Made From Death (The Darkest Queens Series Book 1), page 10
Strands of her dark hair were scattered around her and clung to the dampness on her cheeks. The end of the weapon lowered to her jaw sending the pinpricks of fear over her skin. No matter how quickly her heart beat she couldn't bring herself to breathe.
"I knew you were here, demonic bitch."
"Shelby," Ace said, her voice far shakier than she’d have liked.
Death was knocking on her doorstep for possibly the billionth time and it never got easier. All the times that she begged for death and wished they had never brought her through that holy fire to return to the land of the living, felt ridiculous at this moment. Because all Ace could feel was terror at the thought of dying again.
The guard pulled back and light was cast across his face. It was enough for her to be able to make out his features and know that all this was her own fault. She recognized the man who had made the first jump and then proceeded to let her go. Of course, he didn't actually let her go, how stupid could one girl be! He wanted both Ace and Shelby.
She cursed herself. The dagger was pulled back, his arm poised for a swift stab. Ace wanted to relax because she thought maybe it wouldn't hurt as much if she relaxed but no matter how she tried she couldn't unclench her muscles. She pressed her eyes firmly shut, and took a deep breath before she opened them to look death right in the face.
The dagger lowered, its blade reflecting sparking blue light. When it came down though it did so without the hands of the guard. Its metal clattered against the stone. The guard froze above her and gripped his chest. Ace thought that she could hear her own heartbeat in her ears, but after a second she realized it was his. His heart beat so loudly and violently that each beat jerked his chest.
Through thick lashes Shelby glared through the orb of blue in his palms. The guard turned to look at the warlock. "Unsanctioned…magic…" Each syllable was a ragged painful gasp.
Blood drained from the guard’s cheeks. Dragging herself on her elbows, Ace pulled herself out from under the man. She leaned against the wall as she watched. The guard didn’t chase after her or even so much as try to stand. His fingernails dug into his shirt trying to rip it away as his heart thrust his chest forward. There was one final jerk of his body, the largest jerk yet and then his eyes grew to saucers before quickly closing when he fell over limp.
The glow in Shelby's hands faded away and they stood together in the darkness listening to the sound of their slowing breaths as the adrenaline subsided. Ace held her hand to her own chest feeling to make sure that her heart remained where it should be. Her steps echoed in the silence as she walked around the guard's fallen body and nudged him with her boot.
"Well, he looks good and dead," she said under her breath. "That was a close call."
Shelby wiped his palms on his pants and grabbed the backpack again. "Yeah, you're full of close calls."
Ace had to agree because Shelby wasn't wrong. And she had more close calls since meeting him than she did in a month of her living on the streets. This partnership was appearing to be more dangerous by the minute.
"What did you do to him?" She watched his Adam’s apple bob.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Would I have asked if I didn't want to know?"
Shelby shuffled over to the man and hooked his arms under his shoulders in an attempt to drag him toward the mouth of the cave. "Grab his feet and help me toss him into the river. I don't need his dead body sitting here rotting away."
For once, it was Ace’s turn to scowl as she walked up to the man and circled her hands around his ankles. She heaved his body up trying not to look directly at his face. It was one thing for her to witness her own death, entirely another for her to be staring down at a dead body much less holding it. He was lighter than she expected as they gave his body a violent toss into the waterfall where the crashing water immediately swallowed him up.
Shelby turned to face Ace, his expression edged with something she couldn't quite figure out. "I made his heart work harder and forced all of his blood to his chest. Basically, his heart exploded. Inside him."
Well, that didn’t sound like a very peaceful death.
"Oh. "Ace shoved her hands into her pockets, acting nonchalant while her brain processed the horror of what she just witnessed. "And what spell did you do earlier?" She tipped her head toward the passage they’d just left.
"I veiled us so they can't track us anymore."
"And what are the chances you could use your magic to get us to where we need to go cause I'm assuming this cave isn't our only plan. Right?"
Shelby shook his head, moving to the exit. He pressed his tall lanky body against the ledge and began shuffling until he disappeared on the other side of the water. Ace clung to the rocks and followed suit. On the other side of the waterfall, Shelby was already shaking the water from his face.
"Don't you mean my plan? This was not a combined effort here. And so far I have yet to get any good helpful information from you."
"Helpful information?" Ace squeaked as she hopped off the edge of the rocks and into the grass next to Shelby. "I've already promised to find a way to remove the bonds of slavery. I am living proof of the gods. That seems helpful enough."
"I'm not even sure if you're living proof of the gods. What if you're just some weird genetic mutation."
"If I was just a genetic mutation then how did I know exactly what you prayed for in the kitchen?"
"A good guess?"
It would've been a good guess. And an educated guess. How was she supposed to prove who and what she was without telling him the entirety of her story? She wasn't sure even if she did tell him her story that it was even believable or that she could make it through without falling apart. No one knew how the queens came into power, but Ace did.
There was just no way that anyone was going to believe her.
