Page 203 of A Queen This Fierce and Deadly

Sprinting from the right, her silver armor stark against all the black, Asinia ran toward Regner’s front lines.

Demos was fighting his way toward her, brutally cutting down anyone who stepped into his path. Rythos and Marth jumped into place, guarding Tor.

Asinia hurtled down the edge of Regner’s lines, barely avoiding the human soldiers fleeing into the mountains. One of them struck out at her, and she ducked, rolled, and came back up on her feet.

A path had cleared between Demos and Asinia. His eyes were wild. It seemed as if the stress of the war, the horror of this battle, had broken something in Asinia.

And my brother…his screams…the agony in his voice burrowed deep into my chest.

“Madinia—” My voice cracked.

“No, Prisca. You have to trust her.”

And I knew. A hole opened up inside my chest as the realization slammed into me. Asinia was doing something she couldn’t take back.

Memories flashed before my eyes.

The first time Asinia asked her mother if I could stay for dinner, because she knew we had little food left.

The mixture of hope and fury in Asinia’s eyes when she realized I’d come for her in Regner’s dungeon.

The strained tension between her and Demos, slowly transforming into something deep, something precious.

And the way she’d thinned her lips just weeks ago, referring to herself as a liability.

Telean’s voice sounded in my head.“She was my best friend. We were supposed to have centuries.”

No.Pleaseno.

ASINIA

I approached from the east. The human soldiers fleeing into the mountains paid me little attention as I worked my way parallel to Regner’s mirror.

The orb heated in my hand, as if it knew what I was about to do. And it truly hit me then. I was going to die. And I would also likely kill thousands of human soldiers— some of whom had been forced to fight this war. Perhaps that was the irony of using this weapon—and why no one without a pure heart could survive—because anyone who truly had a pure heart would never contemplate doing such a thing.

Somehow, using the weapon was all instinct. I knew what I had to do. And so I focused on Regner standing behind his lines, his expression a twisted mask of hate.

Blind terror rampaged through my body. I didn’t want to die. The orb cooled slightly, and I forced myself to focus on the battle in front of me. And I pictured the world after Regner was dead.

A better world. A happy world. A world where our people could be free.

Perhaps…perhaps it didn’t matter much after all if I wouldn’t be here to see it—not if it meant my friends would live.

My fear disappeared. And it was as if I was standing above my body, watching my own actions.

Someone ran with me. One of Conreth’s fae. He sliced his way through anyone who attempted to get close. And strangely, it was Lorian’s words that circled through my mind as I sprinted toward Regner.

“I think that has to be the worst part about dying. Leaving the people you love and regretting.”

My only regret was that I wouldn’t get more time. But I could never regret losing my life to save theirs. And suddenly, the thought that I’d wanted glory or notoriety during this war… It was silly now. All I really wanted was to know they would all survive. I didn’t need prestige.

And then I was turning, and the orb was heating once more—this time becoming so hot that it was as if it could sense my resolve.

I looked at the fae who’d guarded me this long.

“Run.”

He didn’t argue. He simply turned and sprinted away.

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