Queen Alora finally spoke, quickly ordering, “King Athon, take the ones closest to the tree. King Elon and I will take the middle ground. Princess Trixie, you’ll handle those farthest away from the tree.” Intelligently, she ordered it by body strength.
My eyes swiftly scanned the blood-drenched terrain.
I had six to move so they could be buried properly. I halted in front of my first target, gagging down the bile that rose in the back of my throat. The caster guard’s flesh was sunken down to the bone—his life sucked right out of him. I grabbed his ankles and quickly moved, grunting hard with the effort to keep my footing on the crimson mud.
I glanced to the side while I moved body after body.
Kera stood in place and blankly stared off into nothing.
Queen Mikko sat cross-legged in front of her sister, staring down at her lap. The Queen of Casters neither moved nor spoke. She merely sat where she was in the silence, lost in her own tortured despair for what needed to be done.
King Athon placed four caster guards down in the line we had made of the dead, his eyes also swinging to the caster queen. His nostrils flared, and he rumbled quietly, “This will be the hardest day she has faced so far as a ruler.”
“I do not envy her, that is for certain.” I peered over at him, watching him closely. “Shifter, I do not know what you are doing with my king, but I do not like it.”
The King of Shifters looked up at me from under his lashes, solidly holding my gaze. He spoke slowly, “You attacked me yesterday, and I have not retaliated in kind. It’s become obvious to the other rulers that you and I are more than enemies. Such as right now. Queen Alora and King Elon are watching us.”
I scratched at my cheek and peeked out of the corner of my eye to the two rulers that were working together on a body.
Theywerestaring at us.
I sniffed. “What does that have to do with my king?”
“I am trying to fix the mess you created.” Hegrowled.
I walked in the direction of the last dead guard I needed to retrieve. “You are trying to pretend that we are…friendly?”
King Athon headed in the other direction. “Yes, elf. You fucked up, and now we have to deal with the consequences. This is the best option available to us.”
I huffed in aggravation—at my own blunders—and grabbed the ankles of the dead. Ihadtruly fucked up. I trudged backward with my heavy haul, resting the body into the row of victims, placing my hands on my knees to catch my breath.
Abruptly, the air started towarm.
Heaving in large lungs full of hot air, I turned my eyes to the tree. It was beginning to burn from the inside out, the cracks in the bark turning a brilliant orange.
I raced forward, shouting a warning, “Run!”
Three bodies wouldn’t be saved today.
Queen Alora, King Elon, and King Athon turned and sprinted away from the tree…right before itexplodedinto a firestorm that I’d never faced before.
“Shit!” I gasped, throwing out my hands.
I gritted my teeth and braced my legs against the fiery blast, my hair flying back in the scalding air. My hands violently shook as I pulled the fire in my direction, snuffing out as many flames as I could—my father’s royal firepower so great I couldn’t control it all, only managing to capture the fire surrounding the tree.
A hard body plowed into mine, knocking me off my feet. I grunted as strong arms enfolded me, protecting me from the fall, my hands still extended as we hit the ground. I stared at the flames, keeping my eyes on my work as a massive tree limb slammed down onto the grass beside us.
King Athon lifted his head,growlingdown on me.
“Shut up, shifter,” I whispered, sweat starting to pour down my face. “I’m working here if you haven’t noticed.”
“Fucking pain in my Fae damned ass,” he hissed, releasing my body and shoving himself off the ground. He flashed his tiger fangs, his claws slicing out. “You can’t work if you’re dead. Get up and watch your surroundings this time, elf.”
I struggled to sit up, my body wearing down. “I’m fine.”
“You’re a Fae damned mess is what you are.” My dratted soul mate grabbed under my arms and yanked me up to my feet. He marched straight forward toward the tree. “Keep the fire away from me, Princess. I’ll get the last three.”
I bit my bottom lip and concentrated on his position. I pulled the flames away from the dead, watching as the shifter king lifted their scorched bodies into his arms. Fatigue sagged my shoulders. I stumbled to the left.
