The Heart of the Darkness

by M. J. Padgett

  I stopped in my tracks, just shy of the border. Reality dawned on me as bright as the rising sun. Prophecy never lied... but people did.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Ophelia

  The Salien Castle, Schwarzwald

  STELLA ARRIVED IN SCHWARZWALD much the way she came the first time—annoyed and angry. I couldn’t tell if it was simply because she was in Schwarzwald again, or if she was just as over the whole war as I was, but whatever it was, forced a scowl on her face that would scare the pants off of Satan himself.

  I, on the other hand, was trying to blend into the background since I had slipped away from Goldene Stadt with Isla undetected and on a mission—a deal made with Larkin that I had no intention of failing. When she first approached me with her ridiculous plan of finding where Cole had taken the Seven, I was hesitant to take part. Ultimately, I knew I’d have to step into my role as queen one day. Better now than never.

  After Cole left, King Agustus was beside himself. He’d injured Parker and nearly got half the village killed in his moment of rage, but I didn’t blame him. I wanted to scream and tackle Cole myself, but now that I had a mission, I was sure I would be far more useful—after all, the penalty for attacking Cole was probably death.

  I could only hope Larkin was able to find them, and in return, I would do all I could to help Isla and Kirsten hide their brother, Ethan. I had my reservations about it going as planned, but I would do my best.

  Stella approached me, which nearly made my stomach bottom out. Once she was within arm’s-length, she smiled. “Ophelia, have you seen Marcus anywhere? I need to see him about... a thing.”

  “I just returned from Goldene Stadt, but my guess is he’s in the dining hall preparing for the next meeting, not that they ever really end,” I said, my lip quivering. I couldn’t say exactly what it was about Stella that made my insides coil up, and my entire body prepare for flight, but it was also a noticeable reaction.

  “I scare the snot out of you, don’t I?” she asked, grinning.

  “Uh... yes,” I admitted.

  She chuckled. “You have dragons, so I think you’re safe. Besides, you’re one of the few who don’t annoy me around here. Anyway, I should—”

  “Stella, I don’t mean to interrupt the moment of intimidation, but... uh... is that Cole?” Ari asked, grasping Stella’s hand. Brant wasn’t with them, so I wondered how things were going in the resistance camp, but not for long.

  My heart leaped when Cole’s shadow cast long over the courtyard. Isla shifted back into her dragon form, ready to fight. I doubted even as a dragon she was any match for him, but I also knew she would fight to the death to protect her brother. I hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but with each passing moment, it seemed more unlikely we would all survive the fight. Someone would die. It was only a matter of who and when.

  “Maybe Kai can freeze him?” Ari asked. “That could work, right? Can pure evil escape an ice cube?” Ari tugged on my shirt sleeve. “Where’s my brother? Did he come back from Goldene Stadt with you?”

  “Uh, about that. See... Um...” I wiped my palms on my pants, but there was nothing I could do to hide my guilt.

  “Ophelia, where is my brother?” Ari asked, almost as intimidating as Stella.

  “He went with Larkin, Nikola, and Luzia to... rescue the Seven,” I admitted with a sigh. It took nothing for them to get the information out of me, but at this point, there was nothing they could do. They were already long gone.

  “What? Are you kidding me right now?” Stella shouted just as Cole swooped low enough to ruffle her hair in his breeze. “Why you—I’m gonna kill you when I get my hands on you!” She took off after Cole while Ari screamed after her, jogging close behind. Isla maneuvered around a few villagers and went full-force after them while also calling for her sister. Soon, Kirsten rose from the other side of the castle and joined, followed by waves of royal guard soldiers.

  This was most definitely not what Larkin wanted to happen—her sisters getting killed while trying to keep Cole from Ethan—but before the dragons came close to Cole, he shifted and landed on two feet. Ash rained down over us as the smoke cleared enough for us to see him walking toward someone.

  A hand gripped my arm, tugging me away from the center of attention. When the smoke cleared enough, I saw that it was Rebecca and Jeanine, both doing their best to clear the air with magic.

