Witch Queen

by Kim Richardson

  As soon as I was seated, the room burst into loud conversation, as though the interruption never happened. I felt eyes on me from across the table. The queen’s cold smile sent a chill rippling through me.

  A witch servant filled my goblet with golden wine, and I chugged a big gulp down. I was going to need more wine if I hoped to stay calm.

  “Careful,” said the witch prince. “Too much, too quickly, and it’ll go straight to your head.”

  His silver eyes gleamed.

  “I can handle my wine,” I lied. “I was thirsty.”

  “I’m glad you wore my gift,” said Aurion as he reached for his goblet of golden wine and took a sip.

  “Did I have a choice?” I snapped.

  I stared at the food and grabbed a warm bun. I needed comfort food.

  “You always have a choice.”

  The edge to his voice made me stop chewing, but I didn’t look at him. I washed down the bread with another sip of my wine, a little less this time, as I already felt a lightness in my head.

  “You did really well in the witch trials. I was really impressed,” said the prince. “I feel honored to be sitting next to an actual steel maiden in the flesh. Not that I ever doubted you.”

  “Really?” I raised my brows skeptically. “Funny, I would have thought differently.” I took another big gulp of wine.

  Goddess, I have to be careful.

  “You’re a very rare jewel, Elena,” said the prince.

  He leaned closer until I could smell his musky scent, and my blood warmed a little.

  “You’re beautiful, clever, and strong. Only a handful of witches could have defeated the trial witches. And you did with no training. You’re quite the remarkable witch. I think a lot of witches could learn from you.”

  “Really?” I huffed a laugh. “Doesn’t my human blood bother you? Send you into a rage? Make you want to drain me of my blood and hang my skin on display like a painting?”

  “No, of course not.” He stared back at me with a certain amount of discomfort and irritation. “Your blood magic is strong. It compensates for your human blood.”

  I looked away. He sounded so much like Fawkes. I might have been ashamed of who my father was, but I was not ashamed of my human heritage and my human blood.

  “Some of us believe that a mix of strong blood magic like you should stay here, in Witchdom.”

  My heart stopped. I locked onto his sparkling silver eyes.

  “What are you saying?” My mouth was dry and my words came out jumbled, like I was already drunk.

  The witch prince smiled a smile that would have melted any woman’s heart. He reached out and wrapped his large warm hand around mine.

  “Simply, that you’re the last of the clan. Some of us think that there’s something of a unique opportunity here. Some of us might not want you to leave.”

  “I can’t stay here,” I said angrily. “I won’t stay. You know why I came here in the first place. I need help to defeat the priests and the darkness that they’re spreading. I didn’t come here for a union of any kind. Except for one that involves an army that will leave with me. It’s the only reason I came here, and you know it.”

  “It’s because of him, isn’t it?”

  His hand was still on mine, and he gave it a squeeze. There was a surprising sadness in his eyes, but I felt like he’d punched me in the stomach. I fought to keep my wine down. I was near tears.

  “His name is Jon,” I snapped.

  “You can have more than one great love in a lifetime,” said the prince. “There’s no rule in the universe that says you can only love once. I know that it’s true. I believe in soul mates, not soul mate.”

  “Please stop,” I said. My throat throbbed, and my chest tightened.

  “He’s already gone, Elena,” said the prince.

  His voice was surprisingly soft. He let go of my hand, but lifted my chin with his finger and turned my face to his.

  “He’s been infected with black magic, and he’s human. That alone promises a fate worse than death. He will never recover from it. He can’t. If he were a witch, then there might be some hope. But then again, none of us are steel maidens. His human blood is too weak and easily corrupted. He’s already dead. Let him go.”

  I slapped his hand away from my face.

  “So you knew about the black blight all along, didn’t you?”

  “Yes,” he said. “We’ve known ever since it first infected the world. We felt the shift, the change, even here. Everyone knew.”

  My mouth dropped open, and I shook my head.

  “I can’t believe this. All this time, you, the king, everyone knew. And still you made me do the witch trials. Why?” I tried to look calm but my anger boiled on my skin like a sunburn.

  “Because we needed to know if it was true,” the prince said calmly. “That you were the last of the Steel Maiden clan.”

  “What about the black blight? You never thought to help? All those people…infected with black magic, corrupted and twisted into monsters.”

  “Help?” the prince’s eyes flashed. “Why would we help you human animals after you had massacred our people and stolen our lands? Don’t be so naïve, Elena.”

  “What did you expect? I’ve lived practically all my life in a box. All I know of the history of Arcania comes from the pitiful collection of books I’ve read. There wasn’t much on Witchdom.”

  “I’ll teach you.”

  The witch prince shifted in his seat. “I know you don’t think much of me now. You might even hate me,” he said. “But I’m not my father.”

  He paused as if to deal with some internal struggle.

  “If you go back, you’ll die with the rest of the humans. But the necromancers will never breach Witchdom, their magic is not powerful enough. You’ll be safe here with us, where you belong.”

  He paused, and my face burned. “Let them take over the west, who cares?”

  “I care,” I growled.

