“I shall go first, and you will follow quietly behind me. I do not feel it necessary that the people of this court know it’s you who guards my back. Therefore you will not be announced. Will that be a problem, little sister?” Sasha spat her words angry and threatening. Zoey stood shocked her eyes wide as she knew she had to choose her words carefully or the beast would attack.
“I understand, dear sister, and stand ever ready at your side.” She said, her words but a whisper falling upon Sasha’s ears. Sasha smirked as she glided forward and got the crier’s attention. She would show Zoey her worth this night. Sasha planned to make sure that Zoey knew she was nothing and would remain nothing as long as Sasha reigned over Astra. The beast would have no competition, she intended to shine the brightest tonight for all to see.
Zoey fell in behind Sasha, her eyes roaming the room looking for any creature out of place. There was royalty from every kingdom, and she would not fail in her duties. As she entered unannounced by the crier’s call, the royals present seemed to give a low hiss. Those that knew her looked away from Sasha in disdain. Zoey could feel them bristle at her treatment, and as they walked the carpet to Queen Elise’s throne, the room slowly divided itself. Sasha didn’t seem to notice the change, she was so sure everyone attending was there for her and her only. It wasn’t until they reached Queen Elise that Sasha began to look around.
“Greetings, mother,” Sasha said with a low bow. Zoey followed suit though she spoke no words of greeting. She could feel the shift in the air and the emotion of fear radiating from the queen. She had no idea what game was afoot, but something had changed since the tantrum Sasha had thrown earlier with the discovery of Prince Royal’s dead body.
“Greeting my daughters, it is with great pleasure and hope that I welcome you back home to the court of Astra. Please take your seats,” Queen Elsie said, indicating the thrones that had been set to the left of the queen’s own throne. Sasha approached the dais, her eyes slit and wary as she took the throne closest to her mother. Zoey took the throne furthest from the queen, as was custom for her station. Hisses rang out from the crown again, and soft murmurs as the court waited in semi-silence for the queen to speak.
“Cherished royals of Astra today, we celebrate the coming of age ceremony for my daughter Sasha. She has reached the age of status and can now be named heir to the throne of Astra. We also welcome my youngest daughter Zoey home from her training as guardian of the court and heir in waiting. They both are to be celebrated this night, but before we begin, I would call upon the old gods for a decision of true succession,” Queen Elise announced.
The court lay quiet each royal holding their breath, for they knew the right Queen Elise was about to invoke before all of the nobles of Astra. It was an old right known as the Queen’s trial.
“Each of my children has taken a different path in life, and each one has thrived in their own way. I call upon the God Eros and the Goddess Nyx to lay their judgment before the kingdom. I call for their guidance and direction in choosing my successor and that of the Land of Astra’s new queen.”
The gathered nobles cheered as a chilling wind swept through the throne room, and the smell of mating accompanied it. Two brilliant balls of light danced and pulsed before Queen Elise. Darting forward, they slipped passed her to float first around Sasha, who growled and swatted at them like an angry kitten and then to Zoey, who sat passive and patient while the orbs made their judgment.
“We have answered the call, and now all will hear our judgment,” two voices from the orbs said in unison. Zoey searched the crown for Zephyr, but he was nowhere to be found. She hoped beyond all hope that he was ready to fight at her side should she need him. She could feel the angry waves as they slipped off of Sasha’s form like a sickening pulse of death.
“Two have been called to measure by the gods of old, and we have found them both equal for the task you seek. Therefore we shall set them upon the Queen’s road to face trials of character and to retrieve items thought lost to this court forever. Who so ever succeeds in retrieving the required items shall take the place of the heir to all Astra. We call for the Queen’s Trial. Let the blood they shed show the truth of their souls,” The orbs said before disappearing completely.
The court cheered, and Sasha growled. Her fury so loud it silenced the court of every land in one roar of displeasure.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Sasha spat, each word falling from her lips like an angry throwing knife aimed at the heart of any who stood in her way.
“It means that you will have to earn your crown child.”Queen Elise said as she held her head high. “It is a tradition long held when both heirs are female. You cannot force judgment, you must compete for judgment. Show your worth and win the throne.”
If looks could kill, Sasha would have seen Queen Elise dead where she stood. Sasha was meant to be the heir; Sasha would rule over all the lands, not Zoey!
