by Dyan Chick
In the shadows and shifting light of the moon I started to make out a small structure. A roof on stilts. We were at the archery training area. My heart sank. Master Edward won’t be here. He’ll never be here again.
Ashton made a tiny fireball in his palm, illuminating the space. My unfinished bow was still in the vise. In the center of the bow, Master Edwards had carved a delicate Ouroboros with waves that spread to the ends. I put my hand over my mouth and choked back tears. Once I pulled myself together, I traced the intricate carvings with my finger tips.
“I was hoping he’d left it for you,” Ashton said. “I didn’t know he added the carving. It’s perfect.”
I nodded and loosened the vise to remove the curved wood. I held it to my chest, hugging it. Thank you. It was like Master Edward was still looking out for me. I thought about his lessons, how he demonstrated such faith in me. I smiled. “Remember when he caught us kissing in here?” Had that really only been a week ago? So much had happened since then. My relationship with Ashton was so new, but it was as if we had always been together.
Ashton smiled. “I feel like we’ve climbed a mountain since then.”
“And we have more to climb,” I said.
Ashton reached out for the half finished bow in my hand. He held it, running his fingers along the carving. “You know, Master Edward was one of the few people that always spoke his mind. Used to drive Max crazy.” Ashton paused. “He never called Max by a formal title.”
I looked up at Ashton. “Really? He was the only one who ever used a formal title on me. Called me Your Highness. Said it was the same thing he called my father.” A shiver ran through me. He knew all along. “He was trying to help me figure it out. The title, the bits of information about my father. He was trying to help me.”
Ashton passed the bow back to me and started walking around the archery shed. He lifted and lowered the flame in his hand as he inspected every inch of the space. He’s looking for something.
I carefully propped the bow against the workbench and started looking as best I could, though I had no idea what for.
“When I was a kid,” Ashton said, “Master Edward used to make scavenger hunts for us. Gave us clues that took us from one place to another all around the camp. Maybe he left you something before they packed up the camp.”
I straightened. A clue. Picking up the bow, I ran my fingers along the carving again. This time taking in the details better. Ashton noticed what I was doing and walked over to offer more light. With the flame right over the bow, I could now make out a few subtle details in the wave design that I had missed. There was a tiny owl carved into the waves at the top of the bow. I smiled, remembering when I told him about the little owl I liked to visit. Maybe this was more than just a decoration. “It’s at the aviary.”
Ashton extinguished his flame. “I’m hoping we’re the only ones here but it’s better to be careful.” He offered his hand and we headed for the aviary.
As we walked, the voices of the men who had been plotting against me replayed in my mind. My stomach twisted and I gripped Ashton’s hand tighter. They weren’t here now, but it was hard to shake that feeling of being so vulnerable. You’re not that girl anymore. You won’t have to run away and hope somebody else can save you. You can solve your own problems now.
My meeting with the king increased my problems. I knew what I should do, what I was born to do, but how was I supposed to become a leader? I wasn’t prepared. We reached the aviary without incident, the only noises coming from the wind in the trees.
Ashton closed the door behind us and ignited a small fireball. The light flooded the room, casting strange shadows. The feather covered floor and lingering smell were all that remained of the birds who had called this place home. Ashton started to shift the feathers around with his feet.
“Don’t bother,” I said. “If he left us something, I know where it will be.” There’s only one place he would have hidden something. The top corner, where my favorite owl had sat. “Give me a boost?”
Ashton released his fireball into the center of the room where it floated on its own. Then he interlaced his fingers and I used the makeshift stirrup to climb to the middle shelf. I balanced on the shelf, Ashton supporting me from behind while I felt around on the top corner. My fingers brushed against what felt like a thick branch. Grabbing it in my hand, I hopped down.
The branch was a cleverly carved cylinder that opened to reveal a rolled up piece of parchment. It said: Annalise Sutton, Greenville.
My shoulders sunk. Another clue. “Do you know what this means?”
Ashton read the scroll and frowned. “No, and it’s going to have to wait. We can’t head out to Greenville right now. It’s too dangerous and we have other things we have to take care of first. They’ll be waiting for us at the barn.” He handed me back the scroll.
I inserted it into the cylinder and closed it up, clasping it tightly in my fist. “Now what?”
“Time to go back and tell them the truth,” Ashton said.
“And what about Max?” I asked.
He shrugged his shoulders. “He’s your brother. That’s up to you, but you should be queen.”
“I know.” I looked at the feathers on the ground and pushed them around with my foot for a moment. “I don’t want to send him away. He’s the only family I have.”
“Then don’t,” Ashton said.
“Do you think he’d agree to help me? If I tell him I want to rule?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he said flatly.
