Page 70 of Her Royal Blood

“It’s not your fault, King Lex, it’s Polonius who can’t follow the rules. He’s going to regret this if he survives the battle, my hope, though, is that he does not.” She gave me a knowing look and I returned it with a smile.

“And this is also our hope. We’ll fight with everything we have, now you ladies stay here until we tell you it’s safe to come out. Stay away from the windows, there will be guards standing at them, as well as inside and outside of this door. As soon as I’m able I’ll have one of the mages cast a spell over this room. Sit down and get comfortable,” I instructed them.

“I wish we could join the fight,” Janaya chimed in.

“Not this time little sister, not until your Royal Guard training starts,” I gave her a wink and closed the door.

I returned to the battle searching for Aria. The last thing I needed was to have her be stolen away again. I found her fighting Crypt Claw Warriors with the sword that had been mounted on her back. Amadeus was protecting all of them with a shield of magic and so far the Crypt Claw had not advanced past his shield. Prince Dimitri met up with me as I raced to join the fight.

“I’m going to take over for Amadeus and protect you with magic. They have Bastien under a Pitaya net. My troops are almost on the ground in Navarrah City, they will fight with you there, but I’m going to stay here and protect Queen Nadine and her people after we free Bastien, unless you absolutely need me in Navarrah City.” He spoke with urgency running as we conversed.

“No, it’s best you stay here. Angeline Falls doesn’t have an army and Queen Nadine and her people are peaceful. They’ve never seen war.” My stomach bottomed out a little at the realization that this was the first battle in their beautiful city and poor Bastien had already been captured.

“Then it’s settled,” Dimitri said as he raced towards the troops and tapped Amadeus’ shoulder, taking over wielding his magical shield.

“I don’t want you to deplete yourself,” I heard Prince Dimitri say to Amadeus. “I have an incredible amount of magic and power. Let me take up the shield.”

Amadeus yielded to Prince Dimitri with a bow of his head and gracious thanks.

“Thank you,” Amadeus said. “Now I can focus on keeping my daughter safe.”

Aria threw her father an angered glance, she was definitely in fight mode.

“I’m protecting you,” she raised her blade and Amadeus was rightly impressed.

Aria was a vision standing there with her sword at the ready still wearing her wedding dress. From the throng of Crypt Claw warriors Polonius and Sire Vanoire emerged. Also coming in from the hills and valleys were the Arsenal Fang pack who had shifted into their wolves and ran en masse to join the Royal Guards surrounding us to keep the Crypt Claw back.

“Aren’t you a vision?” Polonius stepped forward towards Aria but was unable to cross Prince Dimitri’s shield. “I dare say, your wedding dress for our wedding was only half as lovely. But we both know I’m no dress maker.” Polonius stared at Aria and wasn’t glaring, more he seethed with a calm anger that bubbled just under the surface. “And of course I’ve just come to learn that you were no bride.”

Aria continued to stand with her sword drawn as I came up beside her, my hand on the hilt of my sword ready to unsheath it in her defense.

“You know you’re not allowed here, Polonius,” Aria was also calm. “You bring your warriors to a peaceful kingdom, you’ll be punished.” She glared at him, juxtaposing the beauty of her dress with the fierceness in her eyes.

“Ah the law?” Polonius laughed. “Punishment? I wonder what should be meted out for you, my love? You who betrayed me on our wedding day, only to wed one I expressly forbid you to ever see again. Though,” he shrugged his shoulders and sighed. “In my defense, I did believe Lex was dead. I should have killed him myself, I promise not to make that mistake again.”

Just as he said that Polonius pulled out his sword and sliced through the magical shield. He was wearing his necklace of teeth which protected him from any kind of magic. He went straight for me and Aria as we thrusted our swords at him. He swiped along Arc with his weapon hoping to crash ours out of our hands, but instead only clanged against our strong hold.

At that moment Amadeus, Dimitri, and Xavier Goldlace stood in front of us and created a blast of magic so strong that no teeth or any magical repellent could protect Polonius from it. As Polonius blew backwards and landed with a heavy thud on the ground, Sire snuck away from him and the rest of the Crypt Claw warriors and dove into the falls.

Bastien was freed by the Arsenal Fang pack when they attacked on the soldiers relentlessly until they were forced to release him.

Bastien was back in action and whatever advantage Polonius had gained with an unexpected attack, he was overwhelmingly outnumbered. There was no way he’d win the fight without heavy losses. Losses he couldn’t afford. Many of the Crypt Claw had already been captured by the Arsenal Fang Pack.

“Retreat,” Polonius hissed as he ran and jumped down the chasm he’d come up from and disappeared.

He may have had some kind of vanishing spell created by Sire for just such an occasion. We rushed over to the cliff trying to find Polonius, hopefully injured impaled on the rocks below, but it was as if he’d disappeared into thin air. This of course was dangerous. If Polonius had this kind of cloaking spell he would always be a threat to Aria.

“We’re going to have to find a way to keep you safe,” I told her. “Polonius may have access to magic.” The worry must have shown on my face as Amadeus answered my concerns.

“I can give Aria an anti cloaking spell. It’s hard to do if you want anyone to be unmasked, but since I know Polonius so well, after spending so many months as his prisoner, I can create a spell tailored just for him. If he is disguised and comes within ten feet of Aria, he will be unveiled before her. It will give hertime to draw a sword, one she must always carry.” Amadeus adviseding look at the beautiful sword she held in her hands.

“Bastien made this for me to wear with my dress and to carry by my side,” Aria explained, admiring the beautiful piece of smithery.

“I agree it should be a permanent accessory and a mark of a memorable day, despite the interruption.” Amadeus was speaking to Aria like a father.

I saw the locket around her neck while we were saying our vows, but I hadn’t had a chance to ask her what it was meant for, however, I realized in that moment that some of the mages in her life may have gifted her with magical items.

The sound of Bastien complaining drew our attention away from the conversation.

---