Knight's End: A Reverse Harem Fantasy (Tangled Crowns Book 3), page 7
Blue’s excited thoughts interjected before I could ask if Declan was okay. Isla’s thoughts are turning dark! He exclaimed. She stopped thinking about battle. She’s thinking of her daughter … of saying goodbye to her daughter—
Next to me, Declan started to shake.
“Sard it all,” Connor whispered, his tone awed. “Dec’s sucking out all her joy.”
“Can he do that? Could you do that?” I asked, shocked.
Connor shrugged. “I never tried. I only ever sipped.”
Keep doing it! Blue shouted in all our heads.
I cringed.
She’s thinking about climbing out the window, ending it all!
My hand flew to my mouth. “No!” It couldn’t be this easy.
I turned to Declan, who was leaning back against the wall, shaking his head from side to side and fanning himself. He was sweating profusely. His face went through a rapid series of emotions, bliss, maniacal silent laughter, pain, and ultimately sadness. He doubled over.
I grabbed his knife and yanked on it when he reached for it.
But I wasn’t strong enough. He pushed me back and set the knife on his wrist—
Connor yanked the blade away from him. Then Connor put a hand over his sword and his face near Declan’s. “These aren’t your emotions. These aren’t your emotions.”
Declan started to tremble.
Helplessness choked me. I didn’t know what to do. I came forward and hugged Declan. I could feel him trembling. I sent a little stream of peace into him, hoping that might help. “Just another minute Dec. Just a little longer,” I whispered.
She’s opening the window— Blue reported before turning silent again.
Gods, can Declan do this? Can he kill her? I wondered.
His face was in shadows as he slumped into me and Connor.
Quinn tugged on Connor’s sleeve, desperate to find out what was going on. Connor leaned down a bit and whispered to Quinn, updating him as I poured even more peace into Declan, whose back arched as if he were in physical—not just emotional—pain. I shoved both hands on either side of his face, ignoring the blood that dripped from my wrists onto both of us. I pulsed peace into my blond knight.
On my arm, Dini stirred, my power or my blood seemed to rouse her. She stretched on my arm.
My eyes met Declan’s in the green glow of my power. I held his gaze as he struggled with emotional overload. Dec’s mouth opened. And then he fell forward in a dead faint.
I caught him, but if Connor and Quinn hadn’t moved to catch me, I’d have tumbled headfirst down the stairs. My two knights helped me and eventually shifted Declan over so that Quinn could sling the scholar over his shoulder.
Shite! Blue cursed. She didn’t jump. And now she knows we’re here. She thinks Quinn planted thoughts of suicide in her head.
Connor ignored him as he used a little bit of pink light to partially heal my cuts.
Quinn used his fingers to mime running, and we nodded. Having lost the advantage of surprise, we needed to get away and regroup. And heal Declan somehow.
Quinn disappeared with Declan. Carrying the other knight didn’t seem to hamper his speed at all. The rest of us were silently picking our way down the stairs when, suddenly, the thatched roof was ripped off the building.
Two giants peered down into the darkness. Their breath washed over us, and it smelled of death. Blood and rot. They gnashed their teeth as they peered down inside. Each one of their teeth was as large as my hand. Luckily, they’d been in bright sunlight, so the darkness of the back stairwell was a bit harder for them to see.
We all froze for a second in horror. And then we forgot that we were in Raslen uniforms. That we might have simply walked down the stairs and made our way out. Prey instinct made us run.
It was the running that tipped them off.
A giant hand reached toward me.
Behind me, Blue screeched. I heard the sound of the tin squeaking as he opened it. I didn’t look back. I kept running, heart pounding as I ducked the huge fingers. I heard Blue’s grunt as he launched the tin and amulet at the huge giant. The creature’s fingers snatched my disguised hair and I felt a sharp, tight tug that sent red ribbons of pain darting across my vision. I was lifted a foot—only to come crashing down on the stairs as dust fell like rain, filling the stairwell.
Blue snatched me up as I coughed and darted toward the open servant’s door.
