Ruby Morgan Box Set: Books 6-10

by LJ Rivers

  “Pullhelli, dear friend,” she said weakly. “Please, ease my suffering by saying you’ll serve Ruby as well as you have served me.”

  “I will serve the Avalonian throne and your daughter of the heart as I have served you, My Queen. I swear it to you.” He kissed her gently on the cheek. “My friend.”

  Her nostrils flared as she gazed up at him and opened her mouth to take the leather between her teeth.

  I backed up into a set of warm, familiar arms. Not Charlie’s. She was still crouched in the same spot. Brendan must have come inside without me even noticing. I slumped into his embrace, and his muscular arms held me to him, rocking me gently as we watched Diwella cut into Morgana’s flesh. A spray of blood gushed out before Sanctor drizzled what looked like tiny grains of black sand over the fresh wound. The blood slowed its pace, trickling slowly down Morgana’s side and out of sight. In my mind, however, every sound of another drop that fell to the ground echoed like a clap of thunder.

  Diwella’s fingers disappeared into the wound, and I shut my eyes for a moment. It was too much to bear. But they would find the shard. They had to.

  Brendan kissed my hair and whispered words I couldn’t make out. I felt like I was walking through the Realm of Shadows again, as if there was a void around me, consuming me in darkness. An absence of light. There might not be a shining sun in Gwyn Fanon anymore, but Morgana was the light in this world, and my father was the darkness. While he had not been the one to skewer my ancestor with a spear, he might as well have.

  You are not taking another one of my loved ones away from me, Auberon!

  I didn’t know how long I sat there, like a statue in Brendan’s arms, but when the primes all shook their heads, I scrambled away from him, crawling back to Morgana’s side.

  “Did you find it?” While the answer was written plainly on their faces, I had to hear them say it.

  “We did,” Pullhelli said.

  I gasped, grabbing Morgana’s hand in mine, hope kindling in my core.

  “But—” Pullhelli averted his gaze, extinguishing the small flame of hope with that one word. “It is lodged in her heart, Ruby. Morgana is one of the most powerful Magicals ever to walk Gwyn Fanonian soil, and the Nadredd shard is feeding on her magic, draining her dry. When it is done feeding, and her magic has gone, her body will shut down.” A tear swam down his wrinkled face to linger at the corner of his mouth.

  Next to him, Sanctor smeared some kind of ointment on Morgana’s shoulder and chest where they had cut into her. Diwella must have already healed it shut once more. “To take away the pain,” he muttered.

  The two men held onto each other, retreating to the back of the hut to sit on a bench.

  “She doesn’t have long.” Diwella caught my gaze. “Anything you need to say, you say it now.” She kissed the back of Morgana’s hand. “My Queen. I will love you until my dying breath. May the Lady bear you forever in the embrace of her light.”

  I choked up, unable to breathe. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t happen! I refused to believe that this was it. “You’ve all given up on her,” I yelled. “She’s still breathing. Why won’t you help her?” When I lay my hands on her arms, however, her skin was burning up, and her pulse was but a whisper.

  “I beg your forgiveness, Your Highness. All who live—”

  “Stop it, just stop! I don’t need to hear those words.”

  “Ruby,” Morgana croaked, and I turned my head to her. She suddenly looked old, her skin ashen, and her cheeks hollow. Yet, she reminded me more of my mum in that moment than ever before. Not again. I couldn’t lose anyone else. “My child, my sweet princess.”

  “I’m here,” I squeezed her hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I should hope not.” The ghost of a smile touched her chapped lips. “When I am gone, the fate of Avalon rests in your hands.”

  I shook my head vehemently. “Don’t leave me.”

  “You are a Morgana through and through, and Morganas do not cower at death’s door. My body will be born anew, and my essence will soar. I am not afraid to go. My only regret is that I do not get to witness your ascension to the throne, that I do not get to meet your children and tell them how brave their mother is. Most of all, I regret not being there to watch you bring back the light to Gwyn Fanon. That ought to be a sight to behold.”

  “Why do you think I will do that?” I stuttered.