Queen Sienna
No sooner had guards chased two people out of the ballroom than Ophelia had pulled Queen Sienna away from the throne. The queen had been on the dance floor until she’d locked eyes…
She couldn’t get the staff in her hand fast enough. She was being haunted. If that's even what this was. Those eyes that had looked back at her hadn't been human. And that's the only way Queen Sienna could make sense of what she saw. The girl that was chased from the ballroom was not a human. Not anymore.
There'd been a flash of emotion that raced through Sienna’s veins like a bolt of lightning. It tasted like regret but it was so hard for Sienna to truly know if that was what it was for sure when she no longer recognized half of her emotions.
In the next second, she'd run for her staff. The court wanted her to dance with her potential suitors without the staff, of course. Without it though…she didn't have power. Queen Sienna didn't like being vulnerable and the idea of being so painfully alone without the staff made her grip it more frantically now.
Her heels clicked against the floor in a rhythm that matched her racing pulse. She didn't give her suitors another glance as she was rushed out of the room and more guards surrounded her.
"Are you okay?" Ophelia asked as she ushered the queen into the safe room.
"What just happened?" What had they seen? Did they see who Sienna saw? Did they understand?
The queen waved the guards away from her and they all moved to the edge of the room to give her space. She held the staff close to her body wondering if she should summon her power. What would she do with it? Her thoughts looped so badly she wasn't even sure she could make sense of what should or should not be the next step. But that was why she had people that worked for her.
"There was a warlock at the party. He didn't outright use his magic but there was a girl with him who had a page from a Grimoire. We can only assume that they were here to cause you harm." Ophelia perched herself on the arm of a chair.
Sienna paced in front of the couch. Her safe room wasn't much, basically just a room in the middle of the castle where they could easily surround the queen. There was the chair, the couch, and a small table with a couple of chairs. Stacked beside the table were some preserves that were kept just in case the queen had to stay for longer than a few hours. Not that Sienna would let it come to that.
"Yes, a girl. Have you seen the girl? Did you see the girl?"
Ophelia folded her hands in her lap and her eyes followed the queen as she walked back and forth, back and forth. "I didn't notice the girl when she arrived with the warlock. I'm not familiar enough with your warlocks to know if he belonged to you or not so I assumed, as she appeared wealthy, he belonged to her. I didn't get a good look at her when she dropped the spell. I was only able to recognize that she had changed."
“Isn't part of your job description to observe my surroundings?" Queen Sienna snapped, coming to a sudden stop. Ophelia flinched as the queen pointed the staff in her direction.
"I'm sorry, my Queen," Ophelia whispered.
“Sweep the warlocks’ quarters. I want every single one of them questioned and counted. If any are missing—”
There was a soft knock at the door, one with a steady rhythm they all recognized. Three knocks, then a pause, then two more knocks, a pause, and two more knocks. Clearly, someone privy to the action plan put in place for moments like these. Two guards moved to the door, opening it a fraction to peer out before they let it swing wide. Des Tartal stepped into the room, long brown hair combed away from his face. His armor shined like he had polished it before the event and it only made it more apparent how broad his chest was. The queen expected as much seeing as he was the head of the guard.
"Des." She greeted him. He bowed low to the ground, not a single strand of his hair falling out of place as he straightened himself. Some humans were pretty enough they could be mistaken for Fae and Des was one of them. He was still pretty even though he sported a wicked scar that trailed from the top of his forehead over his left eye, down his chin down the side of his neck, and only came to a stop in the middle of his chest.
"The two who were believed to be involved in the incident were chased out of the castle and into the forest on the east side. I have someone speaking to the warlocks right now to find someone who can do a location spell and we’re checking rooms. We should know shortly where they are, what direction they're heading, and if we know the warlock. Guests have been quarantined to the ballroom and we are doing a thorough search and questioning before anyone else is allowed to leave." He waited for the queen’s approval.
"Good." She lowered her staff back to the ground in front of her and leaned her weight onto it. She closed her eyes and all she could picture was the girl with the all too familiar pointed nose, rounded jaw, and beautiful doe eyes. But it couldn't be her. It was impossible for it to be her. A lot of things were possible. Most things were possible with magic, with help from the gods or the blood of the gods but this… What she imagined was happening right now couldn't be possible. She hadn't heard of anything like it since the times when gods still walked the land.
"I want both of them brought back to this castle. I do not care if the warlock lives or dies but the girl—I want to speak to the girl. She is only to be put down if it's the only way to get her here and even then I want to see proof of her body."
"We will do an immediate spell and I will dispatch guardsmen swiftly," he said
"No." Sienna lowered herself onto the couch. Only the best would do to settle her nerves. "I want you to go. Send out the best guards, I can defend myself if it comes to it." She could defend herself, however, magic was draining.
"Me? My Queen?"
"That's what I said, isn't it?"
Des nodded. "I will go as soon as the spell is done."
"Do try and bring the girl back alive. I have questions."
Des’s eyebrows bunched together on his forehead but he turned toward the door, pausing as he reached the knob. "Quite a few of your suitors are worried on your behalf. Would you like me to pass along any messages before I go?"
