Mortal Enchantment Complete Box Set

by Stacey O'Neale

  Orion raced over to Kalin. “What are you saying? Save him from what?”

  “Sebastian,” she said, eyes wild and filled with fear. “He tried to kill me, and now he’s going to kill my father. We have to stop him!”

  White-hot rage surged through my body. “Don’t worry, Kalin,” I said, unsheathing my sword. “I’m going to put an end to all of this.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Kalin

  My heart pounded like a drummer on speed.

  Every inch of my body ached, but there was no time for rest. I had no idea how long ago Sebastian had left me to die. Rowan was lucky to have caught Orion before he left for my wedding. Otherwise, I would likely be dead. I had to get back to my father to warn him—if I wasn’t already too late. A lump swelled in my throat. As much as it hurt to imagine my parents in danger, I had to push those feelings aside. I had to be strong. Once I explained the extent of Sebastian’s plan, Orion gathered two dozen knights, and we all headed toward the portal for the air court.

  Before we left, one of his seamstresses handed me a green silk dress to wear. I changed into the dress, and my cheeks warmed as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Woodland faeries typically wore slinky garments like this. Their taste leaned toward the less was more variety—the opposite of everything worn in the conservative air court. This dress barely covered my bottom. I was overly conscious each time I felt even the slightest breeze. This dress screamed stripper pole, but my wedding dress was in bloody shreds on the infirmary floor, so I happily accepted it.

  The end of the pathway opened up at the edge of the forest. In the distance, I could see the archway that led to the air castle’s main courtyard. The skies were dark, but the castle was lit up for my wedding. Candles burned on every windowsill and balcony. But something was wrong. Guests should’ve been everywhere. Invitations went out to elementals from each court, yet I heard no noise. The silence graduated my fully alert nerves from cautious to something more along the lines of nuclear. The original plan was for us to go in quietly, but my patience had gone bye-bye.

  Without any warning, I ran toward the castle at full speed. Some voices were yelling, and I even heard Rowan cussing, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. My family was in danger. The people I loved, who had cared for me my whole life, needed me. There was nothing anyone could have said that would have made me slow down. I passed under the archway and straight through the grassy courtyard. Within moments, I stood in the main foyer of the castle. There wasn’t a single elemental anywhere—not even a guard. I scanned the massive room as I tried to catch my breath.

  At some point, my companions had caught up with me. “Where is everyone?” Orion asked, saying what we were all thinking.

  “I don’t know,” I answered, scratching the back of my head. “The wedding was supposed to be in the ballroom. Should we check there?”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rowan heading up a set of stairs. “I’ll check Taron’s quarters.”

  “Not without me.” I sprinted to catch up with him.

  Orion and his knights followed us up each staircase with their iron weapons drawn. They prepared for the worst. This place should be bustling with elementals. A shiver of dread raced through my veins. Where had everyone gone? As we made our way up the levels, the only noise I could hear was the clicking of our shoes against the stone steps. The farther we went, the more my chest tightened.

  Rowan led the group, gripping his sword so tightly his knuckles were white. I thought back to our conversation on the beach. He had warned me to be cautious, and I completely ignored his suspicions. I even accused him of acting like a jealous boyfriend. If I had taken him seriously, we might have avoided all of this. I should’ve guarded my secrets instead of handing Sebastian all the ammunition he needed to hold my family hostage.

  And now, they could be dead because of my mistakes.

  When we reached the top of the final stairwell, Rowan froze. I pushed in front of him to see what was going on. He tried to grab my hand, but I managed to wiggle away. Then I saw what he’d tried to prevent me from seeing. Everything around me started to move in slow motion. The lifeless bodies of two knights were crumpled over in front of Dad’s bedroom door. Their skin was dry as they slowly decomposed. Soon they would be part of the first wind. All the noise around me silenced except for my own pounding heart. Out of respect, I should have stopped there and given them their last blessing—the elemental version of last rites.

  But I didn’t.

