Page 112 of A Court of Hearts and Hunger
The Queen’s screams cleave the air, and I steel myself, finally turning to face her.
Veins of red and black mottle her skin, snaking along her flesh. Her neck snaps back, jerking her face to the sky, and red light explodes from her eyes, her mouth, her fingertips. The light-blades from her left hand slash through her throne, and the top half topples slowly and falls to the dais with a resounding crack.
Hastily I reach into my other pocket and draw out two anti-magic spells for Clara and I. I only have two, and they’re temporary, but hopefully they’ll be enough to fend off any blades of red light that may turn our way.
Clara swallows the sweet I hand her without asking what it is, right before a line of crimson light severs her easel in two. The light-blade touches Clara’s body and sizzles, cutting through the anti-magic spell. She cries out, and my heart stops—but then she touches the red line on her stomach. “A surface burn,” she says, her voice faint with relief. “I’m all right.”
Her trust in me saved her life. That’s my good girl.
One of the guards points at Clara and me. “The Seelie and the White Rabbit!” he bellows. “They’ve done something to our Queen!”
Several of the guards race for the palace, heading for the door through which Riordan disappeared. I tense, torn between staying here, on the high ground, and trying to prevent those guards from going after Riordan. I have a suspicion of what he might do to save Alice, and it will take time.
“Clara,” I begin, “we should—”
But someone is already stepping into the path of the oncoming guards, blocking them from entering the palace. It’s Ygraine, and she has several Unseelie with her. Friends of hers, temporary allies, enemies of the Queen—I don’t care, as long as they’re on our side for the moment.
The Queen’s light-blades have vanished, but magic still snakes from her body in crooked, intermittent flashes. Her remaining guards advance on us, weapons drawn. One of them flings a spell our way, but I intercept it with a pulse of shimmering energy.
“Fin,” says Clara tersely. “I need my whip.”
“Of course, sugar.” I draw it out of my other pocket and hand it to her. “I’ll take this side, you take the other.”
We turn back to back, and I let myself explode.
My pain, betrayal, and rage flood out of my body in a tsunami of rainbow magic that blasts through the ranks of the Queen’s guards, disintegrating them instantly, turning her entourage into powder. The outer edge of the concussive spell knocks rows and rows of the Unseelie crowd off their feet.
But the Queen is still standing. Untouched by the most destructive magic I possess.
Scarlet lightning snakes from her fingertips, branches from her mouth, and burns in her eyes as she stumbles toward me.
I glance over my shoulder, to where Clara is slashing through Unseelie, sending body parts this way and that, fending off spells with her whip. She’s keeping them off my back, and it’s my job to protect her from the Queen until the arcane water can finish its work.
“You—” chokes the Queen. “Sugarplum—I should—have known. And Beastie—”
“Beastie has hated you the whole time,” I tell her cheerfully. “He had to spell himself so he could fuck you. Everyone wants you dead, love. Best to accept it gracefully.”
“But I’m not done.” Her voice cracks, and she lashes at me with a bolt of red lightning. I counter it with a quick burst of magic.
“I need to finish this,” she says. “End them all. Blot out the realms, and then he will be sorry.”
“Who?” I ask. “Who cursed you?”
“Draoi glas,” she rasps. “The Green Wizard. He did this to me, thinking I would shrink into shamed oblivion. But I turned his curse into my own power. No man—will ever—destroy me—”
“Ah, but no man did,” I tell her. “You were ended by the selfless sacrifice of a human woman. Precious creatures, humans. I’ll admit I never had enough respect for them until recently.”
She sinks to her knees, the red light in her eyes guttering. Her skin is scorching at the edges, flaking off in bits of black ash as the scarlet veins in her skin glow suddenly brighter, then fade out.
Hollow and ashen, she collapses, her eyes empty. Her body begins to desiccate at once, no longer supported by the foul magic of the curse.
I send out another blast of magic, sweeping rainbow light all around the dais, knocking everyone back so Clara can have a moment’s reprieve. Then I rip off my cloak and rise into the air, high above the churning sea of the Dread Court. Out of their reach, beyond their power.
“The Queen is dead!” I roar, spreading my arms. “Her reign is over. There is no use fighting for what is gone. You there—” I point down to a cluster of guards. “Run to the gate and see if the Heartless are destroyed as well.”
The guards glance at each other, realization dawning on their faces. They hurry away, joined by some of the onlookers.
“This is not a day of battle,” Clara adds, with a crack of her glowing whip. “It’s a day of freedom, for your whole kingdom. Take to the air, spread the word—the Eater of Hearts is dead!”
