Kill the Queen

by Jennifer Estep

  Everyone looked from me to Vasilia and back again, and uneasy murmurs rippled through the crowd. Vasilia realized that she was losing control of the situation, even more so than she already had, and she stalked forward to the edge of the dais, even more lightning crackling on her fingers.

  “What trickery is this?” she demanded. “And who are you to say what happened? All you have is a pretty rock. Everyone knows that magic can be manipulated, designed to show whatever we want.”

  “I know what happened because I was there.”

  Vasilia sucked in a breath, and more uneasy murmurs sounded. Her gaze locked onto me, and I could tell that she was thinking back to that day, trying to figure out who I was and how I could have possibly survived. I waited for recognition to dawn in her eyes, but it never came. Even now Vasilia still didn’t see me. Well, she would realize her mistake soon enough.

  I drew the black swan mask up over my face and head and tossed it onto the grass. I looked at the crowd, turning this way and that, and letting them stare at me. Most of the people in the bleachers frowned, not recognizing me any more than Vasilia had, but one voice rose up.

  “That’s Lady Everleigh Blair!” a man called out.

  I hid my grin. That was Cho, doing his part and using his booming voice to full effect.

  I looked at Vasilia again. She stared at me for several seconds, blinking and blinking, as if she couldn’t believe that I was still alive, as if she were desperately hoping that her eyes were playing tricks on her. But they weren’t, and her face quickly hardened into a tight mask of barely restrained rage, and more lightning flashed on her fingertips. She wanted to raise her hands and blast me into oblivion with it, just as she had tried to all those months ago.

  “My name is Lady Everleigh Saffira Winter Blair,” I called out. “And I hereby issue a royal challenge to you, Vasilia Victoria Summer Blair. A challenge to determine who will be queen of Bellona. I challenge you to a fight to the death.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Shocked gasps rippled through the crowd, but I tuned them out and focused on Vasilia.

  I had spent the last fifteen years watching her, and I could tell the exact instant when she realized how thoroughly I had fucked up her big moment. Her eyes burned, more anger stained her cheeks, and lightning crackled all around her clenched fists. I smiled in the face of her rage. Now the bitch knew exactly how I had felt all these long years here.

  By this point, everyone in the arena was on their feet, including Nox and Maeven on the dais.

  “Guards!” Maeven called out. “Kill that woman! Kill the imposter!”

  I snapped up my sword, bracing for a fight.

  But it never came.

  Serilda and Xenia stepped up and rammed their swords into the backs of the guards that Maeven had ordered to attack me. Paloma and Sullivan did the same to the guards who threatened me from the other side of the arena. Halvar and Bjarni took out the guards closest to the troupe members, while Cho held a dagger to Felton’s throat.

  Still more guards advanced on the troupe members, but Theroux, Aisha, and the gladiators raised their swords, daggers, spears, and shields and stepped up to meet them. The gladiators easily cut down the guards who dared to attack them, then moved into a tight circle, shielding the acrobats, wire walkers, and other troupe members, and protecting their own, like Serilda had asked them to.

  I had once thought that I could never hurt Vasilia, not even if I’d had an army at my disposal. I hadn’t realized back then that I didn’t need an army.

  All I needed was a gladiator troupe.

  Our plan worked perfectly. In less than three minutes, my friends and the gladiators had dispatched more than three dozen guards, something that made the others hesitate.

  “What are you waiting for?” Maeven yelled in frustration. “Kill her! Now!”

  The guards looked from the gladiators to me and back again, but they didn’t move to attack anyone else. They had seen how easily their compatriots had been killed, and they didn’t want to be next.

  “Fine,” Maeven hissed. “I’ll do it myself.”

  A ball of purple lightning popped into her hand, but Xenia stepped in front of the dais and ripped the ogre mask off her face.

  “It’s Lady Xenia!” Once again, Cho’s voice rang out, causing more shocked whispers to ripple through the crowd.

  Maeven’s eyes widened with surprise. My coming back from the dead was disturbing enough, but she hadn’t expected Xenia to be here too.