The footsteps of the other giant, who must have been on the other side of the tavern, shook the earth as it ran around the building toward us. In front of me, Connor suddenly blurred and disappeared in a whip of wind. I hoped that meant that Quinn had grabbed him. But I didn’t have time to think, because just then, a huge, bare, calloused foot stepped around the corner, and a shadow fell over me and Blue.
The second giant snarled down at us and my eyes flew up to meet its furious gaze.
It stomped forward.
But instead of running toward the forest, Blue backed up with me in his arms.
What are you doing? I thought furiously.
Look at the ground.
My eyes scanned the ground and spotted the black stone. Blue must have hit the first giant with his throw, and the stone must have fallen with the dust pile.
Dini reformed on my arm. She turned and saw the giant, letting out a terrified squeak just before the giant’s foot smashed down onto the amulet.
I barely had time to close my eyes before a second cloud of dust washed over us.
That’s when Blue ran for the forest with me in his arms. I leaned over his shoulder to look back at the road. I couldn’t be sure but I thought I saw a little pile of black dust amongst the rest. It looked to me like the giant had destroyed the death amulet.
Connor had Declan already mounted onto the gargoyle in front of him, his arms around the other knight to ensure he wouldn’t fall.
Quinn helped Blue and me mount up and then he slid onto Declan’s former gargoyle.
“But—” I started to protest. Quinn couldn’t nag the beast to get him moving.
Connor cut me off. “He’s been practicing. He’ll be fine.”
And my stupid shite of a gargoyle took off before I could hear my silent knight say his first word. He took off so fast that my bloody wrist scraped against his neck and my wound reopened. The blood soaked into the stone.
We flew over the tavern, watching as Isla and her generals burst outside to see what had happened.
Isla’s howl of rage was music to my ears.
We hadn’t cut the head off the snake.
But we’d certainly wounded her.
I made my gargoyle dip low. I had no way to kill her, not without the amulet—not with her soldiers and generals still surrounding her. Not yet. But I could add salt to the wound. I made certain she could see my blue uniform as I called out, “Your Majesty, it’s been a pleasure betraying you!”
I yanked at my gargoyle and, for once, the damned thing obeyed easily. We swerved and gained speed as we flew off.
Dini laughed into the wind. “That was the best adventure I’ve had in nearly two centuries!”
I ignored her. As Isla disappeared below the clouds, my thoughts turned to my capital, Marscha, because that’s where Ryan had gone.
Isla’s thoughts about the battle there had been happy thoughts.
Fear lit like a torch in my heart.
I selfishly prayed to the gods Ryan hadn’t been hurt. That he was safe. That he’d arrived after any attack that had occurred.
I urged my stone beast to hurry, but I knew, whatever had happened, I was already too late.
Chapter Seven
We arrived back at the capital an hour before dusk only to see utter devastation. Marscha was flattened. Not a building remained standing.
From my place on the back of my gargoyle, I surveyed the damage. Searing pain filled my body at the thought of what had happened to all those poor souls. The pitched rooves of the houses were still intact, but the walls were gone, blown out and collapsed. On every single building. This was too much to have been the work of giants.
My eyes searched the wreckage for a gargoyle—they could withstand most things. But I didn’t spot one. I didn’t know if that was good or bad. I didn’t know if that meant Ryan had gotten sidetracked on his way here or …
Blue pulled his mount up beside me, to hover next to mine. "It's wish magic," he said.
"You're sure?" I asked. Even growing up during the last Fire War, I hadn’t seen such devastation. I’d seen towns half-burnt. I’d seen fields set ablaze. But even a dragon hadn’t been able to raze an entire capital city so that no building remained standing. Could it be wish magic? I’d never seen it, not during the last war. Of course, mother had had an alliance with the sultan, so perhaps that was why.