  “I believe. And so must you.” She lifted her arm, the back of her hand brushing against my cheek while I still held onto it. “I love you, Ruby of Morgana. Do not regret what we accomplished this day. Even if I had known this would happen, I would have done it again. And do not mourn me for long. No matter what, I will always be with you.” She lowered her hand to my chest. “In here.”

  “Don’t go. Please, don’t leave me!”

  Her eyes drifted shut, and I sank down over her chest. “I love you,” I whispered.

  She heaved a sigh, and then she lay still. Her hand turned limp in mine, sliding out of my fingers, and grief slammed me in the gut like a sledgehammer.

  A scream wrenched free from my throat as I let all my anger and sorrow spill out of me in that one shattering cry. Gasping for air, I dug my fingers into Morgana’s arms. My bones ached and my blood boiled. As I screamed louder, my heart exploded in my chest, splintering into a million tiny pieces that cut into the very fabric of my being. Inside me, whips of what felt like wind spiralled through me, tearing my insides apart. My hair rose from my shoulders, and a series of bangs and clanks sounded all around me.

  “Ru!” Brendan called. “Ruby, you need to calm—”

  I screwed my head up, shifting my gaze around. A ring of fire surrounded me, a force field shielding Morgana from the mayhem in the room. All sorts of objects were flying through the air, whizzing every which way. Sanctor hung suspended upside down, while Pullhelli clung onto his cane for dear life. It was wedged underneath the bench, his feet flailing in the air. Diwella’s wings vibrated furiously from where she was hovering by the back wall as she fought the magical storm. I turned my head back to find Brendan clutching onto Charlie with one arm, the other clinging to the doorframe. A table spun past my vision, missing Sanctor by mere inches.

  Was this my doing?

  “Ru,” Charlie begged. “You have to stop.”

  I swallowed hard, finding the strands of telekinesis inside me. It wasn’t hard to locate, and I had never felt that power so strong within me until now. It felt as if my powers were flooding out of me of their own accord. I had to reel them back in. Staring down at Morgana, I allowed the tears to come. As my well ran free, I gathered my senses and pulled at the strains of magic in my veins, calling them back to me. Little by little, the room stilled. Sanctor dropped to the ground with a thud, but all I could do was sob.

  “I’m fine, just fine,” Sanctor muttered as he moved past me and exited the hut.

  I certainly wasn’t. The floodgates were open, and my heart was once again torn to shreds. I felt hollow and alone. It was as if I’d lost Mum all over again. Morgana had wanted me to be strong, but how could I? I wasn’t strong, I was crushed, beaten, and utterly destroyed.

  Someone put their arms around me, but I couldn’t tell who it was. I kept staring into Morgana’s still face, wishing with all my heart that this was but a nightmare, or a vision I could somehow change. But I knew that wasn’t true. She was gone, and I was broken.

  Chapter Nineteen

  My legs refused to carry me a single step further, but Pullhelli held his arm around my waist. The old Sorcerer, my father’s uncle, no less, kept me upright as he led me further into the dark forest. Finally, he stopped and let me sink down on the ground, leaning me against a fallen tree trunk. He sat next to me and took my hand in his.

  “My essence cries with yours.”

  I didn’t reply, not even sure I could have if I wanted to. My throat was sore from crying and screaming.

  All was lost. There was nothing left, not in this world or on
Earth. My heart couldn’t take it any longer, now that the last member of my family was gone. My entire heritage was lost, and I couldn’t shake the terrible feeling that it was my fault. I had pushed Mum so hard to allow me to go to London, defying all her doubts and advice. She had been right. Life in Chester was safe for a Fae. I would have given anything to go back to the sleepy, boring town and tell Mum that I wanted to stay. All my powers, all the blue glauko-whatevers in my blood, it was all for nought without Mum and Dad. And Morgana, whom I had learned to love almost as deeply as my own mother.

  I tried to remind myself that Llewellyn was still somewhat included in the Morgana side of my family, but he had played too much a part in Auberon’s plan to lure me into opening the portal. I couldn’t forgive him.

  And then there was my birth father, the Sorcerer king himself. I had already denounced my place in his line of succession twice, and although I carried his blood in my veins, I would never again think of myself as a Merlin. The man by my side was my relative by blood, yet he didn’t feel like family.