  Xenia smiled, showing the magier the sharp jagged teeth that were suddenly protruding from her mouth. Xenia hadn’t fully morphed, but she could easily do that and attack Maeven before the magier managed to throw her lightning at me.

  “You’ll have to go through me to get to her,” Xenia hissed. “And I still owe you for last time.”

  Maeven’s eyes narrowed with fury, but she lowered her hand to her side, although that purple lightning kept crackling on her fingertips, waiting to be used.

  Since Maeven was standing down, at least for now, Vasilia turned her attention back to me.

  “How did you survive?” she demanded.

  “You mean after you blasted me off the side of the palace with your lightning?”

  More gasps and whispers surged through the crowd, along with some low, angry mutters. The people weren’t liking these ugly revelations about their new queen.

  I shrugged. “Your lightning threw me clear of the rocks and tossed me out into the middle of the river. The current carried me downstream, but I managed to get to shore. You really should have sent Nox and his men to check and make sure that I had drowned.”

  Vasilia glared at Nox, who shrugged. She glared at him a moment longer, then turned back to me.

  “So you survived. So you’re here. So what?” she sneered. “Do you really think that you and your friends are going to kill me? I’ll burn you all to a crisp, every last one of you, and anyone else who gets in my way.”

  Even more lightning crackled around her fists, and uneasy murmurs surged through the crowd.

  “My friends aren’t going to kill you—I am.”

  Vasilia sneered at me again. “And how are you going to do that, Everleigh? You don’t even have any real magic.”

  “Seems like your hearing isn’t as nearly sharp as your tongue is,” I mocked her. “Didn’t you hear me before? I issued a royal challenge to you.”

  “So what?”

  “So you either fight me here and now, or you forfeit the throne.”

  “That’s ridiculous!” Vasilia hissed. “I am the queen, and no one is going to take the throne away from me. Especially not you.”

  I shrugged again. “It’s not ridiculous. It’s the law. You should have paid more attention in history class.”

  Vasilia opened her mouth to insult me again, but I turned away from her and held my arms out to my sides, taking my case to the crowd.

  “Bellona was founded by a gladiator,” I called out. “And we still love our gladiators and their blood sport to this day. So let’s settle this like two gladiators would—in a fight to the death. What do you say? Don’t you want to see which one of us is truly strong enough to be your queen?”

  I hadn’t planned the speech, but it was far more effective than I’d expected. Everyone yelled, screamed, and whistled so loud that the bleachers shook from the thunderous roar. The commotion went on and on until I lowered my hands to my sides and faced Vasilia again. Harsh whispers rang out, telling people to quiet down, and a heavy, expectant silence dropped over the arena again.

  “The people have spoken,” I said. “Once again, I challenge you to a black-ring match. Right here, right now.”

  Vasilia stared at me for several seconds. Then she started laughing.

  Her laughter rang out across the lawn, and the light peals echoed in my ears the same way they had countless times before. I ground my teeth, but Vasilia saw the anger, frustration, and old memories in my eyes, which only made her laugh even louder. Se
veral people in the crowd snickered as well.

  Finally, she quit laughing. “You’re actually serious, aren’t you?” A smile stretched across her face. “You really want to fight me in a black-ring match for the right to be queen? You should just go ahead and cut your own throat. It would be far more merciful than what I’ll do to you.”

  Maeven and Nox both sidled closer to her, and Maeven opened her mouth, probably to advise Vasilia to reject my offer and once again order the guards to murder me. But Vasilia snapped up her hand, cutting off the other woman.

  “If Everleigh wants to challenge me, then I accept,” she called out. “My dear cousin is right about one thing. We’ll see who is strong enough to be queen.”

  The crowd roared in response.

  Vasilia smirked at me, then turned and started speaking to Maeven and Nox. My cousin obviously thought that she could beat me, but I wouldn’t put it past her to try to cheat. She was probably telling Maeven and Nox to kill me if they got the chance, despite the fact that Serilda and Xenia were still watching them.

