Throne of Ash

by Lena Lee

  The castle was eerily silent as I walked its halls. I reached out to Rex but hit a wall. A sadness overcame me. They hadn’t seen the exchange happen in the field, they thought I had murdered their brother. Wyatt hadn’t warned me of this.

  I made my way to my room, where I found it as I had left it. How everything can change so drastically yet still be the same was not a comfort in the least. I showered the grossness off of me and got dressed quickly. As I exited the closet, I was surprised to see Rex standing at the windows, his shoulders hunched. I half expected him to be sitting in his favorite lecturing chair.

  “Rex.” I didn’t approach him. unable to get a read on him, he was blocking me. I noticed then that he had Sienna’s crown in his hand. He must have picked it up from the bed. “You have to let me explain.”

  “You killed him Mira. What is there to explain?” He was still facing the window. “But you got what you wanted…”

  “That’s not-” He cut me off and turned towards me. His eyes were red and puffy. He held up the crown. I shook my head because the words weren’t forming.

  “King Rian wishes to see you in the throne room. He’s asked that I escort you as is my duty as commander of his army and guard.” He walked to me and before I registered what he was doing he placed a cuff on my wrist and then put the other end on his. “To prevent you from running off.”

  I looked up at him with pleading eyes, my bond with him fighting to make its way inside his soul. I guess I deserved to be blocked after all the times I had blocked him out. Now I understood just how much he and the bond meant, but it was too late.

  I tried teleporting out of the cuffs or even taking Rex with me, but my powers seemed to be turned off. The cuffs were spelled or something.

  He led me to the throne room in silence, his jaw clenched. A few times he seemed to want to speak but continued to stare straight in front of him. I remained silent, fear settling in my stomach.

  I had not been in this massive room before because all of my interactions with the brothers had been informal. A seriousness hung in the air. I yearned to hold Rex’s hand but he kept his wrist turned away. Alex stood next to the King’s throne, hand on the hilt of his sword. He stared straight ahead, never once looking in my direction.

  “152 of our best soldiers are dead.” Rian finally spoke after several minutes of silence after we had entered. “One brother is dead.” His eyes landed on mine, sorrow and a sense of duty boring into me.

  “I-”

  “Do not speak without permission.” I felt Rex tense next to me, his arm brushing against me. He was trying to distance himself from me, but the bond was stronger than that, pulling him towards me when I needed him.

  “You have killed my brother and it is my duty as his King to punish his murderer. However, beheading you as I wish to would only cause the loss of another brother.” His eyes fell on Rex, who let out a strangled breath of air he had been holding since Rian had begun to speak of punishment.

  Were they even going to let me explain? After all we had been through, they needed to let me explain everything. How could I explain that Wyatt had been on a suicide mission?

  “What will her punishment be?” Rex spoke, his fists clinched. It had to be hard standing next to me after I had killed his brother. I felt very alone. He seemed to be upset with the idea of me being punished which gave me at least a little bit of relief.

  “She is too powerful to allow any freedom so Jadan will spell her into the dungeons.”

  “I can’t be locked up, I need to get to Earth!” A sob escaped my throat. Damn it, why wouldn’t the words come out the way I wanted them to. “Wyatt… he told me to kill him!”

  “Earth is too nice of a place for you.” Alex spoke then, his eyes finally settling on me. We had become friends since we healed the wolves together, but all of that was gone now.

  “I want a trial! Let me explain!” Surely there was due process in this land. Who was I kidding? This was a monarchy not a democracy. They had seen me kill Wyatt with my own hands. “Please.” I looked at Rex, but he was staring off into space. “As Queen of Ardor I demand it.” I was shooting blanks at this point, but I had to try.

  “Take her, I’ll send for Jadan.” Rian’s words held a finality that caused my knees to give out. The hard, stone floor sent bolts of pain through my body.

  The doors on the other side of the room slammed open and Jadan walked in. “Wait.” Great, he wanted to kill me instead of just lock me away. I would too, if some chick had killed my twin. He was dark and twisted, he probably wanted to torture me for a century first. My eyes dropped to his hands which held an envelope.

