by Jaymin Eve
From the corner of my eye I could see Larak and Finn locked in battle. My familiar had his jaws wrapped around the back of the snake’s neck, preventing him from using his venom-filled fangs – which were the length of my index finger – but Larak’s long body had encircled my wolf and was squeezing him tightly.
Selene slipped past my defenses then. Even though I saw it coming and managed to dodge to the side, she landed a decent slice across the side of my neck. Luckily my chainmail top was high-necked, but even so, I felt blood trickle down my chest. I forced my full focus back to her, and as she sliced out again, I stepped into her body, dodging the blade, and slammed the mace upward. It grazed the side of her head, taking away a chunk of hair and leaving her stunned.
She’d not expected the direct attack; I’d been on the defensive the entire time. No more though. It was time to win this. I was close enough now for hand to hand, so I dropped the mace and used my favorite move, the spinning heel kick, and as my foot connected to her wrist I heard a distinct crack, and she howled.
My wolf surged within me, urging me forward. There was no room for weakness. I needed to end this. I swung out and she blocked with her good arm, the other cradled close to her body. I had definitely broken her wrist. We sparred back and forth for many moments, both of us injured but neither slowing. I could tell her wrist was starting to recover, but even with shifter healing it would still take a few hours. I needed to end it now, while she was weak.
I went in aggressively, Brazilian Jujitsu style, hands up to protect, and lots of kicks and elbows. Selene was keeping pace with me, so I jabbed out and clipped her injured wrist. Her face creased in pain, and I used that moment to knee her in the gut, knocking her down. She hit the ground hard and I was over the top of her in seconds. My elbow cracked her in the temple and the impact rolled her eyes back in her head. She bucked a few times, but I didn’t let her up.
I wasn’t keen on literally beating her to death, so instead I let my hands settle around her throat, and with a deep breath I was just about to twist and sever her spine when a magical essence washed over me and I was frozen in place. My wolf and I screamed at this loss of control. What was happening? Were we under attack from the bears? Or the Tuatha de Danann?
My pupils were able to dart around still, and from what I could see Finn and Larak were not moving either, nor were the observers across the room.
A deep voice echoed around us all. It was Torine.
“We are calling an end to this task of the Summit due to the obvious fact that Arianna is the clear winner and our new queen. Selene is the backup heir. In this time of turmoil, we think having a backup to step in should anything happen is a good plan. Especially as there are no heirs of age at this time for another Summit, and the weakness can no longer linger through our packs.”
My wolf and I calmed somewhat, even though I was still annoyed by these actions. Why didn’t the council tell us that was the plan? No doubt they wanted to make sure one of us could kill the other, and that’s why Sabina was here, to lay the magic freeze over us just before the kill.
I was a bit relieved that I didn’t have to kill anyone today, though knowing Selene was my backup wasn’t exactly a comforting thought. She was determined to be queen, and no doubt she’d be waiting for someone to off me so she could step in.
The magic around us eased, and a force lifted me up and deposited me away from Selene. Where was the trust, people? I wasn’t going to kill her now … well, probably not.
Finn ran to my side and I sank down, threading my fingers through his fur.
You fought like a true queen, he said to me. Down and dirty.
I had to chuckle; he wasn’t even kidding. I’d completely forgotten the weapons after a while, knowing I couldn’t best her swordsmanship with the mace, and just went for the brawl. Quite satisfying actually.
Something impacted Finn then, hitting him hard enough in the side that both of us stumbled down.
“Larak, no!” Selene was screaming at her familiar, and I was just turning to see what had happened, when Finn collapsed beside me.
The huge snake rose up again, preparing to strike a second time. Thankfully, Selene got to him first, and with a shout threw herself onto him and stopped his strike.
I was panicking, my hands running across Finn as he wheezed at my side. I could hear the noise, the chaos around us, but I was detached, my body in full lockdown panic mode. Larak bit Finn, oh my God.