  And now my father could stroll into Avalen and Morgana’s castle and sit on her throne with no one challenging him.

  Pullhelli cleared his throat. “I hate to bring it up, but we have to prepare for what is to come. I don’t know if you wish to bring any other advisors into your court, but I would strongly suggest you keep the ones you have already inherited from the queen. King Auberon will most likely push forward his crusade when the news reach—”

  “Wh—what?” I coughed and tried to swallow, but there was no saliva available to moisten my throat. “What do you mean?”

  “You are the queen now, Highness.”

  The idea had lurked somewhere in the back of my mind, and I supposed my subconscious had kept it at bay, but now it hit me like a freight train. It was madness. Nothing less. Complete and utter madness.

  I shook my head. “I can’t. I simply can’t. I won’t. How can you expect—?” I had no more words.

  “Morgana—may her essence flow in the Light until eternity has come and gone—named you heiress to her queendom. She viewed you as her daughter, Ruby. The primes and nobles all signed her order, naming you her successor.”

  Madness.

  “But all that is just politics,” the old man continued. “What matters is your heart and mind. Your core, Ruby. Inside you lies a burning desire to help. The queen saw it, and so do I. And your people will see it as you lead us in our defence against King Auberon.”

  I turned to look at him, pretty sure my eyes were about to pop from their sockets. “Do you even hear yourself? I’m just a kid from The Land of—oh, for the Lady’s sake! My world, the world I belong in, it’s called Earth. I’m a student; twenty years old. I can’t control my own life, let alone rule over thousands. And I’m supposed to lead them in war?” I threw my hands up. “Against an army five times larger than Morgana’s!”

  I sounded like a small child quarrelling with her parents. Oh, how I missed them! What I wouldn’t give to have Mum wave a finger at me and say: “Ruby Guinevere Morgan!” in that desperate and at the same time loving voice. Or to have Dad scold me again because I had used my force field magic to stop a classmate from falling into the elephants’ pit at Chester Zoo on our school trip. His voice had been harsh, but his eyes revealed how proud he had been of me, even if I had run the risk of revealing my magic.

  And I missed my queen. Maybe the longing wasn’t of the same calibre, but right now I wasn’t able to tell the difference.

  “Five times larger than yours.” Pullhelli’s smile spread to his eyes, his wrinkles painting a life I couldn’t even begin to fathom the twists and turns of. How had Merlin’s brother ended up as Morgana’s right hand and most trusted advisor?

  I dropped my arms and fell back on the log again. “I can’t.”

  “You have immense powers, My Queen.”

  The distant echo of my father’s words from another world and time made my skin prickle. “I—I might have a few tricks more than the average Fae or Sorcerer, but that’s not enough. At best, I’m a gnat stinging a bear.”

  “Have you embraced the darkness, Ruby?”

  “Huh?”

  “You have felt the pull, have you not? Heard the calling?”

  I drew in a deep breath. “Yes, but so far I have been able to withstand it.”

  So far.

  “Why?”

  I furrowed my brows. “What do you mean, why? It scares me. Whenever I have come close to heed its call, its icy cold tendrils have felt like death itself trying to pull me into a bottomless void.”

  The Sorcerer nodded slowly. “There is powerful magic in the darkness, that is true. And it was that magic the Sorcerers drew upon when they made the light fall from the sun. But that doesn’t mean the magic itself is evil or dangerous.”

  “Sure sounds like it,” I said.

  “Does a sword kill by its own will? Does the arrow turn in the air if it disagrees with the archer’s choice of target?”

  I shrugged. “No …”

  “Magic is a tool. It can be a weapon or it can be a blessing. Either way, it’s up to you to control it. Harness it.”

  “Have you? Harnessed it, I mean?”

  Pullhelli stared into the black branches above us. “When I was young.” His voice trailed off, and he let out a chuckle. “We were stupid, your grandfather and I. Merlin was two years my elder, and one night after we had gone to bed—we might have been eight and ten—he told me a story. One he had heard from our father’s lorekeeper. About Sorcerers going through the Goleuni Porth—the Gate of Enlightenment. They used ancient magic from the shadows to open a pathway to another world.”