  “You know why I have arrived again, and you know I will not harm anyone who leaves me be. Bring me the boy, and all will be well,” Cole said, his shoulders heaving. His face was pale and worn, and he no longer stood as he had before—in control. Was he tired?

  “Ethan isn’t here,” a guardsman shouted.

  “He is, but that is only one matter. I am here for Snow as well.”

  “Snow?” I whispered and glanced at Rebecca and Jeanine. “I suppose she’s needed to complete his plan since she has the mark, too?”

  “I wouldn’t know, but I haven’t seen her all day,” Jeanine said. “I thought she went to Goldene Stadt.”

  “She wasn’t there,” I said. “And everyone from Schattenland is there. Those that aren’t are here. Where could she be?”

  “My patience is limited!” Cole screamed. “Bring me the dragon and Snow or face my wrath!”

  Isla leaped into the air and swooped low over Cole, swiping at him with her massive talons. Kirsten followed suit. Their boyfriends held the frontlines of the army, but both wore scowls while watching their girlfriends taunt a vessel for evil. I wasn’t pleased, considering it was not part of the plan. Cole shifted and blew fire at them both, hitting his targets with ease though they wove and danced around him.

  Isla screamed and fell, but Kirsten fought through the pain and lifted higher into the sky. Cole followed, and before long, the two were embroiled in a battle of wills. Their heads clashed, horn to horn, as they vied for dominance. I swore it looked like Cole was smiling, but it was difficult to tell as a dragon.

  A barrage of arrows plucked at Cole, but they did nothing. Instead, it annoyed him enough for him to roll and grasp Kirsten by the neck. He shook his head, eliciting a scream that echoed through the courtyard and the castle.

  Ethan burst through the wall of his quarters and rammed head-first into Cole. It was enough to force Cole to release Kirsten, but it had also given away his hiding place, foiling our plan entirely.

  “This is nowhere close to what we planned,” I said.

  “Who?” Jeanine asked, trying to figure out which dragon to hit should she choose to shift into her phoenix form.

  “An agreement I made with Larkin, and please don’t do anything. Parker would be... He would just want you to be safe,” I said. “If you shift, all you’ll do is add to Cole’s anger.”

  “That monster took my son, and I have every intention of—”

  Jeanine was cut short when Ethan nearly squashed us all. He landed hard on his back and skidded across the yard, uprooting trees, shrubs, and flowers as he went and rolling the grass up in waves. He whined and spit smoke, then shifted human.

  Cole landed, his wings prepared to lift him again if necessary.

  “Wait! Wait,” Ethan said. “I only wanted to protect my sisters. It’s all I’ve wanted from the beginning. I’ll go willingly if you do as you said and leave everyone else alone.” Ethan stood, coughing smoke, his arms and legs covered with bruises and blood.

  “Ethan!” Marissa ran from the side of the castle, but her father grabbed her before she could reach Ethan. “No! You can’t!”

  Ethan’s shoulders slumped, but he said nothing. Instead, he turned his attention back to Cole.

  Cole shifted. “I agree, and no harm will come to your sisters. Feisty, aren’t they?” He looked over his shoulder, then back to Ethan. “And Snow?”

  “No one has seen her since she rose this morning. That’s the truth,” Ravenna shouted, her brow furrowed as anger flashed in her eyes. Waiting was the hardest part, but we were all forced to do only that—to wait to see what
would happen to the people we loved. How could Annabell ask us to do such a thing? How could we sit around and wait?

  Stella broke from the crowd, shirking Ari’s arm as she did. That expression, the one that said she was ready to suck the soul right out of her victim, was written all over her face. Cole did not flinch or step back. In fact, he stepped toward her and met her face to face. His expression was indecipherable—not angry, but not quite confident. It was... appreciation.

  “Something doesn’t add up,” Stella said. “Care to share what that might be?”

  Cole chuckled. “I like you. I can see why you gave my Ellie a run for her money, but no, I cannot share anything with you. I will find Snow, and when I do... Well, I’d suggest you say your goodbyes to the traitorous snake while you can.”

