Page 121 of Blooms of Darkness

Fae clearly infected with the darkness. An army of dark ones. At their side, terrible creatures from Brookmere’s forests joined them, flooding into the arena.

The Palace at Ellevail was under attack.

Chapter 34

The terror in the arena was palpable.

Screams of fright permeated the air as hordes of dark ones filled the stands and made their way toward the pavilion. Thorny vines shot through the arena floor as some of the more gifted Earth Fae tried to quell the onslaught of the attack.

This wasn’t a horde of Fae. It was a battalion. This was going to be an all-out war.

The Royal Guards on the pavilion immediately sprang into action, taking their place in front of the king and queen, with Ruppert moving to stand in front of me.

“Get the king and queen to safety, now!” I ordered the guards next to me. “Ruppert, I need a sword!”

The last thing I wanted to do was use my daggers if I had other options.

“Princess Illiana, you will go to your room now, and I will take you there myself,” Ruppert replied sternly, but I knew worry laced the bravado he tried to portray. He had never been to war before.

None of the guards had truly, except those who had been sent away to monitor the spreading darkness. Most of them never returned to Ellevail.

Pushing past him, I reached for my mother, bringing her close. I would get to hug my mother one more time should anything happen to me today. “Get her to safety,now,” I growled as the guards stood momentarily frozen, attempting to assess the situation unfolding before them.

A fireball streaked across the air, and I caught a glimpse of it from the corner of my eye. Storm was here, which provided some relief for Ian and Kade, who were in the thick of the dark ones in the arena below.

“Lana, my love, you have to get to safety, too. We need you to survive. To take the throne should something happen,” my mother pleaded with me, grasping my arm.

I was no longer a young girl. I was an adult. Trained and capable of taking care of myself. With or without magic.

“I will not stand idly by and let our people be killed by this darkness alone.” I reluctantly pulled the dagger hidden on my thigh since Ruppert had yet to relinquish a blade. “I will fight.”

“You are all we have,” my father tried to yell, but his voice faltered. He stumbled forward, trying to get to me. “You will stay with us, that’s an order.”

I cupped his face. “I will be with our people. I will protect Brookmere.” I turned to the guards. “Stop lingering, go,” I commanded.

“I will stand beside you, then,” he said.

My heart cracked. I fell before him, taking his hands in mine. My warrior father was being sidelined. When it mattered most. I knew how it felt, deep in my soul.

“You know you are not strong enough right now,” I whispered, tears forming in my eyes as I looked up at him. “Letme make you proud. Let me earn my place as Queen. Just as you earned yours all these years watching over us.”

I nodded as two guards took him and my mother by the arms more forcibly. I didn’t know when they decided to listen to me, but given the king's weakness, perhaps they knew it was the only choice.

My parents and their guards moved toward the back of the pavilion and down the marble stairs.

Looking behind me, I searched for Kalliah. Our eyes locked, and she pulled her own dagger from the sheath hidden beneath her dress. “You and Ian taught me well.” She smirked.

I couldn’t help but grin, vastly inappropriate for the horrors currently unfolding before us, but I’d been faced with the dark ones before. And like each time I’d met them before, I’d do so fighting alongside the people I trusted.

“We stick together and fight before they force us back to our rooms. This is why we trained so hard. Swordsandmagic today.”

Kalliah inclined her head, sending a rush of air up my back. “Give them hell, Lana. I’m right behind you.”

A brief moment passed between us. The pang of potential heartbreak threatened to overtake our better senses, yet we bowed our heads in silent agreement.Together. For Brookmere.

“Take the side stairs,” I said, running toward the edge of the pavilion where we could jump the railing and get to another set of stairs leading us down into the arena.

Before I descended, I took stock of the situation, no, thechaosbefore us. Spectators fled in every direction. Some trapped by the dark ones, some stood their ground, fighting alongside the guards. It was complete and utter madness.

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