but Father has. The day she killed my mother. He said she was eerily beautiful, with glittery bronze skin and blonde hair as yellow as Earth’s sand. She has eyes like piercing daggers, and they are as blue as Earth’s oceans. She’s untamed and brutal, just like the sea, and will kill you as quick as look at you.”

  Ariana shudders. “What about her powers?”

  “No one is sure of her strength, and it seems she grows stronger every day.”

  “So when you were sent to Connel West, did anyone come face-to-face with her?”

  “No. It ended up being a false alarm and most were sent home. Father asked me to stay on a little longer, just to be sure she wasn’t fooling us, at least until after your ceremony, but she never showed.”

  “I could’ve choked your father when he did that. It was hell those weeks you were away. And then to hear that you didn’t even want to be here for the ceremony—”

  “Of course I wanted to be here. To watch you be crowned Queen of Fiore. I’ve lived my whole life for that moment. And to this day, it still
wracks me with guilt that I didn’t see you standing on that stage.” He scoffs sardonically. “In hindsight, I should’ve just did what I wanted to, my father’s wishes be damned.”

  Ariana sits ups straighter. “Father’s wishes?”

  He kisses her head and runs his hand up and down the length of her arm as it wraps around his waist. “He said he didn’t trust me should someone else be chosen king.”

  She presses back so she can look at his face, her eyebrows knitting together. “He said to me that you didn’t trust yourself.”

  He glides a finger down her face and kisses her gently. “Either way, it’s all just a memory now.”

  She strains a smile. “Yeah. Thank the moons.”

  Chapter 39

  Ariana stands before Reid, poised to attack. His gaze is locked on her, waiting for any slight movement. Like a rattlesnake, Ariana jumps and kicks at him, but he blocks her move, his palm knocking her shin and sending her off balance. She lands hard on the grass below, all air whooshing from her lungs.

  She attempts a breath in, but her body can’t manage it. Reid is crouching at her side with his hand resting on her back. “Oh no, Your Highness, I didn’t mean to—”

  She lifts a hand and shakes her head, still desperately gasping like a fish with no water. And then her lungs loosen and air gushes inward. She rolls onto her back and looks up at the sky, breathing deeply.

  “Are you okay?” Reid asks, his forehead wrinkled, his gaze darting around the paddock. For Hadeon?

  With effort, she manages to incline onto her elbows and smiles. And then she laughs and laughs. “I’m fine, Reid. Just a little winded.” She gets to her feet. Hadeon is strolling across the field.

  “Oh, hell,” says Reid. “Now I’m in for it. I’m sorry. I don’t know my own strength sometimes.”

  Ariana presses her palms to her knees and shakes her head. “You were only doing what I asked you to do.”

  Hadeon marches to them. “Combat training, Reid, not fucking knock-the-queen-out training.”