  “Traitorous? I mean, I don’t like the snotty princess, but if she turned against you, then I’m not so sure calling her a traitor is the right word. More like... admirable.”

  Cole chuckled again, a deep, rumbling laugh that was knowing and cruel. “I wasn’t referring to her turning against me, Huntress, but you will see. The day has come for her reckoning.”

  “Reckoning for what? What is happening?” Stella asked, her eyes narrowed on Cole.

  “You’re the Huntress. Think it through, add it up, and when the facts are not equal, then remove the source of the problem, the bad seed, so to speak. Eliminate the excess, and your answer is the key.”

  With that, Cole shifted, snatched Ethan around his torso, and took off over the hills. Marissa's screaming was the only sound in the entire kingdom.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Annabell

  Hidden Cabin, Das Unbekannte

  SNOW’S TELLTALE CALL from the border indicated at least someone had done as I had asked. Stella was fast in delivering her message if Snow had already reached our meeting place. I sucked down my misery and tried to work through the angry feelings I had if only to stop feeding the darkness that had not yet been dissolved by my light. I felt myself improving with each step as the ooze melted away to nothing until finally, I felt like myself again. I took a deep, cleansing breath and glanced over my shoulder. The path was clear, with no death and destruction that I could see in the twilight, and I felt light and free again.

  “When the stars arrive, I can do this. I must hold on until they arrive,” I said aloud, praying once my aids arrived in the forest, their boost of energy would be all I needed to absorb and destroy the darkness that had plagued our kingdoms for so long.

  Ahead, I saw Snow dressed in her cape, pacing in front of the giant tree where we agreed to meet when the time was right.

  “There you are,” she said, wringing her hands. “I thought something had gone wrong. You have all Seven at the castle or at the cabin?”

  “Yes,” I said. “Well, six, but I am sure Cole has retrieved Ethan by now. I feel he has, and that is enough confirmation for me. The stones, I am afraid, have gone missing. What has happened in Schwarzwald, Snow? What has gone wrong?”

  “Everyone is upset, naturally, but they will soon understand I have done all of this to save them,” she said, her tone cool and collected. “There’s no need to worry over the stones. They are safe and sound.”

  A tinge in my gut took control, twisting and turning as I thought over the few sentences she had already spoken. “Wait,” I said. “How did you know about the castle? I never told you or anyone about it, and I certainly never said a word about the cabin. That was all kept secret for a reason.”

  “Oh, I’m sure you must have mentioned it at some point. How else would I know of it?” Snow asked, waving it off. “The others are beside themselves, but once they see we have everything under control, all will be well.”

  “Snow, where are the stones?” I asked, my trust in my appointed companion waning. The prophecy enacted by the fairies had been tampered with by two of them—two who had, as I had heard, always been the rebels of the family—but at what end? Why would they purposely give incorrect information in the Song of the Lost, the tale that would call the Seven together, unless they had something else in mind?

  Snow’s face paled even more than her usual alabaster. “Whatever do you mean? I told you. They are safe until we require them.”

  “I require them now, Snow. Where are they? What have you done with them?” I insisted.

  I couldn’t say why, but suddenly Snow White felt like someone else entirely, as if she had been the mastermind behind an epic plan I couldn’t see because I had trusted her. I believed her words and the prophecy, but Stella had already proven part of it was wrong—or that those who passed it down had lied.

  Snow pursed her lips and clenched her jaw. “I had planned another way, but if you insist.” She pulled the seven stones, already removed from their casings, and held them out in front of me in the palm of her hand. I reached for them, but she yanked them away before my fingers even grazed them. “Not so fast. These are not for you.”

  “Snow, what are you doing?”

  She clenched them in her fist and growled, then opened her palm and let the dust of the stones fly away on the breeze.

  “No! What have you done?” I screamed, backing away from her. While I was sure I was the strongest entity in the forest, save Cole, there was no denying the woman intimidated me. “Snow?”

