My late husband. My stepson. I shuddered. A full-body quake.
“Azul controls most bodies of water, and they offer coral and seafood in trade.” He held up one of the papers, revealing a map of Enchantia. “Airaria will request safe passage through Sevón to more easily reach Fleur. They offer meteorites and sand. We use the meteorites for weapons, and the sand for mortar.”
“As soon as Queen Violet learns I’m in charge, she’ll balk. She despises me more than most.” And I didn’t care. I didn’t!
“Personal feelings have no bearings on kingdom business,” he chided.
I couldn’t argue, because he wasn’t wrong.
“More than anything,” he said, “Sevón needs access to Azul. Like every kingdom, Azul has new leadership, but we have yet to reach an accord. Also, it wouldn’t hurt if we convinced more witches, oracles and fae to move here. I tried to set a meeting with the sovereign of each faction, but they refuse to come near a sorceress. Please, you must not syphon from anyone today. Doing so will violate trade law and leave us destitute.”
We reached the throne room, and I paused to offer him a jaunty salute. “I’ll be good. I’ll even win us that water route. Oh! I need you to send someone to buy every full-length mirror in every village around us. I want a life-size looking glass in every room of the palace.” My escape hatches, in case something went wrong.
He looked confused, but he made a note. “It will be done.”
Guards stood at attention as we entered. I strode forward, my head high, and eased atop my throne of glass. Roy looked nervous as he stood at my side and motioned for the first representative. I would enjoy matching wits with others and winning concessions for my people. Proving my worth. And one day, one day soon, this Evil Queen would be touted as the One Who Gets Stuff Done.
* * *
Exhausted mentally, emotionally and physically, I made my way to Roth’s bedroom. For hours, I’d employed the four tricks I’d learned in business class. Never let them think you are in a hurry. Always be willing to walk away. Never give without taking. Never be afraid to fall silent.
No matter how many insults were hurled my way—sorceress! murderess!—I’d maintained my calm. Well, I’d maintained my calm until someone insulted Roycefus. Then I’d buried the offender in dirt, forcing his people to dig him out.
I’d allowed no one to intimidate me. I’d smiled constantly as if I hadn’t a care, and made sure to exaggerate my Oklahoma twang while asking for more than we’d needed and offering less than they’d wanted.
As promised, I’d won a better water route. After the last meeting, Roycefus had rushed off, jubilant, eager to share the news with the palace staff.
Now I tossed and turned in bed, despite my state of exhaustion. After one hour...two...I gave up and moved to the desk, where I worked a mechanical puzzle I’d found in Roth’s closet. A true brain stumper. I don’t know how long I played, moving pieces around, before a familiar voice interrupted.
“Puzzles? Boring!”
I jerked up my gaze, and found Noel sitting at the end of the bed, her ankles crossed as she swung her legs.
“Play with us,” she said. “We’re ever so much more fun.”
Ophelia leaned against a pillar, watching me, her expression dark, brooding.
I didn’t bother asking how they’d gotten inside.
Safe passage. Can’t strike. Had they touched the mirror and key Ty had given me? I maneuvered to peer into the bathroom, relieved to find nothing had been disturbed.
“I like what you’ve done with the place,” Noel said, motioning to the ivy. “It’s very...alluring.” She laughed at her own joke.
“What do you want?” I asked, not even trying to mask my irritation.
“So many things.” She sighed. “Did you know our mothers once served yours? They helped Violet, Aubrey and Malinda—Farrah’s mother—steal apples from the Tree of New Beginnings.”
“I suspected,” I admitted.
“After Reba gave birth, she spoke your prophecy. King Stephan killed her,” Ophelia said, voice tight.
“Reba?” I asked softly.
“Noel’s mother. My mother is—was—Teegan,” she replied just as softly. “Stephan killed her, too. He would have killed us, as well, if Reba and Teegan hadn’t planned for every eventuality. A witch stepped in to protect us with her magic and kept us hidden in another dimension for years.”
