Page 102 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen
Vidar canted his head. “I am not familiar with that word. We call them dreki, or drekis.”
That was the last conversation he would indulge in, it seemed, because he towed them both on top of Baldur with his shadow tendrils. The shadows wrapped around their waists, and then around the dreki. He didn’t bother harnessing himself in,just sat atop Baldur with ease, his hand momentarily pressing against the creature’s side.
Kolfinna turned to Aslaug; the woman didn’t appear injured, tortured, or mistreated, which was a relief. But it was clear that Vidar needed her for something—and vice versa, judging by her willingness to join him. She could only wonder what she had bargained with him.
“Vidar—” Kolfinna started, but Baldur shot off the ground and her words were ripped away with a scream. She grasped the spikes along his back, her eyes nearly bugging out of her sockets. Wind tore through her hair and her eardrums nearly popped at the high speed. She clutched onto the dreki for dear life, even though she knew Vidar was keeping her secure.
“Where are we going?” she shouted once her heart rate calmed down.
Vidar glanced over his shoulder at her. His red eyes glowed between the slits of his helmet. “The capital.”
Her stomach dropped.
She had known that Vidar planned to invade the capital and take over the kingdom at some point, but she hadn’t thought it would bethissoon. She could only hope that her warning to Herja had paid off, and that Fenris and the others were prepared for something like that. It would take days to reach them; was there any way to get a warning to Fenris? Her mind strained at the possibilities.
She needed to do something.Anything.
Her friends and acquaintances were at the capital—Eyfura, Nollar, Magni, the other Royal Guards. Not to mention the innocents. How many people would die in this battle?
She twisted in her seat, the wind tearing through her hair and cheeks, and gasped at the hundreds of drekis and fae flying behind them. The drekis’ black, powerful wings soared and flapped in the air, their bodies moving gracefully. Lethally. Andbeside them, hundreds of thousands of fae with colorful wings kept up pace with them.
Kolfinna’s heart rate picked up again, racing wildly to a panicked tune; this was really happening, and she was being dragged into it. They had days, she told herself, before they arrived to the capital. She had time to send Fenris a note, maybe? Or maybe she could do something to warn the others? But her mind was drawing a blank, because what was faster than a dreki? And how would she be able to relay a message?
“Now!” Vidar shouted, his voice carrying with the mighty winds as he raised his hand.
Kolfinna watched as thirty or so fae raced ahead of the whole party, and stationed themselves several feet from each other, forming a circle. They raised their hands and glowing runes poured out of their hands. The runes floated in the air, then more formed and interlinked with each other, until there was a massive rune circle. It shone golden, the air dense with magic. The clouds separated, the sky seemed to split, and waves of mana rolled out from the circle.
She never seen anything like it before. It was beautiful. Terrifying. Exhilarating.
Baldur didn’t slow down. He kept up the same breakneck speed, racing toward the center of the circle. Kolfinna braced for impact, her heart stuttering. And right when he shattered through the center of it, the skies shifted. She screamed, squeezing her eyes shut as a wave of nausea rolled over her.
But then the sensation disappeared, and when she opened her eyes, they widened in shock.
The sprawling fortress city, the farmlands, the green hills, the mountains—all of it had disappeared. In its place was a city she was all too familiar with. Tall buildings that scraped the horizon, a palace that overlooked the thousands of buildings clusteredaround it, the smoky air. She would have recognized it in her sleep.
They were in the capital.
They had warpedthroughthe rune circle.
Shopkeepers in front of stalls had halted in their trading, people hurrying down the streets had stopped in their tracks, guards patrolling the streets froze, children running and playing had their heads tilted back. Everyone below was staring at the sky in what Kolfinna assumed was horror and shock. Hundreds of thousands of fae soldiers quickly flooded the skies, more and more pouring out from the rune circle behind them.
And then, chaos ensued.
31
THIRTY-ONE – KOLFINNA
Light eruptedin Vidar’s hand and quickly became a rod of glowing white fire. He shot it at the Royal Guard stations, the buildings exploding on impact. Screams split the skies and people scattered in the streets, running for cover. Fae soldiers used stone magic to crash into Royal Guards, elves rained light and shadow magic onto the streets, and the drekis breathed fire onto the tall buildings. Kolfinna hung onto Baldur for dear life, watching the devastation below.
“This isn’t right!” she screamed, unable to rip her attention away from the children screaming and sprinting on their little legs. She could tell that the fae army was targeting the Royal Guards, but there was the inevitable collateral damage that was being wreaked on the children, the citizens, the innocents.
Aslaug reached for her hand and squeezed it. “This is war,” she said in a strained voice, even as the lines around her face tightened. “Steel yourself, Kolfinna.”
Kolfinna’s mouth trembled with unspoken words and she turned back to the capital, which was being torn apart. The Royal Guards hadn’t planned for any of this; it was a surprise attack no one was prepared for, that much was clear. And how could they be? Nobody on the human side—not even she—hadknown that the fae were capable ofwarpingwith runes. The concept itself was bizarre. It went against everything she knew … and yet, a small part of her was awed at the possibilities of runes. Of engineers able to construct such a thing and come up with these ideas.
Baldur raced through the skies, fire dripping from his mouth as he incinerated the tops of tall towers. Kolfinna could only watch as the building collapsed, raining stones and debris below. It was the price of war, of battle—she knew that, but … but it pained her to see the city she had worked in, patrolled in, become this ruined. For the people to be running for their lives. Her duty as a Royal Guard reared its head; she was supposed to protect the city, not partake in its destruction.
It was a similar scene to Aesileif’s memories, when Harald had invaded her city and wreaked havoc on the populace.
