Queen Witch

by Elle Middaugh

  “No, I don’t think you do.” He reached across the table and wrapped his hands around mine. “I feel different than I used to. Like I’ve changed somehow. My wants and desires have shifted.”

  Heat crept up my neck. Was he saying what I hoped he was saying? That he liked me? That he wanted me? That he would willingly be my prince? I could hardly dare to hope.

  “What about you?” he asked. “Any boyfriends before some old lady decided to stick you with a dragon?”

  I smiled wide and shook my head as childish giddiness bubbled inside me.

  “No boyfriends, no.”

  “So no commitments from you either.” He rubbed his chin where a sexy shadow of stubble had formed. “And how do you feel about them now, these commitments?”

  His gaze met mine and held it, completely captivating me.

  I swallowed hard. “I think I could get used to having one.”

  Three waiters suddenly appeared at our table carrying huge silver platters with domed lids. When they lifted them, steam rolled out like a thick fog and revealed an exquisite spread of meats and starchy vegetables. Pretty much any edible animal this side of the Terranean Sea was accounted for—water, land, or sky.

  Gage immediately snapped off a whole chicken leg.

  “Thank the gods! We’re going to live!”

  The waiters sniggered, then bowed and dismissed themselves. I followed suit and put my own drumstick on a plate. I used a fork, though. Etiquette.

  “You weren’t kidding, were you?” I asked. “Dragons really do eat a shit ton of food.”

  “It won’t even take me fifteen minutes to polish most of this off. I feel like it’s been days since I ate.”

  I took a small bite, relishing the unique blend of spices our kingdom had perfected. “Did you not catch breakfast while you were out flying this morning?”

  He shrugged and tore into the chicken leg. “I did. Got a nice bellyful of fish. I’m not saying I haven’t eaten, just that it feels like I haven’t.”

  I shook my head, amusement tugging my lips into a cheeky half smile.

  Suddenly the soft clicking of high heels caught my attention. I looked up as the sound grew louder, stunned as hell to see none other than Nerissa and Julian walking our way.

  She’d pasted on an overly sweet smile. An intricate fan fluttered pointlessly in her palm.

  “Wrap this up,” she commanded us, gesturing to our food with the fan. “There’s been an emergency meeting called at the parliament building.”

  I immediately stood. “What is it? Are Laken and Maren alright? Mother and Father?”

  “Yes, of course they’re fine.” She leaned in closer and covered our faces with the fan so that she could whisper without the other guests overhearing. “The meeting has been called by the ancient witch. I think it has to do with the Third Trial.”

  My gaze shot to Gage, who had an ungracious amount of food in his mouth. It made me want to chuckle despite everything.

  “I have to go immediately,” I said to him. “If you want to finish up, I totally understand. You can meet me there, or we can catch up after?”

  He swallowed and looked around. “I mean, I could take it with me, right?”

  I pulled my lips in to avoid smiling wide. “I suppose, if you want.”

  “Waiter!” Nerissa shouted, instantly drawing the eyes of everyone in the whole damn establishment. “We need a to-go box. And not a normal-sized box. One of those industrial-sized cardboard boxes you get your shipments in.”

  The nearest waiter bowed and hurried off.

  Nerissa turned back around to face us.

  “We’ll wait on you,” she said, with that syrupy-sweet smile back in place.

  I stared at her, uncertain why she would do this. Did she know I was onto her? Was this her way of showing me she knew? Or maybe she knew I’d tried to follow her in the alley? Either way, I decided to play it cool and feign ignorance.

  As soon as Gage’s feast was piled into the gigantic box, we were headed out the door.

  “What do you think the ancient witch will say?” I asked my older sister, struggling to keep up with her long-legged gait. “We literally just completed the Second Trial. Why call a meeting for the Third already?”

  Nerissa glanced at Julian and smiled. Then she turned to me. “I guess we’ll see.”

  We bustled up the parliament steps, taking them as quickly as our high heels would allow, and straight toward a private auditorium. How Nerissa knew exactly where to go, I had no idea. It was just something else to add to the enigma surrounding her.