  He approached the throne and gave a slight head bow to his brother before holding up the envelope. “There is a letter from Wyatt. When we were younger he asked me to spell paper for him that would only reveal itself in the event of his death.”

  “How did you even get the letter?” Rian asked with a sigh.

  Jadan ran a hand over his shaved head as if he had rather be anywhere else than here explaining this to his brothers. I hoped Kyra was okay. I hadn’t had a chance to find out.

  “When your brother asks you to give him magical paper that only shows his words when he’d dead, you remember. I found it on his bed. I think he knew he was going to die.”

  “Why should we trust you? You let mother and father die and then ran because you couldn’t deal with it.” Alex took a step forward, but Rian put out his arm to stop him.

  “When we were only ten, Wyatt told me he had a vision that one day we would have a baby brother and that I would need to protect him at all costs. I swore a blood oath to that bastard that I would vanish far from here on his command and not return until he called me back. I am so sick of this shit, I have done nothing but do what Wyatt asked of me because of his stupid visions.” Jadan sent up a few sparks into the air as he laid into Alex. Alex’s face was hard to read but the sparks seemed to shut him up.

  Complete silence fell over the room as Alex, Rex, and Rian processed what Jadan had just said.

  “Give me the letter.” Rian stepped forward and snatched it out of Jadan’s hand, ripping it open. His eyes briefly scanned it before he heavily sat back down on his throne. He began reading the letter out loud.

  Dearest Brothers,

  I would normally start a letter with “hope all is well!” All is not well for you I assume, as my days have come to an end. This letter is very difficult for me to write, as I do not know how you will take it. I hope you love and trust me enough to know that I had no choice in the fate that has played out. My visions had me playing a very specific role and it is important you understand there wasn’t much I could do to stop it. My visions aren’t complete, but I feel that the closer I get to my death, the harder it is for me to even write this.

  As I write this, you have not met the woman who will change all of our lives. I have known about her since I was four. I first saw her as she stood with her wrist shackled to Rex, which is presently happening as you read this. Mom and dad told me to speak to no one of my visions, as fate is not to be toyed with. Now I’m not so sure I should have listened to them.

  When I was nine, I had a vision of our parents being murdered. I struggled with this for a long time, but our parents tried to assure me that we should not worry about what we can’t control. I did indeed have Jadan swear a blood oath to leave and not return. Having him be around me would have led Sienna to use him in ways unimaginable and he would have turned to darkness.

  Shortly after our parents’ deaths, Rian asked me to be the new ambassador to Ardor, taking his place. I knew of this well before he asked of course, and before this point, I steered clear of Sienna, knowing she was my soulmate. What a load of shit, right?

  Over the next five years, Sienna and I spent a lot of time together. I did not love her, but she would never know. I shared with her that I could not give her children, and that I foresaw her meeting another that would allow her to bear children. Her yearning to have a c
hild was so strong she was willing to sacrifice her love for me. When she met Sebastian, they immediately fell in love and began trying to conceive a child but she was unable to carry a child to term.

  Sienna was not patient and was filled with sorrow over repeated miscarries. She sought a sorcerer who would give her the ability to bear children. The first she asked was Dorian, he refused since the spell needed utilized dark magic. Sienna threw him and his family in her dungeons. Then she went to a dark sorcerer. He agreed but she had to help him by feeding the demons energy from our lands. She agreed, believing she had the power to fight this sorcerer at a later time.

  On the night of Mira’s birth, I had another vision. I went to Sienna and told her what I had seen. I told her that Dorian must be the one to kill her. I knew Dorian would not kill her, and that we would find her on Earth one day. I never saw what happened to Sebastian, so his disappearance is a complete mystery.

  I write this letter to you now, days before we are to depart to search for Mira. The final pieces have clicked into place, although there are still many questions that have never been answered. Long ago I saw my death. The timeline has always been a bit fuzzy, but now that Rex is feeling his bond with Mira, time is running out.

