“It hasn’t fallen yet.” She lashed out at me with one arm, her hand curled into a claw.
“Give it time. Your army is just too stupid to realize the fight is over.” I slammed her head forward, bashing it against the stone ledge that surrounded her walls.
Bavasama let out a grunt of pain, and I watched as blood poured from a cut above her eye. She brought her elbow back and rammed it into my stomach, knocking the air out of me, and I doubled over, letting her go.
“This will never be over,” she screamed as she hurled herself forward, tackling me and knocking us both back. “Not until you’re dead and I’m sitting on the Rose Throne.”
“That is ne—” An arrow whistled through the air and came down hard, burying its point into the roof next to my head. Bavasama and I both looked over, staring at the shaking arrow with its ragged, scarlet feathers on the shaft.
I tried to buck my aunt off me, jerking my hips upward and jackknifing my shoulders up at the same time. She groaned as I made contact with her ribs, and I used my momentum to flip us over, slamming her head back against the stones.
She let out a grunt of pain as I tightened my grip on the front of her dress and lifted her toward me, ready to slam her back down again. When I had her sitting almost upright, my aunt shifted, one of her arms swinging wide and a sharp pain lanced through my side followed by a white-hot, burning heat.
I let go of her, still kneeling at her ribs, and looked down at the jeweled hilt of the knife sticking out of my side. “Dumb move, Auntie Bav,” I snapped. I gave a low hiss as I wrapped my fingers around the knife’s hilt and wrenched it free. “Now I don’t have any reason to show you mercy. Even if I wanted to.”
I held my aunt at knifepoint with her own weapon, trying not to cry as the pain radiated through my body. I couldn’t die, but apparently, that didn’t mean getting stabbed would hurt any less.
“You’ll never be able to rule this world,” Bavasama said through gritted teeth. “Never be able to control the wizards. The ogres and the trolls will come out of the mountains, and they’ll hunt your people. You’ll never be safe again. Never know peace.”
“Once I’ve gotten rid of you, they’ll fall into line,” I said as I pressed the knife harder against her neck.
“They won’t. None of them. The wizards aren’t going to let you just take over Bathune. If you let me go, let my army surrender, and keep me on my throne, I’ll help you defeat them.”
“Shut up.”
“I will,” Bavasama pleaded. “I’ll abide by the terms of our peace treaty. I’ll help protect your borders, and I’ll keep the wizards in check. I know how. I can teach you to rule this world like it’s supposed to be ruled. Show you how to be a strong queen.”
“There’s nothing in this world, or any other, that I could ever learn from you,” I snapped.
“You can’t kill me,” she said, her eyes wide. “You can’t, Allie. I’m your aunt. A member of the royal family. You can’t just murder me.”
“Watch me,” I ground out. “You’ve killed so many people. So many people have died because of your actions, your twisted desires. Darinda. Timbago. The people who lived in the forest of Ananth. The Firas.”
“They were nothing,” she said, her eyes fixed on mine. “Servants. Peasants. Their lives were meaningless. But I’m a queen. The rightful queen of this entire world.”
“You ordered the death of my friends. You killed good people, and you want me to let you live? If I could kill you and every single member of your army every day for the next hundred years, I would. I would kill you over and over again to make up for what you did to them.”
There was another roar, and I glanced up, looking out over the roof to see the dragons herding my aunt’s soldiers toward the center of her courtyard, my army surrounding them. I glared down at my aunt and then smiled. “And guess what? It looks like I just might get my chance.”
Chapter Twenty-five
Three dragons broke free from the rest and started toward the palace, Winston in the lead with Ardere and Kitsuna’s mother behind them. I pressed the knife against Bavasama’s throat, hard and watched as blood began to trail down her skin toward the neckline of her dress.
“Start making your peace with the Pleiades, Aunt Bav.” I glared down at her as the dragons landed. “Because it’s time for you to pay up on our little bet.”
“Allie!” Mercedes’s voice was clear and strong. I glanced back to see her sliding off the back of a gold dragon.