  Inside, only a small handful of people had gathered—the ancient witch, our parents, the Erikssons, and two of the Arctimo girls.

  Our mother rushed over and hugged us both at once. “Oh, my girls! I wanted to congratulate you both on the Second Trial this morning. First and Third place! I am so proud.”

  “Thank you, Mother!” Nerissa beamed.

  Mom then glanced at me, awaiting a similar reply.

  I scoffed. “No. Screw you. You knew what these trials were like and you never once said a word to us. You didn’t prepare us; you simply threw us into the lion’s den. I almost died today, and all you care about is us making rank.”

  I shook my head, grabbed Gage’s hand, and led him and his giant box of meat up to the front row of seats. The ancient witch was already on stage, levitating with a staff in her lap, eyes closed as if in deep meditation. I had a feeling she wouldn’t be coming out of it until every last one of us was present. So I reached into the box and pulled out a flounder.

  Gage smiled wide. “That’s the spirit. Can’t win the trials on an empty stomach.”

  I took a huge bite. “Yeah, and God knows the third one could start at any moment.”

  Laken and Nathan showed up next and filed in beside us.

  “What the hell is going on?” she hissed.

  Ignoring her, I glared at Nathan. “You never called me, asshole.”

  His eyes went wide. “Sorry! She just got out of the trial a few minutes ago.”

  “Last place?” I asked, turning my gaze back to my sister. My tone expressed sympathy, but not pity. We both hated that.

  “No, third from last.” She plopped inelegantly into one of the reclining seats. “I have no idea what the hell happened in there. Kinda like I have no idea what the hell is happening out here. Care to fill me in?”

  I shrugged dramatically. “We don’t know. I just hope to God it’s not the start of the Third Trial. I’m too damn tired for that.”

  “Me too,” she moaned, rubbing her neck. “The flying pink hippos were brutal.”

  “What?” I asked, completely caught off guard.

  “Yeah, it was like sunrise everywhere, bright enough to blind the shit out of you, and these fucking pink hippos were buzzing around everywhere shooting foam balls at us.”

  “Seriously?” I asked, offering them both some food. “That was nothing like my trial. Mine was like a dark, neon video game or something.”

  “Weird,” Laken agreed, digging right into the fare, while Nathan kindly declined.

  “How’d Maren do?” I asked.

  “She placed right after you, actually.”

  “Yeah,” Maren said, suddenly showing up on the other end of our row, “and it damn near killed me.”

  “You and me both, sister,” I said, offering her some food, too.

  “No, thanks. Eli and I just had some ice cream a few minutes ago.”

  Gage smiled, and dipped his hand in for another round. “More for us, then.”

  I leaned out across the row. “So what was your trial like?”

  “Gators,” Maren said, giving me a slightly maniacal look. “Fucking alligators.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. We were in these tiny-ass riverboats in a knee-deep swamp, forced to battle it out with gators and avoid any hanging vines that might knock you out of the boat.”

  I no longer thought my own trial was all that bad.

>   Suddenly the ancient witch’s eyes snapped open. Her feet hit the floor and she shuffled to the edge of the stage. Leaning on her staff, she glanced around the room, eyeing us all with an intrepid gaze.

  Oh here we go, I thought. Five words: the Third Trial begins now.

  But when she opened her mouth and the five words came out, I never expected to hear...

  “The Queen Witch is dead.”

  Chapter 11

  A collective gasp filled the space like the whispers of ghosts.

  None of us dared to move. Not even blink.

  Queen Shayna was dead? How? Why? What the hell was going on?

  “As such,” the ancient witch continued, “you must complete the trials far faster than any other witches before you. The title must be filled as soon as possible.”

  Her gaze sharpened on us.

  “That said...” She raised the staff high above her head and slammed it into the ground. “The Third Trial begins now!”