  I held my position in the middle of the lawn, my sword still in my hand. One by one, I looked at my friends around the arena. Halvar, Bjarni, Theroux, Aisha, and the gladiators protecting the troupe members. Paloma and Sullivan watching the guards. Cho restraining Felton. Serilda and Xenia still close to the dais, keeping an eye on Maeven and Nox. They all nodded, once again showing their confidence in me.

  Now it was time for me to truly earn that trust.

  I thought Vasilia might drag out the process, but less than two minutes later, she stepped off the dais, strode out onto the lawn, and stopped in front of me, much to the delight of the cheering crowd. She drew her sword and twirled it around in her hand. I did the same thing with my weapon, matching her move for move.

  Vasilia sneered at me again. “Looks like someone has been training with Serilda. Do you really think that a couple of months with that flimsy little sword is going to let you beat me?”

  I shook my head. “I haven’t been training for just a few months. I’ve been battling you my entire life, ever since we were kids.”

  Vasilia laughed again. “It’s not much of a battle when you always lose, Everleigh.”

  “You might be right about that. But even if I lose today, I’ve still won.”

  “How so?”

  “I exposed you for what you really are—a coldhearted bitch who doesn’t care about anything but her own ambition. The people aren’t going to adore you. Not anymore. Not when they know that you’re planning to plunge them into war against an innocent kingdom. Even if you kill me, you’ll never win with them. I’ve ruined your name, your reputation. I’ve ruined you. Do you really think that any of these people are going to believe a word you say? Do you really think that any of them are going to cheer for you ever again?”

  Vasilia looked at the people gathered in the bleachers and all around the lawn. The senators, the guilders, the noble lords and ladies. The palace servants. The remaining guards. Before, they had stared at her with a combination of admiration and envy. Now, disgust and derision filled their faces.

  Vasilia frowned, as if it had never occurred to her that people would treat her any differently after they learned the truth. But the more she glanced around, the more she realized that she had utterly, completely lost them.

  “Let’s go, Evie!” Paloma yelled, breaking the silence. “Kick her royal ass!”

  Once that first cheer rang out, more and more sounded, each one louder than the last. Vasilia looked confused and even a little lost. For the first time in her life, the crown princess wasn’t everyone’s favorite. I was—and it infuriated her.

  Anger mottled her cheeks, and her lips drew back into a snarl. Her eyes narrowed to slits, and her fingers clenched even tighter around the hilt of her sword. I had been watching Vasilia for a long, long time, and I knew exactly what was coming next.

  With a loud scream, Vasilia snapped up her sword and charged at me.

  * * *

  Vasilia raised her sword high and brought it down, trying to kill me with that first blow.

  And she almost succeeded.

  I had made her far angrier than I’d expected, and she put all her strength into that initial strike. But I brought my own sword up, and I managed to block her blow. We stood there in the middle of the lawn, muscles straining, seesawing back and forth. Our swords scraped and screeched together in a low, sinister chorus as each one of us tried to get the advantage.

  “You know what, cousin? I’m glad that you’re still alive,” Vasilia snarled. “I’m going to enjoy killing you in front of your friends and adoring fans.”

  “Funny. I was going to say the same thing about you,” I hissed back.

  Vasilia snarled again and threw me back, and we started circling around and around, each of us studying the other. I blocked out everything else. The crowd’s screams. My friends’ tense faces. Maeven and Nox still standing on the dais, along with Captain Auster in his spiked cage. I blocked it all out and focused on Vasilia.

  For the first time in a long, long time, I went on the offensive, attacking Vasilia and trying to cut through her defense. She blocked every one of my blows and then launched her own counterattacks, slashing her sword at me over and over again. I parried her blows as easily as she had thwarted mine, and our duel, our dance, continued.

  The longer the fight raged on, the more Vasilia slowly started to wear down. She was a fine warrior who had spent years perfecting her skills, but she hadn’t spent all day, every day, training like I had for the last several weeks. Serilda hadn’t just been teaching me to fight—she had also been building up my strength and endurance for this moment.