“Someone save the familiar,” I heard Torine shout.
A queen without a familiar was no queen at all. If Finn died, I would go crazy until I was no longer able to function. We were soul bound.
“Treason!” Calista shouted from the door. She was right. I had just been declared queen and Selene’s familiar had tried to kill me. Luckily I had the anti-venom. Thank you, Violet.
The foam was already forming along Finn’s jaw; his eyes were glassy as I dug deep into my pocket for the vial. I was shaking, almost dropping the precious liquid as I finally freed it.
“Hang on, old friend,” I said, trying to be as reassuring as I could. I really just wanted to scream and howl and cut that snake into a million pieces. “I’m going to save you, you’ll be fine.”
Larak must have given him a huge hit of venom. My wolf’s heart was already stuttering as his blood started to boil within. I could feel what Finn was feeling and it was awful, pain like I’d never felt before, burning in my chest.
Someone dropped at my side, and I was just about to lash out when my limbs froze. It was Sabina. “Let me,” she said. “I can get it into his bloodstream faster than you.”
She must have known what it was, because as soon as I dropped the vial into her hands she uncorked it. As the liquid emerged upon a magical wave, she whispered to it, and it shot straight toward Finn’s heart. He jerked as it entered, soaking through his fur. His low whimpers were killing me.
I knew Selene and Larak were being completely ripped a new one from the council, but there’d be no real punishment. Selene was considered royal now, a spare heir. Which gave her power over the council. Plus she’d argue she had nothing to do with it, that the snake hadn’t understood the battle was over. She’d also mention how she’d jumped on him and stopped a second attack. Very convenient, right? She was great at the lying and deception thing.
I held my breath, running my hands across Finn’s soft white fur, as I waited for the anti-venom to kick in. What if Violet got it wrong? Or if Larak and Selene had done something to ramp up the potency.
Calista, who appeared from somewhere, broke protocol and draped an arm around me, hugging me close. I’d just become queen, every heir’s dream, but I couldn’t have cared less.
Finn’s heart started to race then, and I swear the heat pouring off him was akin to a lava field. The venom was literally cooking him from the inside out. Tears poured down my cheeks as grief consumed me. To see him suffering like this was worse than if it were me. I wished it had been me.
I was going to kill that snake, in slow torturous slices of my blade.
Finn growled then, and it seemed a little less weak then before. Sabina dropped her head down and whispered, “Eraticata” as a slow stream of silver fluid dribbled out of Finn’s mouth. “It’s working,” she told us. “You’re very lucky to have had anti-venom for Larak. Nothing I could have done today would have saved your familiar.”
A sliver of hope struck me, and I promised I would give Violet anything she wanted in the world for this. She had saved my life, even if it was in a roundabout way. Finn was my life.
I could feel Finn getting stronger, and I stayed by his side until he could stand. Only then did I stand as well.
Tears stained my cheeks, crusty blood stuck to my body from my neck to my elbow, and I held Larak in a murderous gaze.
Torine met my eyes and nodded. “Long live the queen!” he yelled, and everyone in the room chorused his words. Even Selene. She had to. I was her master now.
That night I had Cali
sta email Selene a copy of a menu from a restaurant in Arizona. They specialized in serving deep-fried snake. I wanted to make it clear that if Larak went anywhere near Finn or me again, I would have the palace chef serve him for dinner. I also issued royal orders that ejected her from the Manhattan borough and forced her to take over the Bronx. On one hand I hated to have Selene in my old territory, but on the other I refused to rule Manhattan with her so close by. Not long after this I received word that Selene had exited the palace.
“She’s going to the Bronx?” Calista asked me.
I took a deep breath, running my hands over Finn. I’d barely left his side since the last battle. Violet had appeared soon after he received the anti-venom and helped us get him back to my temporary suite. She was now allowed free run in the castle. I was the new queen, lockdown had been lifted, and Sabina would no longer be the magic born of Manhattan.
