The Fate of Crowns: The Complete Trilogy: A YA Epic Fantasy Boxset

by Rebecca L. Garcia

  “We know he has soldiers at the other side of the mountain. The hunters have come through to join us, leaving the border in Edgar’s full control. They’re sending ships, of course, but some of our own are mixed in. We can fight them when they dock, but I believe Adius thinks they will mostly be coming through the mountains.”

  “Which gives us an advantage. Not too many can fit through there at a time.”

  Morgana shook her head. “They cannot. Unless they do come by sea.”

  “How are the numbers building with women joining to fight?”

  “Good. Many have stepped forward. Naturally, a lot of the men and older women don’t agree with what we’re doing.”

  I shrugged. “As long as they’re training them, I don’t care. I’m going back to the castle. If there is any word on Edgar’s movement and his armies, you have them contact me immediately. I want to be there, armored and ready when he arrives.”

  THIRTY-ONE

  The day started like any other. Gray clouds rolled in from the north, bringing with them a constant cover from the sun. Mountains surrounded us, and beyond them were lakes so deep, some believed they went on forever.

  “We have our people stationed at the mountains,” Adius said, holding his helmet in his hands. “The fae have set glamour traps on the path through Snowy Peaks. Our soldiers have been alerted to them.” He sat on a stone step in front of a tall, narrow house. “I have sent a small number to the five beaches where they may be able to dock. We don’t think they will send many by ship. As for Edgar, we’ve heard nothing.”

  “Nothing?” I asked. “At all?”

  He shook his head. “Crickets.”

  “That’s not good.” I pressed my lips together. “Is he at Ash Court still?”

  “No. We know he left the castle two days ago. He would have reached here by now, unless…” His gaze darkened. “They’re setting a trap. He must be hiding. I would bet in the forest at the border.”

  “Or by ship,” I said. “We can’t rule it out.”

  “The sea is treacherous and unpredictable, especially with the mer.”

  “Not if they know the mer aren’t attacking.”

  “It’s still risky.”

  I inhaled sharply. “Send more men to the smallest beach. If I were him, it’s where I’d go. No one would be expecting it.”

  Adius nodded. “I agree. I’ll send more there. As for the women…” he said, tugging at the top of his shirt. “Several hundreds have joined.”

  I gasped. It was far more than I’d hoped. “Really? Of their own accord?”

  “Many seemed excited to fight.” He looked uncomfortable. “We have trained them alongside the men, just as you ordered.”

  “This is good. They want to fight for their kingdom, and now they can.”

  “Of course. I’ve come to terms with this. Sometimes, one-time exceptions can be made in dire circumstances like this.”

  I didn’t reply. How could I possibly say I hoped I could continue allowing women to fight once we’d reclaimed Magaelor? I’d need to get votes from the lords though, and that would be my most difficult task. I needed to become a diplomat. Be convincing. “How is the training going?” I asked, changing the subject back to the men.

  “We have some of the best generals,” he said proudly. “They have excellent techniques they’re sharing. Once we’ve finished, we can begin stage two.”

  “Stage two?” I asked. “Edgar will attack any day now. We don’t have time.”

  “We are going as fast as we can. Many of these people are farmers, merchants, sailors, fishermen, labor workers, and maids, not trained soldiers.”

  I gulped. “Do what you can.”

  “The fae guards have joined ranks.”

  “Good.”

  “King Blaise has sent all forces to join ours, except for the castle guards. It’s an unexpected show of force that has boosted our numbers greatly.”

  “I know.” My cheeks bunched. “He’s been very supportive.”

  “He has no choice. This war will ground in his kingdom.”

  “Yes.” I pondered, looking out over the horizon. “Send some of the faeries to fly over the mountains, to see if they can tell what’s happening over there.”

  “I will.” He squeezed the bottom of his helmet. “I’m not sure why that didn’t occur to me.”

  I did. They didn’t think of the fae as equals, so why would they think to use their skills? “Send the elite guards.”

