Eris was near.
“I’ll have to admit,” a voice said from behind me, “I should have remembered this place. Your grandmother tried to keep it a secret from the gods, but there’s no hiding things, not from us.”
I whirled toward the voice. Eris was standing before me, her raven hair cascading down her back. Her eyes were pits of darkness, churning with the chaos that rippled off her body in waves. My heart flickered in my chest, fear pounding through my veins. Eris was the only other thing in this realm that I was certain could kill me. And now, I was standing before her without anyone to help me but myself.
“Still, you only found me because one of your hunters happened to spot some wings in the sky.” I lifted my shoulder in a shrug. “Funny how you couldn’t find me but a mere mortal could.”
She tipped back her head and laughed. “You’ve got a lot more spunk in you than I imagined. And you’re hard as hell to kill. Your mother and grandmother would be proud.”
“Don’t talk about them,” I said through gritted teeth.
“And why is that, Rowena Mortensen?” she asked with a flash of a smile. “Are you upset that they both abandoned you? They left you here to face all this horror on your own?”
“Shut up,” I said, tears pricking my eyes. “You don’t know anything about them.”
“Oh, but I do.” Eris took a step closer to me, her eyes lighting up with a ferocious kind of hate. “In fact, I know your grandmother very well. She’s in the realm of the gods, you know. Happily living her immortal days in complete paradise while you’re left here to fight for your life all on your own.”
My heart thumped hard, and I tried to blink back the tears that were threatening to spill from my eyes. Eris had found my button. And now, she was pushing it for all it was worth.
She took another step closer. “There are two prophecies about our little war with each other. Did you know that?”
I didn’t want to say no, but I’d heard nothing of the sort.
“First, there’s the one you’ve no doubt read. The one that says you’re the only being in existence who can save magic from being destroyed.” Her eyes danced as she took another step closer. She was so near to me now that I could smell the scent of burning leaves radiating off her skin. “And then there is the other version. That one says that you will lose, and that your precious mortal realm will become mine. Your magic will become mine, and I will be the one in control of the powers here.”
My heart thundered as I tried to make sense of her words. Surely she was bluffing. Surely there couldn’t be two opposing prophecies about the very same thing. She must have read the confusion on my face because she let out a bitter laugh.
“No, of course you didn’t know. Your precious steward didn’t want to tell you about it, for fear you’d realize that prophecies don’t matter at all. Not to the ones they’re about, but to the ones who tell them. He was trying to control you, to push you in what he imagined was the right direction. You’re not strong, Rowena. You’re weak. And that is why I must take your powers as my own. You are not fit to rule this realm.”
Part IV
A Queen of Stone
Chapter 24
“You seem desperate for me to believe your strange and twisted version of the truth,” I finally said, doing my best to distract Eris from my slow and steady steps back toward the front doors of my home. All I needed to do was get inside of Kipling’s office. Then, I would use the harp right in front of her if that was what I had to do.
Her words had made me realize something, something I didn’t think she’d intended. It was possible that both the prophecies were true. It all went back to the harp and the trap. Perhaps the reason why I both won and lost at the same time was because the both of us got trapped.
But if that was what it took to save this realm, then so be it.
“Nice attempt, but I see what you’re doing, Rowena,” she said, taking a step closer to the door in time with my footsteps. “Nothing in there can save you now. Not your precious witches. Not your gargoyles. Not that old steward who you think is a friend.”
“I don’t need them to beat you,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “And your magic hunters are losing, I hate to tell you. Why do you think I felt it was okay to come outside? If they’d been winning against my witches, I never would have left them inside to fight them on their own.”
For the first time since she’d dropped into Mont Circeo, Eris looked just a tad uncertain. “I brought fifty men with me. You can’t possibly have more than that.”
I shrugged and gave her sharp smile. The truth was, we didn’t have fifty, but we had something much more important: strength, power, and magic. And a fierce desire to survive.
“Those magic hunters in there?” I said, jerking my thumb toward the mansion. “They’re basically mindless robots. Their inability to think for themselves puts them at a stark disadvantage.”
Eris narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “How do you know that?”
Oh shit. I’d forgotten that Eris would have no idea we’d visited the former hunter on the farm, and she also didn’t know that we’d dropped onto her island to spy on her. And now, I had to think up an excuse, one that made sense. Otherwise, that former hunter’s life would be in danger.
The doors of the mansion flew open, and my gargoyles exploded into the night, their wings beating against the cool night air. Eris glanced from one to the next, sizing up the new arrivals. With a puff of frustration, a pair of wings erupted from her own back. Gray and streaked with ribbons of white, they were beautiful in a strange and twisted way.
She took flight before my gargoyles reached us. I’d broken down the spell that disallowed flying to and front this little plot of land, and now I sorely regretted that decision. Eris was gone in the blink of an eye, abandoning her hunters to the witches within.
Jasper wanted to go after her, but I talked him down. We needed to set our trap instead.
Now that Eris knew about Mont Circeo, I saw no point in sticking around any longer. After beating the hunters, the witches, the gargoyles, Kipling, and I all made the trip back to the City of Wings where we could shift our plot into next gear.
