They continued traveling the trail which sloped downward through the wooded area in silence. Zaira had often thought of Imortia, missing its beauty, but now as she passed the trees covered in beautiful pink, turquoise, and silver leaves, she didn’t find them as beautiful. Her wolves were more beautiful than anything in Imortia. They were strong, courageous and honorable. Sure, there’d been some bad apples but they never lasted.
She missed her wolves. She missed her home. Home wasn’t Imortia any longer. Her heart had left this place a long time before. Her heart walked beside her and behind her. Addix, her love, and Mercury … her family.
She had to choose one or another, and neither choice would bring her anything but pain. It wasn’t fair and as they approached the edge of the wooded area, her feelings toward the people of Imortia grew bitter.
“Get down!” Mercury warned, grabbing her shoulders from behind and pushing her down to hide behind the brush.
She peered over a thick silvery bush to see six armed guards standing at the edge of the woods.
“You think Fairuza knows we’re here?” Mercury asked. “Maybe the guards at the portal survived and told her?”
“I think she knew we were here the moment we entered the portal,” Zaira answered. “Me, at least. There had to be some kind of spell to warn her. She’s too clever not to have an alarm set.”
“That pulling the ground out from beneath us trick won’t work here,” he replied. “At least there’s only six. We can take them.”
“Count again,” Addix said, looking toward the sky as a trio of snarling gargoyles descended upon them.
“I got the gargoyles,” Merta announced, quickly shifting into dragon form and taking to the sky.
No longer any point in trying to pretend they weren’t there, the other three nodded to each other and sprang forward to attack.
Zaira cast a spell to slow down the guards’ movements as Mercury attacked in wolf form and Addix fought blade to blade against two guards. Seeing the other four guards encircling Mercury, Zaira shifted shape and leapt to his aid.
She sank her teeth into the nearest guard’s throat, her momentum forcing him to the ground. Twisting her head side to side, she tore out his jugular before being kicked hard in her ribcage by one of the other guards.
The kick sent her sprawling but she was quickly back up on all four paws. In too much pain to attack the approaching guard in wolf form, she shifted into human form in order to heal the damage to her ribs. Already crouched on the ground after her shift, she lurched forward, head-butting the guard in the stomach and rolling with him as he fell back onto the ground. Completing a forward roll over his body, she landed in front of his head and quickly turned, extracted her dagger from her boot, and plunged it into his throat.
She narrowly missed getting hit by the falling body of a gargoyle Merta had terminated before rising to her feet to survey the damage. Five more bodies lined the ground, including the gargoyles, and Mercury was sliding his dagger across the throat of the last guard.
As the guard’s body fell to the ground, Merta landed beside them, shifting into her human form. “I didn’t see anyone else lurking,” she advised, kicking the body of one of the gargoyles. “We’re safe to continue on.”
Before anyone could respond, a trio of cloaked women appeared before them, each carrying a silver dagger.
Another line of cloaked people appeared behind them, only becoming visible as they drew back the hoods of their cloaks.
“Welcome back to Imortia, Zaira Azzul,” the silver-haired woman in front greeted her. “We’ve been awaiting you.”
SIXTEEN
Zaira held her arm out to stop Mercury from surging forward to attack. “I know them. Or her, anyway.”
She nodded her head toward Imelda, the palace’s main healer.
Imelda nodded back before redirecting her gaze. “It is good to see you as well, Addix. However did you escape from—”
“I’m good, and we have brought Zaira, but time is of importance. How is Fairuza’s temperament?”
Zaira frowned at the way Addix had cut off the healer, a woman to be respected, but understood his being on edge. With all they’d seen since starting their journey to Imortia, even she was more than ready to end it despite knowing ending it meant she’d be staying in this place to rule.
“Erratic,” Imelda answered with a disapproving scowl. “She has been trying to carry on a facade of caring for Imortia and its people, but has been sending more than usual to prison, and the examples she’s been making of some…” The woman cringed. “You couldn’t have arrived at a better time.”