  “We need them here with us. I think it best if we just send fae soldiers to look.”

  I hesitated. “Okay, yes. I actually need to go now. I have to find Cedric.”

  “About that,” he replied. “Be careful who you associate with. Your father pushed a fae-luna marriage only to get them under his thumb, never to make peace. Your people will never accept a faerie king by your side. You must not ruin your name. Be careful who sees you. If you must have affairs, keep them private.” His tone sharpened. “I will also add that Cedric is a Berovian too. Regardless of if he saved you, he’s not an acceptable partner for you, even if he weren’t a faerie. The lords would never allow it.”

  There it was. I’d been waiting for it. The truth, that despite me being queen, the lords and men like Adius still had a lot of control. My eyes widened. “I’ll decide who’s appropriate or not.”

  “I hope you do the right thing. I’d hate to see you forced not to.” He bowed at his waist. “I hope you take counsel. Good rulers need them, even your father,” he said, rising again.

  “Cedric will be coming back to Magaelor with me,” I said quickly. “Also, I haven’t even thought about marriage.”

  “You need to. It’s your duty to give the people a king.”

  I tilted my chin. “For right now, they have their queen, or at least will.”

  “They’re fighting and dying for you, for Magaelor. Do right by them is all I ask.” He walked away.

  I watched his silhouette fade out, then cursed under my breath. Storming away, I decided to find Morgana before Cedric.

  ***

  Licia’s golden eyes found mine. They matched his hair and his two front teeth. He may have been a couple of inches shorter than me, but he acted like he was miles taller. “Princess.” he stated. The edge in his tone made me nervous.

  “Queen,” I said, correcting him.

  “Not yet,” he said simply and drummed his finger on the table between us.

  Morgana sat beside him, holding a bag of runes. “How is everything going?”

  “They don’t know where Edgar is. Can you both find him?” I despised Licia, after our previous encounters, but he was a skilled spellmaster, and as much as it irritated me, we needed him.

  “We already tried,” Licia said icily. “Edgar is cloaked, just as we have cloaked you. However, we have searched instead for his generals. They didn’t think to hide them from magical detection.” His eyes glistened with mischief. “Two are at a small beach to the northeast.”

  “I knew it!” I slammed my fist onto the table, making the drinks ripple in their goblets. “Adius has sent men there. I’ll send word for him to send even more.”

  “We were trying to find you to tell you,” Morgana said, her fingers stretching over her blue drawstring pouch. “We have great news, in fact.”

  “What?”

  “We’ve successfully released the dragons from all spells. We have reason to believe they will escape shortly; therefore, they will be wreaking havoc in Berovia anytime soon. We should hear news tomorrow. However, I have heard something bad happened in Berovia today, but that’s all I have been told. Once I hear the details, I will tell you.”

  I clapped my hands together. “This is excellent. Well done.” I appraised her, then nodded my head in Licia’s direction. “You too, Licia.”

  “I did tell you before, I’m invested in your future. For now.”

  “You still haven’t told me why.”

  He tapped the side of his nose. “For now, we will focu
s on reclaiming your throne. Destiny won’t show us who will take the crown, leading me to believe it could go either way. You must kill your cousin and his right-hand man, General Frost.”

  Shockwaves rippled through me. A conversation from over a year ago resonated in my mind. Morgana had told me something about frost.

  “Frost,” I said slowly. “Why is that important?”

  He shrugged.

  Morgana squinted. “My foretelling.” Her thick eyebrows knitted together. “Remember, I told you, you’d rule when frost fell. Sometimes the messages aren’t always clear. I assumed it would be the weather, perhaps snow in Berovia, but this makes sense. He’s the man who protects Edgar. He relies on him for everything. Winter…” She leaned across the table, her eyes bigger than ever. “He’s a dangerous man, a skilled spellcaster, a fighter. He will not be easy to take down.”

  A knowing ran through me. “If all it takes is killing him to seal my fate, then I will make sure he falls.”

