Kiss of the Royal

by Lindsey Duga

  My companions left me alone, having seen the toll this awful truth had taken on me. They said nothing when I went to sit by myself and pick at an orange with my fingernails. I was thankful for it, because they had no idea what I was going through.

  My very existence was questioned. My own birth was unnecessary. The Royal’s Kiss seemed to only make things worse—or it wasn’t helping at all. So what was the point in breeding more Royals? What was the point in creating a powerful descendant of Myriana?

  But more than that…what did it mean for the Legion’s future? Did it mean the Romantica’s theory was correct?

  Was the secret actually Love?

  I dug my fingernails into the orange, and juice dribbled down my hand. All I knew was the Royal’s Kiss wasn’t working. I couldn’t think of alternatives anymore.

  No more magic. No more solutions that I didn’t fully understand.

  Chucking the rest of the fruit across the stream, I stood and walked back to Zach, Millennia, and Brom, who were toasting bread, elk meat, and cheese over a small fire.

  I dug into my pocket for the worn, crumpled sheet of paper with the Sable Dragon spell on it, and then I tossed it into the flames.

  All three of them stared up at me.

  I sat to join their circle. “All right. No Kisses. Now what’s the new plan?”

  It took them only a couple of moments to process what I said.

  Zach gave me the biggest, dopiest grin I’d seen on him yet.

  “Does the egg have any weaknesses?” Millennia asked, her fingers over the flames, encouraging it to rise a little higher.

  “The shell itself is made of a substance stronger than iron. It’s said there’s not a blade—or person—strong enough to break it.” I sighed. “That’s where the Kiss came in. Unfortunately, as long as the dragon is in its shell, it’s safe.”

  “So what could break it?” Zach asked.

  “That’s the thing…we can’t. But…” I hesitated, because now they were going to think I had truly lost it. “We could accelerate the hatching.”

  Millennia blinked. “Um, correct me if I’m wrong, princess, but wasn’t your whole mission to defeat the Sable Dragon before it hatched?”

  “I know it sounds crazy, but think about it—if we can’t destroy the egg, then we have to destroy the actual monster,” I said. “We accelerate the hatching by using fire magic to heat it, then we kill it. Don’t get me wrong, even right out of the egg, the dragon will be more powerful than all the creatures we’ve ever faced combined, but it’s our only shot at killing it without using the Kiss.”

  Millennia and Zach shared a look, then they glanced back at me. Brom shivered and moved closer to the fire.

  Millennia shrugged. “Doesn’t look like there’s any other option.”

  Zach’s lips twitched into a tiny smile. “Sounds like the challenge I’ve been waiting for.”

  I glanced up at the mountains and placed a hand on my chest. I could feel the darkness welling inside me. “Then let’s go hatch an egg.”

  …

  We moved through the mountains at a breakneck pace, and I was glad to be too tired to think about how this new plan was practically suicide. The sick feeling on my shoulders and at the bottom of my ribcage was growing exponentially stronger. We were close. Perhaps only a day’s travel.

  But by afternoon I was mentally and physically exhausted. Bromley, who had been traveling next to me, caught me under the arms when I slipped on some rocks and lowered me to the ground. “Milady, are you all right?”

  I nodded and tried to stand, but then swayed dangerously to the side. In an instant, I was swept up into Zach’s arms.

  “I’m fine,” I said meekly. It was pathetic, really.

  “You didn’t get any sleep last night, and we’ve been charging around like deer in a stampede. We need to quit for today.”

  “I’m fine with that,” Millennia said. “Better to stop now before we enter the ravine.”

  The stream we had been running parallel to fed into a large river, which had, over time, carved out a giant ravine in the middle of the mountains. It was steep and dangerous, but still beautiful, and perhaps a half mile ahead, almost hidden from view by twisted stone spires and boulders forming the base of mountains sloping on either side.

  Zach carried me to a small cave cut off by the mountainside, offering only a bed-sized space of shelter. Because of last night’s goblin attack, I wasn’t crazy about Millennia and Zach leaving to scout the area. But it was for exactly that reason that I had to let them.