My shoulders dropped. “I don’t know if I can do this.” My voice was tight, barely audible.
He tilted my chin up and stared into my eyes. “You can do this.”
“I never wanted this, you know,” I said.
“I know. But this is bigger than you. This is about the people of this kingdom. Your people. You were born for this. You can do this.”
I swallowed. “I can’t do this without you.”
He smiled at me. “You won’t have to. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll follow you anywhere.”
I ran my thumb over the bow I was holding. Master Edward believed in me. Ashton believed in me. Even the king himself saw me as a threat. Ashton’s right. This wasn’t just about me. This was bigger than me. While I stood here in safety, more and more people were dying. My people. “Do you think the people will follow me?”
He raised his eyebrows. “Without a doubt. I wasn’t even looking for you and you won me over, how difficult can it be to win over people who are searching for hope?”
I smiled. “You make it sound like it’s going to be easy.”
“Nothing worth doing is easy,” he said. “But it can be done. You are the rightful queen of Illaria and you belong on the throne. I believe that. This is just the beginning.”
I reached deep down inside of myself to pull out any strength I could find. I was going to need it when I faced Max. He wasn’t going to to step aside gracefully. “I’m ready. Let’s go reclaim my throne.”
“One last thing.” He smiled then pulled me in for a kiss.
A large fire burned in the center of the camp. Nobody was asleep despite the late hour. I walked in behind Ashton. People stood when they saw us and watched us silently. I tried to smile but struggled to hold any expression on my face for too long.
In the barn, sorcerers paced or stood in clusters around the room. Max was sitting in a chair next to Saffron. Both of them stood when they saw us. My stomach clenched as I realized what I was going to have to say.
Saffron ran to hug me. “Thank the gods. Are you alright?”
I nodded. “I’m not hurt, but the king isn’t happy with me.”
Max scowled at me, his face was dark. He knows what the king told me.
The other sorcerers in the room surrounded me, eyes wide in anticipation.
I tried to stand tall despite my shaking hands. “The king told me something I never knew. Something that was hidden from me.” I locked my blue eyes on Max’s
dark ones. How had I never seen it before? The signs were there. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Every eye in the room was on me. “Max isn’t the rightful king. He’s my half brother. I am the only true heir to the throne.”
“No,” Saffron called out. “He was born out of wedlock, but you have the same parents. Don’t you, Max?” She stared at him.
Everybody turned their gaze on Max. He laughed. “Can you imagine her as our queen? Can you imagine what it would be like to have a girl on the throne?”
Saffron took a step back from him. “You lied to me?” Her voice broke.
“I did what I had to for Illaria. My father was the king. Why does it matter who my mother was? I am the one who can bring back the greatness of this land.”
I took a step toward him, my cheeks felt like they were on fire. “No. You can’t. You don’t care about the people of Illaria. You only care about yourself. Your reign is over.”
He moved until his face was inches from mine. “You aren’t going to take this away from me.”
My fingers tingled and magic shot through my body. My hands felt hot. I looked down to see small orange flames kissing my hands. The fire played in my palms. How was I doing that? Max looked down and backed away.
I forced myself to take deep breaths and called the magic back, closing my hands around the flames. “Help me, Max. We can do this together.”
He shook his head. “I should have let the king kill you when he found you.”
The sorcerers in the room started to shuffle around, moving away from a possible battle.
My eyes stung. How could he say that to me? “We’re still family.” I sounded like a little girl. I cleared my throat, forcing myself to find the voice that Lady Genevieve would want me to use. “You’re the only family I have and I want you by my side, but this is my path, my throne.”
He glared at me and looked around the room. Nobody said a word. He balled his hands into fists. “You can’t do this. You’ll fail as a queen. You won’t even make it past the king.”
Master Flanders stepped in between us. “She did tonight.”
“That’s only because of the protection she has.” His upper lip was raised in a snarl. “Without that, she’s nothing.”
“I don’t think she’s nothing. She will be a wise and compassionate ruler. You’d do well to heed her request to join her,” Master Flanders said. Then he walked around me and stood behind me. Madame Lyndsey and Celeste crossed the room to stand by my side.
A rush of gratitude filled me. I felt stronger with them behind me. “We can still do this together, Max.” My voice was clear and calm.
“I won’t be second to you again. My mother raised me to be king. You weren’t supposed to be born. Your mother was barren. For all I know, you’re a bastard just like me.”
His words felt like a hand squeezing my heart. “How can you say such things? You know all I want is what is best for the kingdom.”
