"I don't know what you mean," Caspian said. "He's dead. I killed him."
"No. You've healed people. I've seen you do it. Heal him."
Caspian shook his head. "He's dead, Char."
Charlotte almost pushed him to his knees. She wasn't the timid little thing I'd taken her for. I guess watching death changed everyone.
"Heal him!" she commanded again, pointing to my brother's body.
She ripped open Remy's tunic, exposing the wound.
Blood had already started to congeal around it, turning from bright red to deep brown. My stomach heaved at the sight of it.
Caspian put his hands on Remy's chest and closed his eyes. I'd seen him do this before when the dragons had attacked. I'd seen with my own eyes him close wounds and heal with magic.
"Can he bring him back to life with magic?" I asked, hardly daring to hope.
"No," snapped Caspian, but I could already feel the buzz of energy around him.
"I've seen it done once. Not by a fae, but by a mage," Charlotte said. "The man had only just died, and they caught him before his soul departed his body. It has to be quick before the brain completely stops functioning, but it's been less than ten minutes."
"I can't do it, Char!" Caspian hissed.
I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Remy wanted to be like you," I said to him. "He loved practicing with a pretend sword because you showed him how."
It wasn't quite the truth. Remy had often played at sword fighting before Caspian came along, but if it would make Caspian persevere, I'd say anything.
The energy around me thickened, and the weird buzzing that came along with it intensified to the point that it hurt my ears. None of the others seemed to be affected by it, but I could see that Caspian was struggling. His eyes were scrunched up in concentration, and heat radiated from him.
I took my eyes away from him for a second to see that Ash and Hollis had joined us on the field. Apart from the two medics, everyone else had gone. Milo had been taken to the castle for his own medical treatment. I'd not even said goodbye to him.
Charlotte rubbed Caspian's back as he worked his magic, but it was clear that the wound wasn't healing. How could it? Remy was dead.
"I ...can't...do..it!" Caspian said, sweat cascading from his brow.
"You can!" Charlotte encouraged, but no amount of encouragement was going to help him. He was weakening. The massive amount of energy he'd generated was beginning to wane.
I looked up. I'd never believed in gods, and even after my talks with Charlotte about the subject, I still wasn't sure I did, but I was willing to pray to anyone who would listen if it brought my Remy back. In the sky, something flashed overhead. It was no god. It was one of the dragons flying high up on the mountain. I'd seen its silhouette as it flew across the moon.
"The dragons!" My magic only worked when they were around. I could summon them, but I could also do other things when they were near. I'd splattered Caspian with magical paint right before they first came down from the sky. I held my hands up and pulled my own magical energy to me. A shot of pink light flew up into the sky. A beacon guiding the dragons. Almost instantly, the sky filled with dragons, circling down around the light, and as they did, the energy I'd felt before came back, and this time, it was magnified. It surged through me, filling me with power. As the dragons came into land around us, I placed my hand on Remy's chest. Caspian's magic merged with mine until it was one, surging through our bodies. The air around us blazed with pink and yellow light. As the last dragon landed, there was a massive flash, and then everything went dark. Only the torches that lit the arena for the benefit of the crowd remained.
"Wha...what just happened?" Ash stammered.
My body shook with both the cold and the effort, plus the remnants of the magic.
"Aza?"
"Remy!" I squealed. His chest had healed, and all that remained was the dried blood and a bruise where the sword had sliced through him. "Are you okay?" I pulled him into a hug, tears drenching his shoulder.
"Unsqua, Aza!"
I started to laugh through the enormous relief of having my brother back, and the shudders of sobs turned into tremors of joy.
"Remy win?"
He'd just been brought back from the dead, and all he cared about was that he'd won the tournament. I didn't have the heart to tell him the truth. That Caspian had won.
"Yes, Remy. You won. You are a hero." He beamed up at us, unaware of the reason we all had tears in our eyes.
The two medics rushed to pull him onto a stretcher, but my father had to tell them to take a step back when it became apparent we were scaring Remy. Instead, he walked with us back to the palace with my father's arm around his waist and me on the other side, holding his hand.