“She’s responsible for Darinda’s death,” I said, my words shaky. “And all your other sisters. The Firas. The people of Sorcastia.”
“I know,” Mercedes said as she came closer. “And she’ll be punished. But not like this.”
“She trapped my mother on the other side of the Mirror of Nerissette. She tried to take my throne. She stole the lives my mother and I should have had.” I felt tears running down my face, and my hands began to tremble, making the knife quiver in my hands.
“I should kill you.” I narrowed my eyes at my aunt. “Right here. I could do it. You know that, don’t you? I’m the Golden Rose of Nerissette, and no one would stop me. Not after everything you’ve done.”
I felt a strong hand on my shoulder. “Enough,” Mercedes said, her voice low and soothing. “Allie, it’s enough.”
“No.” I shook my head, trying to whip the tears from my eyes, afraid to take my hands off the knife to wipe my face in case I couldn’t pick the now-heavy metal up again. “They are responsible for the deaths of so many people, she and the Fate Maker. If we don’t kill them now, then they’ll just find another way to hurt us later.”
“I know.” She let go of my shoulders and wrapped her arms around my waist, careful not to touch the blade in my trembling hands. “I know what they’ve done, but you can’t kill her here. Not now. Not like this. You need to make her face the army. Make her answer to the charges against her.”
“I’m queen,” I said, my voice choking on the words, as the knife dropped from my trembling fingers. “I was supposed to keep everyone safe, and I didn’t. They killed all of those people, and I have to end this. I have to make this right.”
“Not this way,” she said. “Not by assassinating your aunt in the dark.”
“But—”
“Boreas, Aquella,” Mercedes said quietly. “Arrest the Lady Bavasama. I’ll take Her Majesty down to formally accept the surrender of the army of Bathune.”
She tugged on my shoulder again, and I stood, wincing, my hand clutched to my still-bleeding side. “But first,” Mercedes said. “We need to find a medic.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “It’s a scratch.”
“Sure it is,” Mercedes said as she looped my arm over her shoulder to let me lean on her.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, limping slowly toward the doorway to the palace. “It’s not like it can kill me or anything.”
“Whatever.” She grunted as she hoisted me higher on her side, taking more of my weight as we reached the ladder. She let go of me, leaning me against the wall, and then scurried down the ladder. “Just try to get down without passing out, Oh Immortal One. If you fall on me, I’ll turn you into a fern.”
“No, you won’t.” I huffed as I pushed off the wall and stumbled toward the ladder. I grabbed the first rung and swung my legs down, my feet slipping with each step. I clung tighter to it and began to descend slowly. When I reached the bottom, I slumped against the ladder, resting my forehead against it.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go see a medic?” Mercedes asked as she wrapped her arms around me, letting me lean back against her.
“Surrender first,” I said. “Let the medics work on the people with the real injuries. I’ll be fine.”
“Allie—”
“There are soldiers out there that I know are hurt worse than me,” I argued. “People like Jesse.”
“Jesse is fine,” she snapped as she slung my arm over her shoulder a
gain and started to maneuver me toward the stairs. “Kitsuna’s mom caught him.”
“She what?” I gasped, partially in surprise but mostly in pain, as we started down the stairs from the tower to the main floor of the Palace of Night.
“We’ve got him,” Kitsuna said as she ran up the stairs toward us and then tucked herself under my other arm, helping Mercedes half carry, half help me down the stairs. “Mom saw him fall, and she managed to snag him. I’ve got to tell you it was the scariest thing. She just dove, and I thought we were going to hit the ground and then we’d all be dead, but she managed it.”
“Are you serious?” I asked.
“As only someone who’s done a dive-bomb on the back of a dragon can be. Your friend is fine. Or at least he was when we left him with the army. He did mention something about finding a sword, though, so who knows what sort of scrape he’s gotten into since.”
“What about Heidi?” Mercedes asked. “Is she here, too? Do you have her stashed somewhere with the Fate Maker?”
“Heidi’s dead,” I said, hanging my head. “The Fate Maker killed her. I gave her my grandmother’s combs to protect her, but they didn’t, and he just killed her.”
