by S. T. Bende
We had to end this. Now.
Send in the aerial unit, I ordered Maja. You and I can create the opening they need. If we hold it, it should give them enough time to debilitate him. And you saw what our swords can do.
Dad’s on his way, Maja confirmed. Hit him at your twelve o’clock. If I do the same, it’ll create a bigger hole.
On it.
I signaled to Viggo, who was slashing furiously at Rankin’s shield. Our eyes locked, and I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder before flying away and taking cover behind one of the large cypress trees. When I turned back around, Viggo had retreated just enough so I could strike. On Maja’s command, I fired off another shot. It hit Rankin from behind, creating a fresh hole in his barrier. As he turned his shoulders, Maja’s beam merged with mine. It bored into the protection, widening it just enough that Rankin’s entire back was now exposed. I continued my assault, and a wave of momentum pulled my attention upward. The älva were attacking, descending on Rankin with swords and daggers and one particularly intimidating mace. They barreled toward their target, keeping his focus forward while Viggo flew around his back. For the first time, I noticed that our ground team was with them. They ran below the faeries, helping the fallen and driving Rankin back. Ondyr fired off shots from his bow, one of which slipped through a tiny opening in Rankin’s shield to bury itself with a swift thwap inside his shoulder. Signy ran alongside him, her sword drawn, while the rest of their team charged close behind.
It was now or never.
My arms trembled as I threw a fresh surge at Rankin. Every muscle in my body ached, and though I’d been giving everything I had, I knew I had to draw strength from somewhere . . . anywhere. A hundred percent just wasn’t enough.
More, Maja urged.
I’m. Gasp! Trying!
I sucked in a breath as I sent another surge. It erupted from my hand, an electrified wave barreling through my palm and striking Rankin in the spine. Maja’s beam joined with mine, intensifying the vibrations wracking my arms. My hands shook, and my aim was unsteady as I shoved one final surge at the monster on the ground. His back arched as his barrier split in two, cracking along the center and crumbling to the dirt.
“Attack!” Signy led the charge. She and Ondyr came at Rankin from the front, while the älva descended from the air. Maja and I maintained our assault, our beams now surrounding Rankin and holding him in place. And with his attention firmly focused on the wall of assailants coming from all sides . . .
Slurp!
Rankin never saw Viggo coming. Never saw the Dual Sword glow a fiery blue as it lifted over his head. Never noticed the silent rage pouring off the Verge who’d spent his life running from Rankin’s tyranny—who’d lost his parents on this monster’s orders. Despite all his protections, his dark magic and his curses, he failed to notice the man on the mountaintop who was poised to take him down.
And that failure cost him everything.
Viggo’s sword bore straight downward, piercing the delicate skin at the base of Rankin’s neck, and driving past his vertebrae in the direction of his heart. Viggo didn’t hold back; he didn’t stop until the hilt of his blade was nestled firmly against Rankin’s shoulder. The world ground to a halt as Viggo adjusted his grip, placed his boot atop Rankin’s rib cage, and twisted the sword. With a grunt he pulled it out at an angle, leaving a massive hole that bubbled with blood. It poured freely down Rankin’s back, the sight sending my stomach into a full-on churn. Rankin wavered, swaying back and forth twice before landing face down in the dirt.
I tentatively reached out, searching for the now-familiar darkness I’d let into my space. But the only signatures I sensed on the mountaintop were benevolent—Signy’s fierce love, Ondyr’s determined defense, Rafe, Maja and Sirra’s unyielding loyalty, and, standing atop the corpse of the man who’d raised my father, was the guy who’d do anything to protect both me and our realm. Viggo turned slowly, raising one fist to signal for the attack party to stop. And as our eyes locked, I knew in no uncertain terms that this act of our nightmare had closed. Rankin was dead.
It was over.
I lowered my hand, held tight to my sword, and finally let myself breathe.
Chapter 17
RANKIN’S BODY WAS TRANSPORTED to the capital. We didn’t know how deep dark magic ran, and we weren’t taking any chances sending it back to his family. He would be cremated, and his ashes locked in the royal vault where nobody could get them.
