Conquering Fate

by Jennifer Anne Davis

  “The ceremony is meant to be performed before people,” Damaris said. “Now, is everyone ready?”

  Norill ran her hands through her hair. “Are you sure this is the best way?” she asked.

  “Yes. Once the ceremony is over, the sapphires will be alight and brimming with magic. That is when Kaia and Morlet’s power will be the strongest. If they direct it to each piece, they can destroy the sapphire once and for all.”

  “How do we do that with four pieces?” I asked.

  “You and Morlet will pick them up and set them in the center of the circle on that mark.” She pointed at the curved triangle near my feet. “Then you will join hands and repeat the words I say. You will be telling the magic to take the sapphire into the world so it may never be used again.”

  “This isn’t supposed to be done,” Norill said. “It’s not right.”

  “If it isn’t meant to be done, then it won’t work,” Damaris snapped. “We’re running out of time. We need to begin.”

  Henrik moved to stand in front of the exit, blocking it from sight and preventing Norill from leaving should something happen. Not that he could physically stop her. She was far stronger than a human.

  “All right,” Damaris said. “It’s time.”

  She started chanting words I didn’t know or understand. The torches in the room dimmed, and the sapphires began to glow. I nervously glanced over at Vidar and he nodded, giving me what little encouragement he could. I wished Anders was here to give me strength. Taking a deep breath, I blocked out the other people in the room and focused on Morlet.

  The king’s eyes glowed, matching the sapphires. His skin paled and his veins pulsed with the same bright blue as his eyes. It had to be the magic moving through him. I looked down at my own arms. My skin darkened, turning almost black, no blue magic visible.

  Morlet hesitated and then reached for me. Blue light that took the form of liquid slid out of his fingers and curled in the air, waiting. When I instinctively reached toward it, it leapt with joy and twirled around my shoulders, sliding inside my neck. Warmth filled me. I no longer saw anyone or anything in the room except for Morlet.

  And then I felt him.

  Not his touch or his body, but his mind. Around the edges of his mind hovered an immense cloud of something I could only describe as other. The cloud was filled with hatred, evil, self-loathing, power, and pure viciousness. Focusing on his mind, I realized it was hiding from the cloud. It was scared, delicate, pure, and good. And something else was there…love. Utter, unconditional love. For me. Shock rolled through me.

  The love he projected was unlike anything I’ve ever felt or known. I wanted to show Espen that he wasn’t alone in there—that I understood, that I was here for him, and that I loved him, too.

  Something in me understood that it wasn’t finding what it wanted or needed. It realized that even though Morlet possessed Heks magic, he was not a Heks. Our connection began to sever.

  “The sapphires!” Damaris shouted.

  I blinked, the room once again before me. Morlet looked at me, his eyes wide. What did he see when he’d looked inside of my mind?

  “Push the pieces onto the center mark,” Damaris ordered.

  Blue magic started to glow in my veins as it prepared to leave my body and return to Morlet.

  “Hurry!” Damaris shouted.

  I reached down and shoved two of the sapphires into the center as instructed. Morlet grabbed the other two, doing the same. We knelt across from one another, the sapphires between us. I grabbed Morlet and we placed our joined hands over them. The magic started to slide out of my fingertips.

  “Vena ver luka. Estevei jon vet,” Damaris said, her voice panicked.

  Morlet and I repeated the foreign words.

  “Zek vo mere lo tapi,” she said.

  We repeated the words, the sound grating on my ears. Morlet squeezed my hands. The magic began to float out of my fingertips.

  “Le mok vuris mey hei.”

  We said the words as the magic reentered the king’s body. The four pieces vibrated and then began sliding toward one another, fusing back into one large sapphire. What had we done?

  The cavern trembled as a massive jordskjelv erupted.

  26

  Norill screamed and lunged for the sapphire. Vidar jumped, tackling her to the ground. Henrik ran over to help restrain her. Damaris yelled something, but I couldn’t understand her.