  “Earth,” I whispered.

  “Earth. The Land of Eternal Sand. They told tales of a king living in a city of gold. There was no magic in the Land—on Earth, I mean. The king, whose name was Faroa, thought the Sorcerers were gods.”

  “Magic would seem godlike to them, I guess. Have you spoken to Charlie about this?”

  “Not personally, but I know she’s been told some of it from our—from your lorekeepers.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Let’s keep the coronation at bay for a while, please.”

  “As you command, Highness.” His playful smile proved he had no intention of obeying me. Not on this, anyway. “Now, this king had enemies among his people, just like Morgana, and they stole one of the Changelings, Heka, away from the others. The king feared the Sorcerers would blame him and attack, so he attacked them instead. Three were killed, while the last two escaped. Against thousands, even Dewinian Sorcerers had to give up.”

  Dad was a master storyteller, and I could vividly recall how he would keep me mesmerised at nights. More than once, Mum had to come and tell him to stop and let me go to sleep, but I would always beg him to keep the stories going. Listening to Pullhelli was almost as riveting, and for a while the burning hole in my heart didn’t hurt quite as much.

  “One of the two survivors was Kellewyn, Heka’s intended. He was furious, naturally, and ridden with the desire to avenge his beloved. He delved into the shadows, drawing all the magic he could from the deepest abyss. Less than two weeks later, he returned to the Goleuni Porth, carrying the strongest magic that had ever existed. He was going to get his intended, Heka, back from her captors.”

  “Egypt,” I said. “The Land of Eternal Sand is called Egypt. The king was the Pharaoh. This must have been thousands of years in the past.”

  “Not thousands, no. Our scrolls say this happened two hundred and twenty-eight years ago.”

  I scratched my head. “Charlie is the learned one, but even I know that the Pharaohs lived thousands of years ago—counting from my time on Earth. Oh, this is confusing.”

  “Not as confusing as it was to Kellewyn. He went through the portal, only to find that much more time had passed on the other side. In the land of Egypt.”

  “Time,” I muttered under my breath, anxiety building in my core, like water in a pot as it reaches it
s boiling point.

  “Thirty-five years had come and gone in Egypt, while a mere twelve moons had passed the night skies of Mynydd Dewin.”

  I tried calculating in my head, but there were too many thoughts spinning. Pullhelli dipped his chin, as if to encourage my fried brain to do the maths. Finally, he seemed to realise I couldn’t.

  “A thousand-fold as much time went by on Earth, while—”

  “Charlie said the same about Morgana’s portal. After the Dalu’s families went through, life on Earth went on for one and a half thousand years until I reopened it. But when we came here, only a year and a half had passed since she created it.” Something clicked in my head. “Wait a minute!”

  “I don’t understand your command, My Queen.”

  “Whatever.” I waved him off. “Was the Portal of Enlightenment still open, or did Kellewyn create a new one when he returned to Egypt?”

  Pullhelli pursed his lips and considered this for a while. “I’m not sure, but it was the same portal. It was hidden well, both here and on the other side, if you are asking if any Don Hekals came through.”

  The air escaped my lungs in a heavy puff. “No, that’s not it. I’m just grasping at a sliver of hope. I fear time has slipped away from us while we have been here, my friends and I.”

  “But that is not a concern of yours any longer, Your Majesty. You are the queen of Avalon now, and your life and future is here.” He gestured southward. “Well, there, at least.”

  I didn’t want to go into this with him, or anyone, right now. I’d grant him it didn’t actually matter at the moment, not in the grand scheme of things, but at some point in time I would have to go back.

  Wouldn’t I?

  And could I?

  If time had flown by on Earth, what would I be returning to?

  “What happened to Heka?” I asked.

  My great-uncle, which I in no way figured I’d ever call him, sighed. “The Egyptian king—Pharaoh—managed to free her from her captors, slaying them all. He made Heka, the Lion Changeling, a trusted member of his court. Sadly, she died of a terrible disease that made her skin crumble and her fingers fall off. When Kellewyn returned, the Pharaoh showed him Heka’s final resting place, a giant stone figure in the shape of a lion.”