  I turned the knob on the door and climbed over them. Panting, I searched the room. I may have called out to Dad. I wasn’t sure. But what I saw in front of me buckled my knees, and I collapsed. So many emotions whipped through me all at once. A set of arms wrapped around my shoulders. In an instant, I knew it was Rowan. He whispered something in my ear, but I couldn’t understand what he was saying. All I could do was stare. Dad was lying on his back with my Mom sobbing over top of him.

  My father was dead.

  Mom stared at me, her eyes red and swollen. “Sebastian said he wanted to have a toast before the wedding, and we drank from a special wine he brought.” She wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her shirt. “Taron realized it was poison right before we both collapsed. Sebastian left, assuming we were both dead. That’s when Taron used all of his magic to cure me. He sacrificed himself so that I could live.”

  I didn’t want to believe it. Even as I pulled away from Rowan and crawled to her, some part of me hoped Dad would wake up. I held Mom in my arms, cradling her. She wrapped her arms over the top of mine, somehow pulling me even closer as she broke down once more. I reached out to touch Dad’s face. His skin was cold. Empty eyes stared at the ceiling. The air around his body began to swirl. Slowly, pieces of his skin dried and joined with the growing wind. I closed my eyes, unable to watch as my father’s body wither away into nothing.

  Something broke inside me. It was as if part of me had left with my father. In its place, an ache welled in the center of my chest. He was dead. My mother had lost the love of her life, and it was all my fault. I had caused my father’s death. I should have died on the beach. That was what I deserved for making such a foolish mistake. I couldn’t be here. I scooted away from Mom, away from everyone. Rowan tried to approach me, but I held up my hand. I wasn’t worthy of his comfort. Had I listened to him, my father would still be alive.

  I stood, backing myself into the corner of the room.

  “Kalin,” Rowan said in the softest tone I had ever heard him speak.

  I put up my hand as he took a step toward me. “Stop it.”

  “It’s going to be all right.”

  It wasn’t all right. We weren’t even in the vicinity of all right. I was walking into my greatest nightmare. This situation was as bad as it got, and it happened all because I’d failed. I had lost someone I loved. Someone who meant everything to me. “Don’t you see? All of this is my fault. He’s dead because of me.”

  “This isn’t your fault. You can’t hold yourself responsible for this.”

  I shook my head, refusing to accept what he was saying. “You knew Sebastian would do this. I could have saved my father if I had listened to you.”

  “I had my doubts about Sebastian,” Rowan said, glancing at the space where Dad’s body had been. “But I never would have predicted he could do this.” He grabbed me by the biceps as I tried to force myself out of his hold. “None of this had anything to do with you.”

  “Let me go,” I said sternly.

  He pulled me into a hug, refusing to release me even as I fought to free myself. “No,” he said firmly.

  “Let me go, dammit!” I punched and kicked him with every bit of energy I had. He still held on to me.

  “No,” he repeated.

  A lump swelled in my throat, even as I continued to struggle. “Please, just let me go.”

  “I’ll never let you go,” Rowan whispered in my ear.

  I fought until there was nothing left in me. My body n
umbed from ache and overwhelming sadness. As I collapsed, he went with me. We were both on our knees when I burst into tears. The streams flowed endlessly down my cheeks as I let my head rest on his shoulder. He rocked me back and forth like a baby in a cradle. At that moment, I felt like he was the only thing holding me together. Like I would shatter into a million pieces the second he let go. “He’s gone, Rowan.” My voice was barely audible through my wailing cries. “He’s gone,”

  “I know.” His hand cupped the back of my head. “I’m so sorry.”

  Mom came over, wrapping her arms around both of us, and the rest of the world went away. I focused on the feel of their warmth all around me—the deafening silence of the room. I had no idea how long we stayed huddled together. Music rang out, startling all three of us. I was the first to make my way to the window. Hundreds of elementals walked solemnly toward the castle. They made their way through the stone arches carrying flowers, while others played instruments. The song they performed was vaguely familiar. It appeared to be a funeral procession. The all-consuming pain I felt shifted into a rage when I saw the last person step through the archway.