  Bound in my bed wrap, I curled next to Bromley, resting my head on his shoulder, and closed my eyes.

  “Milady…are you sure about this?” Bromley asked me as sleep pulled at my consciousness.

  “Absolutely not,” I said. “But that goblin shouldn’t be alive, much less have thirty doppelgangers. I saw Kellian give it that gash on its eye and kill it before it managed to curse him.” I shuddered and burrowed deeper into my bed. “What if we kill the dragon with the Kiss and it comes back to life, bigger, and worse, and with ten more dragons at its side? They would destroy us all, Brom. I wish I could believe in the Legion and the history I’ve been taught all my life, but I’m not sure I believe in anything anymore.”

  …

  I’d been asleep for maybe an hour or two before a violent pain in my chest woke me. It was so sharp I had no trouble recalling the sensation. I had felt it once before on a patrol. It was the feeling of absolute evil closing in—of a creature that was created from the darkness itself—a wraith.

  I tore away from my bed wrap and sat up with a start. Zach jumped to his feet—he must’ve been on watch yet again—his hand going to his sword on instinct.

  “A wraith,” I rasped through the stinging pain.

  “How close?” Zach asked. There were dark circles under his eyes.

  “Very.”

  Millennia pulled herself up. Brom, who was still next to me, was already reaching for his crossbow.

  “Think we could get ahead of it?” Millennia asked.

  “It’s worth a shot. I don’t want to fight a wraith,” I said, remembering what they had done to my comrades on patrol. Only half of us returned unscathed. A quarter didn’t return at all.

  But if we did have to fight it, it was possible we stood a chance. All our bladed weapons were pure silver, the only metal that could truly wound a wraith. Another reason why the rowan deer and their antlers were so sacred.

  We set off at practically a run, springing over rocks and reaching the ravine just as the sun was setting. Water splashed on our boots as we treaded across the slippery stones. The shadows stretched on through the ravine, allowing rays of sunlight to bounce off the water, creating rainbows.

  An arrow of pain pierced my chest, and I stumbled, slipping on the rocks. Brom caught me again as the rainbows turned to shadow, and all light was sucked from the ravine. Two forms, as black as a cave’s depth, slid down the ravine’s steep sides like waterfalls.

  Two wraiths.

  My body went numb. Five Royals had had trouble with one.

  We froze, dropped our packs, and raised our weapons.

  The wraiths hovered by the rocky slopes on each side of the ravine, their bodies a twisting mass of black smoke. I glanced at the one closest to us, on the left side of the ravine. The wraith’s head was merely a shape that flickered between amorphous smoke and a scorched, grotesque skull. Its body was made up of tendrils of darkness woven into a tattered cape. The hands appeared skeletal, fading in and out of human vision.

  “It’s immune to most elemental magic except fire. If it touches you too long, you’ll die from overexposure to the cold. Its fingers are as sharp as knives, and it usually kills with its hands,” I rattled off under my breath, in case Millennia, Zach, or Bromley needed any reminders.

  “I’ll take one, you three take the other,” Zach said, the silver of his sword gleaming even in the gloom.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” I whispered, ey
eing the wraith across the river. “This isn’t the time to reject help again—”

  “It’s not that, believe me. I’ve fought one of these before and survived. Hopefully I can do it again.”

  So comforting. I bit my bottom lip and glanced at Millennia and Bromley. The three of us combined probably didn’t equal another Zach.

  “No time to argue.” Millennia nodded to the wraith next to us as it drew breath, and all the warmth in the air got sucked into its churning black body.

  That was Zach’s cue. He took a few running steps and then leaped over the water, his sword raised over his head. Landing, he brought the sword down in a swift cut, slicing through the air where the wraith had once been. Millennia had once compared Zach’s movements to a wraith. I understood why. He was unbelievable. I watched him—if only for a split second—spin and slash at the shadowy creature, twisting and turning with a flash of silver at each movement.

  The other wraith regarded us for a few seconds then darted forward. Brom’s silver-tipped arrows passed through it. Millennia conjured up a wall of fire, and it stopped at the blazing inferno—not fearful, but wary. The creature could not pass through fire, but it knew a mage could not hold up magic like that for long.