“You don’t know the first thing about ruling.” He laughed, a cold high sound. “I’ll go for now, but you’ll be begging me to come back before you know it. Or you’ll be dead and they’ll come to find me.” He looked around the room again. “Ashton, let’s go.”
Ashton had been silently standing behind me the whole time. He stepped in front of me and faced Max. “No, Max. You’ve lost. It’s time to do the right thing.”
“You’re choosing her over me?” Max spat. “I taught you everything. And you give it all up for a pretty face.” Max shook his head. “You know she’ll drop you as soon as she gets what she wants. You can’t trust women.”
“Is that how you feel? What about me? Our 15 years together?” Saffron said. Her eyes were red and her cheeks blotchy from tears. “This is everything we could have hoped for. You don’t have to be king. You can still help the kingdom and we can be together. Wouldn’t that be enough? Aren’t I enough?” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Why don’t we go to your tent. We can talk about it more tomorrow.”
Max’s pushed her hand away. His gaze didn’t even soften at the sight of her tears. “That might have been enough once. I’m not a love sick teenager, anymore. I’ve outgrown you. I moved on.”
He shook his head and turned to Ashton. “Just looking at you makes me sick. I thought you were smart enough to learn from my mistakes, but you fell into the same trap I did.”
He spun around and took a few steps. “Anybody who wants to be on the side of the future king is welcome to join me.” Three sorcerers dressed in black robes followed behind him.
Max turned and stared right into my eyes. “She’ll be dead in a week. When the king is done with her, and you’re begging me to return, maybe I’ll come back.” He pointed to Ashton. “When you’ve had your fill of her, you know where to find me.”
In a cloud of smoke, Max and his followers were gone.
My heart was breaking. He was my brother. He betrayed me, but he was the only family I had. I felt like I was moving in slow motion. I blinked back a few tears, trying to hide my emotions from the room full of sorcerers. Everybody was watching me. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep the tears back. Be strong. Say something. I was trying to gather my thoughts when I heard commotion outside of the barn. The Ravens camped outside were making a lot of noise. My whole body tensed. Has the king found us?
I searched for Ashton as I made my way toward the barn doors. He wasn’t standing behind me anymore. He must already be outside. I broke into a run, the other sorcerers at my heels. When I pushed open the doors, I was greeting by a hundred people who had formed a semicircle in front of the barn. Ashton was standing in the center. He dropped into a kneel and lowered his head “Your Highness,” he said.
The people standing around him all dropped to one knee. I could hear the rustle of robes behind me and turned to see that all of the sorcerers had done the same.
My throat burned as the tears rose to my eyes. I swallowed and found my voice. “Please rise.”
They stood and two hundred eyes watched me. Gratitude flooded me and I placed my hand over my heart. “Thank you, thank you all,” I said.
Ashton lifted his fist in the air and shouted. “Long live the queen!” A chorus of voices called out in unison, “Long live the queen.”
About the Author
Dyan Chick is a high school teacher who lives in Colorado with her family. As a child, she spent many days reading, writing her own stories, and living in make-believe worlds. In seventh grade, she was given an award for most likely to publish a book. With this novel, she has fulfilled that prediction.
This book was published independently. One of the best ways to help support independent publishing is to leave an honest review. Please take a few minutes to share what you thought about this book by reviewing it on Amazon and Goodreads.
For more information
@dyan_chick
DyanChick
www.dyanchick.com
[email protected]
Acknowledgments
Thank you to my family, friends, and everybody who helped me take this book from dream to reality. I would not have completed it without the support of so many. To my husband, who listened to me talk about nothing but writing for months - and put up with me spending most of my free time alone writing. To my family who acted as cheerleaders and early readers, especially Danielle, who is now my number one fan. To my mom, who likes to brag about me to everybody she meets (thanks, mom!). To the fabulous Nathan Lowell, who was one of my first readers - he helped me to get over the fear of putting my work out there for others to read. Thank you for that boost of confidence, Nathan.
Of course, I would not be here without my critique group. From that first meeting where Wiley circled all of my adverbs, to the day I showed up with my first draft printed out in a huge binder, they have been nothing but supportive. To my Dragons, who let me lean on them when I’m having a bad day and put up with all of my big dreams (2,000 words a day for 2017). I can’t tell you how much you have helped me with this p
rocess. I am eagerly awaiting the day I get to read this page in your books.
Finally, to my students. Over the years I have had then privilege of teaching some incredible students. There are pieces of you in my characters. You all have helped to shape the world I created. A place where women are strong. A place where creativity is valued. My characters are inspired by the strength you all have shown while facing things that would cause many adults to crumble. Know that you are valued and you deserve all of the wonderful things that life can offer you, even if you have to walk through fire to reach it.