  Vasilia was usually able to end a fight in a few quick moves, and she didn’t know what to do when I kept matching her blow for blow. Finally, her defenses slipped, and I took advantage. I stepped forward and knocked her sword out of her hand, sending it flying across the lawn like an oversize arrow. Vasilia watched the sword sail away, her eyes widening in surprise. And I saw something else in her gaze, something that I had never seen before.

  Fear.

  But she recovered quickly. I slashed my sword through the air, trying to end the fight, but she threw herself forward and rolled across the lawn as nimbly one of the troupe acrobats, although she lost her gold crown in the process. I still managed to slice my blade across her arm, causing her to let out a surprised shriek, but she kept going.

  Vasilia scooped her sword from the grass and came up into a low crouch. She glanced down at the blood running down her left bicep and dripping onto the lawn. She blanched a little, but the crowd had an entirely different reaction.

  They cheered even louder.

  Fear sparked in her eyes again, a little stronger and brighter than before, but she growled and went on the offensive.

  Vasilia surged to her feet and banged her sword into mine over and over again, trying to break through my defenses. And she finally did. The edge of her blade bit into my left forearm, making me hiss with pain. Blood slid down my arm and dripped onto the lawn, just like hers was still doing. Once again, the crowd roared in response. They might have turned against Vasilia, but they still wanted to see a bloody good match, in every sense of the words.

  “Do you hear that?” Vasilia yelled over the raucous cheers. “They want me to kill you. They’re begging me to kill you. You haven’t won anything, Everleigh. Not one damn thing!”

  I didn’t waste precious breath responding to her taunt. Instead, I whirled around, brought my sword up, and attacked her again.

  The wound on my arm kept dripping blood, but I ignored the stinging pain and kept fighting. Vasilia ignored her injury as well, and we battled on. Our swords crashed together over and over again, although the cheers, yells, screams, and whistles drowned out the harsh clangs.

  But the longer the fight dragged on, the more certain I was that I was going to win.

  For the first time since I’d come to the palace all those ye
ars ago, Vasilia actually looked a bit disheveled. Blood, grass, and dirt covered her fine clothes, exertion stained her cheeks a bright red, and sweat dripped down the sides of her face and soaked into her now-limp blond hair. She kept gulping down breath after breath, as though she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs, and perhaps worst of all, she’d lost her pretty crown, which was now lying somewhere in the grass.

  I was a dirty, bloody, sweaty mess, just like she was, but my breathing was still smooth and even, thanks to my training with Serilda and the others. So I pressed my advantage, going through the steps that I knew so well now. That phantom music had been playing in my mind the whole time that we had been fighting, but the beat, the tempo, quickened, and I upped my pace, my attacks, to match it. I knew that the music, the moves, were building to the grand finale of the piece—Vasilia’s death.

  Vasilia kept gulping down breath after breath, but she couldn’t keep up with the brutal pace that I set, and she was barely managing to block my attacks. Less than two minutes later, I knocked her sword out of her hand for the second time.

  Gasps surged through the crowd, and Vasilia and I both stopped, just for a moment, to watch the sword. This time, the weapon sailed even farther across the lawn than it had before, too far away for Vasilia to grab it before I cut her down from behind. She knew it too, and she snarled and backed away. My resolve hardened, and I surged forward, determined to finally end this—

  And that’s when Vasilia unleashed her magic.

  Lightning flashed on her fingertips, and she reared her hand back and then snapped it forward, tossing a white bolt of magic at me. I barely had time to throw myself down to the ground and roll out of the way. Even though I avoided the blast, I could still feel and smell the sharp sizzle of it streaking through the air.

  The bolt zinged across the arena, and people screamed as it hit one of the poles planted in the lawn, shearing the wood in two and causing the flag on the top to topple to the ground. This flag featured Vasilia’s fuchsia colors and sword-and-laurels crest, and the fabric smoked from where her magic had scorched it.