There were dozens of gargoyles who would now come with us to Dreadford Castle. After Eris’s failed attack on Mont Circeo, I knew she would no longer hold back. When she came at us next, she would launch the full force of her hunters upon us. We needed every body we could find.
Zoe returned from the states, bringing with her a rag tag band of witches and warlocks. Athan Vespa, having a change of heart, even sent some of his toughest vampires to fight alongside us.
We finally had the numbers, but numbers wouldn’t matter if we couldn’t trap Eris.
“So,” I said, leaning over the hastily-drawn map of Dreadford Castle. My old home. “The Queen’s Guard is probably going to freak out when we arrive, so we need to take them into consideration. We’ll need a team to hold them off here by the drawbridge. Unfortunately, they will likely have guns.”
“Everyone’s going to have guns,” Sebastian said with a grunt. “Except for us.”
“Well, we’ve got something better than that. Magic,” I said, as much to convince myself as anything else.
I looked at myself in the mirror of my room, trying to find the goddess inside. I’d decided to go to Dreadford Castle in head to toe black, so that I didn’t need to use my cloaking spell to blend into the darkness as much as possible.
“Somehow, you look more beautiful in that than any other girl would wearing a glittering dress,” Sebastian said from my open doorway.
With my heart in my throat, I turned toward him. In all the flurry of activity, I hadn’t had a chance to tell him how much his words had meant to me, and I hated that we hadn’t yet expressed the true depths of our bond. My body yearned for his, and there was an ache I carried with me that could only be sated by him.
“You feel it, too, don’t you?” he asked with a soft smile. “It’s our mating bond, drawing us
closer.”
My hands shook as I pressed my fingers to my hot neck. “When all of this is over, Sebastian, I want...”
I trailed off, not needing to say the words aloud. He knew how I felt about him, and I knew just how much my longing was reflected by him. I didn’t even dare cross the room to kiss him, for fear my desire would overwhelm my mind, and we’d end up spending the next ten hours in bed.
Damn this horrible war.
“Don’t you worry, Rowena,” he said with a wicked grin. “I’m going to make you scream so loud that you’ll be heard all the way to the realm of the gods.”
And with that thought in my mind, I knew I’d fight this battle the hardest I possibly could.
Chapter 25
We flew in circles above Dreadford Castle. Down below, spotlights still lit up the darkness. It had been weeks since the witches had stopped attempting to return home, but the guards had remained stationed there all the same. We knew now that the crown had never supported the involvement of the magic hunters, but that didn’t mean they would welcome magic-wielding shadow mages and winged men into the grounds that belonged to the Queen.
We were prepared for an all-out fight, one that would no doubt bring casualties.
As we dipped lower and lower, several humans on the ground caught sight of us. I clung to Marcus’s neck, gazing down at the winding London streets below. More humans spotted us swirling through the clouds, and photos were snapped from lit-up phones. This was good. We wanted them to spot us. The sooner news travelled to Eris, the better.
Moments later, we landed in the courtyard furthest from the drawbridge gate. There were no spotlights here, and we’d managed to fly in fast enough that we hadn’t caught the attention of any nearby guards. Yet.
Word would spread soon. It wouldn’t take long for them to realize there were intruders in their midst.
Now, all we had to do was wait.
Marcus and I huddled together in the doorway of the Great Hall, the harp tucked soundly behind us. Tess was hidden behind the door, waiting for my signal. Our plan was simple. Eris would seek me out when she brought the magic hunters to the castle. Marcus would pretend to fight her off before falling to the ground. Then, I would draw her inside the Great Hall where the harp and Tess were waiting.
It was a simple plan. One that had very few flaws. As long as she came after me, it would work.
“You sure you want to do this, love?” Marcus asked as he slung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close.
“Even if I didn’t, I think it’s far too late to change my mind now.”
He let out a low chuckle. “Perhaps. But Eris isn’t here yet. If we called out ‘abort mission’ I think everyone would come along.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Have you met those vampires out there? I don’t think they understand the meaning of ‘abort mission.’”
“You’re not wrong about that one, my love.” His grin vanished from his face, and he reached out to trail a finger down my cheek. I leaned into his touch, relishing the feel of him. “I’m serious though, Rowena. If you want to call this off, we can.”
“No, we can’t,” I said softly, looking up into his brilliant eyes. “My entire life has been building to this moment. Me and Eris, facing off for the fate of the realm. The world needs me to see this through, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
He shook his head, widening his eyes. “I knew you were special from the moment I first saw your gorgeous face, but you never cease to amaze me. I know this life isn’t what you wanted it to be, but I hope that I—and the others—can make you truly happy one day.”
I tipped back my head and smiled up at him. “You already do, silly.”
“No, I’m serious, Rowena.” He took my hand tight in his and pulled me close. My heart pattered hard against my ribcage, fluttering from the intensity of his emotions and from hope. “When all of this is over and we’ve taken Eris down, we will go wherever you want us to go. Anywhere in the world.”
