by Emma Harley
Logan was another worry on the front of her mind. She was kicking herself for kissing him, undoubtedly the most selfish thing she could have done at that point. He was trying to forget about her, and Raina knew in her heart that she should have let him try instead of sucking him back in. She tossed another useless book into a steadily mounting pile and began scanning another before a distant shuffling at the door caught her attention. She shoved the torn pages into the pockets of her joggers as the door creaked open. It was just a guard on their patrols. She bowed to Raina with a mumbled greeting, before leaving her in silence once again.
Raina finished poring through the book, rubbing her face as her frustration overwhelmed her. Her mind was whirling uselessly, trying desperately to force puzzle pieces into places they did not fit. She gathered up whatever loose pages she needed, shoving them into her already bulging pocket as she left the library. Servants were bustling in the dining room getting ready for dinner as she slipped in, beckoning to a girl who looked to be her age. “Your Highness,” she curtsied low, bringing a flush to Raina’s cheeks.
“Oh, please just call me Raina,” she stuttered, “Listen. I’m looking to speak to someone in Mordoire, how would I do that here?” The girl looked at her with amused eyes.
“If you have their code, you can just use the callsphere,” she beamed, pulling a small glass ball from her pocket, “Would you like to use mine?” Raina eyed the thing sheepishly.
“I would, but I don’t know how to use them yet.” The girl led her into the servant’s corridors for some privacy, before explaining how the little balls worked. Raina wondered if this was what it felt like when humans had to teach their grandparents how to use technology as the girl pointed out the basic functions of the ball. She thanked the girl, Sofaya, and ambled off to the tech room Nick was so frequently buried in. Raina smirked as he opened the door to her, his face beaming.
“What do you need? I doubt you came here just to visit,” he chuckled, sitting down at a circular desk amid a mound of dismantled electronics.
“I need one of those call-ball things to talk to Kade,” she smiled. Nick grinned and tossed her one from an over-flowing box.
“These are the equivalent of burner phones, untraceable, unhackable. Your calls will be private and secure,” he explained. Raina thanked him and left to find somewhere quiet. After dialling in the code, the ball beeped loudly until Kade’s voice came through.
“Hey Kade, it’s Raina,” she said loudly, making sure her would hear her clearly.
“Good afternoon Your Highness,” he replied smoothly, “There’s no need to yell dear I can hear you very well.”
“Oh,” she blushed slightly and giggled, “this is my first time using these ball things. I wanted to know if your father approved of our marriage. My parents are eager to begin planning, and they would rather have the ceremony sooner rather than later to avoid schedule clashes.” Kade chuckled.
“Yes I would prefer if our wedding party wasn’t cut short because our guests had to return to fighting in the war. But as for your concerns, my father was unbelievably happy that you agreed to marry me. He would have us wed tomorrow if he could, but my mother is very insistent that this is to be a large affair.” Raina took a sharp inhalation of air.
“Would it bother you greatly if we were to have the wedding in Avellia?” She could almost hear the grin in his voice as he agreed.
“I would marry you in a back alley if I had to, this is entirely your decision. All I ask is that you grant me permission to join my friends for a night of celebration.”
“Like a stag night?”
“What is that?” Kade asked curiously.
“In the human world, before a wedding, the men would have a stag night with their male friends and the women had a hen night with their female friends. Like a celebration before they got married.” He chuckled softly.
“Yes, it is a stag night then.” Raina pretended to huff slightly.
“Well I suppose I will allow it then. Just make sure you behave yourself. I will insist that you bring Ceressa to keep an eye on you.”
“She will be delighted,” he chuckled softly, “I’ll have my father speak with yours and begin arrangements as soon as possible. When do you want to get married?” Raina’s jaw twitched as she forced her voice to steady.
“Three weeks should be long enough to plan this.”
“Three weeks it is. I will ensure I have everything ready upon my arrival. Take care Raina,” he blew a loud kiss down the line before hanging up. Raina slumped against the marble wall with a sigh. Even though it was fake, her anxiety was through the roof at the thought of getting married. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about Kade, he would be the perfect fake husband.
“Three weeks huh?”
Raina’s eyes fell on Taranis, who had clearly been eavesdropping. She scowled as he helped her to her feet.
“It’s rude to listen in on private conversations,” she snapped. He merely raised an eyebrow as they began to walk. She led him towards the training grounds, which were muddied and flooded from the recent rains.
“How long have you worked for my parents?” she queried. He scanned her face for any sign of mockery before shrugging.
“I’ve been here a while before you were born. The queen and I were friends since before she met your father too. Why do you ask?”
“Because I need your help. And I need to know if your loyalty to my parents supersedes your loyalty to protect me as your princess.” Taranis stopped dead in his tracks.
“You better explain yourself quickly, or I’ll haul you back to the castle over my shoulder.” She rolled her eyes and looked around at the few patrolling guards.
“I’ll explain shortly, come a walk with me.”
∞∞∞
“Three weeks?!”