  Small pieces of the cavern’s ceiling started to rain down. Morlet and I kept our joined hands over the now single sapphire.

  “What do we do?” I asked.

  “Use your magic!” Damaris shouted. “Send all of what you have into it. Send it back into the world, back to the Heks power source.”

  I didn’t feel my power inside of me.

  “I have it,” Morlet said, his voice rough. “You gave it to me. I’ll send it back to you.” He closed his eyes, and my body filled with strength.

  Taking that surge of power, I redirected it to the sapphire, willing it back into the world as Damaris had said. The ground, still shaking, cracked and split open beneath the sapphire. Bright blue light radiated upward, and I squinted. Debris fell on our heads from above. The sapphire flashed a brilliant white and dissolved into the open crevice. Something beneath me exploded, throwing me backward. I flew against the ground, smacking my head and shoulders.

  Everything went still.

  I rolled over, groaning as I pushed myself to my knees. The entire cavern was bathed in darkness. My head pounded and I was covered in dust. “Is everyone all right?” I asked.

  “Kaia?” Morlet said. “Is that you?”

  “Yes. I’m over here.”

  “Don’t move,” he said. “We don’t know where the crevice is or even how big it is.” It sounded like he was at least twenty feet away.

  No one else said a word. “Vidar?” I asked. “Henrik? Stein?” Nothing.

  A blue light flared as Morlet used his magic to illuminate the cavern. A few large rocks had come loose from the ceiling and were scattered around the bottom of the cavern. I stood and tried to find the others. Not far away, I saw Damaris, her body twisted awkwardly on the ground.

  “I’ve got her,” Morlet said, stepping around the rubble and nearing Damaris. “She’s alive. Barely.”

  “We can’t let her die.” If she did, we risked another Heks arriving in Nelebek, and we couldn’t let that happen.

  “I can heal her.”

  “Can you use that much magic?” I asked.

  “I don’t feel the sapphires or the magic in the earth calling to me, do you?”

  Now that I concentrated on it, I didn’t feel anything either. I shook my head.

  “Do you see the others?” he asked, kneeling beside Damaris and waving his hands over her body.

  The crevice in the ground had expanded to approximately four feet wide and it went from one end of the cavern to the other. Looking to where the entrance should be, there was a pile of rocks. The entrance had collapsed.

  Someone cursed.

  “Vidar?” I asked.

  “Over here.” There was just enough of Morlet’s light to see Vidar sitting on the other side of the cavern, rubbing his head, blood trickling down the side of his face.

  “Are you all right?” I asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Stein is right here. He’s okay too.”

  Morlet’s light cast odd shadows on this side of the cavern, concealing Stein from view.

  “Do you know where Henrik and Norill are?” I asked.

  Vidar shrugged. Turning in a slow circle, I spotted two lumps behind me at the edge of the cavern. I carefully made my way over to them. “Morlet,” I called out, “can you increase the light? I can’t see over here.”

  The light flared brighter. Norill and Henrik were both crumpled on the ground, not moving. I squatted and felt Henrik for a pulse—his heartbeat was strong. There was a lump on his head from where he must have smacked it in the blast, but other than that, there
were no signs of injury.

  As I reached for Norill, not sure if she’d even have a pulse, her hand flew up, latching onto my wrist. “I’m fine,” she snapped. She sat up, her hair a tangled mess. “This big oaf cushioned my fall. Idiot.”

  Henrik groaned. “What happened?”

  Relief filled me when he opened his eyes. “I think the sapphire went back into the world,” I said.

  “It did,” Norill sneered. “We need to get out of here. It’s only a matter of time until the crevice closes.” She turned toward the exit. “Lovely. Now we have to dig our way out of this blasted place.”

  Ignoring her, I went over to where the entrance should be. If we moved the rocks, would the tunnel be stable enough for us to use? Did the soldats stationed in the tunnel survive?

