All the Crown's Shadows

by Emily Rose

  “Listen,” she said quietly. She had two cups in her hands, one which she handed me without the slightest bit of hesitation.

  She thought we could be friends?

  I reached out and grabbed the cup as she continued.

  “I think we both have enough enemies around here. Champion’s week is almost halfway over, and I think if anything we could be strong allies.”

  Allies? Opal had completely lost it if she thought I would ever be allies with her.

  “I hope you’re joking. Did you forget that you stabbed me? Twice!”

  She took a sip from her cup and leaned closer to me. “We’re all just trying to survive here, Ruby. We can help each other.” Her eyes were dark brown and large, showing no signs of malice. It was suspicious to say the least.

  But I was running out of energy to hate people. I was running out of energy in general, actually.

  I took a sip of the liquid, letting it pass my lips with a chill. She nodded her head pleasantly, as if I had just accepted her offer of friendship.

  “I don’t see the point in making allies here if we all have to kill each other, anyway.”

  Opal looked different now. Softer. The harsh features I usually saw seemed lighter now. She wasn’t wearing an expression of hatred or envy. She looked genuinely concerned. I took another sip of the sweet liquid as she responded.

  “I’ve been here for a while now, Ruby. I recognize a dangerous opponent when I see one. I know we’ve had our moments, but I just think it would be nice to have an extra set of eyes watching your back. Don’t you think?”

  I hadn’t realized my heart rate was slowing down until that moment. When I turned my head to look at the cage entrance, my vision passed with a slow delay. I looked down at my cup. It wasn’t wine, but it was definitely not just water either.

  Opal’s face blurred in front of me. How long had I been talking to her? My mind felt dizzy, as if someone had filled my head with sand. Opal’s mouth moved slowly, but I heard no words. Was she talking to me?

  Two strong hands quickly gripped my upper arms and lifted me from the bed. But they weren’t Opals. She stayed in the cage as I was pulled from my cot. What was going on?

  The Ring of Angels.

  Champion Week.

  I had another fight. My Champion fight.

  And something did not feel right.

  The huge, wooden doors of the fighting arena came into view at the end of the hallway. The hair on the back of my neck tickled me for just a moment.

  Was I supposed to be afraid?

  I heard cheers beyond them. Excited, roaring cheers.

  One of the large men handed me a sword. It was heavy. Cold.

  The red stones on the handle were beautiful. Mesmerizing.

  I rolled the handle around in my palm. It had to have been the most amazing thing I had ever seen, like staring into a fire during a sunset. The colors were perfectly blended into each other, reflecting the tiny amount of light reaching each stone.

  I looked at the man who handed it to me.

  Soren. He was so kind to me, so supportive.

  Was he trying to talk to me?

  “Soren,” I said. At least, I thought I said it. But I couldn’t quite hear. I only heard the pounding of my own heart. But he looked so concerned. So troubled. As the other guard began opening the large door, a moment of clarity snapped me out of my daze.

  “Something isn’t right, Soren. I don’t know what’s happening. Find Aiden,” my words slurred together in a long stream of syllables.

  Did Soren understand? Was he going to help me?

  The large doors swung open. Light flooded my vision. It was so bright. I held my free hand to my eyes, blocking the light.

  I felt a rough push from behind as I willed my feet to move forward. My feet, my balance, the weight of the sword. It was all wrong.

  That’s when I saw my opponent. He was huge. Another Champion. I had seen him before, in practice. His name was Cyrus, I thought. He never spoke to me, but he always looked pretty nice.

  Another rush of adrenaline shocked me out of this daze.

  Had I been poisoned?

  The sound of the crowd rushed into my ears, filling my head and drowning out the sound of my pounding blood.

  It was too loud.

  I scanned the crowd for the one person who could help me. Aiden.

  How much time had gone by? Had the fight started yet?

  When I met Aiden’s eyes in the sea of strangers, his face reflected the horror I was feeling.

  Could he feel what I was feeling? I snapped my attention back to the ring. There was no time for an escape plan.

  I had to fight.

