She said it so sweetly, and they ate it up like rats. Even her smile was welcoming, as if she weren’t the worst thing to ever exist in these realms.
“As you can see behind me, I have captured the greatest threat to the crown. I have the false queen, her fallen, disgraced fate, and their conspirators.”
The royals gasped and began to murmur, their hands cupped over their whispers as they glared down on us. Her guards walked toward us, and I fisted my hands, but they did not stop for me or Reggie. Instead, they reached for his sisters. Nismera continued to speak, walking in front of the lords and ladies, but my attention stayed on the fates. The guards grabbed the fates and adjusted their chains before separating them from Reggie and latching them back together.
“What are you doing?” I asked the guards, but they ignored me. The sisters clung to each other, their wails making them sound more like wraiths than fates. The guards pushed them to the side as Nismera slammed the butt of her spear down onto the stone floor.
My head whipped toward her. She continued to pontificate, her hand outstretched toward us.
“… united, we have done this. Think what else we can accomplish if we take it to the next level of cooperation,” she said. “I wish to show you just what you have procured for me and how we will change the world. The gala is only days away, and soon everyone will see the true strength of our power. Power granted to me by your allegiance to the crown.”
My heart thudded as she turned toward us, the royals behind her watching with regal awe.
“With this medallion, we will transcend worlds and time itself. You will no longer be lords and ladies of your realms. You will be gods.”
That was what she’d promised them? Godhood? That was why they followed her so blindly? We’d been fools to think they’d ever join us in standing against her. They did not want peace treaties. They wanted the power to conquer worlds just like her. And why would they not want to follow her? After all, power begets power.
“Now for a demonstration.”
Nismera turned to face us, power emanating from her hand and infusing the shaft of her spear. The medallion pieces buried below the head began to glow, and the tip pulsed brightly. The room shuddered as if it struggled to contain the overwhelming force building within the spear. Oh gods. With that weapon, she would succeed. We were all doomed.
My eyes cut toward Reggie. I knew what she was going to do, but maybe none of it would matter. Samkiel was going to rip the world apart when I died anyway.
“I love you,” I said to Reggie because I knew she would aim at me first. Reggie nodded, his eyes closed as if the fate thought he would never hear that word, much less have it directed at him.
“I lo—”
The spear sang through the air, the strike so brutal and fast it was impossible to track. Bright, harsh light exploded from it in a wave of blistering heat. Reggie’s head hit the floor, and I watched in horror as the rest of his body fell to ash.
I screamed.
Reggie’s ashes floated between us, and as the royals clapped and cheered, I marked each and every one of them for death. She’d lied to them, making them believe she could kill even a fate with that power, but Reggie was a little bit mortal. Because he loved me. Nismera hadn’t killed him. I had.
Her smile was filled with lethal amusement as she watched me lunge against my bonds like a mad, wild animal ready to claw her face to ribbons.
“Do you see the savage animal she is?” She turned to the room. “Feral like all beasts. This is who the false king wishes you to worship, to bend to. Will you follow in the footsteps of animals or reign like the gods you can be?”
“We follow the one true king,” they all said, their voices blending together, shouting praise and devotion to this monster.
The fates lifted their faces toward the sky and wailed in unison. Whatever they’d seen at the moment of his death, penetrating their madness. They clung to each other, their screams piercing the veil of time and space. The guards rushed them out with a wave from Nismera’s hand. More of Nismera’s guards shouldered inside, ushering the lords and ladies from the dungeon. I watched through tear-soaked eyes, ensuring I memorized their faces. I’d leave nothing in my wake, nothing but ashes.
“You fucking bitch!” I screamed, thrashing against the chains as Nismera stepped in front of me.
She grinned in satisfaction and slammed her boot into my face. Bone crunched, and blood filled my mouth. I landed hard on my back, the chains leeching my power and rage. I lay there, welcoming the numbness as she laughed.
“Thank you, Ayla, for giving me the one thing I always wanted. Power,” she said, crouching beside me and gripping my hair, forcing me to look at her. “I owe you pain, Ayla, and I intend to deliver. Wipe your tears, fallen queen. We have a grand event scheduled for you tomorrow.” She shoved my head away before rising and striding from the room, calling out. “Sleep well.”
Unir called to me, but I ignored him, and eventually he grew quiet. Finally, the only sounds I could hear were the trickling of water and my own labored breathing. Wearily, I turned my head toward the ashes on the floor, staring at the singed marks where Reggie had knelt, the burned metal of the chains that had held him lying limply on the ground. Gods, this was my fault. He was my best friend, and I had gotten him killed.
A choked sob escaped my throat, my eyes stinging as a dam broke in my chest. Soul or not, I felt it. Rolling onto my hands and knees, I crawled to the circle and knelt beside it. With trembling hands, I gathered the ashes with my palms, scraping across the stone. Some unthinking part of me believed that if I brought them back together, I could make him whole once more. It was a senseless need to grab at what remained.
I wanted to scream, rage, and curse the gods, but I couldn’t manage anything other than a whimper. My mouth hung open in a silent cry, tears streaming down my face and mixing with the fine powdery dust. This was all that was left, just like Gabby. I had lost him, too. Another person whose only mistake was loving and caring about me. Was this all I was good for?
Resolve and determination hit me harder than any punch or kick Nismera could administer. I may have had hesitations about being queen and ruling these realms beside Samkiel, but gods above and below, I would not allow that psychotic bitch or anyone like her to carry that title any longer. I no longer cared what they thought of me or our union. If having me as their queen made others rebel, so be it, but these realms would be free of her if I had to rip her to pieces with my bare hands.
“Death!” I called.
No answer.