  “Damaris is going to be fine,” Morlet said. “I’ve healed her most serious injuries.” He picked her up and brought her over to Vidar and Stein, laying her on the ground beside them.

  “If she’s going to be okay, why is she unconscious?” Vidar asked.

  “Because I didn’t want to drain myself healing all of her injuries. She’ll wake up in a minute or two.” Morlet examined our surroundings. “What’s up there?” he asked. Raising his hand, he extended his light to the ceiling of the cavern, exposing the entrances to several tunnels.

  “I’ve been in that one over there,” I replied, pointing to the one I traveled through with the rebel not long ago.

  “That may be a safer way to exit rather than removing these rocks,” Morlet said.

  “How do you propose we get up there?” Vidar asked, folding his arms across his chest.

  I couldn’t help but stare at these two brothers who were sworn enemies. We’d reached a very precarious, tentative peace regarding destroying the sapphire. I didn’t think this truce would last much longer.

  “I can get Kaia and myself out,” Morlet said.

  Vidar gave him a look of disgust before turning his attention to me. “I think the tunnel is our only shot. We have to dig our way out.”

  Damaris moaned, and Stein knelt next to her.

  “Morlet, can you use your magic to blast the rocks out of the way?” I asked.

  “And what about the people on the other side?” he said. “Do you want me to blast them out of the way too?”

  Vidar chuckled. “What’s stopping you? You usually enjoy that sort of thing.”

  “Morlet’s right,” Henrik said. “There could be men on the other side trying to dig us out.”

  With my hands on my hips, I paced back and forth, trying to come up with a safe, feasible solution. “How did you plan to get me up to that tunnel?” I asked Morlet.

  He hesitated and then replied, “I was going to form a bubble around you, then use that to float you up there.”

  I raised my eyebrows and looked pointedly at him.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Can’t you do that with everyone here?”

  “Well, yes. But I don’t necessarily want to.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Okay, let’s just say you have a change of heart and decide to get us all out that way, how would you get yourself out?”

  “I haven’t figured that part out yet.”

  “If he sends me up first,” Vidar said, “I can make my way down here to the collapsed tunnel. I can make sure everyone is out of the way. Then he can blast himself out.”

  “I’m not staying in here any longer,” Norill snarled. “Get me out.”

  Morlet shrugged, and then a blue translucent shield formed around Norill. She slowly rose in the air. As Morlet lifted his arms, the bubble went even higher in the cavern. When it neared the ceiling, Morlet used his magic to push the bubble into the tunnel. Then he released her. She landed with an umph and cursed.

  I glared at Morlet.

  “What?” he asked innocently.

  “You could be a little gentler.”

  “How hard did you hit your head? That’s Norill we’re talking about.”

  “Do Vidar next. I want him watching her. And please don’t hurt him.”

  Morlet took a deep breath. “I’m only doing this for you, Kaia.” He threw the shield around Vidar and lifted him slowly in the air. Vidar glanced at his brother, disbelief written across his face. Morlet gently set Vidar in the tunnel and released him. “Good enough for you, my queen?”

  “Yes. Thank you.” How much longer would Morlet’s civility last? It was only a matter of time until his temper flared. I needed to get everyone else out of here as quickly as possible. “Go ahead and do Henrik next. That way he can carry Damaris out of here.”

  Morlet nodded and formed a shield around Henrik. When Henrik went into the air, his face paled.

  “Afraid of heights?” I teased him. He just shook his head, sweat coating his face.

  After Henrik was safely in the upper tunnel, Morlet did Damaris, and then Stein.

  “Your turn,” he said once we were alone.

  “I can wait here with you.”

  “I want you out of here in case there is another cave-in.”

  “And I don’t want to leave you here all alone in case there is one. Let me stay.”

  He turned away from me. I wanted to reach out and touch him, to ask him about what he saw and felt before we sent the Heks power back into the world. I’d experienced a part of him that I’d only hoped existed. Espen was in there, and I longed for that part of him to break free.