  I stumbled over my feet as I lifted my sword, ready for the King’s announcement to begin.

  But I wasn’t ready. I could hardly see. I could hardly lift my sword.

  My arms felt heavy and hot. One time, when I was young, I let Jax bury me in the sand at Sundown. It was his idea. The sand was so hot at first, it almost burned my skin. Jax told me to relax. It’ll be cooler when you’re out of the sun, he said. And after a while, when he had most of my body covered with it, it began to cool down. It was peaceful after that. Relaxing. The weight of the sand was like a hug from a stranger. My mother was so angry at us for missing dinner that day, but Jax wanted to be buried, too, so we took turns. It took me weeks to rinse all the sand out of my hair.

  A loud, shrilling bell pulled me out of my memory.

  My opponent took a few steps forward, his sword raised.

  I did the same, using all of my energy to stay upright. To stay focused.

  My own name rang through the air, piercing my ears. The crowd was cheering.

  For me.

  They wanted me to win. They wanted me to kill this guy. Cyrus.

  I heard my name again, only this time the voice was someone I knew. Someone from home. Or was I imagining it?

  I turned to look for the face that belonged to the voice, but my opponent did not wait. He struck my sword with his, sending it flying across the ring.

  Then I was on the ground, pain pulsed through the back of my head. It was almost comforting. The pain. It was something I had grown used to.

  Ruby. The same voice, again. And that was when I saw him. In the crowd, dressed like the other guards that kept the crowd at bay, was Jax.

  Jax was here. He came for me.

  And now he had to watch me die. He was so perfect, like how Harvey was. He was kind and sweet. Would my death break him? Would he feel how I had felt when Harvey was killed?

  No. I had to fight.

  As Cyrus’s sword came toward my body, I rolled sideways, crawling to the side of the ring.

  Aiden stood in my view. He was standing up and yelling something too, but I couldn’t hear it. I couldn’t hear anything over the thud of my own heart again. Why was it so loud?

  I needed my sword. I needed to focus. My feet carried me to my weapon, just a few feet away, but I wasn’t fast enough.

  Cyrus grabbed my arm and threw me to the ground again, like an owl with a rat.

  My body was heavy. Like I was buried in the sand again.

  It would be so easy to close my eyes now. My heavy eyes. Sleep would be so good, so peaceful. Just one moment was all I needed. One moment, and then I would get up again.

  So I let them close.

  Red, fierce heat exploded in front of me, warming my skin. It felt nice. Inviting. I blinked my eyes open, expecting to squint at the bright flame in front of me. But I saw nothing. I saw less than nothing. My eyes tried to focus, but found only a vast, endless pit of darkness.

  I was surrounded by it. It was suffocating. Even my feet seemed to be supporting me on nothing above the abyss. I still felt the heat on my face, but saw nothing. When I held my hand out in front of me, I still saw nothing. I was nothing.

  “Ruby,” a voice said. I knew that voice. I was expecting Ophine, her sweet, golden smile. But instead, the smell of roses flooded my senses. Aiden. He w
as here.

  Were we dead?

  I didn’t realize I had asked the question out loud until Aiden spoke again. “No, but we will be soon. You have to wake up. Help me.”

  He didn’t sound worried. He didn’t sound like he needed help, either. I felt a sharp pain in my chest. The heat began to fade in front of me, melting into the surrounding vastness.

  “OPHINE,” I called out into the void, but she did not answer. The goddess of fire was not here.

  I’m not sure how much time went by. Slowly, I began to hear the crowd again. Only this time, they weren’t screaming for me. They weren’t chanting my name. Or Cyrus’s, for that matter.

  I lifted my head and saw everything, clear as day.

  Cyrus was dead. No, not just dead.

  He was on fire.

  Fear flooded my senses, clearing my vision.

  I looked at the crowd. Everyone was screaming. Horrified. But they were not looking at me. I followed their gazes to none other than the Prince of Aslan.

  Aiden.

  The white, hot flame still murmured in his palms. Waiting for another attack. Even from the crowd, I could see the horrified look on his face. He was staring directly at me, a silent plea for help.