I was so relieved Violet was here. She was going to stay by Finn’s side tonight just in case he had any setbacks from the venom.
“Yes. Can you let all of my main shifters know they’re moving to Manhattan,” I said to Calista, relieved to see her tablet already out and her fingers flying over it. “I don’t want Selene anywhere near me, and unfortunately the Bronx is the only territory I can offer her.”
I regretted that some of my wolves would be left under her control, but unlike the Red Queen, I’d be keeping an eye on Selene. If she stepped out of line, I would crush her like the devious little worm she was.
“I’ve already started organizing the castle,” Calista said, her laser focus never moving from her device. “We will have more than enough positions for all of the wolves you’re transporting to Manhattan. You need to screen all of the queen’s current guards and staff, decide who you trust enough to keep around, and relocate the others.”
And so it began. I was not going to have much of an adjustment period. Coronation tomorrow and then straight into the fray. Wow, I was actually going to be the queen of the wolf shifters.
I both anticipated the coronation with almost crazy levels of excitement and feared it for the seriousness of its ritual. I was told it would be held with a very special attendant, the bear king. It was one of our oldest laws that the bear king be present to witness the coronation of a new queen, and that afterward we have peace talks and hopefully form a new agreement between the two current monarchs. I was kind of looking forward to meeting the king. I hoped he brought Gerald and that we could discuss going after the Red Queen’s killer together. Maybe he had learned more about the fae and their possible threat. I hadn’t forgotten that I had three deaths to avenge.
My fears stemmed from the fact I would have to join with the mecca in front of all my people. This was the most important of steps for the new queen to take. This joining was the cementing of the power in the boroughs. I would then begin to filter the mecca’s massive energy and send it out into my people around the world. We had been weakened for a week now, which might seem like a short amount of time, but … a lot can happen in a week.
The mecca was unstable, changed since the Red Queen fell, and who knew what was going to happen tomorrow when I took that final step to being queen.
Violet, who had briefly stepped from the room, returned and crossed back to Finn’s side. She held a vial in her hands, the liquid a murky pink color. “This will help him get some sleep,” she said, her voice low. “The anti-venom almost wasn’t strong enough. Larak threw everything he had at Finn.”
My heart stuttered, and it was only my rhythmic patting of his warm body that allowed me to keep myself from falling apart. Violet leaned down and I watched the liquid flow into my familiar. Almost in an instant he relaxed, and I could feel the tendrils of pain within him ease. Not much on Earth could hurt a familiar, but Larak was not from Earth; he was from the same world as Finn and his venom was deadly.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” I said to Violet. “I love you, you know that, right?”
She shrugged, giving me a wan smile. She’d been worried for us during the fight, and I could see the toll it took on her. “You don’t have to thank me, I’d do anything for you two. Sometimes I just wish these powers were more predictable.”
Violet didn’t like to talk about her powers much. She confided in me once that it alienated her when she just wanted to feel normal and accepted. But since she’d brought it up, I decided to push her a little more.
“Vi, what exactly did you see? Was it the actual future, because I never knew you could do that? Did you see Finn get bitten?”
She froze, and I wondered if she would answer or brush it to the side as she was known to do when things got too personal. When she looked up at me her eyes were even more unnaturally pale than usual. “Sometimes I get flashes, other times it’s just a sense. Either way, the future can change in a blink, so you cannot put too much faith in the visions.”
That was all she said before joining me in stroking Finn’s luxurious white fur.
Well, what do you know. I think my best friend had just admitted that she could actually glimpse the future. I took a moment to really look at her familiar face, all of my love pouring out in the next words.
“Hey, Vi?”
She looked up at me.
“Want to be my palace magic born?”
Her face lit up and she actually jumped up off the couch. “Take over Sabina’s job?”
I laughed, letting some of my happiness out. “Yes. I respect Sabina but she isn’t you.”
