I rolled forward, cradling his head in my lap. “Charlie. Let’s go.”
“Where? There’s nowhere to go.”
“Just take me back to our room.” Our room— not his room. The impending divorce meant fuck-all in this light.
He sniffed again, nodded, and got back up. He wheeled me into the palace. Oberi followed with his head hanging low.
The palace was in a state of chaos. Nobles, servants, and council members mobbed the halls, crying out for family members and pleading with the gods to save them. I’d never seen the Elves in such a state of disarray as the noises against the shield grew louder. Boom, boom, boom, boom, BOOM.
He was getting pissed off. I could tell the Warden was infuriated that my shield hadn’t broken yet, because his magical blows against it had grown more severe. It caused a slight smirk to spread across my face, that my spell was giving him this much trouble. I hoped he choked as he was forced to swallow the realization that I really had been better than him, once upon a time.
Cameron was running around the halls, wailing. It was to be expected. He couldn’t lead on a good day, let alone during impending doom. Generals and council members asked for orders, but all he could do was babble and blubber in response. Drea watched him panic, a thin scowl of disgust written across her face.
Drea noticed me venturing by and ran to my side. “Princess, what are your orders?”
“Get the Firebirds ready. Station them around the shield’s perimeter, and have the rest of the army posted around the city. We attack once he gets in.”
Drea nodded. “Right away, your highness.”
Drea raised her sword, crying out directions. Several guards noticed. The soldiers in the room moved to follow her lead, ignoring Cameron’s screams. Nobles and servants cleared the way for them, grabbing anything they could get their hands on to use as weapons as they followed Drea into the city.
I only gave the order because I knew the desire of the Elves was to die with a sword in their hand. All I wanted to give them was their last wish. The Elves seemed to be relieved that somebody was taking charge, even if my commands were all but useless. People wanted something to do once order broke down and destruction was imminent. Standing around doing nothing was the worst way to wait for death.
I wasn’t sure if my soldiers would be able to do a thing once the Warden got in, or if they’d just be fodder for his deadly spells once the shield fell, but at least they weren’t going quietly.
“When did you start giving orders around here?” Charlie asked, curious.
“When your dad proved he’s about as useful as a kumquat. But I don’t want to spend our last moments talking about him.”
“I don’t, either.”
It was a pretty silent trip back to Charlie’s quarters, save for the deafening explosions that kept hitting the shield. There were so many now it nearly sounded like background noise. Once we got there, Oberi laid on the area rug by the bed, letting out a long whine.
“I know. I’m sorry, boy.” I reached down to pat his head. “Kind of a crappy way to end several millennia of your existence, stuck in a room with us?”
Oberi huffed, his floppy lips sputtering outward. I had to laugh a little.
Charlie lifted me into the bed. I didn’t have to ask, but he knew that’s what I wanted. Some small part of that familiar intimacy between us reignited, but instead of pushing it away, I went to grab on to it. If today was my last day, I was going out with a smile on my face.
Charlie crawled into bed beside me. I nestled against his chest, and he folded his arms over my body. We sat there for a long time, listening to the tumultuous blasts that were the only sound to break the unrequited quiet.
We hadn’t cuddled since I’d asked for a divorce, and this felt so good. We were seeking some kind of comfort in each other now that we’d lost everything, and I refused to feel bad about it. I wasn’t giving him the wrong idea about what we were, because we only had a short time left to enjoy what was left of our lives.
I wasn’t strong enough to tell him that I still loved him, though we were on the precipice of the end. And I had to admit that I did love him, because with my own death staring me in the face, I couldn’t lie to myself about it anymore. Being with him in this bed was the only thing keeping me calm. I wouldn’t apologize for seeking refuge in his arms when I knew that’s what we both needed to pass time, at least until we woke up in a grave.
“Should we be doing this?” Charlie asked, his lips brushing my hair. “We’re not… together.”
The ache in his voice broke me. “We don’t have to acknowledge that anything happened. We can just pretend.”
“What are we pretending to be?”
A happily married couple, because that’s everything we’re not. “We were never happier than when we first got married.” That short period between when we’d said our vows for the first time and before the Infernal Underground were probably the best days of my life.
The smile was clear in his tone as he remembered. “We didn’t do anything back then but go to class and have sex.”
“Yeah. It was great.” My head fell onto his shoulder as I recalled the memories. If we weren’t forced to go to school, we were naked in-between the sheets, tangled up in each other’s arms.
“You made me the most fortunate man alive.” Charlie squeezed me tighter. “I was so lucky to have you.”