“Are you sure?” Mercedes said, her voice breaking. “Because they weren’t dead last time and—”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “This time I’m sure. He squashed her like a bug.”
We reached the bottom of the stairs, and I pulled away from them, determined to accept the surrender of my aunt’s army while standing on my own. Mercedes reached for my wrist, but I yanked it back.
“I’ll be okay,” I told her, trying to smile. “We just have to get through a little bit more, and then, I swear to you, I’m going to find a way to get you home.”
She shook her head. “Don’t worry about that now.”
Kitsuna moved forward and rapped on one of the doors. She stepped back then, and I tried to straighten my shoulders, a grimace disguised as a bitter smile twisting my lips as the doors creaked open.
I stepped forward as soon as the door was open wide enough for me to fit through and took in the sight before me. There, clumped together, was an entire courtyard of weary warriors, smudged with dirt and smoke, on their knees with their foreheads pressed to the ground. My aunt’s vanquished army.
“Your Majesty.” My ears perked at my father’s voice, and I glanced over to see him standing on the top step, his hand clenched in a fist over his chest and his head bowed. “The Palace of Night is yours.”
Chapter Twenty-six
I winced from my place on my aunt’s throne a few hours later. The woodland medic that my father had insisted I see when he found out I’d been stabbed must have mistaken bandaging me up with mummifying me because I could barely breathe with the way he had me tied up.
“Allie?” Rhys looked up at me from the bottom of the dais, and I nodded, trying not to squirm.
“Right. Everyone,” he called out, his voice low and hoarse. “Her Royal Highness, Golden Rose of Nerissette and Empress of Bathune, Queen Alicia Wilhemina Munroe, first of her name, the great, glorious, and lawful queen of all present.”
Everyone, including my father and Winston, knelt and bowed their heads in front of me. I looked out at the room full of people, most of them still dirty and covered in gunk. Jesse was next to Kitsuna, looking over at the wryen every couple of seconds.
“We’re here tonight,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, “to pass sentence on those who fought against me. To punish those who came over the White Mountains and invaded Nerissette, who killed the Order of the Dryads and massacred the tribes of the Firas, and who set fire to the Forest of Ananth and burned out the people of the Sorcastian Plain.
“We are here,” I shouted as I pushed myself up to stand, looking through the crowd, “to make you answer for the people you murdered in the name of your so-called queen.”
The nobles of Bathune began to shift, and my aunt’s generals glanced up at me, their eyes wide. “Generals of the army of Bathune,” I snapped. “Step forward.”
“Your Majesty,” one of them said as they scurried forward, their heads low and backs hunched toward the floor.
“Those of you who fought against me are forgiven,” I said, trying to keep my voice firm and queenly. “You will swear loyalty to me, and you will return to your homes. Tell everyone you meet that I was merciful and allowed you to live, but if you ever cross me or my throne again, that mercy will be no more.”
The men bowed their heads lower, dropping to their knees and pressing their foreheads to the ground.
“She’s really good at this queen stuff,” I heard Jesse whisper. The sound of Kitsuna shushing him was not lost on me, either. I looked over and smiled when I saw the way the wryen’s neck had turned red.
“Go home,” I repeated. “Live in peace for all the rest of your days.”
“What about the wizards?” one of the Woodsmen on the right side of the throne room called out. I looked over to see a small knot of men, still standing, their chins raised in defiance, surrounded by a guard. “We’ll never be safe as long as they remain free.”
“Kneel,” I commanded the wizards, my eyes locking with Rannock’s at the front of the group. “Beg for my mercy.”
“I refuse to get on my knees to a child. To a mortal queen,” he retorted, his jaw clenched.
“Fine. Up to you.”
“Mercy, Your Majesty, is for the weak,” Rannock went on. I gritted my teeth at his arrogance. “Those of us who walk in the light of magic fear not death.”
