“Enemies!” one of the men standing on top of the wall yelled.
We all drew our weapons and charged out of the side door.
“Stay safe!” Faxon ordered me from behind us.
The army in front of us consisted of large beasts with tusks, men in leather hides, and warriors in full armor. It was the strangest combination of an army that I had ever seen.
“We call the ogres!” Marin yelled as she and Favian jogged towards the group of tusked beasts.
“Save some for me to fight,” I ordered Finn.
He kissed me lightly and winked. “As the Princess wishes.”
“We call middle!” I yelled to Sebastian and Deana who were off to the right, closest to the castle.
They waved and then Deana shimmered before turning into a lioness. She was beautiful and incredibly large.
“Ready?” Finn asked me.
I nodded and spun my sword. “Time to party,” I said with a smile.
The enemy charged forward, weapons raised overhead, and we all moved to meet them. Finn was no more than a blur as he cut down man after man and used his speed to kill them before they even saw him. Marin and Favian spun and twirled with their swords as extensions of their arms and the two moved as one flawless unit. It was a dance of death and love, and it was beautiful. Deana and Sebastian kept close together as they killed those that came close to them and then moved forward due to the bodies piling up and limiting their movement behind them. I watched in shock as Deana turned into a beautiful lioness and tore into the army. She was gorgeous, ferocious, and amazing.
I wasn’t one to be left behind and I leapt into the fray, stabbing, slicing, ducking, and dodging. A man tried to slam a mace into the side of my head, but I ducked in time and stabbed his open side with my sword. The sounds of battle filled the previously quiet field and the sun rose slowly to warm us and dry the sweat on our skin.
“Hello, Princess,” Malavar whispered behind me.
I gasped in shock and spun around, ready to decapitate him, but he froze me in place with a spell.
Faxon! I screamed in my head, but knew he probably hadn’t heard me since I hadn’t been able to touch my ring.
Malavar grunted in pain and I saw blood spray from his shoulder where a cut had opened. Finn appeared next to me and then we were running away from where Malavar had been. He stopped in the middle of the enemy army and we resumed fighting.
“Are you hurt?” Finn asked over the noise of the battle.
“No,” I answered, “he just froze me.”
We didn’t talk again as we fought, focused on the task at hand. My blood pumped fast and my joy grew as I lost myself to the fight. I was so focused, that I didn’t see when Malavar teleported behind me and touched my head. I gasped, but it was too late. He took control of my body and when Faxon teleported to him, I ran towards Faxon with my sword ready to attack.
“Tilia,” Faxon yelled. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t you love these children?” Malavar asked him. “They’re so much fun to play with.”
I sliced at Faxon’s stomach and he jumped back in time to avoid it. “Release her,” Faxon ordered Malavar as he continued to avoid my attacks.
“Do you really think that you can defeat me?” Malavar asked him.
“If you don’t, you are more delusional than I believed,” Faxon growled at him.
I pulled a dagger and was about to stab Faxon’s shoulder with it, but he grabbed my face with his hand and released the spell Malavar had used on me. I dropped to my knees and Faxon began attacking Malavar with spell after spell. Fire. Ice. And some things I had no idea what they were.
“Finn!” Faxon yelled. Finn appeared beside him. “Watch her.”
“Tut tut,” Malavar said and tried to use a spell on Finn. Finn created a shield around us both, which prevented Malavar from using his magic. “Took a new apprentice, did you? Such a shame that your first one was defeated by the device that I created.”
“I knew it was you creating them. Why? What were you hoping to accomplish?” Faxon asked.
“Annihilation of magic users, aside from myself of course.”
“Making yourself the most powerful man in the world,” Faxon finished.
“Precisely.”
“Sadly, that won’t work,” Faxon told him.
Malavar whispered straight into my head, “I can restore your magic, but not if I’m dead.”
“Liar!” I screamed as I fought off more of his warriors.
“Tilia?” Faxon asked.
“It’s true. It would take me but a moment to return your magic to you. Lower your sword and join me. If you do, I will restore your magic.”
It was a trap. It had to be. Why give me my magic when he knew I would use it against him?
My sword lowered as I warred with myself over what to do. Should I give him a chance to prove it?
Malavar and Faxon battled against each other with spells I had never seen or heard of before. I wanted my magic, but it was not worth the cost of what he asked of me.
Malavar attempted to grab me again, but Finn shielded me from him. The shield was weak, his training not yet complete and his attention wavering. His spell wavered and Malavar took advantage of the lapse to move me away from Finn and right in front of a group of Malavar’s warriors.
“Tilia!” Faxon yelled. He teleported to me, but one of the warriors cut his face deeply, right over his eye, and blood began to spill out of the wound.
“Faxon,” I whispered in shock and attacked the warriors to keep him safe.
Malavar placed his hand on Faxon’s head and whispered, “It’s over. You kept people at arm’s length your entire life and it made you impossible to defeat. By allowing this girl in, you solidified your own defeat.”
I stabbed Malavar between the shoulder blades and he yelled in pain and then backhanded me. I flew across the field and landed on my butt, the impact making me gasp and shooting pain from my tailbone all the way to my head.
