by Alison Pensy
"The power may belong to your baby, but at the moment, your baby is a part of you. Therefore you are able to utilize her power," Allora answered.
"But when the bracelet absorbed all of my powers, how come it left my baby's alone?"
"Quite simple," Todmus replied. "Sheer dumb luck."
Faedra and Faen threw each other a bemused look before turning it on Todmus.
Todmus smiled. "When Zaven cast the magic onto the bracelet, he did not know you were pregnant. Magic is very specific. If he spelled the bracelet to take your powers, it would not have considered those of your unborn child, as they do not belong to you."
"Ahh," Faedra and Faen said, acknowledging the logic behind what Todmus was saying.
"I have to say, though," Todmus continued. "I would've liked to have seen the look on his face when you threw him across the room."
Faedra grinned. "It was rather priceless...before it turned murderous. Then I thought it was probably best if we left."
Todmus patted Faedra's hand just as Rowan cleared his throat, prompting them to turn and look at him.
"Your Highness, I do not wish to talk out of turn, but I believe it would be best if we returned to planning our counter-attack."
Faedra inwardly sighed at her father-in-law's propriety. She was getting used to others addressing her formally, but she was his daughter-in-law, he didn't need to treat her like a queen. Was he always going to treat her that way? She hoped not. Faedra drew in a calming breath, smoothed down her shirt and smiled at him. "Absolutely, Rowan. Please, do continue." Faedra took her seat at the table and her husband seated himself beside her as Rowan engaged the group outlining every detail of their plans.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Faedra stood on the ridge overlooking the valley. Her clothes flapped in the icy wind that whipped around her. Her eyes watered as they strained against the bitter wind to see Azran City in the distance. She pulled the hood of her coat around her head a bit tighter and hugged the book to her body with her other hand. To either side of her, lined up on the bluff, stood all the otherworlders that had been taking up residence in the cottage, except Etyran who was executing his part of the plan back in the World of Men. Hopefully, the ruby staff was able to find the lake without any problems. Allora and Faedra's human family had stayed behind at the cottage in case there were any casualties that needed medical attention. Ignis and Alaris were now in their dragon form. Draconis had gone to fetch reinforcements, and Derian was patiently awaiting his return so he could borrow the emerald staff to bring his own men to help.
"I hope we're not too late," Faedra whispered to Faen as she scanned the view below. Over the past couple of years, this valley had seen its fair share of devastation. First, when the book had destroyed all plant life and it lay barren and desolate. Now everything was frozen, covered in a layer of ice. Flowers were still perfectly formed, encased in their icy caskets. Icicles hung from branches in the trees around them, the sound of cracking echoed through the forest as they swayed in the wind, cracking their ice coated limbs. In the distance, the castle glistened like some glittery Christmas cake topper.
"May I borrow those?" Faedra asked Faen, who was looking through the binoculars her uncle had loaned them.
"It is not pretty," Faen said, handing them to her.
Faedra put them to her eyes. Faen was right, it wasn't pretty. The city walls were lined with Zaven's men. They stood bolt upright like surreal ice statues, no doubt ready to unleash annihilation on any who should dare to breach its walls.
Faedra shivered. The icy chill that now suffocated her realm was boring deep into her bones.
"The dragons are here," Alyssa declared behind her.
Thankful for the distraction, Faedra turned, handing the binoculars back to her husband. She was greeted by a group of exceedingly handsome men in dark designer suits, each one with a hand wrapped around the emerald staff. They looked more like they were heading for a business meeting rather than preparing for battle. Draconis was standing in the middle of his men, dishing out orders left and right. As each man got his orders, he let go of the staff, paced several feet away and turned into his dragon form. Within minutes, ten dragons were lined up behind the small group of people already standing in formation along the ridge.
Draconis marched over to Faedra. "My men are at your disposal, Your Highness."
"Thank you, Draconis."
He then handed the emerald staff to the water king.