“How can this be? I am firstborn to the throne of Astra, and Zoey is but a questionable replacement,” Sasha whined, false tears filling her eyes in an attempt to quell her anger.
“The old gods have spoken, and we will heed their words. Tonight we celebrate, and tomorrow, the first quest shall be drawn. I bid the court to eat, drink, and be merry for soon a new ruler will take my place, and the dawning of a new era will be born,” Queen Elise said in answer to Sasha and the court that had gone silent at her question.
The court cheered, and music began to play. Zoey sat dumbstruck as she realized that the gods themselves had given her a chance to save her home and all those in it. The smile that spread across her face lit her eyes up like a Christmas tree. She would do her best and gain her throne from the beast. Only then would she have the power needed in the eyes of the court to kill her foe once and for all.
Sasha sat her anger palpable in the air. How dare her mother offers Zoey a chance at her throne? What the fuck was that woman thinking? Did she know that her daughter was no more and that the beast had taken over? Was Sasha in danger of being removed? Her eyes scanned the occupants of the throne room, searching for Malenhiem. She required his counsel and did not care who saw her. So much for an easy takeover. The damned Gods of this world were always a problem, one Sasha longed to eat and absorb.
As she was about to give up her search, her eyes found Malenhiem, holding court wither mother on the dance floor. He was washed and shorn. He looked almost human as he twirled her mother through the dance. Damn that traitorous whore. It was always some other woman or him comparing her to some short-lived human. Calling the human a classical beauty that the beast herself could never match. That they use to be one entity baffled her. They were so different, his utter disregard for her needs a telling tale she had no desire to experience ever again.
Once Malenhiem had finished his usefulness, Sasha planned to eat him like a superfood to help make her unstoppable. She would devour this world, and her little sister would be powerless to stop her. She thought to call the court lich away from his reverie with the queen but noticed the many eyes that watched her every move. She had to find allies this night if she was to win these trials. Tasting the air with a short sniff, she located the dragon prince. He would be a powerful ally and a supercharged snack.
She stepped down from the throne and made her way towards the prince, hisses, and curses seemed to follow in her wake. Sasha kept her smile and acted like she heard nothing. It baffled her that after all this time, the people still treated her as awfully as they did when she was little. She turned for just a moment and looked back at Zoey, noticing that her target had made his way to her sister without her notice. Damn that woman, Sasha had to resist the urge to put her head back and roar. Choosing a random noble, she all but dragged the poor man onto the dance floor while she watched Zoey thwart all her plans.
Chapter 23
Queen’s Trial
Queen Elise paced her room like a caged animal. Malenhiem had been overbearing and unendurable. Her skin crawled with a tho
usand bugs every time he touched her skin, yet he had provided her a way to save her kingdom. With Royal dead, she had no one to cry to and no place to let her mind rest. If only she knew what had happened to her first love. Sasha had been brimming with power at the banquet, and try as she may no one would entertain business with her at all.
Most of the different kingdoms flocked to Zoey. It was as it should be, the true heir had gathered the kingdoms to her naturally. It broke Queen Elise’s heart to know that even though the beast wore the countenance of her daughter that the little girl she bore was not her child. She could feel the chill of the beast every time the Sasha was near and knew that the beast was not happy with her. She would eat the Queen if she could, but Elise had managed to keep her distance. Her life seemed to depend on it.
Malenhiem had devised the first combat trial before both girls would be sent to the Lycan kingdom to retrieve the wolf star. How they got there and what they faced along the way would be up to the gods and goddesses. Queen Elise had already made her offering with her guards guarding her against Sasha. She had posted extra guards everywhere because her fear had become so great. This morning she had been grateful just to be alive. Even if Malenhiem slept next to her like a corpse that barely inhaled and exhaled as he slumbered.
The constant smell of preserved corpse had been thick on her tongue, yet she lived another day. It was more than she could have hoped for. So many mistakes made in her youth. She had definitely been young and dumb. Queen Elise was grateful that she was now older and wiser, or Astra would have fallen into the clutches of the beast. She dressed in her royal battle gear, for she would be hosting the fight in the arena of choosing. It was a tradition and one she planned to abide by. She would no longer deviate from what she knew of the old prophecies.
