Page 71 of Their Queen

My eyes drifted closed as whispers started to swirl in my mind, ones encouraging destruction and all-consuming power. Slamming my mental walls closed, I ignored the promises of indestructibility. My only focus now was pulling some of the weight from Rhowyn. She was our conductor, and we let her channel the magic into us.

The void in my chest slowly began to fill. As it did, I became weaker and yet so full. Like my insides were trying to push out of my chest, to burst me open if I took any more of the magic. Still, I held on as my legs trembled and my body began shaking to the point that I was nearly convulsing.

I held on until I couldn’t take another drop more of the magic, my body giving way before my mind could. Baer fell first, pulling from my other side. As he did, the magic increased its force inside of me. Unable to withstand it, I collapsed next, barely catching myself before my face slammed into the ground. I felt like a newborn foal, my limbs shaky and barely controllable.

Looking to the other side, I saw Callum fall. He was unable to catch himself, his chin hitting the packed dirt and reverberating through the ground. His eyes closed as he passed out from the impact and magic. Lennox and Brannoc still held on; something in their natures allowed them to hold more of the dark magic. If I had to guess, it was Brannoc’s connection to the Fomorians. Lennox was able to maintain his grip because it was his magic she was using. But before long, they, too, were shaking and close to collapsing.

How Titania was able to hold so much of the dark magic inside of her, I couldn’t fathom. The tide seemed nearly endless as she laughed, pouring the magic into Rhowyn with an insane glee. Never before had I seen her like this. I had always assumed that this lurked behind her eyes, but it was like she no longer cared who saw her insanity. In light of what I was witnessing now, her tyrannical presence before seemed like an innocuous fly in comparison. Completely harmless to the destruction that was now so close.

Brannoc fell first, Lennox just behind him. Rhowyn’s body snapped taut as she bore the brunt of the magic funnel alone. Her eyes were closed, and tears leaked from the corners. Her cries of agony tore at me, but I knew I couldn’t touch her again.

Through the bond, I could tell she was hearing the whispers I had, the ones that had wanted me to give up. I could feel her will succumbing to their insistence, unfaltering in their persistence against her mental wall. Pushing to my feet, my muscles screamed at my request to move. More than once, my arms threatened to give out on me. If they did, I wouldn’t be able to get this far again. I was using everything I had left to get to her. Failure was not an option.

Crawling to where Rhowyn was now on her knees, my pace agonizingly slow, I called out to her. “Rhowyn.” She didn’t respond, didn’t acknowledge that she could hear me. I tried again. “Rhowyn, my Queen, don’t give up. Fight this. You’re strong enough, the strongest person I know. Just hold on.”

Her voice whimpered out as she spoke, “But I’m not. It’s too much. I can’t take any more, I’m sorry.” Tears now fell from my eyes at the agony I could feel and see. The magic was ripping her apart slowly. There had to be some way to save her. Some way to stop this.

Just then, when I was about to give up hope as well, Cyerra took Rhowyn’s hand. A cry of relief fell from Rhowyn’s lips. Then Revna and Ramund joined their daughter on Rhowyn’s other side. Revna barked out a command, “Ravens, take hold. Help our Queen.”

They did just that, swirling in quickly, touching each other, and taking the magic from Rhowyn. Through the bond, I could feel the instant relief, her mind becoming her own again as the Ravens helped her channel the consuming magic.

Rhowyn’s eyes snapped open and narrowed with determination as she pulled on the magic. The shadows flew into her, faster and faster. Titania cried out, her face now showing panic. She moved like she was trying to stop the flow, but Rhowyn tightened her hold on the dark magic, consuming it until the shadows finally ceased.

The Ravens dropped their hold, each of them gasping and crumpling from the magic. Rhowyn stood again and stalked toward Titania, who was now on her knees. “Please, don’t hurt me. Lock me up. Keep me in the dungeons. I won’t fight you anymore.” Titania’s pleas littered the air as she tried to say anything, hoping it would spare her life.

Rhowyn said nothing as she leaned down to place a palm on Titania’s forehead. Light started to flow between them, Rhowyn sucking out her fae magic, her life force. The same magic that had been pulled from the land, from Avalonia. She kept pulling as Titania sobbed, unable to free herself. Titania’s hands went to Rhowyn’s forearm as she tried in vain to dislodge her.

What could have been minutes or hours, they stood there, locked in that hold as magic flowed. The last little bit fluttered into Rhowyn as Titania’s eyes rolled back, and she fell away from Rhowyn, her skin sallow and gray, her face devoid of life. Turning, Rhowyn’s eyes looked out at the frozen crowd of fae soldiers, her eyes glowing with light.

Light seeped out of her pores as she shook from the magnitude of what she had consumed from Titania. Her mouth opened, and Avalonia’s voice came out. “Avalon. Today, the land will get its magic back. Today, you are free.”

As soon as the last word fell from her lips, the magic burst from Rhowyn in a light that was so bright that everyone had to duck and hide from the force of it. A wave of magic flowed over us all, a shockwave that pushed us back. Some people fell, the thumps of their bodies hitting the ground sounding out in the silence. Another burst of light flung from Rhowyn and flew outward.

Rhowyn gasped as the last bit left her, flooring us all and knocking us out. A crack in my chest had me crying out and succumbing to the darkness of oblivion.

Chapter Fifty One: Rhowyn

It was done. We had finally beaten Titania. Looking out, I found everyone lying still and silent. The force of the magic being released had caused them to pass out. I felt the connection to Avalon and knew that the magic I had pulled from Titania was now seeking its home in the land. What was once shriveled ashes was now flourishing and blooming as the balance was restored.

We had done it. We had saved Avalon. The abused girl who had been raised in foster care until she learned how to fight back was now a Queen. That girl had pushed past every hurdle in her way and had saved her people from the destruction that had threatened them.

She had found the loves of her life, had found her family. She knew what it was like to be loved and accepted for who she was. And that was a glorious feeling.

My heart felt so full of peace and happiness, the agony of before completely forgotten. I looked at my men, now lying on the ground. Arryn was stirring, waking after the force of the magic that had rendered him unconscious. His eyes met mine, and I felt the new connection there.

They were going to be all right. We were going to be all right. And now, my body decided it was time to rest. After ignoring it for so long, it was shutting down, taking the decision from me. But it was okay because now, I could rest in peace. No one else was coming for us because we had beaten our foe. For once, I could fall into that warm embrace of darkness and not fear the monsters waiting there because I had vanquished them all with the love of my men and people. With that thought in mind, I let go.

Chapter Fifty Two: Lennox

When I woke, I found Arryn holding Rhowyn’s body in his lap, cradling her to him. My heart lurched. Surely, she was okay. I scrambled forward, rushing to them in my panic. This couldn’t be the end. It wasn’t worth defeating my mother if we lost Rhowyn in the process. I needed her more than I needed air.

Arryn’s eyes met mine as I neared, a soft smile on his lips. “Is she…?” I asked, too afraid to even finish the question.

He just stared at me in awe, a stuporous look on his face. “She did it. She saved us all.” Baer, Brannoc, and Callum now came rushing over to us, the same concern on all of their faces.

“Damnit, Arryn. Is she alive?” Callum snapped out, holding his breath.

Arryn nodded as a tear slipped from his eye. “Yes,” he whispered out. “Yes, she’s alive. She’ll wake when she’s rested. I think her body is just exhausted from everything it’s been through.”

---