That, I hadn’t known. “One of my parents helped yours, the other hurt yours. Is that why you sometimes help me, sometimes hurt me? Tit for tat?”
Ophelia blinked with surprise. “We have never hurt you.”
“To see the rainbow, you must first survive the storm.” Noel drew a heart over my comforter. “I think Ty is my rainbow.” She fanned her cheeks. “Never thought I’d go for a sorcerer, but he is changing my mind. And he’s such a surprise! I can’t predict his actions.”
I yawned, nearly cracking my jaw. “Ty is the reason you risked my wrath to come here?”
“Your wrath?” Ophelia chuckled. “Aren’t you adorable? You’re nothing but a tame house cat.”
I would show her a tame—
No, no. Let her continue to underestimate me. One day, she would learn better. But not today. Today, I smiled, all sugar without spice.
“We came to warn you,” Noel said, then frowned. “Right?” When Ophelia nodded, she breathed a sigh of relief. “Save Roth and forfeit your crown. Leave him be and keep it. The choice is yours.”
“I arranged imprisonment for him,” Ophelia told me. “Sealed him inside a private dimension. You’re welcome. The moment you use the key, the seal will break. He’ll find a way out.”
“I need a minute to mentally catch up. You trapped him for me?” I thumped my chest. “But why?” Would he snatch the crown from me? Try to kill me?
The witch hiked a shoulder. “When my favorite oracle tells me to give you time away from a prince, time to toughen you up so that you’ll make a better, wiser queen, I give you time away from a prince.”
“My reign as queen doesn’t affect you,” I said.
“I told you. Our fate is tied to yours.” Noel smiled, though she looked sad, not amused. “I also mentioned you will become a diamond. And do you recall how we create a diamond?”
“Heat and pressure,” I grumbled.
She grinned, proud of me. “When all is said and done, you are going to sparkle, Everly Morrow.”
Queen of Sevón
Day I Don’t Know, and I Don’t Care
After my visit with Noel and Ophelia, I had posters made and passed out in surrounding villages, advertising for members of an altilium. Three forest nymphs applied for the job—Daphne, Skye and Belladonna. Sent by Allura, they’d said, with instructions to help me however I needed.
Her support floored and confused me.
I’d syphoned enough power to summon Foreverly and, with her help, hired a contingent of personal guards.
I now had a direct power source, anytime, anywhere, and I loved it.
Yesterday, I’d thrown a party, inviting the citizens Roycefus referred to as “courtlings.” The “upper class” and their associates.
A huge crowd had come. Among them, fawners and snubbers. The worst of the worst. Most of the guests had stood in place, silent and miserable.
I knew the feeling. I rarely slept, my mind too wrapped up in Roth. Where was he trapped, exactly? Was he hurt? In pain? Did he blame me for his current predicament?
Did I want to keep my crown while he suffered? No.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I stomped into my private bathroom, swiped up the key—so cold—and shoved the metal into the mirror’s keyhole.
Roth appeared in the glass, as beautiful as ever. No, more so. My heart rate doubled, tripled, a fever spreading over my skin. His inky hair was wind-blown, his green eyes bright.
He was shirtless, and I was parched. I drank him in. The muscles. The tattoos. The pierced nipples. My kryptonite. His dark skin glistened with sweat as he swung two short swords at nothing, practicing his technique.
Saxon stood a few feet away, wincing when he flared and contracted his wings. Flared. Contracted. Scabs littered the hard, outer rim.
For weeks, I’d been lugging around ten thousand pounds of tension. Suddenly, every bit of it evaporated, relief nearly knocking me to my butt. Both males were alive and well.
“What’s the first thing you’re going to do when we break free?” the avian asked Roth.
Tone dry, he replied, “What I want to do isn’t the same as what I’ll get to do.
A smile lit Saxon’s face. “What you want to do—or who?”
I studied the other dimension—so weird! The sky was green, with trees hanging upside down, raining leaves over the fluffy white clouds Roth and Saxon stood upon. A star streaked under their boots.