  Instantly, the world flipped like a coin. The auditorium we’d sat in seconds ago was gone, replaced by a tropical beach with crystal blue waters. Midday sunshine poured onto my skin, instantly drawing sweat. I glanced down. My gown had been replaced with a metallic wetsuit that shimmered blue and silver in the light. I looked up. Gulls cawed above my head. Fuchsia flowers perfumed the air, tangled in a web of vines that covered a nearby jungle like a net.

  “This is a group trial,” a robotic female voice said calmly. “You are all sharing the same vision. It is also a partners trial, in that you cannot finish without the assistance of your prince.”

  I spun around, and came face-to-face with Gage. He and I were dressed in similarly colored suits. Apparently each partnership had their own hue combo. Maren and Elijah were yellow and black, Laken and Nathan were silver and pink, and Nerissa and Julian were dark green and mint green.

  Gage’s eyes scanned the skies, but they were as clear as the shallow waters around us. I had to wonder if he was thinking of making a break for it. I supposed I couldn’t blame him.

  “Find the pearl,” the robotic voice said.

  Gage and I exchanged a nervous glance.

  “On your marks.”

  The eyes of almost every competitor collectively widened.

  Adrenaline jolted through my veins.

  “Get set.”

  Gage tapped my arm and pointed to the ocean. “Looks like we’ll be swimming.”

  Everyone else seemed to think the same. They all lined up at the water’s edge, anxiously awaiting that final word.

  Waves crashed at my feet, sucking me in like quicksand.

  I couldn’t help but feel like it was too obvious.

  “Go!”

  I hesitated, watching as everyone, including Gage, lurched into the water and began swimming.

  Everyone except Nerissa and Julian. She held her arms out wide and summoned power from every plant and creature nearby, crumbling flowers, vines, and whole jungle trees. The energy soared into her and funneled out again, through her palms and into the vast ocean before us. A moment later, a tiny shimmering pearl rose from the waters and flew into her palm. She raised her hand high, a triumphant smile lighting up her face.

  But nothing happened.

  No robotic voice announced that she was the winner.

  She frowned, and looked to Julian, who appeared equally as suspicious.

  Summoning the magic again, she reached into the ocean and withdrew another pearl. Bigger this time—maybe the biggest I’d ever seen—a beautiful dusty rose pink.

  Still nothing.

  At that point, I knew I was right. This was clearly not as obvious a task as everyone had thought. I dove into the water and quickly swam up next to Gage. Growing up along the seashore had shaped me into quite an adept swimmer.

  “Hey,” I said, grabbing his shoulder to keep him from paddling. “I don’t think this is right.”

  He took a deep, sputtering gasp of air. Then he shook out his hair and wiped his eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “Nerissa just tried to magically summon a pearl from the ocean and it didn’t work. She hasn’t won yet. I have a feeling the pearl we need isn’t in here.”

  He frowned. “Then where would it be?”

  Treading water, I waved my hands back and forth and kicked my feet.

  “Well, we supposedly need our partners to complete the trial. What about you, in particular, would make it so important for this task that I couldn’t do it myself?”

  He grinned. “Well I’m a dragon, for starters. I’d imagine you alone couldn’t fly or breathe fire.”

  My eyes widened.

  His followed suit.

  “Do you think the pearl’s in the air?” he asked, looking around.

  “I don’t know, but I’d be willing to bet we at least need to fly to get there.”

  “Ever ridden a dragon before?” he asked. But before I could reply, he added, “Do you want to?” He waggled his brows.

  I tilted my head, feeling a little cocky myself. “No, but I do want to.”

  His nostrils flared, the only sign that I’d sparked his interest.

  Good. A spark was a spark.

  “Give me at least a twenty-foot radius,” he said. “Once I change, I’ll wait for you to climb on my back, then we’ll hit the skies.”

  I nodded. “Can I talk to you in your dragon form?”

  “I can understand you, and give you subtle clues, but I don’t speak. And as far as I know, you can’t read my mind?”

  I grinned. “No, unfortunately. Only Catfish’s. And that’s simply because he’s my familiar. We have a special connection.”

  “Good.”

  He winked at me and swam away. When the distance between us was safe enough, he tucked his head and exploded into a giant full-blown dragon with shimmering blue-violet scales. Only his head was above water, but it was at least five times the size of my whole body.