Once Rankin’s corpse was on the move, the aerial team flew to the main part of the city. There, they assisted with the roundup of the dark elves, and helped the ground teams close down the remaining portals. It was another several hours before the city was secure, and my friends and I spent that time helping in the shelter that had been set up in the academy’s great hall. Maja and Sirra joined us, the two of them using their abilities to heal as many wounds as they could—both physical, and mental. Ondyr and Signy showed up after they’d debriefed the warriors, but Viggo had skipped their meeting. In fact, he’d refused to leave my side. He claimed that as Verge Key and co-minister of defense, it was his duty to protect the queen. But the panic hadn’t quite left his eyes, and I sensed his proximity was as much for his peace of mind as it was my own. Not that I’m complaining.
Sunlight crested over the academy’s towers by the time all of the evacuees were finally settled in their makeshift cots. When the great hall was calm, I slipped out a side door and typed on my com.
Meet me in our conference room in five minutes? -Aura
Then I walked down the quiet hallway, my sheathed sword sitting listlessly against my hip. It hadn’t lit up since the waterfall, and I sensed it was flat-out exhausted.
Same, sword.
When I entered the conference room, I dropped into my usual seat at the big oval table, and rested my head against the high back of my chair. Every part of my body felt heavy, from my legs to my arms to my soul . . . to my eyelids . . .
The shuffle of footsteps jarred me from my nap.
“She’s asleep. Let’s come back later,” Elin hissed.
“She wouldn’t have commed us if it wasn’t important.” Finna sounded uncertain. “Right?”
“It’s okay, guys.” I rubbed at my eyes. “I’m up.”
“That’s your fault.” Jande turned to Ondyr with a frown. “I told you to walk quieter.”
“I did tiptoes like you said!” Ondyr objected.
“Seriously. It’s fine. I shouldn’t have nodded off anyway.” A massive yawn parted my lips, and I covered my mouth with my hand. “Sit. Everybody.”
A sheepish-looking crew took their places around the table.
“What’s this about?” Maja asked. “Has there been another attack? If the faeries missed a portal, we can get them to—"
“Everything’s fine,” I assured her. “Well, as fine as it can be, considering. Is Idris all right?”
“After I extracted her, I removed Rankin’s curse. It was some heavy duty dark magic, by the way—took everything I had to get it out.” Maja shuddered. “Then I scanned her and sent her back to Vanaheim. She’s emotionally scarred, but physically okay. Her parents send gratitude for her safe return, and want you to know they’ll be in touch once everything’s settled down.”
“Good.” I nodded. “Now that that’s settled, I called you here for two reasons. First, I want to say thank you.” I leaned forward and studied the faces of the team around me. “Each and every one of you risked your lives to protect our realm. Finna and Jande, you guys coded the crystal that helped us take Narrik into custody. What we’re going to do with him, I honestly do not know. But he’d still be out there, colluding with undesirables to take Alfheim down, if it wasn’t for the two of you. Our realm owes you a great debt.”
“It owes us nothing.” Finna waved her hand, at the same time as Jande blurted, “I want a troll diamond! I want to travel to the future to see how fabulously rich and happy I am.”
“You’re not happy now?” Ondyr arched a
brow.
“Obviously, I’m happy with you.” Jande patted his boyfriend’s hand. “But I know even more awesomeness is coming. And I want to see it.”
“No troll diamonds,” I said firmly. “Time travel’s an issue for another day—or no day at all.”
Though it would be cool to see the future . . . or the past. Those Midgardian Vikings always fascinated me. I wonder . . .
“Fine,” Jande huffed. “I’ll take my ‘great debt’ payment in the form of other crystals, then.”
“It was a figure of speech.” I chuckled. “I just meant, thanks. A lot.”
Jande unleashed an award-winning sigh.
“Elin.” I faced my best friend. “You kept things together from the ground. Signy told me you were in constant communication between the teams, and that they knew their positions because of you. Thank you.”