  Drawing on every lesson I’d ever had, I made a short jab with my sword through the flames. The wraith was more than quick—it was clever and had anticipated my attack. It grabbed my sword and pulled, jerking me toward the wall of flames. Millennia barely had time to drop it before I would’ve been scorched alive. Pulling me, the wraith wrapped its hand around my wrist, cutting into my skin as its daggerlike fingers squeezed. I screamed as the cold flew into my body, drawing all the warmth from my blood.

  An arrow passed through its head, and a knife flashed by its ear. The wraith let go and shrieked, annoyed. I cradled my bleeding wrist that had turned a blackish blue from the cold, and picked up my sword. Next to me, Millennia conjured a flaming whip and twirled it around her head. She snapped it at the wraith, and the creature screamed again, seemingly in pain this time. Taking it as an opening, I switched the sword to my other hand and darted forward, slashing downward and slicing its arm. Another painful screech issued from the wraith as darkness exploded around my blade. It was like getting hit in the face with an ice storm.

  Darkness whirled around me and threw me into the ravine wall. Pain exploded down my back, while circles of light danced in my vision. I was barely able to throw my arms in front of me to break my fall. On the ground, achingly long moments passed before my vision cleared, but my limbs still refused to move. So Bromley took up the fight.

  Brom was more skilled than I had ever given him credit for. In fact, he was quite incredible. He was smaller, which allowed for speed and agility, and those two qualities meant everything against a wraith. I had seen him use only a sword and crossbow, because that was what we usually sparred with, but now he held two silver daggers and used them like they were an extension of his hands. He dodged and ducked, swung and punched. The wraith moved faster than a blink, but if I wasn’t mistaken, Bromley seemed to get in a jab or two.

  I struggled to my feet and raised my sword again. As I started forward, I heard Millennia muttering something—then my sword ignited. As did Bromley’s daggers. The wraith shrunk away from the flaming blades, hissing and shrieking. With renewed confidence from my fiery sword, I swung low at the wraith. It twisted away, but just barely escaped the inferno.

  Together, Brom and I attacked the monster, forcing it to dodge not only the silver, but also the flames.

  It felt natural, fighting with Bromley. We had practice-fought against each other so often that we knew each other’s style. We worked as one, and it was brilliant. Bromley ducked and sliced his daggers out, sweeping his arms in an arc, and in the same movement I went high and swung my sword for the wraith’s head. Unable to dodge both of us, the wraith shrieked, its body sliced clean through with fire and silver. It crumbled to dust.

  As the wind carried the remnants of the creature away, Millennia collapsed into a pile of billowing blue fabric. She was visibly shaking, no doubt from the cold and fatigue. I was about to run to her when I saw what was happening across the river.

  Zach still fought the other wraith.

  And he was losing.

  The swordsman was skilled, but he was still only human. He probably hadn’t managed more than a few hours’ sleep in the past two days, and he couldn’t keep up.

  Millennia was practically unconscious, unmoving on the ground. She would be no help. I ran to the stream and was about to jump across, when Bromley stopped me. “Stay back,” he told me, “you’re losing too much blood.”

  I glanced at my wrist, and I could scarcely believe the amount of blood that coated my sleeve. It was practically dripping, and I recognized the dizziness from blood loss.

  Then, before I could stop him, Brom had jumped across and joined my partner against the wraith. With Brom’s help, the tide turned slightly, and Zach was able to get his second wind. Once the two warriors had the wraith against the ravine wall, Zach made a valiant strike. The shadow creature screeched and recoiled as Zach plunged his sword into its side.

  But the move came at a cost. The wraith grabbed Zach’s arm and he screamed. I knew what that explosion of cold felt like. Zach staggered away—and I knew—he’d reached his limit. The monster saw it, too, and went for the final blow.

  Something burst in my chest. The cry ripped through my gut and into my throat. I tried to jump over the stream, but my coordination was shot. I fell into the icy water, and it swallowed me. I pushed off the slippery rocks at the bottom, and my head broke the surface just as the wraith moved in. It reached for Zach’s heart with five daggers disguised as skeletal fingers.

