by Olivia Hart
“No, Lady. From everywhere. In the last few weeks, artificers have gone missing. One after another, they have simply disappeared. Ones that had hidden successfully in the Mortal Realm. Others in regional courts. It’s happening in all the realms. Immortal and Mortal. Dark and Light. Someone is hunting them down and either using them or killing them. There is only one person other than yourself capable of this, and I found it important enough to travel all the way here to tell you.”
I glanced at Sebastian who shrugged. “How have I not heard about this before?”
“Artificers are uncommon, Lady, and many of us live in hiding. The only ones who know very many artificers are other artificers.”
“We have an artificer in the Court,” I said. “Someone, please retrieve him.” Two goblins left their post and ran down the hall fast enough that it surprised me. One more bonus of having bodyguards that were faster than anyone else.
Damian raised an eyebrow as he watched them run, surprised just like everyone else who had never seen the GSS in action. “I had no idea that goblins were that fast,” he noted.
“Only my goblins are,” I said. “They’re specially trained.” The last thing I wanted was to have people start trying to get goblins to move like the GSS. That would ruin the element of surprise that they had going for them.
Damian nodded and waited a few moments. The goblins returned, carrying a squirming elf who was still holding a decanter full of a clear liquid. They propped him up, and he exclaimed, “What is the meaning of this? I was in the middle of something, and then…”
He looked around and realized exactly where he was and whom he was addressing. I smiled down at him and said, “I have a question and then you can go back to whatever you were doing. Have you heard of any artificers going missing?”
He rubbed his cheek and almost dropped the decanter as he thought. “There have been some reports, but nothing has been confirmed, Lady. It is not uncommon for artificers to lose track of time or to become unreachable for days or even weeks. It is a hazard of the profession.”
“But have there been an unusually high number of them missing?” I asked as I leaned forward.
He seemed to think for a moment, but then he said, “Yes, Lady. It is a noticeable difference.”
I nodded to him. “Thank you. You may go back to your work.” The elf walked away from the goblins who had carried him muttering about sensitive experiments, and the goblins went back to their places in front of the Throne.
“I don’t know why Seraphina would want the artificers, but we will need to bring them to the Dark Court, and preferably, the Dark Tower. She may be killing them, but more than likely, she’s trying to use them for something. Artificers are most likely her plan to circumvent our planning and my power.”
As I was about to thank Damian for the information, a boom sounded above the Throne Room. Most of the people in the Throne Room crouched down, their hands over their heads, but I was already leaping into the air. Then a roar sounded, and I knew exactly what it was that had caused the boom.
A dragon.
My wings held me in the air as I looked down at my husband. “Stay here,” I commanded. “You can do nothing against a dragon.” Without waiting for a confirmation, I flew out of a window up to the top of the tower where a dragon covered in black scales perched just like in a movie.
The roof had tiny cracks radiating from where the dragon had landed, its claws digging into the massive stone blocks that made up the Tower. The male dragon’s spines waved slowly in the wind. He turned his eye to me as I came closer.
“Dragon,” I said deferentially, “what has brought you to my Tower?”
“Queen of Night.” The way he said it brought back memories of the cave. I knew this dragon. “Something has happened. Dragons have vowed not to interfere in the Courts of this world, but this is something different. Something terrible.”
The dragon’s eye blazed with power and I could feel the anxiety flowing off him in waves. His tail snapped back and forth in irritation, no differently than Embrys.
“What has happened?”
“The magic is not returning to the world when the Fae die. It is going somewhere else. This will kill the world, Queen of Night. It is unnatural. Dragons could not do this. It is a thing of the Fae. You must stop it. Now!” He roared, and the air around him heated to the point of burning.
“It is my mother. It has to be.” I looked into the dragon’s eye and said, “I will do what I can. That is all I can do.”
“Then move quickly.” He leaped from the top of the tower, chips of black stone falling in his wake. I watched him soar and was reminded of the vision where a dragon’s magic was snuffed out. One scale after the next dimming and becoming stone.