  He was still looking at me when the King’s guards tackled him from behind.

  The King saw everything.

  His own son had been wielding magic, and everybody in the crowd knew.

  People were running everywhere, trampling over each other like a stampede of terrified antelope.

  Strong, warm hands grabbed me from behind, lifting me to my feet. I thrashed against the grasp, but the arms held me tightly. The uniform sleeves told me everything I needed to know. Aiden had been taken by the King’s guards, and I was next. They knew.

  “Gods above, stop fighting!” It wasn’t the voice of a random guard. It was the voice of my best friend.

  Jax.

  I wasn’t crazy. He was actually here.

  “Ruby, we have to go. We have to get out of here.”

  I threw my arms around Jax in a tight embrace. He squeezed me back, a hug that I had waited way too long to feel. “Jax, how are you here?” I asked.

  “I had to come find you. I volunteered as a guard a few weeks ago, I was just waiting for the right time to sneak you guys out. So let’s go!”

  “Riley. Go find Riley,” I demanded. My voice didn’t sound familiar. Jax was here, but I couldn’t leave yet. Aiden was going to die. The King would have to kill him. He needed my help.

  “No way, you’re coming with me.” He responded with a harsh jerk of my arm.

  “I have to help the Prince. Meet me in the Shadow Forest.” I was already removing myself from his grasp and running in Aiden’s direction when he called after me.

  He would understand eventually. He had to understand. We would all make it out alive.

  My feet were pulsing. Running. Flying. My senses came back to me one by one, fueling my weak body. I needed strength. I needed power.

  I jumped out of the ring, into the crowd of chaos. Desperation flowed through my entire body, mixed with the dark, paralyzing fear. The fear I could not give in to.

  King Xavier’s voice led me. It boomed through the crowd, slicing the air with the dark power. He was yelling something I couldn’t quite understand, in a tone I had heard only once before.

  I had to get to Aiden. I had to help him. My body was numb. My throat was dry. Death would not be an option for him. Not by his own father. Not for saving my life.

  I pushed through the crowd. While the rest of the villagers ran toward the exit, the King and his guards moved into a corridor, back toward the cages.

  I couldn’t imagine what the King was thinking right now, or what he would do to Aiden. His own son. I kept moving, creeping through the shadows in the hallway. I slowed my breath, willing my pants of oxygen to be quiet.

  “You thought you could fool me?” the King demanded. “You thought you could defy me?”

  They were standing in the Courtyard. A few fighters were scattered around the field, watching the event.

  The guards threw Aiden to his knees without a sliver of mercy. They were loyal to only one person: The King.

  “Answer me, son!” I could have sworn the stone under my feet rattled.

  “No, father. I never meant to defy you,” Aiden responded. His voice was weak. Submissive.

  “How hard have I worked to give you everything you need? To protect the people of Aslan? And for what… this betrayal? This demise?”

  Aiden dropped his head in shame. I creeped closer to the entrance of the Courtyard, my senses tingling.

  What was happening?

  The King circled Aiden, facing me. “I didn’t go through this for nothing, son. It’s a shame you’ll have to pay this price.”

  I watched in complete awe as the guards surrounding them moved as one cohesive unit. It was like watching play toys in a child’s bedroom. Their eyes were black, empty voids. The sight of it sent a dark chill down my spine.

  Everything seemed to make sense now. King Xavier was controlling them, just like he had done with Bane and Harvey’s opponent. All of them.

  They stepped closer to Aiden. He looked terrified, stuck there on his knees. His eyes widened as they moved closer. I could almost feel his own terror rippling through my body.

  But he didn’t see what I saw. Lurking in the darkest parts of the Courtyard were the shadows. The ghosts. The souls of the crown. My silent company from the past few weeks waiting patiently for their chance at revenge. Ophine’s voice rang through my mind.

  You have everything you need.

  I tried to summon the flame. I tried to flare my anger, start the spark. But I felt nothing. Had Ophine abandoned me?