Raina had broken the news of her upcoming wedding to her family over breakfast the next morning. She had returned to the castle after her talk with Taranis, skipped dinner and finally let sleep claim her. Now she was ravenous, and being bombarded with questions by Aija was slightly impeding her from shovelling food into her face.
“The wall is breaking, we want to get it over and done with. We’re getting married here in three weeks. His mother will probably contact you about the planning so don’t even think about involving me in it,” she demanded, gulping down her juice. Alexei was pacing anxiously behind his chair, ignoring his wife’s pleas to sit down and eat.
“We haven’t even arranged your marriage contract yet, and we’ll have to send out invitations to everyone quickly to give them notice,” he rambled. Ryver walked in at that moment and saw his father pacing anxiously. He quickly spun on his heel, mumbling something about interesting views outside as he left. Raina turned back to the king, nursing her bloated belly.
“I already have the contract finalised, and Kade is in agreement with every clause in it. I don’t trust his father to do it, and I need to make sure that nothing is slipped in to make it void. I have separate documents naming my heir if I die before the annulment. Mordoire will have no claim to our throne.” Alexei paused and stared at her.
“You have no heirs, who have you named?” he asked incredulously. Raina nodded towards the door Ryver had just left through.
“I named Ryver as my heir. I already looked into our laws of succession, he can safely take the throne if I die without a child, and I already told him if he doesn’t want it, it will pass to Raubyn.” Izak chuckled lightly.
“Raina, Ryver, Raubyn… it’s like this family could only choose from one page in a baby name book.” Davin elbowed him sharply, but he cracked a smile too. Alexei rubbed the bridge of his nose and leaned his hand on the table.
“You don’t have to go through with a marriage Raina,” he sighed, “this is absurd. You haven’t been raised as a princess, and you shouldn’t be the one making all the sacrifices just to protect this country, as your parents and the rulers, that is our job.” Raina refilled her glass as she locke
d eyes with Taranis.
“You said yourself, those demons don’t recognise borders. Thousands of innocents will be killed if we can’t protect them. I was not raised as a princess but I was a general, and I know what sacrifices are worth making. We need Mordoire’s armies. The border is on our land, we will be one of the first countries hit. If you want to face down an army of beasts without the manpower, then you go ahead. I’ll bring the armies myself.”
Alexei went to respond, but he stopped himself as Aija laid a hand over his. She turned to Raina and gave a weak smile.
“If this is what you want to do then we’ll do it. But let your father look over your marriage contract first to make sure everything is in order,” she insisted. Alexei stared at her with his jaw dropped.
“You can’t seriously be going along with this Aija,” he laughed incredulously. She stared at Raina with determination.
“Let’s plan a wedding.”
Chapter 19
T wo and a half weeks of wedding planning had the palace turned upside down.
Raina had only met Kade’s mother in passing after she had blown into the castle like a hurricane with a mission, followed by an army of her own servants, cooks, florists and whatever other professions were required for nuptial affairs. Aija had been just as bad.
Several servants had been spotted crying after being screamed at by one of the mothers for petty reasons. The flowers were the wrong shade of yellow, the cake sample had too many nuts, the place names were written in the wrong fonts. Even Raina had gone out of her way to avoid the furious torpedoes as they planned her wedding day.
Kade was due to arrive that night, and Raina had made sure to invite Ceressa, even asking her to be a bridesmaid so her attendance wouldn’t seem suspicious. Instead of taking part in the decision making process, she had spent days holed up in the library avoiding everyone as much as possible. The only time her squad seemed to see her was at training every morning, and even then she was cold towards them. Deliberately berating them and pointing out their mistakes had left them avoiding her just as much.
She hadn’t seen Logan at all since they had kissed. She just assumed he was avoiding her too, and Taranis wasn’t keen to discuss him much. Elias had returned from visiting his family, only to find himself sucked into common guard duty around the palace as Kalen had temporarily taken over Logan’s job as captain until he returned. Taranis had been forcing her to go through training twice a day, refusing to help her unless she had improved infinitely by her wedding day. As such, her hands were now callused from hours of sword fighting every day, although she had upgraded from the wooden swords a week ago. Her father’s sword hung proudly from her waist, she carried it everywhere since Taranis was often pulling her for unscheduled training any time he caught her.
Raina scoured the shelves, even though she knew there was nothing there that could possibly help her. Kade had volunteered to bring a few books from the halls, but she was under strict warnings that she couldn’t read them without him and they would teleport back to their shelves as soon as he removed them from his person.
She growled loudly and strode off to grab breakfast before training began again. Taranis would put her through hell if she didn’t eat properly. She wriggled her way through swarms of servants carrying everything from fruit bowls to rolls of fabric and furs, and settled herself down to scoff a plateful of meat and eggs. The general slid into the seat beside her before pointing out that her squad was at the other table.
“I know. I wanted to eat in peace,” she snapped coldly, gulping down her water. She stood to leave but he gripped her wrist, not looking her in the eye.
“Is this really how you plan to do it?” She ripped his hand off her and slammed her glass down.
“Do not start me on this Malakhai,” she snarled, storming off to the training grounds as the weight of numerous stares bore into her back. She knew that attitude would earn her a tougher training session, but she didn’t care. She only had to wait a few more days.