A little while later, green lights whirled not far from where Draconis had appeared a short time before. Derian had also brought with him ten of his men. When they were fully materialized, they each let go of the emerald staff. Derian walked over to Faedra and handed the staff back to her.
"Thank you, Derian."
Now that everyone was gathered, it was time to execute their plan.
"Draconis, will your men allow those who cannot fly to ride on their backs so that we can all get down to the valley together?"
"Of course, little one. Any task you wish, they will gladly perform."
Faedra nodded a thank you. "I'll never forget this, Draconis. I owe you one."
Draconis inclined his head.
Faedra handed the emerald staff off to her husband and took hold of the book in both of her gloved hands. She stared at its elaborately embossed cover for a moment before drawing in a long breath. "Right then. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"
She opened the book and let her eyes wander over the words scribed in a fae language she didn't understand. Closing her eyes, she imagined what she wanted to create: A vast towering fog bank that would stretch the length of the valley.
Gasps reverberated around her. She opened her eyes and sucked in a breath herself. Before her very eyes, clouds of fog were materializing. As the eerie, undulating billows formed they floated off the ledge and joined the already growing wall of fog hovering above the valley. Just before Azran City was completely screened off by the thick gray barrier, Faedra noticed movement outside the city walls, more ice men spilled out through the archway to join those already guarding the wall.
"Zaven's men are on the move," Faen said, keeping watch through the binoculars.
They were obviously suspicious of the change in atmospheric conditions. She doubted that fog was something they would see on a regular basis in a realm made of ice. Faedra's heartbeat hitched up a notch even though this was part of the plan. Zaven's men had to come to them if they had any chance of success; it didn't make her any less anxious about going down there to fight. She continued to move the fog bank until it divided the valley in two.
"Can you see Zaven?" Faedra asked.
"No, he is not with his men."
"Places everyone," Rowan commanded.
The vicar helped Todmus up onto Ignis's back before climbing up behind him. The Messengers, Jocelyn, Janessa, and Rowan dived off the ledge and glided down to the valley floor. Derian's men climbed aboard the rest of the dragons who also then launched themselves off the ridge. Alyssa climbed aboard her new beau, Alaris, joining the others into the fray.
"Draconis, may I ride with you? Faen will need his arms free," Faedra asked.
Faen let his hand holding the binoculars fall from his face. He turned a disbelieving glare on his wife. "You are not going down there."
Faedra wrinkled her brow at him. "But..."
"No!" Faen cut her off. "Absolutely not! I will not have you risking your life, or that of our unborn child," he stated resolutely.
She shot Faen a defiant glare before turning towards Draconis. To her surprise, Draconis stepped away from her. Faedra shot the mighty dragon a look of question. "But, I'm your queen...and I order you to take me down there," she said, although, the authority she tried to impart in her voice wavered a little.
Draconis gave her an apologetic glance. "No, Your Highness. You are not my queen, and I need not take orders from you."
Faedra blinked a couple of times. A hopeless feeling sinking to the pit of h
er stomach. Draconis lengthened his elegant neck until his face was just inches from hers. His emerald eyes shone with sincerity. "Little one, in this, your husband is right. You must not risk your life or that of your child. The future of Azran depends upon it."
Faedra looked down at the ground and huffed out a breath. He was right, of course. They both were. She had no powers, and now she was pregnant to boot. It was reckless and selfish to deliberately put herself in harm’s way. She just hated the thought that everyone down in the valley below was risking their lives for her, for their realm, and she was doing nothing to help. She brought her disappointed gaze back to Draconis and placed a hand on his sleek muzzle. "Be careful."
Draconis nodded.
Faedra turned to Faen and wrapped her free arm around him. "You be careful, too," she whispered into his chest. "Our baby needs a father, as well, you know."
Faen kissed the top of her head before pushing her chin up with his fingers. Faedra met his intense gaze. He smiled before leaning in and planting a tender kiss to Faedra's lips. "I love you," he murmured against her soft skin.
