Page 122 of Queen of the Night
I shout when a gloam master stabs the point of his sword through Jethonan’s battered robes, pinning the fabric to the steps and forcing him to his knees. But Drade appears and forces the gloam master back as Jethonan clambers up, reaching for the tulip at the same time as another gloam master. Before either can reach it, Rupi dives from above and snatches it once more. She comes barreling toward me, and I prepare myself to grab it from her small grasp, but instead, she aims for Ikar. I hope Jethonan can hold his own as sparks of magic begin belching from his hands toward the gloam soldiers surrounding him, and I wonder for half a second what kind of magic he even has. Beyond him, I see the shard beasts and other gloam monsters wreaking havoc, screaming and shouting… How long before they kill us all?
I force my shaking legs to stand and grip the edge of the cold table as I work to break Renton’s bridging away from my magic. With every tear my energy drains away, but I have to reach Ikar—we both must hold the tulip. I send every bit of lucent magic I can muster to Ikar and his soldiers who battle below us. Rupi returns, flowerless, and flaps about my head. I understand what she wants.
“I’m trying!” I shout, but how do I interrupt a sword fight between two powerful men to get to the dratted flower?
I scuttle around the side of their duel, aware that if I get too close, I could be killed on the spot. I ignore the fear that guts through me at the thought of being stabbed, and force myself to focus. When I get as close as I can, I summon more lucent than I’ve ever attempted to pull, so much that I begin to fear thepower I hold in my hands, and push it toward Renton’s chest, catching him off guard.
He staggers back with the force, shouting in anger and pain, and my eyes widen as his chest seeps clouds of gloam. For a moment, I even wonder if it’ll kill him.
Ikar looks my way with determination in the set of his jaw. Faster than I can believe possible, he pulls the crumpled and limp flower from the pocket in his trousers where, apparently, he stuffed it after Rupi’s delivery—hopefully it’ll still do the job. He extends it to me, and I grasp it firmly, my fingers enclosed in his, meeting his eyes.
“Only ever you,” I say.
My words trigger that deadly half-smile.
Renton lunges forward with hot rage in his eyes. “Wrong target,wife,” he growls, swinging his sword toward Ikar.
Ikar releases the flower into my grasp, stepping in front of me protectively, already bringing his sword up to block his blow. The ring of their swords meeting vibrates through my body, and my face scrunches in a wince as I hitch my dress up and quickly backstep until my shoulders meet the cold stone of the castle several feet away. I wait to feel Ikar’s magic reaching for me,willingthe abused flower to work, even as I return with rabid focus to tearing Renton’s magic from mine. Does my link have to be completely broken with Renton first? Even with most of it undone now, still all I sense is Renton’s to bridge with.No.Panic begins to tighten my chest, but it only prompts me to free myself more fiercely while also leaving questions that sting the hope I’m clutching. Is the flower too broken? A one-time use?
I curse when gloam soldiers and a mix of deathstalkers and gloam wolves begin to climb the stairs in waves. Then, from within the swirling shadows a distance away, I faintly hearDrade rally the fae and soon the sounds of battle are even louder through the thickening gloam. I look down to find the crushed tulip hanging limply in my hand—it looks about how I feel right now as despair and dark whispers of failure begin to fill my ears. How many will die? Did I ruin everything by touching the flower with Renton?
Darvy and Rhosse jump from the crowd and join Drade in pulling their forces together to attempt to stop the wave heading up the stairs toward Ikar and me, but the shard beasts catch sight of the growing battle, and their screeching roars increase as they charge. I don’t watch them long, my attention drawn by a pained shout from Renton who now seeps gloam heavily from his left arm and upper leg, but my vision locks on a grisly cut to Ikar’s ribs and another on his shoulder, leaving blood trailing down his skin in dark rivulets. I force myself to look away in order to focus, my heart pounding in my ears as the kingdom teeters and sways between the two kings, and things appear to fall apart below us.