  I have seen myself tell Mira that she must kill Sienna’s mate without hesitation. She will not know it is me until an instant before. She would never go through with it if she knew it was me. This is the only way for her to defeat Sienna. Our bond isn’t strong, but it’s enough to weaken her and make her crazed enough to let her guard down. I made Mira promise me she would not let the poor bastard suffer. Although maybe I do deserve to suffer? I am the reason that all of this came to fruition.

  You must let my death go, it is not Mira’s fault. Sienna sent the demons to Earth. If Earth falls, we all fall. We are more interconnected than any of us know, well except for Sara. Although I have not seen past the reading of this letter, fate would not have led us on this path unless Mira was destined to save Earth and Scintilla.

  If anything, you should celebrate that Mira is strong enough to do what I knew none of you would be able to do.

  Until we meet again.

  -Wyatt

  P.S. Tell Alex to get the stick out of his ass and stop being mad at Jadan. It is my only dying wish.

  The room was silent for several minutes, I could have heard a pin drop. The letter was passed around to everyone before it was given back to Jadan. Rian was staring at me again.

  “Is this true? He told you to kill Sienna’s soulmate? How did you know it was him?” I could see this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought.

  “Wyatt told me to…” I choked out.

  “Uncuff her.” Rian was barely audible before leaving the room.

  Rex removed the cuffs from our wrists but didn’t meet my eyes. He was still upset, the evidence written clearly on his face. He turned and walked out of the throne room, I followed close behind.

  Jadan and Alex stayed behind, my last glance into the room was of Alex sitting against the wall with his head in his hands, Jadan lowering himself to sit next to him.

  As we waited for the elevator, Rex stared straight ahead, his jaw clenched. This was worse than being thrown in a dungeon. I grabbed his hand and teleported us to his room. As soon as our feet were securely on the floor his resolve to not speak melted.

  “How could you keep something like that from me?” I frowned at his question. One minute he was mad I killed his brother, the next mad I didn’t invite him to the party.

  “How could you arrest me and not even let me have a chance to explain?” Hell if I was going to let him guilt trip me over keeping things to myself. “You just threw me aside like a piece of trash.”

  He walked over to his alcohol stash and poured a large glass of the brown liquid before downing it in one gulp. He poured himself another.

  “What good would it have done? I didn’t know it was Wyatt.” I walked over to him and snatched the glass from his hand, downing it before he had the chance. It burned. Rex took the bottle and made his way to the couch.

  “You are always keeping yourself closed off to me. That isn’t how this is supposed to work. We are bonded. Stronger together. But you just use me and then toss me to the side. Literally, you won’t let me protect you. I could have done it if you would have told me.” He took a swig from the bottle before passing it to me.

  I shook my head and put a hand on his arm. “As much as I would feel relieved that I didn’t have to… I couldn’t have done that to you. Wyatt wanted me to do it. He was a good brother.”

  Rex’s eyes filled with tears and my heart clinched in my chest. As much as I was slightly pissed that he had tethered himself to me and drug me to what could have been my execution, my anger was ebbing. I’d probably have done the same thing if I’d watched someone kill my brother.

  I spoke gently, hoping his tears didn’t spill over. “Do you think it’s easy for me to keep you out? I don’t want you to feel the pain I feel. Do you know how often I have thought about just teleporting far away from here? Why does everything have to fall on my shoulders?” A tear slid down Rex’s cheek. My voice cracked as I spoke. “The pain I felt when I had to… why would I want to share that?” The tears that started running down my cheeks burnt just as much as the alcohol.

  “You don’t have to go through this alone.” He wiped my tears and placed his hand on my cheek. “You just have to let me in so I can help you… so we can help each other.”

  I let out a strangled cry. “All that time… he knew.” I collapsed against him, not able to hold myself together any longer. His arms circled around me and pulled me across his lap. I needed to get it all out now before I had to go face whatever was happening to Earth.