My father took him to his bed to let him sleep, and once they were both in Remy's room, I slipped into my own, glad that the day had finally come to a close.
Later after a long bath, I threw myself into bed and slept for what felt like hours. The magic had drained all my energy from me, rendering me exhausted. I slept the dreamless sleep of the dead.
Dahlia woke me early the next morning.
"Breakfast is being served," she said, folding the clothes I'd thrown in a pile on my floor the night before. "It's just after midday, but everyone else slept in too. It's been an exhausting couple of days, hasn't it?"
"Have you seen Remy? Is he ok?"
"Okay?" Dahlia laughed." He refused to wait for everyone to get up and has already eaten breakfast. He's now waiting for everyone else to get their lazy asses out of bed so he can have a second breakfast."
I smiled. That sounded like the Remy I knew and loved. I pulled myself out of bed and grabbed some jeans and a t-shirt out of my drawers before Dahlia could wrestle me into another dress. I'd be wearing a white dress in less than a week, whether I liked it or not, so I was going to wear what I wanted up until that point.
"What about Milo?" My mind had been so consumed with Remy that I'd put Milo to the back of my mind.
"You'll see," she said. "Now get up before Remy comes looking for you. He's been harping on about more bacon for the last half hour. I swear that lad eats like a horse."
Remy grinned at me when I entered the dining room. Apart from him, the other chairs were empty.
"I expect the others will be along shortly," Dahlia said. "I'll go and see what's keeping them."
I wanted to hug Remy again, but he wouldn't understand why there were tears in my eyes, and I didn't want to frighten him. He looked pointedly at one of the wait staff who ran off and returned a minute later with a huge plate full of bacon. While I waited for the others, I pulled the papers toward me. As expected, Remy's 'death' was on the front cover of all of them, eclipsing Caspian's win. I wondered how he'd react to playing second fiddle to the man he'd branded an idiot when they'd first met. I suspected he'd be okay with it. I'd seen a side to him I'd not seen before. I'd seen love. Real love. Without realizing it, Remy had become a brother to him. I pulled the first paper toward me. I'd have to get the admin team calling the papers as soon as possible to put the record straight on Remy's death. The only paper where Remy had been relegated to the second page was the Atlantice Conch. Problems in their own kingdom trumped ours, it seemed. With a sigh, I threw the papers back down. I waited impatiently for my father and brothers to come down. Now that I knew Remy was okay, I needed to see Milo. I missed him so much it hurt, and with my wedding less than a week away, our time left together had dwindled to almost nothing. Once the papers had been set straight about Remy not dying, they would run a feature on Caspian. He would be catapulted to the most famous person in the kingdom for a brief spell, even eclipsing my mother. Thoughts of my mother were interrupted by the arrival of Ash, Hollis, and my father, who all took a seat. Just behind them came Caspian, looking like he'd just rolled out of bed and Charlotte right behind him.
"Congratulations, my friend," My father said. "Welcome to the family!"
I stood up quickly before my
father had time to say anything else. Luckily, the staff had just started bringing the breakfast out, so I was able to take Caspian's hand and whisk him out of the room.
"I wanted to thank you for saving Remy yesterday," I began.
"It was me that put him in that position," he reminded me. "I honestly didn't know it was him. I would never..."
I held my hand up to his lips. "I know. I know you would never have hurt him if you'd have known."
He nodded, relief flooding his eyes.
"I know I've made it clear that I don't want to marry you, but I want you to know I'll be honored to be your wife..." I hesitated a moment, knowing what I was about to tell him. If I was going to be Caspian's wife, he had to know everything. I couldn't start my marriage built on lies. "I should be honest and tell you I slept with Milo the other night."
He nodded again, but he didn't seem at all surprised by my confession.
"Actually, there was something I wanted to tell you too."
Just then Charlotte poked her head around the door. "Are you two alright? You need to get in quickly before Remy eats all the bacon. There's hardly any left."
On her left-hand ring finger, I noticed a ring inlaid with amethyst.