“Does she seem stronger lately?” Addix asked, obviously considering the unicorn blood she’d ingested.
“She seems healthier, yes, but her temper is far worse than normal. The staff is on pins and needles. Even the slightest mistake nowadays could get them severely punished. Come see for yourself what Imortia has turned into.”
Imelda nodded toward the people behind her and four of them removed their cloaks, stepping forward to offer them.
They accepted the cloaks, thanking the women before tying them on.
Imelda dismissed the women who’d appeared with her with a nod before gesturing toward the cloaks. “Raise the hoods and no one will be able to see you, except for those of us wearing the cloaks, of course.”
They raised the hoods and followed the woman as she turned toward the center of Imortia and began walking.
“How long were you watching us fight in the clearing?” Zaira asked, a little peeved that they hadn’t stepped in to help.
“We headed there as soon as you entered Imortia. There is a silent alarm on the portal, designed just to detect you, Zaira. However, Fairuza didn’t create the alarm, and the Imortian who did designed it so that it not only alerted her of your presence, but alerted us as well.”
“Did this Imortian ever consider designing it so that it didn’t alert Fairuza at all?”
“If Fairuza failed to be alerted and you suddenly appeared then she would know she had been tricked and that Imortian would be killed. We will do all we can to aid you, Zaira, but we must be very careful.”
Zaira looked at Addix to gauge his reaction to this news. He looked away, shame in his eyes. Mercury held her gaze though, shaking his head in disgust. Merta shrugged. She was used to Imortians being fearful even if she didn’t fear anything herself.
Imelda raised her hand as they reached the outer edge of the village, halting them. “Keep your hoods raised and your voices low. As long as the hoods are raised no one can see you but they can still hear you or bump into you so be careful.”
They all nodded their understanding before following Imelda into the village.
“Wow. The buildings are made of crystal,” Mercury whispered in awe.
The once awe-inspiring architecture in the beautiful realm failed to impress Zaira as her attention went to the abundance of food vendors she saw lining the gold-paved streets. In Imortia, food was a necessity for those not born with magic, but those with magic viewed it as just a treat since their mana sustained their life. There was no need for so many food carts in the streets of Imortia. Had everyone grown gluttonous?
The streets were full of people, but none seemed happy. There was a heavy tension hanging in the air, an unease thick enough to touch as the Imortians made their way here and there, no chitchatting among them.
They still dressed in the same styles Zaira remembered, the women in long dresses and the men in flowing dress shirts and dark slacks. The finest silks adorned their bodies, shiny jewels glistened from the women’s ears, necks and hands. Everyone had fine jewelry in Imortia, as the cliffs surrounding the realm were loaded with every gem imaginable.
The roads were built of pure gold bricks and every crystal building was accented with the element. Outside the city, the grass would be lush and green as emeralds, the streams an icy clear blue completely unpolluted as rainbow-colored fish swam through the water.
Imortia was still beautiful, but the atmosphere was darker than Zaira remembered.
Imelda continued on, carefully avoiding bumping into anyone as she led them to the town center. Once there, Zaira gasped in outrage at what she saw.
“What is this?” she growled as she took in the sight before her. Three cages sat in the center of the square with a person inside each one. Bruised, battered, and barely able to hold their heads up, they were on display in the center of the village and the people just continued to move around them, selling their wares or traveling to their destinations. They ignored these people who desperately needed their help.
“Fairuza’s latest way of making sure Imortians fully understand what happens to those who don’t obey,” Imelda answered in a hushed tone. “The truly horrid, or those she finds truly horrid, still get sent to Hades, but those charged with nonviolent crimes are made a spectacle here in the square. The reminder is constant.”
“How long are these people kept here?”
“Zaira takes away their immortality and leaves them there until they die of thirst or hunger,” Imelda answered.