  “Kaia,” he said, his voice hoarse. “We need to talk.” He jumped over the crevice, joining me on my side of the cavern. The blue light he’d created to illuminate the cavern dimmed. “I…I felt you.” He rested his hand over my heart. “I don’t know how to explain it, but I was in there.” He brushed his hand across my heart and then my head. “It was even more beautiful than I imagined. You are good and pure. I’m not worthy of you.”

  “I felt you, too. The evil Heks magic.”

  He flinched.

  “And Espen. I felt you in there. I know you’re in there.” And that part of him was worthy of me. I could see that now.

  “A part of you loves me,” he whispered, his eyebrows drawn together. “How is that possible? After everything I’ve done?”

  “I love the part of you that is Espen.”

  His eyes glistened with tears.

  “Hey!” Stein called from the tunnel above us. “You can blast the rocks away. It’s all clear down there.”

  “Thank you!” I yelled up to Stein.

  “I’m sorry,” Morlet said. “For everything I’ve done.”

  “What are you two doing down there?” Stein asked. “Hurry up. We’re all waiting for you.”

  Morlet cursed and took a step away from me.

  Stein yelped. “Hey! What’d you do that for?”

  “Did you strike him with your magic?” I asked.

  Morlet shrugged. “Next time he won’t be so nosey. Now let’s get out of here.”

  I entered the guest wing and found the bedchamber Morlet had given to Damaris. She was stretched out on the bed, covered with blankets, a small smile on her lips.

  “Want a visitor?” I asked.

  “I’d love one.”

  I entered the room and closed the door behind me. “How are you feeling?”

  “Better.” She sat up and patted the bed next to her.

  I kicked off my boots and sat down. “So.”

  “So.”

  “We destroyed the Heks’ sapphire so no new Heks can ever be created.” I chewed on my bottom lip. Somehow destroying something belonging to another race disturbed me. Logically, I knew it was the right thing to do—but that was from my perspective.

  Damaris patted my tummy. “I agreed to help you destroy the sapphire because you are carrying a child. I can feel the baby has both good and bad magic filling him or her.”

  I’d created a new race. But would the other Heks see my child as their savior or as a human? Had I done the right thing? Or had I been so caught up in ending the curse that I hadn’
t stopped to think of the long-term consequences? I rubbed my face. It was too late to take any of it back. I’d conceived Morlet’s child, destroyed the sapphire, and now it was time to connect with my fellow Krigers and kill Morlet. Only, I couldn’t do that quite yet.

  “I need to convince Morlet to release Anders from his magical sleep,” I said.

  “How do you plan to do that?” she asked.

  “I have no idea.” But one thing I did know—I wouldn’t end the curse until Anders had been awakened.

  27

  I descended the grand staircase and found Vidar standing there as if he’d been waiting for me.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “Looking for you.”

  “Does Morlet know you’re here?” I waved for him to follow me and we entered the small library.

  “He does. He sent word for me to arrange everything for the final battle.”

  I plopped on the sofa. “It’s not really a battle. It’s going to be more of a confrontation.”

  He sat next to me, rubbing his face.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked. The coloring under his eyes looked dark and his skin pale.

  “Morlet told me he’s sending troops to the border. He has been telling me where his men are so I’m prepared in case we’re invaded.”

  They’d been preparing for after the curse was broken without including me—the current queen—in any of their plans? “Why is Morlet working with you? He hates you.”

  He shrugged. “No idea.”

  I stood and went to the window, staring outside at the dead landscape. The clouds were dark as the hint of a storm rolled in.

  “Kaia, we need to talk.”

  “We are talking.” I leaned my head against the window, my breath fogging up the cold glass.

  “If we succeed, as the crowned queen, you will rule Nelebek. I want you to understand that we’re going to be vulnerable. Since Nelebek is in the middle of the continent, we can be attacked at multiple locations from different kingdoms. We could be crushed in a matter of days. Especially since we don’t have an army of Heks fighting for us.”