Elin nodded. “Least I could do.”
“Ondyr,” I continued, “you and Signy charged straight into battle, no questions asked. You had our backs, and made sure the älva were never in more danger than they had to be. You’re a rock star, and I’m glad you’re my family.”
“Same, cuz,” Ondyr said with a grin.
“Maja.” I turned my attention to the girl currently inspecting her fingernails. Maja hated attention almost as much as Jande hated missing out on a cartload of crystals. But it had to be done.
“Say nothing. That’s thanks enough for me.”
“Well, it’s not for me.” I leaned forward. “You and your mom protected me in ways nobody else could. If it wasn’t for you, Rankin would have taken me out the moment I set foot on that waterfall. I owe you my life.”
“What you owe me . . .” Maja narrowed her eyes. “. . . is to never do anything so stupid as shutting me out in the middle of a battle again. What the Helheim were you thinking?”
“I was thinking if he managed to get in my head, he could get to you, too.” I raised my hands. “It’s not an excuse. But I was so scared that I wouldn’t be strong enough to protect all of you that I did the only thing I could think of. I locked you out. It was stupid, and I won’t do it again. Promise.”
Maja crossed her arms. “Fine.”
“I’d also like you to please consider staying on full-time, as a member of my cabinet. But that’s a big ask, and we can talk about it tomorrow.”
“I’ll do it,” Maja said quickly.
My brows shot to my hairline.
“A week ago I would have said no, but you guys clearly need me.”
“We really do,” I said.
“And if you’re going to rule this realm all by yourself, you’re hardly in a position to cloak it, and monitor it, and make sure all those bloody portals stay shut, too. With their help, of course.” Maja jutted her chin toward Viggo and Ondyr.
“You’ll do all of that?” I asked hopefully. “From this cabinet?”
“I’m going to have to.” Maja shrugged.
I jumped up from my seat.
“If you hug me, the deal’s off,” Maja warned.
I reluctantly sat back down.
“Welcome to the team,” Viggo said.
My gaze shifted to the guy who’d slain my metaphorical dragon. Viggo had shoved his sword down the spine of the man who’d killed my parents, colluded with Narrik, and spearheaded a horrific attack on Alfheim. And, most importantly, he’d had my back at every single terrifying turn.
“And Viggo.” My eyes softened. “Thank you. For everything.”
“I’ve got you, Glitre,” he said simply. “Always will.”
I had no doubt that he would.
“You said you wanted to talk to us about two things,” Finna said cautiously.
“I did, and I do.” I nodded. “As you know, the queen is dead. She was murdered by Rankin just hours ago. We’ll need to arrange for a state funeral, alert the leaders of the light realms, and follow whatever protocols Eunice has in place for a transition of power.”
“I’m so sorry, Aura.” Finna’s kind eyes sought mine across the table. “I know things weren’t always easy between you, and I’m sure you wish you’d had more time together.”
“I do,” I admitted. “I also wish I had more time to learn this job. I only found out I was in line for the throne just under two years ago. I am nowhere near prepared to take it on solo.”
“We’ll help you,” Elin promised. “We’ll read all the briefings Eunice has, and break them down into cheat sheets like we used to do at Granite High.”
Finna stared at me with incredulous eyes. “You guys cheated?”
“It’s an expression,” Elin explained. “We made short little lists of the most important facts to memorize, and quizzed each other on them. We didn’t actually cheat on tests.”
“We left that to Britney.” I rolled my eyes.
“Speaking of, who knew she’d actually turn out to be useful?” Elin shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s still Bitch Face. But that tip about Narrik was good intel. Maybe she’s redeemable after all.”
“I wouldn’t hold my breath,” I said drily. “Speaking of Narrik, we need to locate and extract his family. If anyone on Svartalfheim gets wind of Narrik being an alleged traitor, they’ll be on a hit list, for sure. And it’s not their fault their patriarch’s a monster. So . . .”
“I’ll go,” Ondyr volunteered. “I’m familiar with the realm, and should be able to get it done quickly. So long as I can take a protection team—no way am I getting stuck there ever again.”