I turned back to Caspian and mouthed, "Charlotte?"
He nodded again, and I swear his cheeks turned a cherry red. "Why you sly old dog!" I said, grinning from ear to ear.
He was engaged to Charlotte. I didn't have to marry him. I could now marry the man in second place. The man who had never come second in my own heart. Technically, Milo had come third, but there was no way I was going to marry the man who had stomped down on Milo. Hopefully, after the excitement of the final round, no one would notice or care.
I couldn't wait to tell him. I kissed Caspian's cheek and began the run to the hospital wing.
Milo was sitting up in bed reading a paper when I walked in. His face lit up when he saw me.
I kissed him and sat by his side on the bed. "How are you?"
"I'm fine. I heard what happened to Remy. Is he ok?"
I grinned. "If you can call eating a huge pile of bacon okay, then I'd say he's doing fine. Listen, I have an important question."
Milo arched an eyebrow as I got to my knee at the side of his bed.
"I know it's customary for the man to ask the woman, but it's also customary for a princess not to compete in a tournament to win her own hand in marriage, and since when have I listened to customs and traditions anyway? Milo...will you marry me."
He pulled me into a kiss that said it all, except it didn't.
"No," he replied in a whisper. "I want to marry you more than I've wanted anything my whole life. I would do anything for you, and that is why I'm saying no. I want you to go to Urbis and do what you have to do. I want you to go with Nyre and save your mother. I want the wedding you talked about a couple of weeks ago where your mother cries tears of joy as you walk down the aisle. Come back to me when you are truly ready for marriage and ask me again. I'll wait for as long as you need."
"But...I'll wait, and you can come with me to Urbis."
He shook his head. "I'm not part of your adventure. My leg will take six weeks to heal, and I don't think you'll be able to wait that long. I'll still be here. Then we'll have our own adventures. I've changed my mind about going to The Forge. My mother will have to visit us here." He kissed me again, and this time, I fell into him. Nothing else mattered.
We were interrupted mere moments later by my mother's maid calling for Dr. Augusto to come quickly. My mother was getting worse.
I ran to get my father from the dining room. He was busy tucking into his breakfast and reading the Atlantice Conch.
"Atlantice is having some dreadful times," he mused as I ran in. "It's almost as if the darkness is spreading there too."
The darkness. In all the excitement over the past week, I'd forgotten that dark magic was coming back into the kingdom. Derillen was still out there somewhere, and we were no closer to finding her.
"Father..." I wheezed. "It's Mother... Dr. Augusto wants to speak to you."
"The queen's health is fading fast," Augusto said as we all crowded around my mother's bed five minutes later. My father and my brothers had all dropped their breakfast to follow me to my mother's room. "A curse it may be, but her body cannot sustain it much longer."
My father lowered his head into his hands at Augusto's words. I could feel his pain as acutely as my own. This was breaking him.
"How long does she have?" I asked through streaming tears.
Augusto shrugged. "I cannot say. A month. Maybe two."
Having just gotten over Remy dying and then being brought back to life, my heart wasn't ready for the loss of my mother too.
"Maybe Caspian can bring her out of this," I babbled. "He saved Remy from death."
"No," Caspian said. He'd been so quiet coming into the room that I'd not noticed him. "This is not like Remy. Remy's brain waves were still there. Your mother isn't sick, and she isn't dead. You know the only way to bring her back. Either find Derillen or find Morpheus."
"Derillen?" My father asked. "Not this again!"
"Alec, my dear friend. I think it's time we faced the truth. She is back. Azia is sure of it, and so am I. Charlotte thinks Briar Rose is trapped in Morpheus's dream world. We've invited Azia to stay with us in Urbis while she looks for him."
I noted the use of the word we. It seemed Caspian's time here was finally coming to a close. And more surprisingly, he was going home with Charlotte.
A thought struck me. I ran from the room and up to my own. From under my bed, I pulled out a box. A box that held a magic necklace. I ran back with it and handed it to Caspian.
"Charlotte thinks this is a necklace from the gods. Will this save her?"