I flew back to the Throne Room where many of the people still shook in fear. I turned to Sebastian and the GSS, and none of them were shaking. They wanted answers, and they wanted orders. “We’re going to attack Seraphina. I don’t know how she’s doing it, but somehow, she’s pulling all of the magic of the dead away from the world.”
I looked at Sebastian. “Just like in the vision. Except far faster.” He reached to a shadow and slid into it. He’d created a temporary warren below us. He’d be back soon.
I turned to the GSS. “I need two of you to come with us. Your job will be to protect Amra. Without Amra, we won’t be able to retreat.” The goblins looked at each other, and two of them stepped forward. Young ones named Fiax and Stug. I hadn’t spent enough time with them to know them very well. I made a note to remedy that soon. I should know much more about my guards.
“Thank you,” I said as Amra stepped up to me.
“Are you ready for this, Amra?” She swallowed hard and nodded.
“I said I’d do whatever you needed me to do. But I’m scared, Rose. The Court of Light and your mom are scary. Really scary. Please keep me safe.”
“I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe, Amra, but I need you. There’s no one else that can do what you do.”
She nodded, and Sebastian slid out of a shadow next to me wearing his assassin’s cloak.
“We’re going to have to kill people tonight, and we’re going to have to do it quietly. Amra and the goblins need to stay behind me. Sebastian, you’ll need to take care of the guards, but I need you to stay close enough that if Seraphina is alerted, I’m the one to fight her. Not you. Your job is to deal with everything else.”
“Amra, your only job is to stay safe. Do you hear me? No being a hero for you, okay?”
I heard Embrys huff and glanced down at him. A puff of smoke rose into the air, and I tapped into it. I knew everyone else was doing the same. No image. Just words. “Stay safe Amra. Asli will smack you with a spoon if you get hurt.”
“I’ll try to be safe,” Amra said and ran her hand over his head before she nodded to me. “I’m ready.”
As I put my arm out, I felt the sleeves of my dress move in the still air. Fucking dress. That was it. I was wearing fucking traveling clothes from now on.
Putting my hand out, I imagined my old room in the Court of Light. We needed to get into the palace without being seen so that Sebastian could do his thing. That would be close to the Throne Room and my mother’s suite.
Shadows rose from my arm, and for the first time, everyone in the Court watched me as I created a portal. There were oohs and ahhs plenty, but my mind barely registered them. This night would decide the fate of a world.
My mother hadn’t openly attacked me, and I’d hoped that she wouldn’t. I’d prayed that we would never have to fight, that I’d never have to try to kill my own mother, but if the choice were between her and the Immortal Realm, I wouldn’t hesitate. I had come to accept that she wasn’t my mother anymore. She was someone else, and maybe death would be the only place that she would find the peace that she needed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a face. Short black hair. Dark eyes that burned with fire. A smile that was filled with worry. And it was as though t
he entire Court went silent. The only thing that mattered in that one moment was that face.
My father.
I turned, but he wasn’t there. No different than when I’d seen Sebastian’s face in the mirror at a club all those months ago. Had I imagined that face?
Suddenly, all at the same time, the sound came back to the room, and I looked through the portal into the room that I had slept in. The room with a domed ceiling. The room that glowed with light so bright that I still didn’t know how I could have slept there.
The goblins raised their arms at the brightness, and I knew now that they would be no good to us in the Court of Light. Turning to them, I said, “You’re not coming. You’ll be blind by the end of the night if you come. We’ll manage without you.”
I looked at Sebastian and sighed. “Let’s go put an end to all of this once and for all.” He nodded.
I stepped through the portal and into the palace.
Chapter 24
Rose
When Sebastian and Amra stepped through the portal, it closed behind us. I put my hands out and let my daggers appear from shadow. Sebastian’s were already in his hands. I felt him pull at my Queen’s Gift, creating the warren beneath us preemptively.