“And nobody does anything to help them?”
“What can they do? Betray Fairuza openly and get treated to the same fate?”
“You knew of this?” Zaira asked Addix, who’d been deathly silent.
“Oh, this didn’t start until Addix was already in Hades,” Imelda answered for him.
Dammit. Addix sucked in a deep breath and willed himself not to snap. He hadn’t wanted Zaira knowing the full extent of his punishment.
“You were in Hades?”
“Not so loud,” Imelda reminded her in a harsh whisper, noticing a passerby look curiously in their direction.
They collectively held their breath and waited until the man shook his head and continued on.
“I assumed you would have known Addix and Merta had been held in Hades. Why, they must have come straight to you after escaping.”
“You too?” Zaira questioned Merta. “How? How did you survive?”
“Are we talking Hades as in Hell?” Mercury asked. “Like, as in eternal damnation?”
“In your realm, people use Hades and Hell as interchangeable names for the same place,” Zaira explained to the werewolf, “but in reality, Hades is inside Hell’s realm. It’s the cruelest, most nightmarish prison anyone can be held in, which is why I can’t believe you were there,” she directed toward Addix. “All of the Weres with you, were they there too? How did you get out? What was done to you?”
“Can we talk about this when we’re someplace not exactly in the middle of all of Imortia?” Addix asked quietly. He didn’t want to talk about it at all, would have preferred Zaira to have never known, but if he had to discuss it, it would be best to do it where no one could overhear.
“Good idea,” Imelda said. “Now that you’ve seen the center, we can move toward the palace, but don’t worry. We’ll stay out of sight.”
“I think I’ve seen enough here,” Zaira commented. “Why so many food vendors? Most of the Imortian population doesn’t need to eat.”
“Those powerful enough to sustain themselves from their own mana do not need to eat. None of the Imortians born since your banishing have been allowed to fully develop their magical abilities.”
Imelda gestured for them to follow her as she turned and walked out of the square, along a road which led to what should have been a filled school building.
Addix peered into the windows and saw dusty tables with empty chairs. Not a single vial of potion or spell ingredient remained on the shelves. “Fairuza closed the School of Magic.”
“Shortly after the Rebellion.”
“The Rebellion?” Zaira frowned. “There was an actual rebellion?”
Imelda looked at him, knowing it was his story to tell.
Sighing heavily, Addix looked around. They were alone, which made sense considering the school was useless now. “After she forced the unicorn spirit on me, Fairuza left me in another realm. I found my way back to Imortia and well, it wasn’t easy. I couldn’t take two steps without being attacked. Fairuza had spread the lie that I’d attacked the unicorns and had taken one’s spirit inside me.”
“Not everyone was foolish enough to believe that,” Merta said, offering him a reassuring smile.
“And those people joined me in plotting an attack on Fairuza. However, we didn’t succeed. Fairuza had taken my sister and informed us of the spell she’d placed on her. A queen must remain on the throne or Avery will die. I couldn’t go through with leading the attack. We were all delivered to Hades as an example of what happened to those who went against the queen.”
“Couldn’t one of you have just taken the throne?” Mercury asked. “Problem solved.”
“Sadly, it’s not that easy,” Merta explained for him. “The queen of Imortia doesn’t wear a crown, she wears a crystal. The moment Fairuza took the throne, she cursed the crystal. As long as the crystal glows, the realm lives. If the crystal fades, the realm and all its people die. In order for the crystal to glow, the people of Imortia must claim their loyalty to the queen every day during the Gathering. One can not simply kill the bitch and become queen.”
“This is why Zaira had to come back,” Addix added. “The people believe in her. Only her. She is the only one who can kill Fairuza and keep the crystal glowing.”
