The Doomsday Trial

by Claire Luana

  “Jacq and Orin,” Christine gushed into the microphone as the crowd finally settled down, and we turned our attention to her. Orin’s fingers laced through mine, not letting go. The crowd went wild again, and many held up banners with our names and hearts drawn on them. “Congratulations you two.”

  I couldn’t help but grin. Even after all that had happened, we had done it. We had won.

  “Gabe,” Christine started, turning to the couch where Gabe and Evaline sat, Gabe, looking a bit uncomfortable in a charcoal suit. “We all knew Jacq was a hero right from the start, but did you ever think she’d win?”

  Gabe looked over at me and winked. “I knew she had it in her. Not many people would climb a fence to rescue someone in the middle of an audition, but Jacq did. She showed us she was special right from the start.”

  I felt my blush rise as the picture of Zee disappeared off the big screen to be replaced by me saving the exec’s daughter from the crocodile during the last audition. Beside me, I felt Orin shift in his seat. I’d gone in because he’d left her. I knew for a fact that he regretted his judgment that day.

  “Jacq continued in the same spirit throughout, putting everyone else first,” continued Gabe. “I don’t usually pick favorites, but I’m going to let you in on a secret. Jacq was mine right from the get-go.”

  “I think she’s many of your favorite, too,” Christine said, turning her attention back to the crowd, who roared in reply. “But it wasn’t really the monsters or the challenges that made people turn their TV’s on every night. It was the blossoming love story between Jacq and Orin. Let’s have a recap, shall we? We all knew when these two were paired together that there would be fireworks. We just didn’t know what kind.”

  Once again, I turned to the huge screen, wishing I could hide the flush on my cheeks. The shot came up of me picking Orin as my partner—both of our faces looked positively green at the thought. It was difficult to tell who was glaring at who more. I looked back at him, and his face was soft. I tried to remember how I’d first seen him—how I’d thought that he was anything other than the complicated, capable male who loved so deeply, once you had the privilege of getting past his walls.

  The montage continued and segued into various moments from the Sorcery Trial—our argument whether or not to follow the nymphs to the Erl-king’s castle, and then onto our climb down the cliff where I had to pass Orin by pressing right up against him.

  “That’s when I knew,” Orin whispered in my ear, sending a delicious shiver down my spine.

  When had I first known I had feelings for Orin? I couldn’t answer the question, but it had crept up on me slowly. I’d fallen hopelessly in love with him without even trying, without even really knowing what was happening.

  I gripped his hand tighter as the montage continued, right to the kiss we shared in the shadows of the alley in Elfame. So we had been caught on camera after all. The noise the crowd made was thunderous as the screen faded to black.

  Christine held the microphone to my face. “Inquiring minds want to know. What did you do to grab this hotty?”

  Before I had the chance to speak, Orin leaned in and answered for me. “She saved me in every possible way there is to be saved. She’s my best friend, and I wouldn’t want anyone else by my side when the going gets rough.”

  I felt my eyes begin to well up as he gripped my hand tighter.

  “Plus, did you see her in that gown at the Slyph palace?” His dark eyes softened as he looked at me, his irises black as ink. “I didn’t have a chance.”

  The crowd laughed as I playfully elbowed him.

  Pulling the microphone towards me, I began to speak, needing to keep it light, playful. I didn’t want the world to see the truth of what Orin meant to me. That was for him and me alone. “Did I ever tell you about the time when I saw Orin taking a bath? He thought I wasn’t watching but...”—I let the sentence hang in the air.—“I peeked. Ladies, let me tell you, he’s got it goin’ on under all that Lycra.”

  The crowd roared. Some wolf whistled. Christine swiveled her eyes up and down and gave me the thumbs up. “Hot bodies aside,” she said, straightening. “These past few weeks have been a very trying time. We all now know that the race was part of a terrorist plot by the late king Obanstone to bring down the barriers between the human and faerie worlds. You also know that the ICCF is now doing everything it can to open the portals between our realms so that citizens of both worlds can intermingle safely. What you may not know, what the papers haven’t told you, is that Jacq and Orin were integral to foiling the king’s plan. They made sacrifices so that humans and faeries can live side by side. In peace.”