Blue scrunched his face in concentration. A minute later, he sent me a mental image of a town that was nestled into a sand dune in the middle of the desert. His memory played out as though he watched from his camel, the beast’s neck occasionally coming into view. A line of half-djinn soldiers each whispered a wish. Then, on the sultan’s signal, they all said, “Granted,” at the same time. The soldiers all writhed as their nightmares set in—tentacles sprouting from their arms, eyeballs going missing. The brick buildings with their turrets and towers capped by red onion domes, collapsed in upon themselves in one fell swoop. The onion domes had been the only items to survive, rolling across the hot sand like toys, like children’s tops that had been abandoned. The sight was haunting. And it clearly reflected the scene in front of us.
Horror churned in my stomach. How’s that possible?
He calls it stringing wishes. Every wish can only have one objective or target. But he decides ahead of time on each target—the mill, the granary, and so on. Then he has each soldier make a wish to blow out the walls of one building. When they all grant them at the same time … It's how he ended the town of Qaleh, Blue thought sadly. He made my brothers and I watch.
I’m sorry. I imagined giving Blue a hug.
He returned the hug in my head, holding me close and swaying back and forth, letting me pat his back as he buried his face in my neck.
I’m sorry, he replied. I never thought I’d have to see it again. I’m sorry he did this. If I could wish for him to lose his throne, if I could wish for his death, I would.
Blue … I wanted to tell him that everything would be okay. But one look at the scene in front of me made those words a lie.
How could everything be okay? How could this possibly end well? I wondered.
I pulled out of our mental conversation and waved my hand at the crushed city in front of me. "Wouldn't the nightmare for collapsing an entire building be too much?"
Blue sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face. It was a minute before he could speak aloud again. A minute in which the guilt ate at me, growing like a pit in my stomach at the thought of all the people who’d died. People who’d been my responsibility.
Blue finally spoke, "My father, though wishes cost him nothing, thinks wishing is below him. He’d rather watch others suffer. He doesn’t care if the nightmare’s too much.”
“Why would anyone accept that? Be part of it?”
“My country isn’t like Evaness. Those who refuse are ostracized, tortured, wishes are turned against them.”
My other knights flew closer to hear Blue’s words. Declan had come to, but he looked horrid. He was pale and wan, as though he’d been in his sickbed for a year.
I motioned for us to land. We touched down at the edge of town on the side farthest from the castle. My gargoyle knelt so I could slide off unassisted. I patted its head, glad it was maturing, hoping that meant that maybe Ryan would be able to get our flying fighters moving. I tried to force myself to believe he was unhurt and here somewhere, helping. I tried to convince myself that he was alright. I reminded myself that four of my knights were bound to one another. If Ryan had been killed, they would have fallen down dead.
But death and injuries were different. He could still be hurt and bleeding. His legs could be crushed under a wall. I cut off my thoughts. They were wandering too far into frantic speculation. I reined them in, but my fingers wouldn’t stop shaking.
Dini said, “Well, you’ve turned out to be a rather unstable ride.” She wriggled on me, tugging uncomfortably at my skin in her bark-like form. I scratched at her until she cooed and settled back, “That’s the spot. A bit lower. A bit lower.”
When I scratched a bit harder, she made a moaning noise.
I stopped. “Dini? Did I hurt you?”
“Why’d you stop?” she protested. “I was almost there.”
Shock and disgust flooded me as I realized the implication of her words.
No, she can’t mean that, I thought. I’m projecting.
I cleared my throat awkwardly and turned to my gargoyle.
“Stay,” I murmured to my beast. He sunk to his stomach. The other gargoyles seemed to follow his lead, which was good for us. I didn’t want to lead them through town. They’d be more likely to cause even further destruction than be a help.
I walked over to Declan to check on him. He sighed and waved me away. “I’ll be fine, Bloss. You don’t have time to worry about me. We need to find Ryan.”
I nodded, crossing my arms over my chest as if to brace myself for impact. I wanted to ask Blue to search for Ryan’s thoughts. But at the same time, I was terrified of what he would find. Or wouldn’t find. My chin trembled despite my efforts to clamp my jaw closed. I had to swallow down the bile that rose in my throat as I turned toward Marscha.