  It was Sebastian, holding my father’s crown.

  Now it all made sense. The elementals hadn’t abandoned the castle. They left to attend some ceremony. Sebastian must have told them we were all dead—an easy claim to make since a body wasn’t required. Carrying the crown meant they were probably heading toward his coronation. Sebastian hadn’t wasted any time, not even allowing the other air elementals time to grieve for the only king they had ever known. He probably used his charms to convince the council that our court would be vulnerable without a king on the throne.

  Blind fury consumed me.

  Turning to the side, I noticed Rowan next to me. I pulled his sword from its sheath. Without saying a word to anyone, I headed toward the door. One thought lodged in my head: kill Sebastian. I didn’t plan to end him quickly. His death needed to be slow and painful. My mind raced with ways I might torture him. Make him understand the agony I felt after what he had done to my parents. They waited so long to be together, only to be ripped apart once more. Sebastian would feel their hurt as well. Before I finished, he would know a level of misery he hadn’t imagined possible.

  “Kalin, stop,” Rowan shouted.

  No one was getting in my way. Not even Rowan. “I’m done talking.”

  “Kalin—”

  “Enough,” I screamed, turning around to face Rowan. The anger bubbled in my stomach as heat radiated through my limbs. Sweat pearled on the back of my neck, while my insides were burning up. Needing some release, I screamed. A fire ignited at the tips of my fingers. Panicking, I wiggled my hand. The flames shot out of my fingertips, hitting Rowan in the face.

  Rowan fell backward, landing on his backside with a thump. “Holy shit!”

  I stared at my palms. Symbols of the four courts moved over my forearms. A jolt shot through me, knocking me to the ground. I closed my eyes as images whipped through my mind. It was like I was watching the history of the world in fast-forward. But it wasn’t a history I remembered from the books I read in school. I saw the history of the elementals through the eyes of the former akasha's. I saw their entire lives. When the pictures stopped, I opened my eyes. My senses instantly heightened. All around me, everything came alive.

  The elements called to me.

  I could feel them. Each sensation was vastly different from the others. Concentrating on fire was like touching raw passion. It was intense, which explained why the flames released in my fit of anger. When I focused on calm energy, water in a nearby pitcher shot up into the ceiling. I dropped to my knees, pressing my open palms into the floor. The rocks tingled with life. I clenched my fists, flexing the muscles in my arms. I summoned the power of the woodland court through strength. As the knowledge of the akasha settled in my mind, the wind blew in from the outside. Logic ignited the power of the air.

  Now, this was cool.

  “How did you do that?” Orion asked, helping me off the floor.

  “She’s the akasha,” Rowan said, massaging the back of his head.

  I cringed, knowing I had been the one to cause him pain. “I’m sorry.”

  Rowan shrugged.

  Orion waved his hands in front of him. “But how? Your power just turned on all of a sudden.”

  I wasn’t sure of myself. I had tried thousands of times to ignite the power, and nothing worked. Maybe it just came on when I needed it most. Then I remembered what Sebastian had told me. “It was the poisoned wine that blocked my akasha powers. Losing so much blood must have cleaned out my system, and all the emotion I was feeling must’ve somehow broken through the block.”

  My words made tears well in Mom’s eyes. The power ignited because of the emotions I felt from Dad’s death. I couldn’t bring him back, but I damn well could avenge him. I received this power to balance the elements and to reunite the four courts. But before I could do any of that, I had to reclaim my court. I reached down, grabbing Rowan’s sword off the floor. I handed it to him and said, “I won’t be needing this anymore.”

  “Where are you going?” Rowan asked.

  I glanced out the window, imagining my father’s ashes finding their way to the first wind. The only solace I had was knowing the peace he must feel. “I’m going to reclaim the throne for my family.”