  Hushed whispers flooded through the crowd as Christine continued. “Now there’s something that our contestants don’t know. Jacq, Orin, can you stand and come with me?”

  I looked at Orin, who just shrugged. We stood and followed Christine to the side of the stage. She draped her arm around my shoulder. “Jacq has been my friend for a very long time. There is no one who deserves this more than she does. The king’s boon was promised as a prize for the winners, but the late King Obanstone will be unable to fulfill his promise...”

  Behind her, I could see my mom waving frantically at me, a huge smile splitting her face. The loss of the boon didn’t bother me, not really. I didn’t need it anymore. I’d found Cass and Orin’s parents were free. Auberon had released them from their indenture to house Obanstone within hours of his father’s death. Orin and I had accomplished what we set out to do.

  “But there is the small matter of the million dollar prize. Even though Vale Obanstone had other plans, the Fantastic Faerie Race producers and the studio have promised to keep up their end of the bargain. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, Jacq’s former boss and the organizer of the Fantastic Faerie Race, John Ashton.”

  I brought my hand up to my mouth as John walked up to the stage, carrying a briefcase. In his other hand, he held a cardboard coffee cup

  “I think it’s about time I gave you this,” he said, handing me the coffee with a smile. I took it, stunned. “I certainly owe it to you for everything you’ve done.” Then, to my complete shock, he pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear. “Tom Cruise has increased his offer to fifteen million!”

  “Thanks,” I whispered back, patting him awkwardly, “But Tom will have to find another leading lady.” He appeared disappointed as he pulled back, but his smile was back in force when he saw the cameras on him. He opened the briefcase and pulled out two oversized checks. One for me and one for Orin. Each had one million dollars written on it underneath our names. I couldn’t keep my hand from shaking as I took that piece of paper.

  “There’s one more surprise,” Christine said, pulling John out of the spotlight. “Even though one of these individuals is getting ready for his own big day tomorrow, the eyes of Earth and Faerwild are on you two today.”

  Tears welled in my eyes as Cass and Auberon came onto the stage. Cass’s smile was as bright and huge as I’d ever seen it. Each held a red velvet cushion. On the one held by Cass was a beautiful tiara. Auberon’s held a crown.

  I let the tears fall as Cass held the tiara over my head. “I now declare the winners of the Fantastic Faerie Race. My beautiful sister, Jacqueline Cunningham, and the equally gorgeous Orin Treebaum.”

  The crowd went wild as the crown and tiara were placed on our heads.

  “One day you’ll be the one wearing a crown,” I whispered as she pulled me into a hug.

  “And I wouldn’t be able to if it wasn’t for you.”

  Our embrace tightened around us as my mom and dad rushed onto the stage. The hug got bigger as Orin’s parents joined us, and then Auberon. It was the first Cunningham-Treebaum-Obanstone hug ever, and I hoped it was the first of many. I was crushed in the middle of the people I loved the most, and as the tears fell, I knew there was nowhere else I’d rather be.

  30

  We sat for another hour as Christine peppered all of the
FFR contestants with questions and showed us clip after clip from each of the trials. It pleased me somehow that there were moments the cameras hadn’t captured. Like Orin and my first real conversation where we bared our secrets to each other. Our first kiss. My reunion with Cass and Orin’s with his mother. And the death of King Vale Obanstone. There were things that belonged only in our memories. Things that belonged only to us.

  Auberon was throwing a celebration for all the race contestants and our families, so we made our way to the Elfame palace when the award ceremony was complete. It was strange to regard it now—the soaring spires and towers no longer looked threatening and sinister. They looked hopeful. It was the start of a new reign. Auberon’s coronation ceremony was scheduled for tomorrow morning. It meant change for Faerwild and Earth. Auberon Obanstone was not his father. And he would be a very different kind of king.