  I couldn’t believe where this conversation was heading. I could feel the witch queen watching me from the corner of my eye, but I didn’t dare look at her.

  Prince Aurion leaned forward, and his lips brushed against my ear.

  “Stay with me, Elena.”

  I hated myself for letting the prince bring doubt to my mind.

  Could there really have been no hope for Jon? Was I a fool blinded by love to have thought there was hope?

  No, I didn’t believe it. I refused to believe it.

  The witch king stood up suddenly, and the hall went silent.

  The king’s eyes fell on me, and he smiled.

  “Honored guests, witches,” he said and raised his glass. “I interrupt this jovial meal to bring joyous news.” His eyes turned to me again, and I squirmed in my seat. “I have news of an engagement between the two most powerful witch clans in all of Witchdom.”

  Goddess above.

  I gulped. The king meant to marry me off to his son.

  I looked at the prince. Our eyes met, but his smile was forced. He looked as though this was the first time he’d heard of any of this.

  Something wild flashed in the king’s eyes and he spoke loudly and clearly.

  “I’ve decided that you, Elena, will be my second wife.”

  The witch queen dropped her goblet and started to scream.

  But the king didn’t seem to notice. His eyes were fixed on me.

  The guests bustled in their seats. I looked back at the prince, but he wouldn’t look at me. His face darkened and something like hate flashed in his eyes. His fingers were laced together tightly, and he looked like he was struggling with some internal battle.

  I look over to Fawkes. His eyes were filled with regret, even fear, but he did nothing to save me.

  I turned my attention back to the witch king.

  “I apologize, witch king,” I said, my voice clear and loud enough for everyone to hear. I took a steading breath. “But I can’t accept. I have family waiting for me. I must go b
ack home. You promised me an army of witches. You promised to help if I survived your trials, and I did. This wasn’t part of the deal.”

  “I’m the king,” said the witch king with a little smirk. “I can do whatever I want.”

  My cheeks flushed red with anger. “And if I refuse?”

  “You cannot refuse me,” said the king. “Your mother might have escaped me once, but you, my dear Elena, will not. No, you will be my second wife, and you will give me steel maiden daughters. Your blood magic will be bound to the royal family where it belongs. You will never leave. Never.”

  CHAPTER 30

  MY FINGERS ACHED AND bled as I scraped at the wall with a piece of the shattered dresser, but the cavity had only widened by a mere five inches after eight hours of hard work. It was late in the evening. Sweat trickled into my eyes, and my right wrist had started to cramp. I leaned back and looked at my handiwork. At this rate, it would take me about two months to make a hole large enough for me to escape.

  I couldn’t get past the guards outside my door without a real weapon. And the king had made sure I had been stripped of anything that he considered a weapon. I had stormed off to my bedchamber after the royal dinner and had been held as a prisoner ever since.

  I had found a small indention in the wall, however. It had been left when the queen had smashed the dresser, and it led me to discover that the walls of the bedchamber hadn’t been made with the same hard black granite as the rest of the fortress, but with limestone. And when I’d chipped a piece with my fingernail, I realized that I could dig a hole and escape.

  But after a week of working secretly day and night, I was no nearer to leaving this wretched place than when I had first been locked away.

  There was no way in hell I’d marry that bastard witch king. He’d be likely to skin my friends and hang their hides on the wall like paintings! Just the thought of his slimy hands on my body was enough to make me gag. I would rather die a thousand deaths than be his wife, his second wife. How morally sick and twisted was that? His cruelty reminded me of the cruelty of the priests. I was appalled at how similar and twisted were the actions of those in power.

  It didn’t matter what the witch king wanted. I would never be his.

  I realized that the witch king had never meant to keep his promise. I would never get the army of witches we needed. We were on our own. But I would find another way to beat the priests. I had to. With or without the witch king’s help.

  I had been allowed to stretch my legs and visit the gardens once a day because I was betrothed to the king. But he had posted two more coven guards outside my door, and more were stationed along the hallway. He also made sure that I was accompanied by two guards wherever I went. I suspected that the extra security was not just to keep me from escaping, but also to keep me safe from his wife.

  The mad queen had wailed and thrashed on the ground when the king had proposed to me. The coven guards had picked her up and hauled her away, but she had looked at me before she had disappeared, and I knew that she meant to kill me.

  I was a caged animal, and every new day brought more fear and a deepened sense of urgency. The longer I was kept here, the harder it would be to escape before the goddamn wedding ceremony. If I didn’t escape, I would have failed everyone, including myself.

  Celeste had helped to draw a detailed layout of the fortress. I was very grateful for her help because I couldn’t even remember how to get to the great hall. But even Celeste didn’t know every nook and cranny. The fortress was a colossal stone structure, and I doubted if even the king knew every passage.

  We had poured over our mockup map and discovered that the closest escape route was a window in the neighboring chamber. Celeste said that it wasn’t occupied. It was three stories up, but if I could get to that window, I’d take my chances and climb down. I’d even jump if I had to. Even if I fell, my bones would heal. It was my only option.

  I hoped that I would then be able to find the stables and grab Torak. I wasn’t about to leave my beloved horse behind.