  “You’re barely seventeen!” Morgana exclaimed, her expression laced with fear. “You will not be fighting. Someone will kill him, yes, Adius perhaps, or another, but not you.”

  Licia whipped his head to look at her. “She will need to fight. She’s the commander in chief.”

  She shook her head. “There’s no way. She can stay behind. She’s too important. If Winter is killed, there will be no queen.”

  “She has to.”

  I sighed. “I’m right here,” I said. “Licia is right.” My nose wrinkled. “I have to be leading the army. They need a leader, and I am her. I know you want to protect me. My goodness, it’s all you’ve done since I was a little girl, but I’m queen now, Morgana. I must take risks. It’s my responsibility.”

  Tears crowned her eyes. “I always knew this day would come, but you’re family to me, Winter. If something were to happen to you… When your brother died, it hurt. I’ve been there for you both since you were little. We can’t lose you too.”

  I grabbed her hands and squeezed her fingers. “I promise I will do my best not to die.”

  She half-smiled. “We will place the strongest protection spells on you.”

  “Not again.” Licia crossed his arms. “You’re not using that magic for her again.”

  I had no clue what they were talking about, but I’d never seen anyone talk to Morgana that way.

  “She needs the strongest magic we can find,” she replied. “I can handle it.”

  I didn’t like the way she looked at him. “I need to go,” I said, visibly confused. “Cedric will probably be worried. Let me know if anything else happens.”

  “Winter!” Cedric ran into the banquet room, his eyes wild. The three of us stood, and goblets knocked over onto yesterday’s newspaper. “They’re here. Edgar is here. They’re coming, in the thousands. We had men at the ports to intercept them, but there were too many. They marched to Fairmont. The fields beyond there, Adius has soldiers ready.”

  My heart palpitated, and my vision hazed. My shaking fingers gripped my staff. The time had come to fight. I looked around desperately for Blaise, but he was nowhere to be seen. I spotted Lucien over by the tables.

  “Tell Blaise they’re here!” I shouted at the young prince before rushing out of the throne room with Cedric and Morgana.

  THIRTY-TWO

  Wolves howled somewhere in the distance. I shuddered as night dropped the temperature to below freezing. Knotting my hand with Cedric’s, our arms stretched between our horses, I looked behind us.

  Florence wore her armor well, somehow looking beautiful under the silver. Her horse was light brown with a thick mane. Next to her, Adius sat on a black stallion, his sword in hand. She said something to him quietly, but he grouched back, frowning. He must’ve been angry she came along to fight.

  Cedric moved his horse away from mine, unlinking our fingers. My throat tightened. Thousands of people lined the battlefield where the town met the villages and forest. And they were all looking to me.

  I thought about the crown, growing up in a castle, and trying to get home. It was all magical when it was an idea. When it was in front of me—thousands of people ready to die at my feet—it hit me like a thousand icicles. The responsibility took my breath away.

  Gripping the silver reins on my horse, I closed my eyes for a few seconds. I could hear my people marching as the rest joined our ranks. It brought me back to the memory of the battle André and my father had fought. I heard the same footsteps as well as the sound of metal clashing in the distance. Except this time, I was leading the army. My gaze caught Cedric’s, then Morgana’s, and in that instant, I was reminded what I was fighting for.

  The marching grew louder. Finally, there was silence as the last of my army arrived. The night sky turned blacker. I parted my lips, trying to find the words to lift my people as their gazes stayed on me. My voice caught the wind and shook. I did my best to turn my girlish tone deeper.

  “You are all my family.” Tears pooled, but I didn’t care. Emotion may have never suited my father, but I was not him. “My heart beats for every single one of you. I do not know many of you personally, but I do know your spirit, your strength, and the courage in your souls! I applaud your bravery for being here today, for fighting for Magaelor, for your families, your rights, and your religion.”

  Cedric’s eyes widened. Morgana nodded in approval.

  “I will fight today for our kingdom. I know the ancestors will guide us to victory. With each of you, we will win back what has been taken from us. I was anointed to be your queen, and Edgar has stolen the throne from us.”