Roth went still. His gaze skidded over me, then returned in a hurry. Awareness singed the air.
“Everly?” he rasped.
He could see me?
“I knew it!” Saxon said. “About time you admitted it.”
The prince stepped toward me, and I gasped. He could see me. Then he started running, Saxon on his heels.
Unless I did something, they would use the mirror as a doorway, just as I’d feared, and enter the bathroom.
Going to blame you for Challen’s death.
I trembled as I ripped the key from the hole. Roth vanished, the glass hardening, the doorway closing.
A reprieve. It wouldn’t last long. I’d broken the seal on the other dimension. Roth would escape, and soon. He would return to the palace, and we would have a showdown.
I stumbled to the bed, my heart racing faster.
For the first time in forever, I slept deeply.
33
It’s time, it’s time, the toll is due.
Pay up, pay up, and say adieu.
I awoke with a dagger pressed against my throat. Ice-cold steel, a warm drop of blood sliding to my collarbone. Keeping my eyes closed and remaining (seemingly) relaxed proved difficult, but I did it. Think!
“Put the torque on her, Vikander,” Farrah commanded quietly. “What are you waiting for?”
Well, well. Snow White had returned to challenge the Evil Queen. Not exactly sticking to script, were we? SW had just borrowed a play from EQ.
How had the group gotten past my new guard? Or had my new guard worked with them? I’d heard grumblings among the soldiers for days as they’d speculated whether or not I’d actually acquired the battle magic.
“Sorry. Must have left my iron shavings in my other pants,” Vikander replied, as breezy as could be. He was helping me?
Think! I had to act before the two—
“She’s awake.” Farrah pushed the blade deeper into my neck. Voice soft but fierce, she said, “I’m not going to murder you, Everly. Not yet. Sit up nice and slow.”
Giving up the charade, I opened my eyes and met her gaze—she projected pure emerald ice. Colder than the ice dagger she held. Her long, dark hair was tangled, her face dirt-streaked, and her eyes red-rimmed.
“What happened to never cheering the suffering of others?” I asked. Mind abuzz with shock, distress and the anticipation of battle, I sat up slowly, as ordered.
“You happened. Fate tried to warn me, but I didn’t listen. Now? My ears are open.” Farrah backed up, one step, two, but kept the ice dagger pointed in my direction.
Linked to my nymphs, I syphoned just enough to craft an illusion. In it, I remained seated on the bed. Next, I crafted a second illusion, this one of invisibility. The real, invisible me rolled to the other side of the bed, undetected.
I paused to make sure no one could see past the illusion. Annica blocked the exit, glaring at FE—Fake Everly. Truly stood at the foot of the bed, an arrow aimed at FE, tears glistening on her cheeks.
Betrayer! So she was crying. So what? Vikander sat at the desk, thumbing through the trade agreements I’d left there. Did my success shock him? I’d benefited the kingdom in ways Challen had not.
Focus. The mirrors beckoned me. Best route to reach one?
“We can’t allow you to roam free,” Truly said, and hiccupped. “Please, cooperate. We don’t want to hurt you.”
They were planning to lock me away again before they killed me?
“I do,” Farrah whispered, her voice ragged. “I want to hurt you. I want you to feel my pain.”
Well, well. Snow White wasn’t as sweet as predicted, just as I wasn’t as evil.
“Why aren’t you afraid?” she demanded, glaring at my illusion. “React!”
Oops. The magical version of me expressed zero emotion. I twirled my finger, and FE smiled. Gah! Twirl. Frown.
“My torment is amusing to you? I ignored the prophecy,” Farrah said, sniffling “I had a chance to defeat you, right from the start, but I let you live. I hoped against hope, believing there was something good in you. But there isn’t, and there never will be. Now, I will teach you to fear me.” Her expression hardened more with every word.
With a gut-wrenching cry, she lunged at FE, pushing the ice dagger into my throat.
Took a moment for my brain to compute what had happened. A murder attempt. An actual murder attempt. By Snow freaking White. I reeled.
