Page 65 of Crown of Wrath

Unlike the six that had stayed out of the holes, these soldiers aren’t being killed with a couple of swift blows. No, there are smashed fingers and severed hands. Many of them fall multiple times. Cole’s eyes scan the holes incessantly, making sure that none of them successfully leave.

It’s time to be done. I raise my hand, and massive blocks of stone the height of a human appear above the holes. It drains my power to create stone of that size, but I have more than enough power since I’ve done nothing magical in almost two months.

They appear in the air and immediately fall. The sound of those stones crushing the High Fae is sickening. Then it’s quiet. After all the steel clanging together, the roaring of flames, and terrible screaming and groaning, the lack of sound feels unnatural.

The forest noises are still there, but compared to only moments prior, my ears barely pick up the wind blowing or the jays crying out.

“That was fast,” Cole says with a grin. “You’ve learned some new tricks with Earth, I see.”

I nod to him. “I… spent a lot of time watching and thinking over the past six weeks. I’ve done some things that were instinctual in the past. Revisiting those memories helped to keep my mind sidetracked enough to get over some of the harder memories.”

I say that last bit without the expected pain. I’d never have imagined that re-experiencing all those painful memories would help me heal from them, but it did. I saw the mistakes I made, but I also saw so many other people’s mistakes. I saw the people I lost, but I also saw all the happiness that I gave them and they gave me.

Reliving those memories helped me to accept what had happened. A lifetime in six weeks. It changed everything.

“Well, it’s impressive. I haven’t seen very many Immortals from the House of Earth fight, but I can’t seem to remember anyone evercreatingstones, much less gemstones like that ruby plate you made.”

I grin at him. “That took me a while, actually, and it’s one of the more draining things I’ve done. It’s probably similar to your immolation. I don’t know if it’d be possible to create large stones without the Painted Crown. Making them flow from the ground is a very different thing than creating them.”

He looks me over, and I know he’s seeing more than my physical appearance. Those icy blue eyes are taking in everything.

“You’re really not shattered anymore, are you?” he asks.

I shake my head. “There are some cracks, but they’ll mend. I’d really encourage you not to die, Cole. Especially to the Nothing. But as far as the things that have happened in the past, I think I’ve healed myself. Thanks to you, of course. I was so overwhelmed by the pain that I didn’t think I’d make it. I didn’tthink Iwantedto make it. All I wanted was for the void to swallow me up. Thank you for… thank you for saving me from myself.”

He saved me, but it’s not like when he saved me from the harpies. He… made me want to save myself. I wasn’t a princess being saved by the knight like in the stories. Cole didn’t fight off the evil. He… he reminded me that there was something I could want, something that might be more important than ending the pain. He lured me out of that terrible place with him as the bait, and I took it.

I relived those terrible memories and watched my family die. Pushing through, I saw so much of my life destroyed. Everything except Cole Cyrus.

“You saved yourself,” Cole whispers as he steps closer to me, his warmth flowing to me through the weightless dress made of shadows. “You did it. I just helped you to remember that you would want to.”

I stare up into those icy blue eyes, and a hint of orange fills them. “Thank you,” I say, not needing to explain myself. He was there. He saw what I was and what I needed.

“Thank you for being so strong, Maeve. Those six weeks were the hardest days of my life. No one else believed me, but I was sure that you would come back to me. You had to. You… you’re the reason I’m still here.”

I nod to him and press my cheek to his gambeson to feel the beating of his heart against my skin. The strength in him is undeniable. He’s the strongest person in the world, and from the very first time I saw him, I knew that being near him made me feel stronger. When those harpies had shredded my body, and I was sure that I was going to die crumpled in a corner, I felt like I could stand when he talked to me. He made me feel like I could be strong.

I’m not shattered anymore, but I’m the weakest I’ve ever been physically. Sure, I can wield magic in ways that no one else can, but four strikes with the spear had me struggling to breathe. I need his strength. I need his unwavering determination because the coming weeks are going to push me to my limit every single day.

“Well, Cole, I guess we can both agree. Neither of us should die. Deal?”

He chuckles and pulls me close to him. “Deal,” he whispers in my ear.

Chapter 33

The Fae may be stronger than you. They may have powers you can’t dream of having, but they are still just as dependent on their skills as you are. An Immortal who has never wielded a sword or used their powers is just as useless as a recruit. Their most important advantage is not their power. It’s their ability to be injured and heal from it in seconds to hours. I once saw a House of Steel Fae lose his entire arm. Five minutes later, he was swinging a sword again.

~Sir Alistair Hawking, Magical Combat for Humans

Maeve

The world around us is coated in white. In a meadow only a few miles from Stormhaven, Cole and I fill the air with steam as he helps me to regain my strength one painful motion at a time.

Snow flurries blow across my vision, but I ignore them. The soft crunch of my boots against icy grass is lost amid the grunts and heavy breaths. Nothing matters beyond Cole and my movements.

Cole’s eyes are hard as he stares me down. He’s not struggling to fight me like he might have two months ago. I was a better warrior before I received the Painted Crown—when I wasn’t even fully High Fae—than I am right now. Every muscle in my body knows what to do, but it’s too weak to actually do it.

Cole slows down his movements so I can train against him just like when he first started training me on the way to Draenyth. The shadow spear in my hand is blunted so I don’t seriously hurt him by accident, but I realized the very first day of training that it will be a long time before that’s a concern.

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