Caspian took the necklace from the box. I'd not thought to show it to him before now.
"This is very powerful. I've never seen anything like it." The stones changed from diamonds to amethysts in his hands. I'd never seen anything like it either. "Where did you get this?"
"It doesn't matter. Will it help her?"
Caspian laid it carefully around her neck, clasping it at the back.
Color came back to her cheeks, but she didn't stir.
"This is miraculous," Dr. Augusto said, feeling her pulse. He performed a couple of checks, but after a minute or two, his excitement waned. "I think you've bought some time with this necklace, but she is still cursed."
"Father," I began.
Without speaking, he stood up and walked over to me. Taking my hand, he pulled me outside of the room.
"I know what you are going to say to me. I've known this was coming for days. After the courage you showed at the competition, I have no reason to stop you now."
"So, you mean..."
He nodded his head.
"I know when I have been wrong, and it seems I have been wrong about a lot of things lately. I've made mistake after mistake, and you've tried telling me over and over again. I'm sorry for everything I've done to you."
I brought him into a soggy hug.
"You didn't do anything, Father. Are you really allowing me to go to Urbis?"
"I think I've learned enough to know that you'll go with or without my permission, but you have it if that makes it easier for you. My permission and my blessing."
"Thank you."
"I'm counting on you, Azia. I can't let her die."
I nodded my head. "She won't. I have Nyre to take me there and Charlotte and Caspian to help me find Morpheus. I have everything I need."
"You cannot travel by dragon," My father replied. "It is a nice idea, but you'll be spotted way before you get to Urbis. I don't want anyone knowing you are there."
I furrowed my brow with frustration. "Then how? If I take the Urbis Express, people will surely recognize me."
"Take one of the castle horses. I think I owe you one for your birthday anyway, and you won't have to count on a tiny dragon hauling you all the way there. You can
still take your friend. She's one feisty girl, and I rather like the idea of you being looked after...even if you can fend for yourself."
I grinned. "That would be great. Thank you, Father."
"Since we have time, I think we should go eat first. It's not every day I send my daughter out into the world by herself."
"Not by myself. I'll be going with Nyre, remember, and Charlotte promised to let me stay with her and Caspian in Urbis."
"You know. I always thought you were too good for that chap," he said, draping his arm over my shoulder. "I'm rather glad he's engaged to that Urbis girl."
I shoved my father playfully in the side.
Later, I stood in the castle entranceway, waiting for my family to come and wave goodbye to me. My bag was packed, and I'd picked a horse for the journey, a black one aptly named Adventure. The kitchen had outdone themselves with so much food it would last me for days.
The morning papers were out on a side table. I sorted through them until I found the Atlantice Conch. Something about their story intrigued me.
Eventually, everyone came out to wish me goodbye. Father, Remy, Ash, and Hollis, as well as Caspian hand in hand with Charlotte. Dahlia shuffled out behind them, and lastly, on crutches, Milo joined us.
We all walked out into the courtyard where Adventure was waiting.
Nyre flew around up in the air waiting for me to leave.
"I still can't get over my big sister kicking ass!" Ash explained, thrusting an imaginary sword at Hollis the way Remy liked to do.
I felt for the dragon sword by my side. I'd not been able to use it in the tournament, but I knew it would keep me safe on my adventure. I'd never be without it again.
"I know, right?" agreed Hollis. "You should make her a knight, Dad."
"She's better than any knight!" My father replied, pulling me into a hug. "You stay safe in Urbis. I want my daughter home in one piece!"
I took a deep breath. "Actually, I'm not going to Urbis."
Everyone looked at me with surprise. I'd been thinking about changing my plan for the last day or so. I only had Charlotte's word that Morpheus would be there, and even then, she wasn't so sure. He was a slippery character who only left the house of the gods when it suited him. No, I had more of a chance looking for Derillen. I was sure she'd left Draconis. None of my father's men had found her. But something was happening in Atlantice. Something awfully familiar. Whatever had shifted in the magical energy here, it seemed had happened there too.
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