Sebastian opened the door and glanced down the hall. He waved us onward. This wing should be empty. Next would be that large room outside of the wing that I’d first met Amra in. Sebastian tried to find a shadow, but there was none. Everything glowed too brightly.
He looked at me, and I knew what he wanted. My power expanded outward, covering the hallway in darkness and shadows. He reached down and touched Amra’s shadow, sliding into nothingness. A few moments later, Sebastian returned.
“There are no shadows. I can’t find a way out of the warrens there.”
“Fuck. Well, there goes the sneaky approach.”
I could feel the fear radiating from Amra already, and we hadn’t even seen a guard yet. This thrown-together plan was quickly becoming a terrible plan, but we didn’t have any others. I knew that if we needed to, we could cut through the guards, but that was the last thing I wanted.
“I’ll lead then. Stay directly behind me so that you aren’t hit by stray crossbow bolts or fairy magic. If we get into a real fight, I’ll darken the room so you can shadow walk. Amra, you’re getting a shield, but that doesn’t mean that you’re immune. Do not run away. Do you hear me?”
“Yes. I’ll stay next to you.” She was shivering.
This was not what I’d wanted. That didn’t change what had to happen, though. I let my shield snap up around Amra and myself. The shield would prevent Sebastian from shadow walking, so he would have to make do without one.
I cracked the door and looked through the gap. No one was there. We quickly moved through the room to the next hallway. Listening at the door, I heard grumbling. A soldier possibly.
The door didn’t make a sound when I opened it. Two soldiers stood at the opposite end. Their eyes opened wide, and they hesitated. Not long, but long enough. As they tried to yell, liquid shadows slammed into their faces. The shadows smothered them, and though they clawed at them, there was no way to get them off. Sebastian ran on mist-covered boots down the hall, and as they convulsed, he stabbed each of them in the heart with his daggers.
As they slumped to the ground, I let the shadows fade. Amra followed, but her eyes were white with fear. We all moved to the door at the end of the hall. It was silent in this room as it should be. It was late here, and no one should be up. As I cracked the door to the Throne Room, I heard a soft hum and a flash of light. Then another.
We stepped into the room, and I saw something I didn’t quite understand. Around the Throne, a mass of gold and silver wires ran to a box too similar to the No-Walk motor to think it was anything other than an artificer’s work.
Four guards stood around the box. Two with swords and shields and two with crossbows. One with a crossbow saw us immediately and began to yell. He loosed his bolt which shattered harmlessly against my shield. I coated the room in shadows, and Sebastian began the work of cutting through them.
Amra began to cry softly behind me, and I tried not to let it get to me. This was necessary. These guards’ deaths were necessary. Whatever Seraphina had done must be undone for the good of the world.
As the four guards fell, the machine made that strange humming sound. Then, there were four flashes of light in quick succession, and I realized what was happening.
The Thrones and the Queen who ruled were the conduits for the realm. There was no conduit back to the world as there was no true Queen, and so the Throne held the power just as the Ancient One had held the power.
This artificer’s invention somehow sent that power elsewhere. I had no idea how it worked, but that was what was happening. As Sebastian walked across the room to us, I heard a cackle.
“Thank you, Dark Queen,” my mother said as she entered the room. “You’ve saved me the trouble of assaulting that Tower of yours.”
She glanced to the side and hissed. “Stop talking to me! Go away!”
Lightning flared from her hand, striking the white marble where she was looking, and then she turned her attention back to us. I saw what the link was. Gold and silver wires ran from an odd-looking pendant down her arms. At her wrists, the wires entered her arms like an IV at a hospital.
She raised her hand, and I caught a better glance at the pendant. It was an eye, and the eye seemed to still be alive, turning and looking at us each. Lightning streaked across the room, striking where Sebastian had been only an instant earlier. That got me moving.