Violet looked overjoyed and I didn’t realize until now how much she must have been waiting for me to say that. Being the palace magic born was like being queen of the magic borns. I would give Sabina a good severance package, let her go with grace. She would have her choice of alphas to lead with. She probably wouldn’t even be surprised, as Calista had just pointed out, it was commonplace that a new queen changed staff when she took office. My only stipulation would be that Sabina could not join the Bronx borough. Selene was not getting her hands on a magic born. She was dangerous enough as it was.
That night, as I finally got into bed, ready to pass out for a few hours of blissful unconsciousness, I found myself reliving everything from the last few days. One would think that the strongest image would be the moment I became queen, but unfortunately for me that would always be tinged with memories of fear and pain. Of almost losing my soul. My Finn.
Rather I focused on the woman and her lioness familiar who had stalked Finn. Her presence had not been a worry I could deal with in the midst of the Summit, but now it couldn’t be so easily pushed aside. As exhaustion pressed on me, and I sank deeper into the world of sleep, I let my mind touch on Finn; I’d almost lost him today. I was reassured to feel his warm presence through our bond; he was alive and would fully recover. Thank the gods.
I was going to be queen!
Again this thought had me in a mess of emotions, my stomach tied up in knots. Wanting to be queen, and then actually living it day to day, were not even remotely the same thing. I wondered if I would do the Red Queen proud, or crash and burn.
Of course my last thought, as darkness descended across my vision, was of that damn bear gardener, and that brazen kiss I couldn’t seem to forget. No matter how hard I tried.
Chapter Eight
The darkness in the deep.
The next morning I was awoken by a neurotically happy and bubbly Calista.
“It’s your coronation! Good morning!” she squeaked, throwing my curtains wide.
I groaned in bed. My wounds had been tended to after the battle but my body still felt like it had been hit by a truck. I needed food, tons and tons of food.
“Feed me,” I croaked. “Or I’ll have you beheaded.”
Calista laughed. “Not even queen yet and already evil. Well, Your Majesty, I have a five-course meal waiting for you. Violet was just tucking into the bacon and egg burritos.”
I shot out of bed and tore out of the room just in time to see Violet’s hand frozen midair as she
looked at me.
“You would dare touch your queen’s breakfast?” I said in a heavy British accent, and Violet busted out laughing. Calista followed, her laughter light and infectious.
This is what I needed, lots of jokes to break up the nerves that had settled in my gut. And lots of bacon, always bacon.
Violet took a bite and grinned at me as I sat beside her and was relieved to feel Finn relaxed by my feet.
I love you. I said simply.
And I you.
The rest of us didn’t talk, we just ate, moaning and nodding at the amazing array before us. Eggs Benedict, spinach and mushroom quiche, crown-shaped pancakes to honor my coronation. This palace chef was definitely NOT getting replaced. In fact I decided right then to give him a raise. I could feel the aches in my body healing faster as I consumed more calories.
I looked at Violet then as we lay back in our chairs nearly panting and stuffed with food.
“You know what I hate about living in the city?”
Violet shrugged. “There’s nothing I hate about this city.”
Violet loved New York, its noises, its smells, its concrete jungle. Not to mention she could stroll around in her Renaissance outfits and no one even blinked an eye. She fit here. Always had.
“As a shifter, I’m always wanting to break free of my human skin and run. I have these dreams where I’m running through fields of flowers as fast as I can. You can’t do that here.”
It happened every so often when one of the wolves lost control, but it was forbidden. Humans were already too aware of us, and they did not need to start fearing the beasts that lurked in plain sight all around them.
Violet got that look on her face then, the one which when we were ten definitely meant I was going to be in big trouble. Queen heir or not.
“What?” I said. “Spit it out.”
“I think I know a way we can run in the city.”
I raised an eyebrow as my best friend stood and pulled a book out of her messenger bag. It was one of the spell books I had won from my first challenge. I could see some little pieces of paper acting as bookmarks and knew Violet had been studying it closely.