“So what you’re telling me is that Imortia just gave up. They pretty much handed over their magic, laid down their swords, and turned a blind eye to all the cruelty and injustice going on all because they believed I would come back some day to put an end to it?” Zaira looked at him in disgust. “The few of you who actually bothered to fight were sent to Hades, somehow fought your way back out, but these people just stood by doing nothing? They didn’t even try? And you want me to save them?”
“I want to save my sister,” Addix answered honestly. “And I want to defend those who suffered because they tried to do something.”
“Not all of us are cowards,” Merta reminded her. “We just failed to do the job only you can do. To defeat the queen, her throne must be taken. To take the throne, the people of Imortia must pledge their loyalty at the Gathering. They’ve waited hundreds of years to pledge their loyalty to you because they are too afraid to believe anyone else is powerful enough to lead them. They trust you.”
“Why me?”
“Because Fairuza fears you. That’s enough for them to believe in you.”
“It’s time for the Gathering,” Imelda announced, lowering her hood so she would be visible to other Imortians. “I must go. She’ll notice me missing. You can watch from the back of the crowd, but be very careful. Addix, you know the way to Norene’s if I’m unable to meet up with you after the Gathering.”
They followed Imelda to the palace, falling back as they neared it. Imelda, a member of the palace staff, had a highly viewable position near the queen. Addix guided his group to the back of the large crowd gathered before the palace steps.
“Pretty awesome looking,” Mercury commented as they looked up toward the front of the palace, made of pink crystal. A hush fell over the crowd as two glass doors parted on the balcony and Fairuza walked out, ice cold eyes scanning the mass of people below her. Her long brunette curls fell over the shoulders of her sea green dress but did not cover the glowing pendant hanging around her neck. That damned pendant. If not for it, Zaira wouldn’t have had to have been brought back to this hellish realm.
Two small figures walked out after the queen with heads bowed and hands bound with heavy metal cuffs. The blonde took her place at the queen’s right side, the darker haired young woman stood to her left.
It took every bit of will power Addix had not to tear through the crowd, climb to the balcony and rescue her.
Zaira’s hand touched his forearm, squeezed.
He looked over at her and she nodded her understanding. He saw it in her eyes that she understood. But they both knew they couldn’t do anything then. Only foo
ls rushed in and he couldn’t risk Avery’s life by attacking Fairuza before they were ready.
“Imortia,” Fairuza said in a loud, authoritive voice. “Who do you serve?”
The Imortian people fell to their knees, heads bowed as they started their daily devotion. “Hail Fairuza, Queen of Imortia. Hail Fairuza, Queen of our hearts. We serve only her. We breathe for her, live for her, exist by her and die without her. Hail Fairuza …”
The teardrop-shaped pendant hanging from Fairuza’s neck glowed bright turquoise as the Imortians repeated their devotion. Nausea rolled around in Zaira’s stomach as she watched the act. It had been so long since she’d seen Fairuza last, she’d forgotten how intimidating the woman’s presence could be.
She looked like a supermodel, flawlessly beautiful, but there was a cold hardness to her that seemed to have only intensified in the years Zaira had been banished. Zaira knew she was scared, could tell by the way her eyes continuously scanned the crowd. She knew they were in Imortia and she feared attack, but she still came out on the balcony for the gathering because she craved the power, needed it.
A pair of large gargoyles sat atop nearby turrets, and armed guards lined the doors all along the palace. Merta would have to take out the gargoyles while Mercury and Addix fought off any guards who tried to cut her off.
Then again, with the cloaks, she might be able to make it to Fairuza without any fighting involved. She couldn’t just kill her, though. The people had to see her first, pledge their devotion to her instead of Fairuza so the realm would remain after she took the throne.
Zaira scanned the palace again to make sure she didn’t miss any threats they would need to plan for before taking Addix’s hand and pulling him away from the palace. She knew it killed him seeing his sister with the queen, knowing there was nothing he could do at the moment to release her from Fairuza’s hold, and if she had to listen to the devotion any longer she would throw up right there, and she didn’t think the cloak she wore would hide that.
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