Her clan had been summoned as witnesses to the travesty they had wrought. She would show them no mercy if they denied her invitation. Armed and armored like the days of old Queen Elise made her way to the royal box and took her seat. Most royals would wait until the arena was full, but today was about hope for her kingdom, not pomp and circumstance.
The arena filled to capacity in a blink of an eye, people she had not seen in years filled every seat in the stadium. The Hemlock clan had made their appearance, and her father roared to the Queen’s box, but Queen Elise chose not to respond. They were to be punished after the festivities even if they were not aware. As her father’s eye met her own, the crier’s trumpet sounded. The girls had arrived. Queen Elise stood raising both arms for quiet. The crowd lowered their banter to a hush so deep that even the wind sounded loud to her ears.
“We gather today to start an old tradition a new. The gods and goddesses that guard our world have cried out for a battle of succession. We shall give them what they require lest they smite the land or blight our crops. We have all made offerings to the Gods this day, and our last offering comes as the first challenge of the Queen’s Trial.”
The arena burst into applause. The noble idiots had no idea what they faced. They had already chosen their favorite by instinct. Each house unaware of the danger that lurked below them, preparing herself for battle. Only the elders of the houses had a clue why Queen Elise had called the trial. The dragons looked ready to pounce, the wolves hung back observing, the house of the jaguar stood ready to defend, and the house of the phoenix per usual looked as if they didn’t care if the world burned around them. This day they would all see or be misled. They were all fools in Queen Elise’s mind, It was why she held the position of high queen.
“We have two heirs that are eligible for this trial. Both women are maidens, both trained in different ways to protect all of Asta and her many kingdoms, and both hold the blood of the first lion shifter clan the Nightshade family. Their first test will determine who gets a head start and a letter of passage. The loser will be on their own, only able to take from their own store of weapons. They will not be allowed help from any house as they set off on their journey. The battle will be to first blood as we don’t want our opponents killed before their journey has begun,” Queen Elise said to the arena.
The applause and cheering are instantaneous. The nobles of this crowd hungered for blood and would see the successor of their choice brought to power or so Queen Elise hoped. The crier set to work announcing first Sasha to a series of cheers and hissing, she sauntered into the arena like a golden statue. Her armor gleaming from disuse and her movements sluggish. Yet she held her head high, believing herself to be powerful or so it seemed to Queen Elise. The snickers she heard from nobles close by let her know that even they could see her arrogance.
The crowd roared its approval when Zoey entered. Her armor simple and functional. She neither waved nor acknowledged the screaming masses. Her focus was laser-sharp and lingered only on Sasha.
“You both have been given the rules, may Eros watch over you.” Queen Elise called as she dropped the flag to begin. The woman of the crowd screamed as Sasha attacked Zoey full force. Her sword flying through the air with unnatural speed. Zoey darted back and forth effortlessly, parring every blow that Sasha sent her way. She had hoped for more of a challenge, but her Sister was a novice at best.
Just to get a break, she kicked Sasha’s feet together and watched her ass hit the dirt with a screeching metal thud. The armor she wore weighing her down more than the heavy sword she held. How she managed to maneuver was beyond Zoey’s understanding. “Are you enjoying yourself, little sister?” Sasha hissed. The venom in her voice flowed like waves in a sea storm.
“I never enjoy hurting people, I am doing only what is required of me for our homeland,” Zoey said back her voice calm and relaxed. Sasha roared as she swung a small throwing ax in Zoey’s direction, but Zoey stepped out of its path easily.
“Your trainers were shit?” Zoey said as she leaned forward, taunting the beast who had made no move to regain her footing. She sat in the dirt pouting like a small yet dangerous child.
“No, you’re the only shit I see little sister. The throne is mine by right! Concede!”Sasha screamed, jumping to her feet and rushing headlong at Zoey like a raging bull.
“Never!” Zoey hissed as she ran her blade across Sasha’s eyebrow, splitting it open. The crowd roared as the crier called the match. Zoey stood her chest, barely moving while Sasha huffed like a pig.
“We have a winner.” Queen Elise said with a smile. Her plans to save the land cast and Malenhiem’s plan to devour the land begun. The beast snarled and left the arena without a word. She would have her revenge but now was not the time. Zoey stood in the center of the arena awestruck as each noble rose to their feet and screamed her victory. In her heart, she knew that this was where she belonged. The Warrior Queen of Astra would rise once more.
To Be Continued………..
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