Page 107 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen
The king clawed at Vidar’s arms. His eyes bulged and his face reddened, and then purpled. The entire time, her father simply watched the man, not a shred of remorse coloring his own face.
“Are you certain, human princess?” He glanced over at Aslaug, who remained crumpled on her knees, watching them with teary eyes and a vengeful expression. “If anyone was to murder my wife and my daughter”—his gaze momentarily met Kolfinna’s, and an unfamiliar feeling sprang in her chest—“I would wish to rip his throat out with my own hands.”
“Please …” Aslaug’s lips trembled and she glared at Leiknir. “I cannot bring myself to do it, because as much as I hate him and I wish for him to die a cruel and horrible death, he is … He is my brother and I cannot be the one to kill him. I cannot stain my own hands. I cannot … have that on my conscience. I’d rather believe he had it coming to him.”
“As you wish.” Vidar squeezed his fingers together and before Kolfinna could blink, he ripped the man’s throat out in one fell swoop.
Kolfinna gasped sharply as blood splattered the floor. Quickly turning away from the gruesome scene, she dropped down to Aslaug and wrapped her arms around the older woman, who continued to weep. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
In her peripheral vision, she noticed Vidar tear off a chain the king wore. He rose to his feet, the heavy golden necklace swinging in his fist. At the center of it was a circular gold platewith a dull red gem embedded in the center. Magic pulsed from Vidar’s hand and the amulet began to glow.
“Here, Kolfinna.” He tossed the necklace and she caught it.
Her fingers wrapped around the warm metal and she gasped at how her mana responded to the jewel in the center. Warmth spread across her chest and she knew instantly that this was a fae artifact.
“We will need this to free Aesileif. Put it on.”
She complied. It sat heavy against her breastbone, and she couldn’t help but stroke the red gem. It pulsated like a heartbeat against her fingers. “And now? Will we search for her?”
“We will.” He turned his attention to Aslaug, and his mana became even heavier. “Thank you for your cooperation, human. It is time for you to pay.”
Aslaug stared at her hands. “I understand …”
“Pay?” An ominous chill hung in the air. Kolfinna swallowed down the tension straightening her spine. "What do you mean?”
“I am a royal,” she whispered. “And we made a deal.”
“There can be no survivors of Harald’s blood,” Vidar said simply.
“No.” Kolfinna jumped to her feet, horror seeping into her bones. “You can’t! She’s not a threat to you, or Aesileif, or any of the fae!”
“Floki was sent to kill the rest of the human royals. I must ensure that all royals are killed so that no more chaos can ensue with them all.”
The shadows in the tunnel grew darker and Kolfinna stood in front of Aslaug defensively, her light magic springing to her hands reflexively.
“Move, Kolfinna,” said Vidar.
“I let you kill the king because he was evil, and I even agreed to free Aesileif, but I draw the line here.” Kolfinna raised her fists. “I will not allow you to kill her.”
There was no way she would allow him to kill Blár’s mother.
Absolutely no way.
32
THIRTY-TWO – KOLFINNA
Fear settleddeep in Kolfinna’s bones even as threads of her mana spread throughout her body. The last time she had faced Vidar, she had almost died and Blár had been defeated too. She couldn’t imagine that she had grown much stronger since then, even though she had a better grasp of her shadow and light magic. Her mind raced with idea of how to defeat him—to catch him by surprise so that she could run with Aslaug—but every thought turned to ash as her imminent defeat loomed overhead.
Vidar shifted on his feet, his magic thrumming through the dense air. Even with his helmet masking his expression, she could read the displeasure straightening his shoulders, the disapproval that hung around him like a cloak. His wings flared.
“You would fight me over this?”
She raised her chin. “I will.”
“The princess and I had an arrangement.”
“It doesn’t matter! She’s helped you enough with these passages.” Kolfinna waved her hand at the tunnels and then at the corpse of the king. “You don’t need to kill her over this. She gave you the king.”