Even amidst the chaos, my battered magic, and the weakness in my limbs, I finally manage to tear away the last of Renton’s link and look up in utter surprise.I actually did it.I have the urge to throw a victorious fist in the air, but the men’s swords meet and hold between them, pressing and battling for the upper hand, and through the crossed blades Renton’s eyes meet mine. Iknowhe feels the stark absence of the bridge. He roars in anger, and I resist the urge to shrink back against the stone of the castle. Instead I tip my chin up and narrow my eyes in challenge even though I know if he gets the chance, it won’t be bridging that he seeks with me next—it’ll be a violent death for my guiltless betrayal.
Ikar pushes Renton back, the playing field now evened with neither of them bridged with my power,freeing their crossed blades. The fight continues with an intensity I’ve never before witnessed. Renton’s magic still hovers near, sporadic and hungry for mine… but where is Ikar’s? The whispers of doubt rise again, and I look at the ruined tulip in my fist. Petals are missing, and another dangles precariously. I fight the despair, not waiting for Ikar’s to search out mine; instead, I push my magic outward, seeking his.
It has to work.
“Finish it, Ikar! Bridge!”
Both their magic rushes me, hot and cold and overwhelming.
Chapter 69
Ikar
My mark burns as if the left half of my body has caught fire, a clear sign that gloam is growing, and I’m on the verge of losing my kingdom. Renton’s gloam grows, and my strength dwindles, slipping between my fingers like sand. How long will Vera be able to send lucent once Renton bridges with her? Can it be undone?
All I know is if I give up, my kingdom falls. Only intense focus on the battle with a capable opponent keeps me from screaming in agony on my knees as another wave of fire runs the lengths and twists of my mark. Then Vera’s voice calls me from the deep depths of driven focus, and the cool of her magic dances around me, calling my heat like a siren. I instinctively react. Unraveled ends of magic twist and turn between us, beginning to weave into one continuous, perfect strand. The burn in my mark stops, turns to tingling… and as I block another of Renton’s swings, which grow weaker by the minute, the rush of cool magic fills every twist and curl of my mark.
But I don’t miss the way Vera cries out behind us, almostpainfully—the hint of distraction in Renton’s almost crazed eyes tells me I’m not the only one still trying to bridge.
My sword meets flesh and leaves more gloam seeping from Renton’s side, but he masks the pain with an evil smirk that doesn’t hide the rasp in his voice. “You’re supposed to marry first. I still have the advantage.”
I can’t help but smirk. “Vera prefers the unconventional.”
With every connection, every link, set in the bridge between Vera and I, my strength and energy grow so rapidly that Renton is merely blocking my swings now, fighting his dwindling speed as the gloam around us dissipates and weakens, evaporating like morning mist beneath the warm rays of the sun. My sword finally finds its mark in Renton’s chest, and there’s a beat of silence between us as he stares at me with hate-filled eyes. Lucent stronger than I’ve ever seen pulses through my sword as I mercilessly pull magic that comes freely to me now, and he drops to the ground with a lifeless thud.
I pull my sword from his disintegrating figure and immediately turn and reach for Vera, who’s already coming forward, taking her into my arms. I hold her close as our magic continues to link and become whole, until the last wisps connect, so strong and so bright that my mark, all at once, emits blinding white light that shines from its scrolls and twists, forcing the soldiers below to cover their eyes. In that moment comes a shared vision, merely a flash, of a field of tulips, white birds flying overhead… and Lucentia smiling with approval. In a blink, the vivid picture is gone.
“Did you see that too?” Vera whispers.
I nod, soaring on a moment that feels too surreal to fully comprehend.
Vera watches from within my arms, wide-eyed, as the gloam around us disappears and lucent overtakes the cracksand crevices where darkness hid for too long. The screeching and growling fade as monsters burst into gloamy bits before disappearing completely, and scattered shouts sound as the gloam soldiers watch the weapons within their hands evaporate and their bodies follow after. Their powerful forms dissipate and blow away like mere smoke in wind.
“It’s not finished yet,” I mutter as I gently set Vera back and step in front of her, facing the soldiers, originators, and others that wait below.