He was wasting time. He was standing here when he should be out there. Rage laced with fear boiled inside the queen. She couldn’t care less about her suitors! Even Hollis. No matter how it made her heart ache.
"Get out!" she hissed. She wanted to throttle somebody. Let her hands circle their throats and ring the life of them herself. Or better yet call upon her magic and get another taste of her power.
Queen Sienna didn't have to say anything else as Des swiftly stepped into the hall closing the door behind him. One of the guards in the room stepped in front of the door again without a word. Sienna pressed herself into the firm cushion behind her and tipped her chin up to the ceiling. She couldn't just sit here. She wanted to do something. She wanted to do anything! She thought she’d gotten everything in order these past twelve months. Though she'd gotten away with it. Yet here it was, her past coming back for her.
Setting the staff across her lap, she brought both hands up to rub her temples where a migraine was starting to pulse. Ophelia shifted on the arm of the chair causing the furniture to creak. Sienna cracked an eye open.
"My Queen, we really must give our guests some sort of response.”
They were right. Even if Sienna was queen she couldn't get away with saying nothing, even if there was an attempt on her life. The members of her court were probably also locked away in their guest suites and they were likely grumbling that they hadn't heard something yet. Being queen wasn't exactly what she thought it was going to be. Insignificant, little peons were about to drive her nuts. But without them, there was no one to follow her.
"This really ruined the first event didn't it?" She sighed.
Ophelia lifted one brow. "Yes, my Queen, I think it did. But we can salvage it with the next event, unless you wish to postpone it. We can make it so grand everyone will forget that this even happened."
“No, don't postpone it.” Everyone else might be able to forget, but not her. How could she forget what she saw? Queen Sienna dropped her arms back into her lap resting them on the staff. "Please ask that Mr. McHaynes, Mr. Delroy, Mr. Dean, Mr. Maverick, and Mr. Weebly all stay here in the castle for the time being. We might have lost time because of the incident but surely if they join me here for my meals I will have more time to get to know them."
"Yes, I think the court would really enjoy getting to know them too."
"Of course they would." Sienna couldn't keep her annoyance from seeping into her voice as she sagged into the couch.
Just a couple years ago Sienna had been a young woman in a poor village who'd bought a shabby excuse of a dress to attend a birthday party. She had hoped that this dress would catch the eye of the boy who now looked far too much like a man. Hollis. She hadn’t known then that it would be the last time she saw him. Nor had she known that the birthday party would propel her into the reality she currently lived.
She'd been through loss. She'd seen war. Hell, she fought in the war. Now she was here…and Hollis was here…amongst others who were probably far better suited for her and her status. Queen Sienna already knew that Hollis was too smart for his own good. She needed an idiot husband, someone she could take advantage of, but she still enjoyed the idea of getting to play with the boy who held her heart as a child.
Sunlight edged its way around thick curtains. The material hadn't been completely closed before bed and a strip of light cut across the room and over Queen Sienna’s face. She stared into the light, her body warm and numb under the blankets.
Her mind was still racing. Nightmares filled with Fae and glimpses of her parents' death-slackened faces haunted her. Reality was better than sleep. Sienna reached out and grabbed a leather-bound notebook that sat next to her bed. She flipped through the pages, only three of which had anything written on them, and stared at the fourth very blank page.
She'd been trying for months now to master the art of making a grimoire. She didn't much care to share her magic with anyone or even to sell this particular book to someone for endless riches. She was already the queen. She was already rich. But sometimes it bothered her that the warlocks taught themselves and she who had sacrificed for this power had no idea how to use it properly.
The well of magic inside of her staff that flowed through her could do many things, if not more than the warlocks could do, but hers was like a stampede of wild horses. Her magic hadn't been broken in yet, so whenever she opened the floodgates inside of her, if she wasn't careful to hold onto it, it easily would get out of hand.
While they were fighting the Fae, it was okay that her magic got out of hand because it allowed her to cut down so many of those immortal beings on her own. But she couldn't let herself be so reckless again, not now in this castle. It had been a feat of magic just to get the building erected; she couldn’t risk bringing it down to rubble. She figured if she could make one grimoire by herself then maybe she could consider herself as good as any warlock.
With her suitors agreeing to stay in the castle she couldn't spend her time expelling the energy to make said grimoire, so she set the book back down and looked out across the room. At some point, servants had come and gone, leaving a dress hanging on the outside of her wardrobe, a warm cup of tea, and nearly an entire field of flowers on the small table she often took her breakfast on. She smiled a little. It looked like her suitors were already putting their best foot forward, offering her an abundance of gifts.
Sienna had never received anything from a boy unless the one time Hollis had given her an old worn book that he liked to read counted. And even then, that hadn't really been a gift; it was something that was borrowed and should've been returned. She turned to look above the mantle of the fireplace for the book that somehow survived a war and had followed her all the way here. If you opened up its pages and looked inside, Hollis's scribbles would be there. He'd underlined his favorite parts and left comments about where he thought the book was kind of cheesy. Of course, that was anywhere the book mentioned anything about love, because to him love was just sentimental crap.