“I’ll have one assigned to you,” Viggo promised. “Professor Bergen is familiar with the warriors; she’ll be able to recommend the best unit. We’ll be in and out before you know it.”
“We?” Ondyr frowned.
“I know how bad it was for you there,” Viggo said quietly. “I wouldn’t make you go through that by yourself.”
Gratitude bloomed in Ondyr’s eyes. “Thanks, man.”
“No worries.”
I folded my hands together. “That just leaves us with this whole power transition. I’m not going to lie—it kind of freaks me out. Without a skilled leader, Alfheim’s more vulnerable than ever. We’re going to need to make sure our defenses are airtight, and our alliances as strong as they can be. We’ll need to host Nidavellir, and lock things down with Vanaheim, and consider sourcing an, uh, enlightened representative of Midgard who can motivate their people to stand with a realm they don’t know exists, and—”
“Aura.” Viggo reached over to rest his hand atop mine. “We’ve got this. First of all, you’re not unskilled. You’ve ushered in an era of unity despite everything Constance did to subvert that very goal. May she rest in peace,” he added hastily.
“It’s okay,” I assured him. “She was far from perfekt. None of us are. We have to work with the hands we’re dealt.”
“Well, the hand you were dealt is us,” Elin assured me. “And we’re here to help. And so are the senior cabinet members—they’ve been through all of this before. Not a transition, maybe, but they know a hell of a lot more about ruling a realm than we do. They’re on your team too, and I know they’ll do everything in their power to help us out.”
“Thank gods.” I exhaled.
“As for alliances, I’d say you’ve got the one with Vanaheim wrapped up pretty tight,” Maja offered. “That message I got from the king and queen was loaded with gratitude. You saved their daughter—I’d wager they’ll do anything you ask from now ’til forever.”
“We saved their daughter,” I corrected. “And it was our fault she was taken in the first place. Rankin only abducted her to get me to do what he wanted.”
“Not true,” Maja said. “His defenses were down enough at one point that I could scan him. He’d been moving on Vanaheim for a while. Its light is second only to ours, and he thought if he could make a base there, he could drain it for its power.”
I frowned. “But he wanted me so I could fulfill that stupid prophesy.”
“True,” Maja agreed. “And he
would have come for you, regardless. But he didn’t care which light realm he made his new home. Theirs or ours—either would have accomplished his goal.”
“Huh.” I shook my head. Who knew?
“Hold on.” Viggo rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb. “I thought you said the goal of the Vanaheim specter was aligned with Dragen’s. You told us it had a similar energetic resonance. Right?”
“I did,” Maja confirmed. “And Rankin’s goal did align with Dragen’s. Both wanted to control Aura—albeit they wanted different outcomes, but control was their mutual goal.”
Recognition dawned. “So, Rankin was the specter, which means Dragen’s still safe on Helheim.”
“Safe as he can be, locked away with Hel.” Elin shuddered. “We still owe Wynter one for that.”
“We do,” I agreed. “Once she and the other fourth-year Bridgers are released from their relocated retreat, I’ll check in with her about destroying Rankin’s remains, too. She may have heard something while she was in the Cloak, and I want to make sure nobody, dead or alive, does anything to help whatever passed for his soul.”
“Sounds right up Wynter’s alley,” Elin agreed. Her com beeped, and she glanced down. “It’s Signy. She says we’ll begin transition protocol tomorrow.”
I glanced at the clock on the wall. Five minutes past eight a.m. . . . “What are we supposed to do for the rest of the day?”
Viggo squeezed my hand. “It’s been a hell of a night. And I’d wager tomorrow’s going to be a long one, too. The best thing we can do right now is sleep.”
He didn’t have to ask me twice. But even so . . .
“We’ll jump in tomorrow,” Elin assured me. “Cheat sheets, light realm outreach—all of it. We promise.”
I glanced around the table, taking in the lined eyes and drawn faces of each of my friends. “You guys go,” I decided. “There’s one thing I have to do first.”