The castle still rose in the distance, battered from the attack before Donaloo had put the freezing spell on it. The mage’s tower was the only bright spark of blooming life amongst the wreckage that stretched for miles. The unnatural flowers on the tower contrasted the devastation with little pinpoints of orange, yellow, and purple blooms.
I closed my eyes and allowed myself a moment to take one long, bracing breath before I started forward.
I was determined to walk through town, not only to honor those who had passed, but to see if anyone survived in the wreckage. I was certain it was impossible. But I'd seen the impossible happen before. And if I could save even one of my citizens, it was my duty.
I walked first, down the middle of the road. My knights walked two by two behind me. We moved toward the first building slowly, my ears and eyes on high alert for any movement or sign of distress.
Suddenly, my vision blurred. Flattened buildings seemed to pop up and regain their shape. Walls restored themselves. And what had looked like a crumbled ruin became a home. I glanced back; my knights’ faces were still dark with sadness and guilt.
“Come here,” I whispered urgently. They lined up beside me and I watched their startled faces as they took in what I saw.
“Is the house back?” Declan asked.
Quinn nodded. He pointed at his eye and at his head and then put his fingers in an X.
I nodded. “Yes. It’s kind of like the illusions you make.”
We took another step forward. The silence of a dead city was suddenly replaced by the laughing, shouting rumble of a town that was alive and well. Townspeople filled the street, looking alive and well, if a bit odd. They were all out, crawling around on their hands and knees—children, the elderly, everyone. One man’s face popped up over a roof ledge, “I’m searching the thatch.”
Our people were safe. But they’d gone mad.
My knights’ faces were confused, disoriented by this double reality. But it hit me. "Donaloo. He's back."
A third step revealed guards, lined up, protecting the town. When they saw us in our Raslen garb, their spears lowered to point right at our chests.
It was Quinn who stopped them. Even without words, my silent spy master’s name and face were known throughout the kingdom. He side-stepped a spear point and tossed his blue vest on the ground. He tugged at his hair and fingered the bead there.
The eyes on the soldier nearest him widened. “Knight Quinn? Quinn Hale?”
Quinn gave the man a small smile.
The soldier turned to one of his comrades. “Get the general!”
My heart nearly collapsed in relief. If they were saying that, Ryan was okay.
A soldier scampered off and their commanding officer was soon tromping over. He was a thick, burly man whose hair was mostly grey. Luckily, this man recognized Connor as well as Quinn.
Connor used his normal charm on the soldier. “Is there somewhere we can wait for Ryan? We’ve been on a confidential mission and will need to discuss it with him.”
“Of course, sir,” the commander clicked his heels together and escorted us away from the road toward a small barracks that had been built to guard the edge of the capital. He left us in a plain wooden room with a long table and several benches. Another soldier brought a pitcher of water and several cups and set them out for us.
Dini started to screech for some sugar water, but Declan had a very convenient coughing fit that covered it up for us. I scratched at her bark to shut her mouth.
Her little moan wasn’t much better.
“Do you need anything else?” the commander asked, looking at us oddly.
Connor came forward and shook the man’s hand. “No, thank you, that’s wonderful, Commander—”
“Lawton, sir.”
“Commander Lawton. We’ll be fine here. I’m so happy to see that everyone is okay. When we flew up, we had quite a fright.”
“Yes, that wizard. He’s an odd duck, but glad he’s on our side. When the sultan and his horde flew overhead and circled the city, I thought we were goners—”
The man’s thoughts must have projected clearly to Blue, and I think he might have sent them through to all of us without meaning to, because suddenly we saw the sultan and his entourage floating in midair, their midsections dissolving into colorful twists of smoke as they hovered above my capital like vengeful ghosts. It seemed like the sultan had brought his harem with him, for he was surrounded by beautiful women who wore no armor, simply embroidered silk, with gold bands adorning their wrists, gold cuffs along their ears, gold rings piercing their bottom lips. They flew slowly over the town, almost like a parade of terror. The sultan smiled and waved at those who came out and screamed and pointed at him. He didn’t stop his slow flight until he was right over the center of the town, his twist of navy smoke swirling around as the wind picked up.