“Then it’s a good thing that death isn’t what I had in mind for you,” I said. “I bind you all under threat of death. You shall never be allowed to use or teach magic again for as long as you live. Let your secrets and your mysteries die with you. Magic is no more in the World of Dreams. If you defy me, I will send my army to your door, and you will be brought to my palace in chains. Where I will kill you.”
“But what are we supposed to do?” a young wizard asked, pushing to the front of the group. “How are we supposed to live without magic?”
“You’ll figure it out,” I said. “Now go. Live and be grateful for each day you have. For the kindness I have shown you.”
I heard the men grumbling. It didn’t take a genius to know that wizards would be unhappy about a ban on practicing magic, but I didn’t really care. They’d caused enough problems, and I wasn’t going to let them cause any more.
“What about the other creatures?” Gunter asked from his place near the throne. “The ogres. The giants. What do you mean to do with them?”
“We’re going to be a kingdom at peace,” I said, keeping my voice loud, “but we won’t be trampled on, either. If they leave us be, then we’ll do the same. But if they try to make war within my realm, then let today be a warning of what I will send to defend our country.”
“Forget about the ogres,” Winston said from beside me. “What about Bavasama and the Fate Maker? You’ve shown mercy to everyone else, what are you going to do to them?”
“I hate to say this,” I said, “but for once I have to agree with the wizards. There can be no mercy. Bring forth the traitor Bavasama so that she can answer for her crimes.”
The nobles stepped to the side, and I watched as two burly Woodsmen dragged my aunt forward, her ankles and her wrists shackled, the Fate Maker being brought along behind her by his own guards. When they reached the steps to my throne, the guards holding my aunt let go of her and she went down hard, her knees banging against the floor.
“Mercy.” She looked up at me with wild eyes. “I beg for mercy as your only remaining kin. The last daughter of the Golden Rose Bavamorn. The heir to the Rose Throne.”
“You tried to overthrow me,” I said. “You planned to murder me and take my throne. You stole my mother’s life from her.”
“Please,” Bavasama whimpered. “Mercy. Please.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I can’t. What you’ve done, the people you’ve hurt… For t
hat there can be no mercy.”
“Yes.” Mercedes stepped forward and dropped to her knees in front of my throne, her body between me and my aunt. “There can.”
“Mer?” I looked at her, stunned, as she leaned forward and placed her forehead against the floor.
“I beg mercy for the Lady Bavasama, former Empress of Bathune and traitor to the Rose Throne.”
“What?” I gaped at her. “Mercedes? She ordered the death of Darinda. Of your sisters. She tried to kill you.”
“And I want her to be punished for that…but not with death,” my best friend said. “She may have threatened your rule, but she also offended the very world of Nerissette itself. Her orders led to the deaths of forests, of the dryads of Nerissette. She ordered the execution of her own Nymphiad so they couldn’t rise up against her. She attacked the very land itself, and as the last dryad in the World of Dreams, I ask that you show her mercy.”
“I—”
“Give her to me,” Mercedes said. “Let me give her back to nature as an offering so that my sisters may find peace in the Summer Lands.”
“Your Majesty.” Aquella came forward, Boreas on her heels. They both dropped to the floor next to Mercedes and bowed as well. “We join the Last Dryad in asking for mercy. Let us return the Lady Bavasama to the land as an offering.”
“I don’t—” I looked around and saw my father staring at me.
“Mercy,” he mouthed to me.
“So be it,” I said with a sharp nod. “I bind the Lady Bavasama, the last tyrant of the World of Dreams, into the custody of the Nymphiad of Nerissette. And may whatever gods you believe in have mercy on your soul.”
“Bring us dirt,” Aquella said. I watched as my father’s Woodsmen stepped forward, their hands in the pouches at their waists. “And the Orb of the Dryads.”
“No…” Bavasama turned to me, her eyes huge and fearful. “No, please, kill me instead. Don’t give me to them. I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“No.” I shook my head. “My best friend has asked that I give you to her to punish, and that’s what I’m going to do. After everything she’s given up for me, I can give her this.”
Infinity (Chronicles of Nerissette) Page 18