  The past few days had been a whirlwind with the ICCF cleaning up the mess the Faerie king had left, debriefing us about what had happened inside that cavern, and the race producers declaring us the winners. I was still a little hoarse from my parents’ reunion with Cass, I hadn’t thought I had that many tears in me, but they’d flowed freely as our family was made whole for the first time in two years.

  Now, Orin and I walked hand in hand up the steps of the palace. Our fathers walked to the right of us, where I heard my dad telling Orin’s father about the size of the elk you can hunt in Montana. To our left, Ramona was pointing out a peculiarity of faerie architecture to my mother, whose eyes were bright with excitement. I knew Orin’d had a serious talk with his parents the first chance they’d had to be alone, and his parents had confirmed that Niall was a liar, trying to unsettle Orin with what he’d said when he’d been tied up at the house. Orin’s parents had never sent him away, it had truly been the king who had banished little Orin from the palace. They’d lost eighteen years with each other, but when I saw them together now, I could see they’d be able to make up that lost time. Now that they were a family again.

  “It hardly feels real, does it,” I murmured, snuggling against Orin’s side.

  He wrapped his arm around me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I always carry million dollar checks in my pocket,” Orin joked.

  “What’s the first thing you’re going to buy?” I asked him. I hadn’t had much time to dream, but I thought mine just might be a plane ticket to Montana. I had a hankering for a few days of wide-open, starry sky and a few dozen of my mom’s chocolate chip cookies.

  “There’s this girl that I like,” Orin said, answering my question.

  I raised an eyebrow as he continued. “And I realized that she and I have never been on a real date. I’d like to buy her dinner.”

  “I’d like that.” I grinned at him.

  His eyes went wide, and he grimaced. “Oh, no, did you think it was you? This is awkward—”

  I pulled back from his embrace and punched him in the arm. “Har, har. The faerie thinks he’s a comedian now?”

  “Watching those clips from the first trial made me realize how much I miss the little death-glares you were always shooting me,” he pouted.

  “There’s plenty where those came from,” I retorted, but my next comment was cut off as we walked into the ballroom. The room’s soaring ceiling and chandeliers looked like they should be watching over an enchanted gala, but the smell of barbeque and the sounds of an electric guitar greeted us instead. I raised my nose in the air and breathed in deeply, savoring the smell.

  “Cass handled the catering,” Auberon said, coming up to greet us. “Welcome!” I could have kissed my sister. I could go for some good barbeque.

  Auberon walked us over to the bar and waited as we placed our orders. A whiskey neat for Orin, a cold beer for me. I’d been craving one for ages. When we had our drinks in hand, Auberon lifted his own. “I wanted to thank you both, officially, for all you’ve done. And for being so…forgiving of how my family mistreated you both, and for me taking Cass from you, Jacq.”

  “It’s forgotten,” I said warmly, meaning it. It was time to start fresh.

  “I know you were promised a boon, and I don’t have quite the magic that my father did in that regard. I feel bad about that,” Auberon said, “so I wanted to give you something else, instead.”

  I started to say that wasn’t necessary, but Orin elbowed me in the ribs. He was clearly curious to see what Auberon was going to gift us.

  Auberon pulled two silver cards out of his jacket pocket and handed one to each of us. It was weighty in my hand, made of metal. I looked at the engraving on the card. It had my name and the ICCF logo emblazoned on the front. “What is it?”

  “These two are the first of their kind. Hopefully, the first of many. They are all access visas for both Faerwild and Earth. You’ll be able to travel across the Hedge between Faerwild and Earth at any time through any portal in the world without question. You two are the first official dual citizens of Faerwild and Earth.”

  I looked at Orin and then back to Auberon, amazement filling me. “This…this is…” But I couldn’t get the words out. With these visas, Orin and I would never have to be separated, or worry about where to live. The world was our oyster. Two worlds.

  Orin put a hand out, and Auberon shook it. “Thank you. This…” He seemed tongue-tied too.