  I was too late to stop it—but Brom wasn’t.

  He stopped the wraith’s hand with his knife. The sound of silver clashing against metallic bone echoed through the ravine. Chest heaving, Brom swung back with his free arm to go for the creature’s throat. But the wraith had the same idea.

  And it was much faster.

  This time I couldn’t scream as Brom fell to the ravine floor, blood pouring from open wounds on his throat and collarbone. All breath, all sound had been knocked out of me.

  Zach lunged over Brom’s fallen body and hacked away at the wraith like a thing possessed. Bits of smoky darkness were tossed into the air, transforming to dust as Zach sliced and cut with a fury I’d never seen.

  Once the wraith was nothing but tiny particles of darkness, Zach turned back and fell to his knees next to Bromley.

  With numb limbs, I pulled myself out of the stream and crawled, sopping wet, to Bromley. My knees and hands collided with a pool of blood, and at the touch of the warm liquid, I shattered.

  Bromley. Brom.

  He shook on the cold stones, his eyes wide and alert and…knowing.

  He tried to talk, but the wound on his throat only leaked more blood.

  “Sh-shhhh.” I sobbed, my voice strange to my own ears. “No, Brom, please, I can’t do this without you. Please.”

  With trembling fingers, I gripped his hand and squeezed. It was freezing, nearly lifeless.

  But I could save him. I still had the Royal’s Kiss. So what if it was evil? So what if it created more monsters? I would pay any price for Brom’s life, no matter what the cost—a thousand more wraiths crawling the earth if that’s what it took.

  I reached for Zach across Brom’s shivering body, trying to conjure up the spell in my mind. Trying to think with a desperate sense of clarity. I couldn’t fail this spell.

  Zach took my hand in his, and I knew he wasn’t going to deny me this time. Not now. Not for Brom.

  But he didn’t have to. Brom did. With his remaining strength, with the life draining from his eyes, Brom pulled me back. Blood pooled at his neck. His mouth was open but no sound. Subtly, so subtly, he shook his head.

  I was willing to pay any cost, but Brom wasn’t.

  My brave Brom. My Brom. I didn’t ca
re what the Legion said—what I felt for Bromley was so much stronger than friendship. He was my family. My brother. Bond wasn’t a strong enough word for what I felt for him. It was a force, a magic that defied all reason and logic.

  Love was the only thing strong enough to describe him to me.

  I loved him with all my heart. All my soul.

  I gave a strangled moan, hunched over him with my forehead pressed to his, and sobbed.

  Tears ran in rivulets down my cheeks and splashed onto Brom’s face, rolling down his cheek and mixing with the steady stream of blood.

  Then…a spark of gold.

  As more of my tears rolled down his neck onto his wound, gold shimmered, covering the terrible crimson and replacing it with…

  I gasped and reeled back. Light, beautiful light, shone in the darkness of the ravine, rolling off Bromley in waves. Sparks and dust danced over him, whirling around him in a tornado of sheer gold.

  Everything, everything was gold.

  Gold light splashed onto Zach and me, showering us with the strange magic. My wrist tingled and, without even looking, I knew it had healed.

  It was so bright I had to close my eyes.

  When I opened them, Brom was staring at me, wide-eyed, through the clearing golden mist. His neck was completely healed. Our astonishment lasted just a moment before we threw ourselves into a tight embrace, tears still flowing.

  We sat on the cold, wet ravine floor, holding each other just like the time when I was ten and Mother had come and gone from Myria without asking to see me once. I’d been devastated. Bromley held me tight that day, and I clung to him.

  And together the world had looked much brighter.

  In fact, it had looked golden.

  Chapter

  Thirty

  Love is…

  The four of us stayed at the bottom of the ravine in a small cave for half the day. While Brom and I had sat locked together, Zach had crossed the river and helped Millennia back to our side. She was still pretty out of it, so Zach carried her until we found our tiny cave. After the battle with the wraiths, it felt like a palace.