Faxon grabbed Malavar and Malavar began to scream. “Love does not weaken you,” Faxon told him. “Love is the strongest thing in the world. It motivates you to become better. It gives you hope when you have none. It has allowed me to learn that I am worth more than my power and that I can defeat you and remain a good person. Goodbye, Brother.”
Malavar burst into flames and burned white hot for a moment before turning into ash. Faxon scooped the ashes up into a glass jar that he had and sent the jar to one of his containment rooms, using a spell.
The enemy stopped fighting and stared at the spot their leader had fallen.
“You have five minutes to vacate the premises,” Faxon ordered them. “Or you will share your leader’s fate.”
They retreated immediately.
Faxon slid to his knees and clutched at his eye.
“Faxon!” I yelled and ran to him. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” he told me and smiled as he sat down.
“I shouldn’t have come with you,” I said angrily. “I’m nothing, but trouble for you.”
“Tilia,” he whispered.
“Stop talking,” I ordered him.
Marin and Favian came over.
“I can’t heal him,” I told them.
“I can,” Queen Amadis said. She patted my shoulder. “Fear not, Tilia. I will restore your mage to full health.”
Finn and Favian carried Faxon inside the castle, but I stayed where I was.
“That was a fun fight,” Marin told me. I looked at her and she smiled broadly. “Amadis is the best healer I know. I promise that she will heal him.”
“Is it really over?” Deana asked as she walked towards us.
“Yes,” I whispered. “He’s dead.”
“I’ve never seen someone disintegrate before,” Marin whispered.
“I made a ship and its crew disintegrate when I had my power,” I told them, “and my aunt made an entire castle disintegrate.”
“Scary,” Dea
na said.
“Come on, let’s go get changed and get some water,” Marin said and put her arm around my shoulders. “Then we can check on your mage.”
It took longer than it should have to wash up and change clothes, but when I stepped out of my room, Marin was waiting with a mug of water and led me to Faxon’s room. He was lying in his bed and resting when I entered.
Amadis walked over to us and whispered, “He’s doing fine, he is just tired from using a lot of magic and taking such a severe injury.”
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“I’m sure that you want to talk to him, but you should let him rest for now,” Amadis told me.
I nodded and followed them to the dining room where everyone was gathered.
“I can’t believe how easily he defeated Malavar,” Macon said to the others.
“I can’t believe how fast you moved,” Favian said to Finn.
“You and Marin were amazing,” Finn told him.
“That was developed from years of time together,” Marin explained.
“You were amazing too,” Deana told me.
“Right back at you,” I told her. “When are you and Favian getting married?” I asked Marin curiously.
“We were supposed to get married in a month, but it depends on how long things take here. We might have to postpone it,” she admitted.
“You don’t look disappointed,” I commented.
She laughed. “I just hate wedding planning.”
“Me too!” I told her. “I don’t care what the flowers are or what color silk is hung from the walls.”
“Or what is served,” she continued.
“As long as there is meat, I’m happy,” I said.
“Exactly,” she agreed.
“What are you two agreeing about now?” Favian asked.
“She hates wedding planning too,” Marin explained.
“When are you supposed to get married?” Favian asked.
“We didn’t set a specific date yet,” I admitted, “but within the next six months.”
“It’s too bad you two couldn’t just have a joint wedding,” Deana commented.
Marin and I looked at each other and the same devious smirk slid across our faces.
“We could,” I said. “We would just have to make my aunt teleport here.”
“We have seamstresses who could make you a beautiful dress,” Marin offered.
“I don’t think you will be able to convince the others of this,” Finn said. “I mean, what about the crews?”
“They wouldn’t have been able to come anyway,” I reminded him. “They’re all working full time to keep the town running. Though, I supposed Cristoff would come if I asked.”
“No,” he growled.
“Oh, jealousy. Who’s Cristoff?” Marin asked curiously.
“A jerk who thinks he can steal Tilia from me,” he said.
“He knows he doesn’t have a chance. He just enjoys jerking your chain,” I said with a roll of my eyes.
“He’s going to end up with a sword to the gut if he doesn’t stop,” he told me.
“Oh, he’d just come back to life,” I reminded him.
“What? Come back to life?” Marin asked.
“Yeah, he has some weird ability that lets him heal faster,” I said. “I’m not really sure how it works, but I saw him get killed and then he was alive again.”
“We’re going to have to come to your Realm for a visit,” Marin said.
“We would love to have you visit,” I told her honestly.
“So, back to the wedding,” Marin said. “I think I can convince my family to do it. What about yours?”
“I’ll have to talk to Faxon, but I am sure they would be fine with it.”
“What’s for dinner?” Faxon asked as he shuffled into the room.
“Faxon!” I yelled at him. “You’re supposed to be resting.”
He pulled a chair over next to me and plopped down into it. “I needed to check on you.” His eye was back to normal, but he did bear a scar on either side of it. It made him more intimidating, which I was sure he would be fine with.
“I’m fine, Faxon,” I assured him.