  The front rows who could hear me cheered, and the sound froze my next sentence. My emotions swept over me in waves. I sucked in a deep breath.

  “He wants to take our magic. He calls it necromancy. He doesn’t care for our ancestors who protect and love us!”

  They cheered again, this time growing louder.

  Tears fell down my cheeks. “King Amos may have been taken from us, but his spirit lives on in this fight, and I promise to do better by you all once we have taken our kingdom back. We fight, tonight, for our home and our dignity. For Magaelor!” I lifted my sword in the air.

  They cheered loudly. My heart hammered.

  Cedric stared, awestruck. “You are incredible,” he said, joining me by my side. I flushed pink.

  Adius also joined me. He stared pointedly over the army he created. “Our scouts have informed us they will be coming from the east. They should be here soon. They were told of our position in advance.”

  The rats card swarmed back into my memory. We were already forewarned of traitors in our midst. Pricks as cold as ice ran through my fingers and toes. “Where are the faeries?”

  Just as he was about to answer, I turned my head to the west. Hundreds upon hundreds of fae, prepared for battle, rode toward us. Behind the front rows, men marched. That must have been who I had heard. It wasn’t Edgar’s army; it was an extension of ours. At their front, Blaise rode on a black horse with eyes as white as snow. His crown shimmered in the moonlight, and his gaze found mine.

  My jaw dropped. “I didn’t think he would come.”

  Movement that looked like waves on the horizon diverted my attention. Edgar was here too. A horn sounded; battle cries carried in the wind as they approached.

  It was time. I brandished my sword and staff, then led us forward.

  Swords and spells crashed together.

  The dead lingered around the battlefield on the outstretched snow, over broken branches and contorted bodies, waiting to bring those who would die to the other side.

  There were too many of them.

  My gaze drifted over the crimson-stained snow crunching under my boots. I was still rooted in shock.

  “MOVE!” Cedric screamed over the sounds of swords clashing and screaming. I blinked twice, my mouth parting slightly, as I took in the head of a decapitated luna, his accusing, final glare now empty.

  Cedric tugged me away, and I landed in a hea
p of snow. Shivering the flakes away, I stood. “There’s too many.” My heart fluttered. I could hardly hold onto the sword in my trembling fingers with one hand and my staff with the other. “How did they get so many here?”

  “We were betrayed,” Cedric said simply, brandishing a sword in his hands. He couldn’t use magic to harm like us, but he was good with shield spells and used his wings to spring down on our enemies. He’d told me what I already knew, but it still stung. Someone—or more than one—had betrayed our position, meaning Edgar had been able to send his ships to several beaches while we were at the mountains.

  I hated seeing my people ready to die for Edgar—a king not worth dying for. My lips were icy cold, my dress bloodied, and stare fierce.

  Then I saw him. Edgar Mortis. Cousin. King. Foe.

  A crown of gold and red glistened on top of his head. His brown waves curled around the spikes pointing up. His Mortis-blue eyes found mine. In many ways, he resembled my father, but his features were softer. I saw something in his expression: uncertainty.

  I’d always been told of his passive nature, how he wanted peace. I couldn’t understand how it’d led to this. I’d been made to believe he was this pushover who believed in healing from crystals and didn’t want any part of politics. Morgana said power had changed him. I guessed in the end, it would destroy him. He stared in my direction, on the back of a white stallion.

  My heart stopped.

  It wasn’t what I’d expected. His eyes looked too much like mine, like my father’s and mother’s. I assumed she was still on Inferis. She hadn’t bothered to join me here. I felt the tiniest bit guilty for not asking after her, but she’d never cared for me much.

  I ducked when a spell shot my way. Edgar’s conflicted stare crossed mine. He looked down at his head guard, a man I recognized as General Frost, the man who determined my fate.

  Blaise rode to my side and grabbed my hand. He pulled me up onto his horse, knocking the air out of my lungs. Cedric disappeared from my line of sight.