I shoved Amra into the hallway and closed the door. “The pendant, Sebastian. We must destroy the pendant!”
Seraphina pointed her hand at me, and I moved behind a marble column. Light flashed, and chips of marble exploded on the other side of it. I swung around, shadows coating the room as my power extinguished the light.
The flash of an assassin’s cloak caught my attention as well as Seraphina’s. Lightning struck it in the chest, and it turned to mist. A copy of Sebastian, formed of mist and stone.
Sebastian appeared behind Seraphina, sliding into this world from her own shadow at the same time that I threw my dagger at her. The dagger passed through her shield and embedded in her shoulder, but she didn’t collapse as she had last time. Instead, she began to laugh even more.
Lightning flashed in the air as Sebastian tried to stab her through her shield. The electricity arced outward and ran up his arm. He fell to the ground with smoke rising from his chest.
I thrust my arm out, and mist began to rise from the ground around Seraphina’s legs. I quickly turned it to stone, but it dissolved as she took a step towards me. Magic wasn’t going to work against her. Her shield would just melt anything made of magic. Only the daggers would be effective against her.
“What were you thinking? You’re no match for me. You never were.” Seraphina’s eyes burned as bright as her lightning. She was so full of power. More than I’d ever seen before.
No matter what, I had to break that pendant. I raced towards my mother, and I leaped as I saw her move her hand. Lightning struck the ground under me. My dagger flew through the air. A terrible hiss filled the room as it struck the pendant. Then, another bright flash of light left Seraphina rubbing her eyes. I landed only a few feet away from her and combined mist and stone with the shadows that shielded me, turning it solid.
Seraphina was standing with two obsidian daggers in her, but she was still standing. Her power would have been draining incredibly fast, but that didn’t seem to bother her. Her eyes still shined with a power that felt so immense, so unending. Streaks of lightning seemed to flash in them. She moved to pull the daggers out, but I recalled them first. I turned towards the box connected to the Throne of Light and pressed my hand against a column next to me.
Marble exploded from underneath the box, throwing it into the air. When it crashed to the ground, another hiss filled the room, and Seraphina began to scream.
Putting her hand out again, lightning filled my vision.
As though time slowed, I saw it arc towards me, and I braced myself as it hit my stone shield. Like an obsidian blade, it slid through the shield, much of the power drained from the attack.
The white lightning struck me in the chest, and I fell to the ground, pain coursing through my body. I tried to climb to my feet again, but another bolt of lightning passed through my shield, hitting me in the back.
Again and again, the bolts scorched my body. The last thing I saw before the pain overwhelmed me was Sebastian standing up behind my mother. She cackled maniacally as a final bolt left her fingertips.
And then blackness filled my vision.
Chapter 25
Tamira
My sister, the god of death, was blind. I stood on the broken ground of her world and stared at her as she mourned the loss of her eyes.
“She will pay,” my sister hissed. Her pain was gone, but her loss would never be recovered. Her eyes had been destroyed.
“Yes. But not by you, Sister. Neither of us may enter the Immortal Realm.”
“She is too powerful for the Dark Queen now. She has used my eyes to fill herself with the power of the dead. There is no hope for the Dark Queen any longer.”
“There is always hope, Sister. Let the guides be a conduit for your knowledge. Help them to find a way to defeat her.”
My sister looked up at me with holes instead of eyes. Already scarred over, she would never see again.
“Yes. This is clever, Sister. The bound ones shall guide the Dark Queen. I believe that the white already has a plan. She will need information. Send them to me.”
Chapter 26
Sebastian
Rose lay in our bed as I sat next to her. She’d been asleep for a full day now. My soul ached as I watched her. She had almost died. I didn’t know what I’d have done if she hadn’t survived. She was my world. My everything. I’d been so afraid when I saw her laying on the floor while Seraphina did her best to kill her. It was only by pure luck that I’d gotten her out, and even that had come with a higher cost than I could ever have imagined.