"I love you, too."
When Faen pulled away, he handed her the binoculars. "Here, take these."
"Thanks."
"Draconis, shall we?" Faen said, drawing his sword from its sheath.
Faedra watched as her husband and the Lord of the Dragons launched themselves off the ridge to join the others. She put the binoculars up to her face and followed them as they flew down to join the rest of the group assembled on the valley floor.
The fog wall was holding well. From her vantage point, she could still see what was going on to the other side of it. More of Zaven's troops were marching out of the city to investigate the strange phenomenon, but there was still no sign of the man himself. Faedra prayed that Etyran was in position back in the World of Men. She brought her focus back to her group of 'soldiers'. Todmus was laying the cypher wheel on the ground.
Faedra kept looking back and forth between watching her people and keeping an eye on her adversaries that were stalking closer and closer to the fog wall with every breath she took.
"Etyran. I hope you're in place," she murmured.
Her anxiety increased as she watched Derian and his kind circle the cypher wheel. They were making the same movements they had in her back yard, but nothing was coming out from the ground.
Faedra chewed her bottom lip and adjusted the binoculars. Zaven's men were getting closer.
"Come on, come on," she whispered, shuffling from foot to foot.
Faedra looked back to the circle surrounding the cypher wheel. Still nothing. Panic started to rise like acid in her throat. It wasn't working. Zaven's men were only yards away from her people who were sheltered only by a wall of vapor. She had to get them out of there, or they would be slaughtered right before her eyes. Her breath puffed out in ragged gasps as she looked down at the book for answers. She had to do something. Another distraction perhaps, but what would be strong enough to pull Zaven's men away from their investigation of the fog bank?
A tornado? She shook her head. No, that would put her friends in danger, too, and destroy their cover. A hurricane? Nope, same problem. Flooding? Zaven's men would just freeze it. Oh, God, Faedra. Think! She started pacing back and forth along the ridge. What other weather could she use? Lightning? Ineffectual. Rain? Ineffectual. There had to be something else. She couldn't watch her people die, see more of her loved one's slaughtered. Her breathing quickened as she comprehended just how helpless she was. Tears pricked her eyes, then she heard it. A low rumble at first, then seconds later, a loud, powerful roar.
Faedra brought the binoculars back to her eyes.
"Oh, thank you," she breathed.
A geyser of water pushed through the earth, spilling into the air and onto the ground. Hearing the loud roar themselves, Zaven's men stopped in their tracks. They looked around them, then to each other. Back on the other side of the fog bank, Derian's men split up and made a line, forming the water into a wall, wielding it along the valley, making it grow like a living, breathing tsunami.
Faedra stared, awestruck.
Just a few more moments, and then it would be time for her to remove the fog bank. She couldn't wait to see the looks in her adversaries eyes when they realized what was about to be unleashed upon them.
"Very impressive, Your Majesty," the icy words grabbed Faedra by the neck and sent prickles of fear hurtling down her back.
She whirled around, her binoculars falling to the frozen ground. Faedra heard a tinkle as one of the lenses shattered. Her heart nearly stopped.
"Zaven."
CHAPTER THIRTY
"You will stop your little charade this instant, or I will snap your sister's neck like a frozen twig," Zaven hissed.
Faedra's eyes moved from the icy glare of the Ambassador to the uncharacteristic, terrified eyes of her half-sister. Zaven had her held by her hair with one hand, the other was tightly wrapped around her neck, pulling Vivianna's head back at an awkward angle. She was only wearing one of her silken gowns and the wind whipped around her now skinny body, making the sleek material cling to her. Her hands were encased in manacles of ice, resting against her lower body. Shivers wracked her every muscle. It looked like the only thing holding her up at that time was Zaven's heavy handed grip around her neck.
In that moment, Faedra went numb. She threw a fleeting glance over her shoulder, knowing the battle below could only commence when she lifted the fog bank. Everyone was in position now. She only had a few seconds to respond or the element of surprise would be stripped away from them. Zaven's men would be able to retreat and re-group.