He shook his head. “You’re not.” He set his hand on my face and something burned inside of my head.
“What are you doing!” Finn yelled at him, but Favian held him back.
“Removing the final shred of Malavar from her,” Faxon whispered. He let me go and I gasped for breath. “How do you feel?” he asked.
I cocked my head to the side, searching inside for the wrongness that had been there, but it was gone. I felt happier than I had since the attack. It felt like something had been lifted from my shoulders. “Really good,” I whispered in shock.
“I don’t,” Marin whispered.
Favian walked to her and hugged her.
“What do you mean?” Faxon asked.
“Nothing.” She replied quickly.
“Faxon, could Esmerald and Jared teleport here if you found a space for them to do so safely?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied cautiously.
“What would you say about the idea of Finn and I and Marin and Favian having a joint wedding here?” I asked him hopefully.
“I think that’s a great idea,” he said with a smile, but then turned to Marin and Favian. “Wait? You aren’t married yet?”
They shook their heads.
“But you’re joined,” he said and waved his hand in the air, indicating something between them.
“You can see it?” Marin asked.
He nodded. “It’s a bit dark where it is connected to you,” he told Marin.
“Malavar did something when he called me. I haven’t been able to feel Favian since then,” she admitted.
“We had hoped it would fix once he was dead,” Favian told us.
“I can repair it,” Faxon said and sat up. He lifted his arm towards them.
“Are you sure you can?” Favian asked.
“Just hold still,” he ordered them. He closed his eyes and his hand began to glow. The glow spread from his hand to Favian’s body and then it lit up a small golden rope that went from Favian’s chest to Marin’s. The glow covered Marin and then it disappeared, but the rope between them glowed brightly.
“It’s fixed!” Marin said happily, lunging forward to hug Favian and kiss him.
“What is that?” I asked.
“They’re tied together and can feel what the other feels, see past memories of the other, and can even communicate telepathically,” Faxon told me and then slumped forward.
“That’s it! To bed with you!” I ordered him.
“But…”
“No!” I snapped. “I am your Princess and I order you to go to bed!”
He smirked and bowed his head slightly. “Very well.” He snapped his fingers and disappeared.
“He’s quite a character,” Deana said with a smile.
“You don’t know the half of it,” I told her with a sigh. Truthfully, I was incredibly worried for Faxon. My back muscles were tense and I couldn’t get them to stop flexing. He was so important to Crilan, and me. If he died… I shook my head to stop that thought process.
“Eat,” Finn ordered me.
I did as he ordered and everyone ate while recounting events of the battle. I didn’t join in, but only because I was tired. Faxon had done so much for me and I had put him in danger. I needed to find a way to become better. Finn and I needed to learn to work like Marin and Favian did.
We finished eating and Finn took me back to his room so that he could change. He changed and then pulled me into a standing hug. “I’m sorry that my shield fell,” he whispered into my hair.
“You did your best, Finn,” I said. “We all have our limits.”
He pulled me onto the bed with him and held me in his arms. “I need to learn more,” he whispered.
“Me too.”
“I need to find a way to increase the magic that I have.”
&
nbsp; “We need to learn to fight like Marin and Favian,” I told him.
“They were pretty spectacular,” he admitted and ran his fingers through my hair.
“You were amazing,” I whispered and rolled over to lay my head on his chest.
“As were you,” he said.
“I have so much to learn,” I told him. “I just wish I had a tenth of the magic I had before.”
He kissed my forehead and said, “I know. I wish I could help you.”
“There’s no use wishing. I need to work with Jared and find a way to become better.”
“You need to rest,” he told me. “You have time to learn and we have time to become stronger.”
“We never know when an enemy will attack again,” I reminded him. “There could be another like Malavar.”
“Let’s hope it won’t be for a while.”
We lay in silence for a while.
He asked, “Do you think Esmeralda will agree to the joint wedding?”
“I think so. I think she will agree that it is a good way to solidify a bond with this Realm and the future rulers.” Maybe I should have my dad come too? I would ask Faxon later.
“Soon you will be mine and you’ll never be able to escape me,” he whispered happily.
“I believe things will be the other way around,” I told him and kissed his neck. “You will be stuck with me for the rest of your life. I hope you are ready.”
“Readier than I have ever been about anything in my life before,” he assured me.
Someone knocked on our door.
“Who is it?” I called.
“Favian,” he answered.
“I wonder what he could want,” Finn whispered. He went and opened the door. “Hi.”
“May I come in?” he asked.
“Sure,” Finn stepped back so that Favian could enter.
I sat up and smiled at him. “To what do we owe the honor of your visit?” I asked.
“I came to see if I could help you,” he told me.
“Help me?” I asked. “With what?”
“Come with me,” he requested.
Finn shrugged, so we followed Favian out to the garden where he sat down.
“Sit, please.”
I sat and he motioned at Finn. “You might want to sit over there with Marin.” He pointed to where Marin sat about fifty feet away. I hadn’t seen her when we entered.
Princess Triumvirate (Pirate Princess, # 2) Page 19
