Page 86 of Queen of Ever

Marietta’s voice cut clear across the field.No wait, it was closer than that.I opened my eyes to find her standing in front of me, blocking Solas from reaching me.But she didn’t have her sword.Where was her sword?!I wanted to tell her to move, to run, to save herself, but I couldn’t get my mouth to work.

‘Marietta, I’d wondered where you’d gotten to.Haven’t you shamed this family enough?’

‘Killing her was never the plan.’

‘Neither was my own sister turning traitor for a bunch of filthy half-breeds.Plans change.Sometimes for the better.’Solas’ lips twisted into an ugly smirk as he swung his sword, steel cutting through the air with an audible slice.Time seemed to slow to an impossible speed.Something wet splashed across my face.A gurgle.Marietta fell to her knees before she collapsed to the ground beside me.Her eyes found mine for a brief moment before the life drained from them.

‘Marietta!’I cried, dragging myself to her, pulled her onto my lap, hands tapping at her face as if that was going to rouse her.‘No.No, get up!’I begged desperately even as I knew she wouldn’t, she couldn’t.Blood soaked her chest, too much blood.Solas had pierced her heart.

Tears flooded my vision, dripping onto her cheeks.She couldn’t be gone.She couldn’t.But she was.She was andhehad killed her.

Grief gave way to something else.To fury, to vengeance, to magic.I could feel it creeping into me, like a balm soothing every cell in a way that nothing else could, promising retribution.Promising destruction.

He wasn’t going to get away with this.

Strength began to return to my body, pulling me to my feet, balling my hands into fists.And still the magic grew within me, hungry, ravenous, and I released it, relinquishing control, giving in to the emotions that raged inside me like a storm.

The wind was the first thing I noticed as the world began to return to me, starting as a gentle whisper against my skin and steadily growing as if it was responding to the rage building inside me.I finally tore my eyes away from Marietta’s body as the wind began to whip around me, making the loose strands of my hair dance furiously around my face.When I turned, my eyes found Solas and it was as if nothing else existed, as if they were drawn to him by some divine power.Every part of me seemed to be numbed, everything except the magic taking control of me.

Solas shouted something but I couldn’t hear the words, the wind carried them away from me.They didn’t matter.Nothing mattered now.Nothing could stop what was coming.

Movement registered at the corner of my eyes, soldiers racing forward, battle cries, the clanging of steel, the smell of smoke and burning flesh and blood, the prickle of magic filling the air like a toxic cloud.So much death, so much wasted life.All because I had made the wrong choice.

But I wouldn’t run from it anymore.No, now Ineededit.

I stepped forward, walking with slow, deliberate steps, each one bringing me closer to Solas as he stared at me, as if he was unable to move, or perhaps he didn’t understand.But I understood.

I could feel my power growing, awakening, feel it latching onto my rage, feel it growing fat on the emotion.The clouds soon moved in, blocking out the sun with their thick, grey mass, as thunder rolled across the sky in a low, rumbled warning.

‘Solas!’I shouted across the space, my voice carrying like the booming thunder, sounding like it belonged to someone else.‘I invoke the right of challenge!’

Silence seemed to fall around us as the thunder rumbled once more, something about the raw emotion in me called out to the elements, resonating with them, power washing away everything else in me, creating a strange calm in me despite the chaos around me.

As the words were released into the air, it was as if a spell had been cast.Magic burst forth, bleeding through the air as a shimmering skein of light encasing us in an orb.Tarian had said a challenge for the throne would mean being encased in magic, the rest of the world locked out.It was going to be the two of us in here, me against Solas until one of us was dead because I would never accept his surrender.Solas didn’t deserve mercy.

A smile curled his lips as we stared at each other.But it was fake, forced.I could see the fear at the edges of his eyes.He couldn’t refuse me now that I’d invoked the right, he had no choice but to face me.For the first time in our brief history together,hewas powerless.‘Are you sure you’re ready for this, rabbit?’

‘Are you?’I countered.

He wiped his blade on a piece of fabric, cleaning away Marietta’s blood.When he released it, it was stained with crimson and the wind carried it away, the action only stoking my rage further.

We stared at each other for a long moment, each waiting for the other to make the first move.I knew it would be him, knew his impatience would get the better of him.

I could feel his magic prickling at the edge of my awareness.The scene outside the barrier changed, shifting slightly.Ethan stood there, banging on the magic that kept us separated, yelling my name though I couldn’t hear the words through the barrier.A sword ran him through, blood splattering across the invisible field surrounding us.

But I knew it wasn’t real.

‘Is that the best you can do?’I asked.

I knew the words would strike a nerve, expected the anger that twisted his expression, that pushed him forward, sword drawn, ready to strike at me.Light hit my eyes before I could react, a blinding arc that burned through the air.I cursed under my breath, raising my arm to shield my face.When I lowered it, Solas was gone—or so I thought.Flickers of him appeared everywhere, darting around me, each one moving in a different direction.My heart raced, trying to find the real one in the mess of shimmering illusions, but all I could see were shadows and light, bending and twisting around me.And then, just behind me, I sensed it—his presence.Of course he‘d strike from behind.Of course he’d ignore the magic rolling off me, hanging thickly in the air.

‘My turn.’The words didn’t sound like mine; they were dark and venomous.A glee spread through me that also didn’t feel like mine.I spun round just as he swung his blade down and magic exploded out of me, blocking the blow and throwing him through the air with such force that he hit the barrier, knocking the air from his lungs.

I walked towards him slowly, liking the way he looked at me, that fear in his eyes, like he knew he’d made a mistake.I tilted my head as I looked down at him, wondering how I was going to do it, what would be enough to make up for the loss of Marietta.But it was pointless.Even if I had a hundred years, nothing could ever make up for what he’d done.Nothing would ever feel like enough.

‘You’re losing yourself to the magic,’ Solas said, scooting backwards, trying to escape me.But the barrier soon made it impossible for him to go any further.

‘I give myself willingly to it,’ I said and his throat bobbed in response.‘You’ve spent your whole life treating others like your playthings.Tell me, how does it feel to be the one at someone else’s mercy?’

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