Truly shouted, “No!” She dropped her bow and ripped the dagger from Farrah’s grip. Then she paused and frowned. “There’s no blood. No wound.”
Heart caught up in a wild dance, I dove over the mattress, crashing into Farrah. We hit the floor and rolled, and I exchanged invisibility for an image of Farrah. As we grappled, no one would tell us apart.
We punched, kicked and blocked, and it was clear she’d had training. As many blows as I landed, I received. Adrenaline dulled my aches and pains: a split lip, a black eye, cracked ribs and a bruised midsection. She didn’t emerge unscathed. A gash bisected her forehead. One of her eyes swelled shut and blood poured from her nose.
“Who is who?” Truly cried.
I edged Farrah toward the closest full-length mirror, where Foreverly watched us. The moment we were close enough, I shoved Farrah into it—through it. Then I followed her through, my heart guiding us to...the throne room. We slammed into the floor, hard, and stars flashed through my vision.
The guards posted along the wall jerked to attention.
“Stay back,” I commanded, jumping to my feet.
Farrah spun, taking in our new surroundings. Comprehension dawned; I’d given away my secret. She knew I had seer magic.
Good! I wanted her to know. I wanted her to fear me, and back down. I would make peace with her...and have a better chance of making peace with Roth.
Soon, he would return. The thought made me ache with wanting. We could give fate an FU. No more imprisonments, banishments or murder attempts. No more looming death by fire.
No more prophecy.
Farrah and I circled each other. Blood dripped from her nose and mouth, and fury festered in her eyes.
I dropped the illusion, saying, “I don’t want to fight you, Farrah. Your family hurt me. I hurt your family in turn. Let’s end the toxic cycle.”
“You killed my father. I will never forgive you.” She waved in my direction, unleashing a torrent of magic.
Led by instinct, I waved in her direction, too, unleashing my own magic. Between us, a spray of ice collided with a stream of dirt. Problem: I burned through power fast.
How much longer could I continue syphoning from the nymphs? How weak were they now?
“I hate you,” Farrah spat. “I want you consumed by pain, as I have been.”
“We don’t always get what we want, now, do we?” I quipped.
Truly, Vikander and Annica must
have followed the commotion; they sprinted into the throne room. Other guards trailed them, quickly forming a circle around us.
Dang it! I hurried to project another illusion of Farrah.
“Please don’t hurt her, Farrah,” Truly cried. She looked between us, frantic. “She’s... Everly is my sister. My twin.”
Shock! She believed me?
“I suspected the truth, but I didn’t... I couldn’t... Believing meant losing you,” Truly said, wiping away a tear. “But if you kill her in cold blood, I’ll lose you anyway. Look what happened to my mother after she killed my father.”
A high-pitched, ragged sound seeped from Farrah, a mix of rage and pain. “Y-you are a sorceress?” She gave a violent shake of her head. “No. You can’t be. You just can’t.”
“I’m sorry.” Truly wiped away more tears. “I’ve never needed to syphon, but I am related to Everly. When she told me of our connection, my heart shouted, ‘Yes!’ I tried to convince myself otherwise, and I suffered for it. We all did.”
Farrah’s expression fell, her eyes windows to an endless pit of anguish. Her world had just crumbled around her.
I experienced a pang of sympathy. Been there. But I wouldn’t let my emotions alter my current path, so I had to keep up my charade. I had to mimic her reactions and echo her words.
“Y-you lied to me,” she said to Truly. “You used me.”
Mimic. Echo.
“No!” Truly gave a violent shake of her head while glancing between us. “I never used you.”
“You spied on me and reported back to her. I know it,” Farrah bellowed.
“Did you laugh about my torment?” I asked.
“I would never do something so despicable.” Truly sniffled, and her agony almost felled me. “How can you think such a thing?”
“Because I don’t even know you!” Farrah shouted. “You are not the girl I thought you were. You protect a sorceress, the girl who murdered my father. I hate you. Guards! Seize her! Seize Princess Truly.”
The Evil Queen (The Forest of Good and Evil) Page 34