  She flung me backward, where I hit a broad tree trunk hard. The wind escaped my lungs in a whoosh as her magic pinned me. I wiggled against her, forgetting for a moment that my own magic had returned. My hands instinctively went to protect my throat as I thought of all the things I would do to Snow once I got my hands on her.

  My own magic pushed against hers until her grip broke, and I fell at the foot of the tree. Once on my feet again, I attacked. Trees uprooted and flew at her like missiles, but she dodged them by flinging them away. The dissolution of the darkness had taken its toll on me, and I was not yet fully recovered. If Snow really went at me, I’d lose. I had to come up with another tactic, one that would wear her down while my own strength returned.

  “Oh, Elfriede, I am sorry it turned out this way. I did want you to rule by my side, but you grew too attached to those useless people.” Snow snickered and flung her hands toward me, pushing a gale forced wind over my body. I had to use my own to counter it, draining me further.

  “Who helped you?” I asked through breaths, desperate to distract her for even a moment. “Cole?”

  “Wouldn’t you hate that?” she taunted, but her denial made me realize there were other traitors, people like Thaddeus who must have aided her all along, even the two fairies who altered the spell and the song long ago.

  “The other princesses?” I asked, buying more time.

  “Yes, though they were a means to an end for me. I had no intention of sharing a thing with them. Cole did put a hamper on those plans, I will admit.”

  I crawled backward, sparing what energy I could until I was strong enough to either kill her or injure her enough to imprison her. I needn’t have bothered because my instinct had been correct. Cole had retrieved Ethan, and the two flew into the fray between Snow and me, both roaring flame at her. I was surprised to see the two working together, but there they were, attacking the woman who was now my sworn enemy.

  Snow immediately attacked Ethan, throwing his dragon form far from her. He crashed into the trees several yards away, clearing a large space. He was up again in a moment, though he was injured.

  Cole dove toward Snow, but she was unable to deter him. Instead, she shifted into the largest wolf I had ever seen, save Cole all those years ago. I gasped and stood, shocked to the core. Snow turned on her paws and squared off with Cole as he swooped low over her. She leaped at him but missed his neck by mere inches. Cole screeched and turned sharply, then dove at her again, this time throwing flame all over the forest. If he wasn’t careful, the entire area would go up in flames, wet or not.

  Snow howled and circled, then came back for more. The flames hardly deterred her as she danced around
them in her wolf form. Not once had I suspected she could do such a thing, but I had also never suspected she would turn against me—or had she ever really been with me, to begin with? She was the part Cole said I didn’t see... but that made no sense. Snow was as old as the other royals but not as old as Cole and me. She could not have been the person he swore I was missing in my memories... could she?

  Ethan lunged toward Snow, distracting her long enough for Cole to reposition and attack. Snow screamed as Cole’s talons dug into her back, but she managed to wiggle free from his embrace. Once her paws hit the forest floor, she disappeared into the night without a trace. I had not known she was a traitor, nor had I known she was a wolf, or that she was against me from the beginning, but of all those things, the thing that concerned me the most was her speed. I’d only met one other entity that moved as swiftly—Cole.

  Cole took to the sky and disappeared into the night as well, giving chase and leaving me alone with Ethan. Still injured, he shifted and limped toward me, his guard up. “Annabell? Is it really you?” he asked, his voice wavering as he grasped his side.

  I swallowed hard, unsure whether what I saw was real or a dream. “Yes, it’s me. I won’t hurt you, Ethan, I swear,” I said. He relaxed when he reached me, so I offered my arm for support.

  “What is going on? What is Snow? What is even happening right now?” Ethan gazed into the dark sky as if the answers might be there.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. I have some ideas, but I can’t be sure yet. You were helping Cole. Why?”

  “I guess he can infiltrate the telepathic bond I have with my sisters. He dropped me midair, so I shifted to save my own life. Once I was a dragon, he said you were in trouble. He asked me to help him, so I agreed.”

  “You agreed?” I asked, shocked he trusted Cole so quickly.