"Now, Faedra!" Zaven spat, drawing Faedra's attention back to him.
He tugged harder on Vivianna's hair, squeezed her neck, making the woman whimper as her neck was bent back even further. Faedra had never seen her so helpless, so defenseless. What had happened to her? And, more to the point, why would she care? She should be glad that Zaven was saving her the trouble. Faedra held back her own shiver as warring emotions started to battle within. An imaginary megaphone blasted her father's final uttered words into her skull. Rescue your sister... she is my daughter, too, and, for all her faults...I love her.
Faedra kept her face emotionless as Vivianna's eyes pleaded with her.
"P-Please," she stuttered.
Adrenaline spiked in Faedra's system, the mixture of fear and anxiety settling in her belly. Her eyes moved from Vivianna's to Zaven's as the anxiety got pulled deep, soul deep. Then she could feel it. Something was molding it, forming into something she could use.
Faedra turned back to the battle waiting to commence below. They were probably wondering what the holdup was. She looked back to Zaven and barked a humorless laugh. "That's the best hostage you could come up with? Do what you like with her, she means nothing to me." Her eyes moved to Vivianna at the same time she let go of the book. The fog bank evaporated.
"No," Vivianna uttered, realizing her fate.
"No!" Zaven shrieked.
Faedra brought her eyes to meet the Ambassador's. "Yes," she breathed, pulling back both hands before forcing them forward with all the might she possessed, throwing her baby's power at Zaven's chest.
Zaven was blasted backwards, his body made a sickening crack as it was hurled against a tree. He dropped to the ground in a heap at the same time Vivianna fell to her knees. Faedra leaned down, scooped up the book with one hand, ran over to her sister and pulled her from the ground with the other, dragging her into the forest. She just prayed her army on the valley floor was succeeding in its mission.
"Stop," Vivianna cried as they made their way deeper into the forest. She was bent over, hardly able to stand, gasping for breath. "I can't go on."
"We have to," Faedra insisted, tugging at her sister's limp arms. "What I did won't hold him for very long. We have to get as far as possible and hide."
Vivianna looked confused. "But you have Savu's power. You can stop anything."
"No, I don't."
"What? Why not?"
"Vivianna," Faedra said, tugging again. "I don't have time to explain right now. We have to move."
Unearthly shrieks echoed from the valley.
"What was that?" Vivianna asked.
Faedra didn't answer. She prayed it was her plan working and those cries of pain were coming from Zaven's men and not her own. She pulled Vivianna deeper into the forest until the princess could go no further. She looked around, trying to find a spot where they could hide. She found it behind a thick gnarly bush.
"We should be okay to rest here for a while," Faedra said.
She watched her sister's body heaving with the exertion and shivering uncontrollably with cold. Faedra drew in a breath and huffed it out on a long sigh as she shrugged out of her coat and laid it over Vivianna's shoulders. "Here," she snapped, making sure Vivianna knew she was offering the coat begrudgingly.
Vivianna lifted her head and looked up from where she had her hands braced on her knees. Between gasps of air and chattering teeth, she asked. "Why are you helping me?"
Faedra was asking herself the very same question. She stopped her anxious scan of the vicinity and glanced down at the person who she should let freeze to death at her feet. "Because I'm not like you," she spat.
She cast another quick glance about their surroundings, not that it would do her much good. She had covered most of the forest with an eerie layer of fog. She looked back at Vivianna and spoke softer this time. "And because I made a promise to our father...before he died."
Vivianna's breath stopped rasping in and out of her lungs. Her face froze. "Father is dead?"
Faedra narrowed her eyes. "You didn't know."
"No."
Vivianna's face filled with pain and remorse. If Faedra hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would not have thought the princess capable of such emotion.
"How?" Vivianna asked.
Faedra looked away and stared at her feet. She blew out a long sigh and closed her eyes. "It was me."