  The coronation ceremony had already begun. Air elementals filled every inch of the throne room. All the members of the air court council stood behind my father’s empty chair, except Jaya. She stood above a kneeling Sebastian, holding the crown over his head. I reached my hand out, pointing at the window closest to them. I called to my element. Thunder crashed in the night sky, and then a bolt of lightning came through the window. It hit Jaya’s hand, knocking my father’s crown to the ground.

  The crowd gasped.

  “Already crowning a new king, I see,” I yelled, getting the attention of the entire room. Elementals whispered to one another, bowing as I passed by. I made my way toward the throne. Sebastian stood next to Jaya, eyes wide with horror. “Your plan only had one flaw, Sebastian. You got too cocky. Had you waited until I was dead, you’d be a king right now.”

  Rowan, Orion, and his knights appeared behind the council with their weapons raised. No one would be going anywhere any time soon.

  Sebastian’s face calmed. “I’m so happy to see you’re alive, Kalin. We all mourned when we heard of your death.”

  “Nice try, asshole,” I said, putting up my hand. “I appreciate your effort, but it’s all over.”

  Sebastian leaned into me, speaking in a low voice. “Nothing has changed. We still have our little arrangement.”

  “Yeah, see, that’s where you’re confused.” I turned to face the crowd. “Sebastian tried to blackmail me into marrying him. He thought that if the council discovered my father’s weakness, and that I had lost my power, you would no longer want us as your royal family. What he forgot to mention was that he was poisoning us all along.”

  Shouts rang out from several areas of the room. The elementals were outraged. In between the shouting, Sebastian said, “Those are false allegations. You have no proof.”

  “I don’t need any.” The shimmery tattoos of the four court symbols appeared on my arms, moving slowly through my body. “I am the akasha, and I sentence you to death for the murder of my father, King Taron.”

  Two of Orion’s knights held Sebastian in place. He struggled to free himself, but he wasn’t going anywhere. “You can’t do this. There has to be a trial. You need proof.”

  “I am the proof,” Mom said, glaring at Sebastian. “I drank the wine you gave Taron. He used the rest of his healing power to save my life.” Then, she addressed the crowd. “Taron died from poison.”

  Jaya moved in front of Sebastian. “I won’t allow this. I am a member of this council.”

  “You are no longer a member of the council. You see, your son told me the part you played in all of this. You may not have want
ed me dead, but you encouraged him to use the poison to block my power.” I pointed at her as two more guards took her into custody. “You are just as guilty as Sebastian.”

  I stepped in front of Sebastian. “I trusted you. I thought you were my friend. You could have had a nice life. I would have rewarded you for helping me, as you promised. Instead, you got greedy.” Closing my eyes, I calmed my energy. I envisioned water leaving the nearby fountain, forming a thin stream.

  “No,” Sebastian screamed, realizing what I was doing.

  “Please don’t do this,” Jaya cried.

  When I opened my eyes, the stream of water shot over to us and entered Sebastian through his nostrils. He tried to break free from Orion’s knights, but that wasn’t going to happen. Once he stopped struggling, he tried to speak. The liquid muffled his voice. “You weren’t the only one paying attention during our little talks, Sebastian. I seem to remember that drowning was your greatest fear.” I put my hand over his lips, encouraging the water to spread deep into his lungs. “This is for my father,” I said, punching him in the rib cage.

  His body jolted several times, and then the life left his eyes. The guards let his body crumble to the ground. Jaya dropped to her knees, crying over his dead body. “Take her to the dungeons,” I told them. She begged to stay with her son, but I would not allow it. I thought about killing her, but that was too easy. She needed time to reflect on the decisions she made. And the surrounding elementals needed to witness her punishment.

  I stared out into the crowd. “If anyone else would like to challenge me for the crown, come forward now.”

  Elementals looked at one another, but no one stepped forward. Instead, they fell to their knees and bowed.

  Orion came to stand behind me, placing the crown on my head. “Hail, Queen Kalin of House Paralda,” he shouted. “Long may she reign.”