  “Let me in Mira…” His mouth moved against my hair. I let out a shaky breath and let my feelings flood into him. He tensed for a moment as a sense of relief washed over me. “We’ll get through this, I promise.”

  Chapter 24

  The next few days passed in a blur. Besides funeral proceedings for Wyatt, soldier’s bodies had to be returned to their grieving families. Although no one outwardly expressed that this was my fault, all of it was. My birth had caused insurmountable pain. For what end game was still to be determined.

  “You really need to get up.” Kyra opened all my blinds with one flick of her wrist, the bright light assaulting me. “Did you forget that you have a very important meeting in an hour?” She pounced on me and pulled the covers away from my face.

  I was glad to see Kyra was somewhat back to normal after being beaten within an inch of her life. She hadn’t talked much about it but every once in a while, she would stare off and a shadow would pass over her face. She assured me Jadan was helping her deal with it while I dealt with my own shitstorm of emotions.

  “You do it. I now pronounce you Queen of Ardor.” I pushed her off of me and pulled the covers back over my head. “I don’t even know what a Queen does. They seem to sit around a lot.”

  “That’s why there are advisors and the other kings and queens, duh. It’ll be fine. I heard Jadan mention that they might allow Sebastian to take over as interim King while we go back to Earth.”

  Kyra flung the covers from me and somehow made them stick to the ceiling. Having a sorceress as a best friend was becoming increasingly more interesting and maybe a little annoying.

  “I mentioned it to him after Wyatt’s funeral. He seemed pretty set on staying in the sanctuary. I can’t blame him honestly.” My father had attended Wyatt’s funeral at King Rian’s request. He had feared he would detract too much attention with his sudden reappearance, but very few recognized him. If anyone was the distraction it had been me.

  I felt like all eyes had been on me, although Rex assured me that wasn’t the case. People certainly bowed to me but had a lot of uncertainly in their eyes. I would be uncertain too if the long-lost princess returned to kill a beloved member of the Zephyr royal family and her own mother.

  “In any c
ase, Glenda and her team are waiting right outside to make some magic happen. When was the last time you showered?” Kyra scrunched up her nose. I shrugged. “I thought I smelled something rank.”

  I let a small smile escape before groaning and getting out of bed. “I hate primping. Can’t I just wear training gear?” I drug my feet to the bathroom, stripping out of my nightclothes as I went. I had spent the last two days holed up in my room.

  Kyra followed and situated herself on the counter as I stepped into the shower. She examined her nails for a while before clearing her throat. “So Jadan and I… well I slept with him.” Of course, she waited until I had shampooed my hair so I couldn’t exactly respond how I wanted to at that news.

  I was happy for Kyra, she deserved someone that looked at her the way Jadan looked at her. I had been concerned at first because no one knew where he had been or what he had been doing for the past several decades, but she had assured me he had the purest aura but was just dealing with his life circumstances.

  When I didn’t immediately respond, Kyra continued. “Have you used your magic in bed yet? If not, you should. There is going to be two time periods in my life now… Before Scintilla and After Scintilla. It just so happens Before Scintilla can be shortened to B.S. You know like B.S. because Earth sex was such bull shit.”

  I laughed a full laugh for the first time in what felt like forever. Truthfully, Rex and I had only slept together a few times and those few times ranked at the top of all things right in the worlds. Things had gotten crazy really fast and sex was pretty low ranking on our list of things to do. I hadn’t actually seen him since Wyatt’s funeral two days prior because his commander duties required him to transport the fallen soldiers to their families.

  I stepped out of the shower finding Kyra was no longer on the counter, I must have zoned out for too long. She wasn’t that far though, I heard her laughing in the other room with my beauty squad. I didn’t even want to know what they had planned for me.

  Surprisingly they had learned that me and dresses weren’t the best of friends and styled me in a striking black pant suit with a pale pink blouse under the jacket. They kept the makeup light, and curled my hair in gentle waves. I felt like a queen but still like Mira.