I land hard on my knees, heaving breath, the head of the fae king rolling to a stop to my left.
Dead.
I glance up, my heart hammering through my chest, and elation runs through me.
But then I hear the war drum and battle cries as the Stone Swords descend like vultures, ready to pick us off, and horror washes over me. Fatal comprehension.
Because I killed their king. I killed the person who ordered this invasion.
But it doesn’t fucking matter. The war didn’t end with him.
The fae are going to slaughter us anyway.
CHAPTER 56
QUEEN MALINA
When I’m sure that thesoldiers aren’t following me anymore, when I’m sure they’ve left me to my fate, I skid to a stop on the bridge.
I stand upon the gray dirt, panting, hardly able to see more than the hand in front of my face with how thick the haze is.
Inside this vaporous shroud, sound is muffled. I no longer feel the lash of the wind or hear the Stone Swords or whatever commotion was coming further away from the castle. I can’t see any part of Seventh Kingdom either.
It’s as if I’m in a different world. One where I’m utterly alone.
With one hand, I reach blindly forward until I grip the rough rope that hangs between the balustrades, needing it to steady me.
Then I slip my other hand into my dress pocket and take out the dagger I stowed. I stare down at it, and my hands start to shake.
I feel the tender slices down my palms. A vivid reminder of the night the fae twins cut them and how I let my blood drip down to fuse with their magical ceremony.
Do you know why we chose you?
They chose me because I was the right royal.
They chose me because they couldn’t re-form the bridge alone.
They chose me…because blood matters.
I thought it was a good idea to sneak into the atrium to hide. My scholar can’t come all the way up these stairs with his knobby knees to find me, anyway. He’ll be looking all over. That will teach him to strike my hands with his switch.
Except when I come into the glass room, I hear voices. I start to back out, but I stop when I recognize my mother talking. My stomach dips though, because it sounds like she’s crying.
Why is she crying?
Spinning around, I duck between the trailing plants and follow her voice. I spot her sitting at the water fountain. She’s wearing a pretty blue dress, her dark blonde hair braided around her head. White blossoms and dark green leaves surround her while the fountain flows. It usually makes her happy to be in here, but right now, she’s not happy. Her cheeks are wet and her eyes are red.
She’s with Mender Fyce, and I freeze when I see him taking a needle out of her arm. Blood drips out of the spot and he murmurs something to her. My stomach gets a bit queasy. I don’t like seeing blood.
“Mother?” I call nervously.
Her head snaps over and her brows lift. “Malina, what are you doing up here?”
I skitter over and stop in front of her, watching as the mender quickly dabs at her arm, cleaning up the wound. “I will dispose of this, Your Majesty,” he says, holding a big vial in his hand. “Try to rest today.”
My eyes widen. “Is that your blood in there?”
“It’s alright, darling,” she says to me, distracting me from the vial before she turns back to the mender. “Thank you, Fyce.”