∞∞∞
Raina sat impatiently tapping her foot in the empty common room. Tonight was the first full moon since she had visited the oracle, and she was almost vibrating with anxiety. She had packed, unpacked and re-packed the bag full of ingredients for the spell, terrified that she had somehow forgotten to collect an ingredient in the five-minutes since she had last checked the bag.
Sneaking out was going to be difficult since the castle guards had almost tripled in numbers, all in preparation for the wedding, but she had spent the past few nights practicing her shadow magic. Slipping throughout the castle like a wraith among the unlit corridors and shadowy corners was easier to get the hang of than she thought it would be. All she had to do was make it outside without anyone noticing her and she would be home free.
The strange clock on her wall seemed to move slower than ever. She stared out her window waiting for the sun to fully set in the distance before she shrugged on her coat. Just for her own peace of mind, she checked the bag once more. She had even found the exact spell in one of the library books, and she had stuffed it in her bag to make sure nothing would go wrong. Her mother’s scarf was carefully bundled around an assortment of crystals. She shoved the candles back in the bag, and in her hand she held the precious vial of magic from the oracle.
Raina flung the bag over her shoulder and slipped out, thankful that the squad were currently avoiding her and couldn’t raise any suspicions. Seven minutes. Seven precious minutes was all she would have. And she didn’t intend on wasting any of them.
She rushed past a group of servants as she made her way to the door and into the early night air. The moons were barely visible yet, but by the time she had the ritual set up, they would be shining brightly in the sky.
After a quick glance around, she tugged on that dark thread in her soul and melted into the shadowy surroundings.
She soared through the castle grounds and into the forest, aiming for the rocky outcrop by the lake. Raina materialised with a gasp, allowing oxygen to fill her lungs once more. She pulled out her book and set to work, pouring the salt into perfect circles and placing the crystals exactly where she needed them. The scarf fluttered softly in the wind, filling Raina with nostalgia. She had sprayed it with her mother’s perfume too, and now it filled the air around her. As the moons broke through the treeline, she set about lighting the candles, whispering into the flames of each one before pouring the vial onto the scarf.
The circle of salt began to glow with a warm light as a figure materialised before her.
“Mom?” Raina croaked. Eliza gave her daughter a tearful beam as their eyes met.
“Raina my darling girl,” she wept, “I am so sorry.”
“No, mom don’t,” she begged, letting tears roll down her cheeks, “we only have a few minutes and I don’t want you to apologise.”
“But I have to sweetheart. I couldn’t save you from all of this. I wish I could have done more,” Eliza cried, placing a hand against the invisible barrier that held her captive from her daughter.
“You’ve done everything for me. I love you so much mom, I wish I could have saved you. I need you now more than ever and it’s selfish because I wasn’t there when you needed me.”
“Oh Raina,” she sighed, “it was never your job to protect me. But as you said, we don’t have a lot of time so I’ll make this quick.” She wiped the spectral tears from her face and beamed at her daughter.
“I am so proud of you, more than you know my darling. I know what you have to do, and I wish I could be by your side. But you have so many people who love you too. Aija is your mother too, and she feels the same pain I feel. We are both separated from our daughter, and we wish for nothing more than to hold you again. Do not take that from her, this pain is unbearable. I am by your side more than you think. I cannot talk to you, or help you, but I have been watching you grow into the woman you are today. I was there when you were held hostage, I was there when you died and became Fae again. I have been th
ere the whole time.”
Raina could barely speak. She hadn’t cried properly in such a long time, and it had built up too badly.
“I love you too mom. I always wanted to believe you would be proud of me, and I never wanted to replace you. No one will ever replace you. But I have to do this, and I don’t know if I’ll see you again, and that kills me,” she wept loudly.
“No matter what choices you make Raina, I will always love you. And I will be by your side the whole way, I promise I will never leave you. You may not see me, but I will be there for everything. I want to see you live your life, and finally reach a point where you do not have to fight anymore. I want you to be happy. I am so glad you have such good family and friends around who love you as much as I do.”
“At least tell me I’ll get to see you again?” Raina pleaded, “I don’t know if I’ll have the strength to do this knowing I’ll be alone in the end.”
Eliza shook her head sadly, sparkling spectral tears dripping to the ground like tiny diamonds.
“I don’t know sweetheart. But you are talking nonsense,” her mother smiled softly, “Not a soul in this world is stronger than you are. You have pushed yourself higher than anyone has ever dared, all to save those you love. You will never be alone, no matter what I have to do, I will be beside you until the very end.”
Eliza looked into the sky before turning back to her with a sad smile.
“Our time is almost up darling. Remember that I am proud of you and I love you with all my heart and soul. You are so strong my beautiful girl, I know you can do this. I love you sweetheart, goodbye for now.”
“Wait, Mom!” Raina screeched, her lungs constricting as her mother faded away into nothing.
“MOM!” she screamed, falling to her knees in the damp dirt, her sobs wrecking their way through her chest as she scrabbled fruitlessly through the circle of dead leaves.