  I took a deep breath and swam over.

  Where the hell was I supposed to grab on, or put my feet? I touched a rubbery scale, and noticed they were much like the stones of a rock wall. I could probably climb them as such. Hopefully it wouldn’t hurt him.

  I dragged myself from the water, instantly feeling a hundred pounds heavier now that gravity had taken effect. But as quickly as I could, I climbed his thick skin until I reached the base of his neck.

  He snorted at me, and smoke plumed from his nostrils.

  I took it as a warning that I needed to hold on tight. Leaning as far down as I could, I dug my fingers and toes into the gaps between his scales, and prayed to the gods that I wouldn’t fall off. Water might be better than earth for a fall, but from the height we’d be soaring? It’d be as good as concrete.

  Gage’s wings suddenly rose up from the water, winching high into the air before swooping down and lifting us from the ocean’s surface. Wind rushed past my ears, drumming my heart rate up to extraordinary levels. His wings pumped again, and we shot up farther. Already the scene below was making me dizzy. I could see the others floundering in the ocean and Nerissa and Julian on the beach, all of them getting smaller and smaller as we flew away. I squeezed my eyes shut until the ascent was over.

  When we finally cruised into more of a glide, I stole a peek and my mouth fell open. From high above the ground, the world looked so peaceful and small. Time seemed to crawl by, and it didn’t even feel consequential. My whole spirit lightened. My hair whipped in the breeze, smacking the stupid grin that had cemented itself on my face.

  But then I remembered the whole point of all this, and I got back to business.

  Carefully, I leaned to the left and gazed out past Gage’s head. An island rested up ahead. Black, rocky, and bare. Probably a volcanic island.

  And then it hit me.

  This is why I needed Gage. No way in hell could I enter an active volcano to retrieve a pearl. This had to be it.

  I tapped his back, hoping he could somehow feel the gentle action.

  He growle
d softly, apparently noticing.

  I pointed to the island. “Over there. I bet you need to enter the volcano.”

  He nodded his massive head and started our descent. My stomach immediately floated into my throat. He glided side to side, riding the breeze as we came in for a seriously terrifying landing. At the last second, he lifted up and gently lowered us onto the ground. I slid off onto shaky legs, and he immediately turned back into the sexy hunk he was.

  As if he could get any more appealing....

  He licked his lips. “I’m going in. You stay here where it’s safe.”

  I nodded. I had zero intentions of burning alive.

  He morphed back into a dragon and took off, circling the mouth of the volcano before diving straight down.

  Could dragons touch lava without getting burned? Could they swim in it? Or float on it? I had no idea.

  A few seconds later he burst from the opening and landed back beside me. He switched to his human form and shook his head.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, definitely not seeing the pearl in his hand. “Was it not there?”

  “No, it’s there. I just can’t reach it.” He clicked his fingers together like dragon claws. “I’m too big in my dragon form.”

  My brows furrowed. “But you need to be in your dragon form. Otherwise you’ll be burned to a crisp.”

  He bobbed his head side to side. “Maybe, maybe not. I mean, if I were a dragon and I zoomed us in there and out just as quickly, we could probably get it without you getting burned.”

  “Us?” I said, flabbergasted. “Me? You mean, you want me to enter the volcano?”

  He shrugged. “It’s a partners trial. You can’t do it alone; I can’t do it alone. Don’t you have some sort of fire-protection spell you could use?”

  I blew out a bated breath and glanced around. Nothing. There was literally nothing living on this godforsaken island. Everything was singed and ashen and baking in the sun.

  I shook my head in frustration. “I need something to draw energy from.”

  “Like fish or something?” he asked, gesturing to the ocean beside us. “I can totally go grab a mouthful and be back in a minute.”

  I scrunched my face and immediately began the internal battle. Fish, simple as they were, were living creatures that didn’t deserve to die. But—and there was always a but—I needed to use them. If I didn’t, and Nerissa came to power, there’d be more than just fish dying.