“I’m not sure the others would agree with that,” I said softly as I thought of Silas’s love for his city.
“Well, that’s where you’re wrong,” he said. “We spoke about this earlier while you were getting ready for the fight. We don’t want you to feel trapped with us. That’s not how a relationship should be. We want you to feel free. So, we’ll go where you go. Okay?”
My heart fluttered and tears pricked my eyes. Little did he know that I’d been mulling this over for a long, long while. And I’d come to a totally different conclusion.
“Well, I hope it’s not a disappointment when I tell you all that I would like to stay in the City of Wings. Mont Circeo is nice and all, and we can visit it from time to time. But the city is our home, and that’s where I would like us to be. If that’s okay with you, of course.”
“My love,” Marcus whispered, his eyes shining. “Are you certain?”
“Of course I am,” I said. “I never would have thought it when I first arrived with Eli and Jasper, but the city got under my skin, just like you and the others have. When I think about my future with you, I can’t imagine spending our days anywhere else.”
“You know what this means, don’t you?” he asked, his voice growing more and more excited by the moment, a sure sign that I’d made the right decision. “They’re going to crown you Queen.”
“Whoa, now,” I said with a laugh as I leaned against him. “I don’t want to get carried away.”
“Be quiet, you two,” a voice hissed from somewhere from our right. I twisted to find the Queen glaring at us from her post in the darkened doorway of the adjacent building. She’d decided to stay close, being one of the strongest witches on our side. And, as much as I hated to admit it, I felt safer knowing she was there. She might have a terrible way of showing it, but deep down inside she truly cared.
And she’d rip anyone to shreds who tried to come near me.
“Calm down, Selene,” I said with a light laugh. “Just because the gargoyles want to put some kind of stone crown on me doesn’t mean you won’t still be a queen yourself.”
“No, I don’t care about that,” she snapped, pointing up at the night sky. “They’re coming.”
Chapter 26
Helicopters approached the castle at a horrifying speed. They dropped low to the ground, casting hunters down into the castle by rope. Dozens of them were in the courtyard within moments, guns raised and flashlights flickering all around.
I swallowed hard and stepped back into the darkness of the hall. Our team knew the drill. Stay hidden. Let them approach, and then use the darkness to take them down one by one.
Heavy wings beat the air somewhere overhead, and Marcus gripped my shoulder tight. It was Eris, approaching from the west, and she was no doubt scanning the ground for signs of me.
My mouth suddenly went dry. This was it. The moment we’d been waiting for. Our chance to draw Eris into our carefully-laid trap.
“You ready, love?” Marcus asked.
“No,” I said. And I didn’t think I ever would be. But it was now or never. “But we don’t have any other way to win.”
With a nod, Marcus dropped a hot kiss on my lips. “I love you, Rowena.”
And then he was gone, stepping out from the safety of the doorframe. I followed only steps behind, opening my arms wide and dropping my head back to scan the skies. It only took Eris moments to notice. We were the only two enemies out in the open, and her eyes had zeroed right in on us.
She landed hard before me, her heavy boots kicking up dust. Her wings folded into her back, and she stalked toward me with a vicious glint in her eye. “You think you’re so clever, don’t you?”
Frowning, I glanced at Marcus. What had she meant by that?
“Do you think I don’t know what you’re doing?” she asked with a laugh, lifting her hands by her sides as if motioning to our surroundings. “You made a big show of coming here, Rowena. And now you just happen to be the only two people wandering around out in the o
pen when I know you have a whole slew of vampires, witches, and gargoyles hidden in this castle.” She cocked her head and shot her hands to the side. “Make that three. Queen Selene, stay right where you are or I’ll rip you to shreds.”
My heart thundered hard. So, she knew this was a trap. And yet, she’d still come here.
How odd...
“So, then I started thinking. Why in the world would you want to get my attention?” She shrugged and continued striding toward me as if she had no fear at all that we’d try to slow her down. “Obviously, my first thought was that this must be some kind of trap. So, then I started wondering how you could possibly imagine trapping me? I’m a goddess, one with the ability to control minds. You’d had your chance to fight me on Mont Circeo. So, why now? What could you possibly be up to?”
I took several steps back toward the entrance to the hall. So what if she’d realized this was a trap? It wasn’t going to stop me from going through with it. We were only a few feet away from the doorway now. All I had to do was walk inside, and she would follow. Marcus wouldn’t even have to fight her now.
“And then it occurred to me,” she said with two more long steps toward me. “The vampire clan in London have a harp, one that can trap the gods. Weren’t you just in London recently?”
Shit. My mouth went dry as I stumbled several steps closer to the Great Hall. Eris knew about the harp, and she knew I had it here. She would never follow me into the building if she knew what I had planned.
With a deep breath, I spun on my heels and ran. My feet pounded the ground as I careened into the hallway, and I jumped in front of the harp just as Eris casually strode inside. The large instrument rose up behind me, but I wouldn’t budge, no matter what she said.
“Ah,” she said with a smile. “I see I was right. You know, I am disappointed in you, Rowena. I thought you were far smarter than this.”
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