  I needed to get my hands on a small knife so I would be able to cut through the limestone faster. But getting a knife would not be easy because the witch maids were searched thoroughly before entering my room. Celeste wouldn’t be able to help.

  Every evening, Celeste would sweep up the debris from my day’s work and toss it for me. And then right before bed, I’d drag the new dresser over to cover the hole.

  Despite my efforts, I still wasn’t anywhere closer to freedom.

  I yelled in frustration and threw the broken dresser leg across the floor. How the hell had my mother escaped? I knew without a doubt that she’d been the witch king’s prisoner because he had used the word escaped. He had wanted to breed her like he wanted to breed me. What had happened to her while she was here? Why had she gone all the way to Arcania when she could have hidden somewhere in Witchdom. Or maybe that wasn’t an option. The witch king was obsessed with steel maidens. He would have found her eventually if she had stayed. I suppressed a shiver.

  I was living my mother’s nightmare. But I would stay strong. I had no other choice. If my mother had escaped, then I could to. I had to.

  My train of thought was suddenly interrupted as Celeste burst through the door. Her face was red, and she was breathing heavily as though she’d run the length of the fortress. I scrambled to my feet and dragged the dresser over to hide the hole in the wall.

  “What? What happened?” The only time I’d seen her looking so distraught was when the witch queen had entered my bedchamber.

  “The king wants—just a second—” she caught her breath and closed the door behind her.

  “It’s all over the servants’ quarters,” she said as she turned to me. “I ran all the way from the north tower when Orissa told me.”

  I stiffened. This couldn’t be good. “Tell me.”

  “The king just made the announcement,” she paused as though giving me a chance to gather my wits. “Elena. He means to marry you tomorrow.”

  “What?” Bile rose in my throat and a wild panic flooded my mind. “But I won’t be able to dig a hole big enough in time.”

  I flattened our map on the table. “There’s got to be another way out…we just haven’t seen it yet.”

  I thought of Fawkes and looked up at her. “Where’s Fawkes?”

  I didn’t wait for her to answer. “If he found a way to get the men out of the oubliette, maybe he can find a way to get me out as well.”

  “But how? You’re heavily guarded,” said Celeste. “The men were left in a hole to die. No one bothered to keep an eye on them. Besides, no one has seen Fawkes since the king announced your betrothal. It would appear he has left the fortress.”

  “I’m trapped. The king will never let me go.” I started to tremble and cry.

  “There might be another way.”

  I wiped my eyes. “How?”

  “After the ceremony.”

  I looked at her in shock. “You can’t be serious? I can’t marry that bastard!”

  “I’m not saying you will,” she continued. “Not entirely.”

  “Then how?”

  Celeste spoke rapidly. “Tomorrow, after the full moon, they’ll start with the handfasting ritual where a high witch will bind your hands together with a string. Then there will be a large celebration feast. Most of the guards and the witch king will be drunk, you know how the males behave at those kinds of events. That’s when we make our move.

  “They won’t be expecting you to run, so you’ll probably be less well guarded. You’ll have witch maids escorting you the whole time, so you can fake some sort of lameness. I will be the one to escort you back to your bedchamber, but we’ll head for the side entrance on the southwest corner of the fortress instead. It won’t be guarded. You can make your way to the stables from there. Don’t stop till you’ve left Lunaris behind and made your way back to the mountains.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “But I’ll still be wed to him.” I
wanted to vomit.

  Celeste shook her head. “No. You cannot be married without the marital bond—you must mate to make it official. Otherwise, the marriage will be nulled.”

  I smiled. It was the only hope we had. “I think your plan might work. No, it’s going to work.” I beamed at her. “Celeste, you’re a genius.”

  “I know.” She flashed me a smile and turned to go. “I’ve been summoned to work on your wedding gown, but I’ll have time to check the locks on the side entrance doors, just to be safe. I’ll come back later to go over the plan more in detail—”

  The door swung open and Prince Aurion sauntered in.

  He wore his usual dark gray silk coat and smiled at me wickedly. He held a bottle of wine and two goblets. His hair was perfect, his features were too perfect, and his eyes bright and hungry.

  I blushed.

  “What ever happened to knocking?” I glowered as Celeste made a low curtsy.

  The prince glanced casually at the witch maid and waved a lazy hand at her. “You may leave us, Celeste.”

  Even though she was bent in a low curtsy, I could see that Celeste’s face had reddened when the prince had used her real name. She stole a look at me before she shut the door behind her.

  “Is there something you want, prince?” I tried to remain composed, but the fact that he had brought beverages was alarming. “Does your father know you’re here?”

  Prince Aurion set the decanter of burgundy liquid on the table and began to pour it into the goblets. “Of course not. But I thought we could share a drink, a toast before the big day tomorrow.”

  I sensed the tension in his voice and saw it in his posture.

  “You didn’t know, did you?”

  The prince picked up the goblets and crossed the room towards me. He handed me a glass, and my treacherous hand took it.

  “Of course not,” he said. “Do you think I would have said those things to you if I had?”