  My legs were pulsing with adrenaline, ready to run towards Aiden if anyone made another move. I had no choice. But my thoughts were interrupted by a small hand on my shoulder. When I looked, I could hardly believe what I was seeing. Harvey.

  I silently scooped her into a hug, ignoring the blood that covered both of us. Harvey really was alive. She must have been hidden in the crowd somewhere with Aiden during the fight. She sobbed into my shoulder quietly as I held her tightly. She was here. She was okay.

  Tears threatened my eyes as I pulled out of the embrace. “Find Riley and Jax,” I demanded in a hush. “They’re here.” She nodded her head hastily as I pushed her backward, away from the Courtyard. This was no place for her, and I had no idea how this would end. She would find them. She had to find them.

  Her bare feet padded against the stone floor as she ran away from me, obeying my orders. My chest began to pound even harder in my chest. Everyone I had ever cared about was here in the City. At risk. I had to kill the King, and I had to do it quickly.

  As I focused back to Aiden in the Courtyard, my vision blurred with the moving shadows. There were more here than I had ever seen. And this time, they weren’t looking at me. They weren’t stalking my every movement, tormenting me with guilt. They were focused on the King.

  I silently called out to Ophine again. To the only god who could help me. I held my hands in front of me, willing the flame to come. I could not fail. I could not show weakness.

  Aiden’s broken voice flooded the Courtyard. “You can’t do this!” he yelled. I snapped my attention back to them.

  My feet drifted even closer to the scene, dangerously bringing me out of the safe darkness. My hands began to glow, ever so slightly, with the fiery pulse I was feeling. When King Xavier picked his head up, he was looking directly at me.

  “Ruby Castiel. I should have known.”

  Aiden slumped as the King approached me. His eyes were black pits, a darkness I had seen too many times. A King of evil, indeed.

  But he did not control these shadows that were feet away from us all. These ghosts. These were my kills. My demons. They came closer and closer to him, but he did not seem to notice. Even this controller of evil could not see my shadows.

  Perhaps
they were too dark.

  As the guards simultaneously turned their unit of attention towards me, I focused mine on the King. This was something I had been waiting to do far too long. Fire exploded through my veins, flame spraying from my palms.

  This was the end. The king had to die. And I was going to kill him.

  But the flame fizzled in my grasp, burning out to a mere ember. I let the anger flood my body, but it was just that. Anger. Had I run out of fire?

  I tried to control the flame. If I had only practice more with Aiden…

  But there was no time for regrets. The guards grabbed each of my arms, dragging me toward Aiden.

  My vision blurred. The King’s eyes pierced into mine, it was like staring into an empty pit. The real King Xavier, Aiden’s father, was in there somewhere, mixed and morphed with all of the evil he was swimming in.

  Demons have never scared me. In fact, it was the gods who truly frightened me. Perhaps I was more like the demons, feeding off the shadows. Had Ophine abandoned me because of the darkness that now followed me? Was the aftermath of the fights too much? Had I killed too many? Ruined my own soul?

  Ophine. She was the only way out of this. I closed my eyes and pictured the golden light. Her beautiful, bright face. I need you, I thought silently. I felt Aiden’s body heating next to mine as I was thrown on the ground next to him and forced to kneel. He had his flame, but it would not be enough. Isobel had told us that much. Not for whatever evil power that the King was wielding.

  I pictured the flame shooting down my arms, like it did in the tent when Isobel called out to Ophine. The chosen one, she called me. This was my fight. I was chosen.

  And I had the flame. Ophine was still silent as I opened my eyes. The King stood before us both.

  “Two wilders of magic. This is going to be very useful. Don’t worry, it will be over soon. Your souls will not go to waste.”

  I looked between him and Aiden. Aiden looked at me, too. A thought passed between us, reflecting in his eyes.

  King Xavier, or whoever this was, was going to use us for his own power. Death suddenly did not sound like the worst option.

  The world around me blacked out as King Xavier knelt before Aiden. He was only inches away. I could feel the darkness, the evil radiating from him.