  “You’re welcome,” Auberon said, nodding. “Now, I should greet the rest of the guests and get this party started!” He held up his glass, and we clinked our own against his. It felt right to celebrate. This was the start of something wonderful.

  The party lasted late into the night. Cass must have been in charge of the music too because the band who played kicked up the jams and belted out hit after hit. People flooded the dance floor—Ruth and the other camera crew members, Gabe and Evaline, Tristam and Sophia on her crutches, making happy fools of themselves, Auberon’s faerie courtiers, my Mom and Dad, even John and Christine and the other race producers. Drinks flowed, and faeries and humans whirled and laughed.

  I spun in and around the other contestants, stealing a mini tart from Yael with a laugh (revenge for my croissants all those weeks ago), even taking a turn around the dance floor with Ario, as he apologized for betting about Orin and me. Dulcina and Molly and Sophia and I posed for pictures, collapsing in a pile of giggles on a velvet couch. After the ruthless backstabbing, everyone seemed ebullient at the fact that we weren’t enemies anymore. It felt wrong to hold grudges after what we’d all been through together. Fire-breathing dragons and hostile merfolk and possessed magic armor…not to mention all types of deadly faerie creatures. It felt better to be glad—to celebrate that we had made it through alive.

  Orin watched my antics with a quiet smile, chatting with his parents and mine, laughing with the other contestants. Our eyes were always on each other, though. No matter where we found ourselves in the ballroom, I knew exactly where my dark angel was standing.

  My feet were tired from dancing and my cheeks smarting from laughing by the time I made it back to him, falling into his arms.

  “Why, Mr. Treebaum,” I said, leaning against him. Perhaps I was slightly more tipsy than I’d realized. “May I have this dance?”

  Orin threaded one hand in mine, the other around my waist, pulling me close. “There’s another type of dance I’m thinking of, you know.”

  My senses roared to life within me at his growled comment, and I took an inadvertent step closer. I thought I knew exactly what type of dance he was referring to.

  “But…I need a piece of information first,” he pulled back a touch. “I admitted earlier the first time I knew I’d fallen for you. I think you should admit the same.”

  “I don’t know,” I pretended to ponder. “I was planning to take that particular secret to my grave.”

  “I think I already know when it was,” he said, his hand running up the arrow of my spine in a way that made my knees weak. “I just want to see if I was right.”

  I cast him a doubtful look. “You
think you’re such a Jacqueline expert? Well, shoot, professor. What is your…uneducated guess?”

  “When you saw me kissing the xana,” he said with a devilish grin. “I’ve never seen someone look so green with envy.”

  I huffed, my happily tipsy mind searching for a compelling lie. Because he was right. Thinking on it, that was the exact moment I’d known, for certain, that I had feelings for Orin. “I wasn’t jealous she was kissing you,” I said, fighting to keep the smile from my face. It was hopeless to try to hide it. “I just…hadn’t had a good kiss in a while, that’s all.”

  “And now?” he pulled me back close, so my body was flush against his. His lips lingered just inches from mine, as sweet and sinful as lips had ever been. I looked to the side, struggling with every fiber of my being to feign nonchalance. “I’m afraid I’m still waiting.”

  It was Orin’s turn to scoff. “Now, who’s the comedian!” He took my face in his hands, trailing the fingers of one hand down my neck, making me shiver. “I guess I’ll just have to give you a kiss so epic it will ruin you for all other kisses.”

  I licked my lips in anticipation. “So long as it’s the first of many.”

  Orin smiled down at me, and my heart fluttered in my chest at the loveliness of the sight. “The first of many, many, many.”

  And when he kissed me, the room spun around us, as if all of Faerwild itself had shifted orbit so it revolved around only us. The Fantastic Faerie Race had asked so much of us—had taken so much too. But it had given more. I had my sister back, a visa that would take me anywhere in two worlds, and a million dollars in my pocket. But the one prize that had made all the sacrifice worth it was Orin. Together, we had cried and fought and bled. As the real as the race had been, it had been fantasy, not reality.