Page 5 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen
Vidar didn’t look too surprised. In fact, it appeared like he’d expected that answer from her. He folded his arms onto the table and leaned forward. The fire from the hearth cast an orange glow against his body, and yet the black scales of his armor appeared like chips of starless midnight. A shimmery strand of white hair fell over his forehead. He made no move to push it back in place.
“How is that working out for you?” His words came out quietly, but there was an unmistakable edge to them. He leaned even closer, his gaze never straying from hers—and for some reason, she couldn’t look away. “You want them to think you’re normal? What does that even mean, Kolfinna? You will never be one of them.”
Her lower lip wobbled. “I want to be accepted by them. To live in harmony. For neither to oppress the other.”
“And you think they will comply with that wish?”
She licked her lips unexpectedly. She hated how he was playing with her confidence. Making her uncertain. “Of … Of course.”
“I killed him, you know.” Vidar pointed to his wrist and then motioned to her own. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe as a rush of coldness washed over her. “The man who tethered you to him. Who made you his slave. Who … ordered you to kill yourself. I killed him.” He drummed a single finger on the tabletop whereRosainwas drawn on the map.Tap. Tap. Tap. “It sounds to me like you’re failing at your task of appearing normal to these humans. You are nothing more than a willing, or unwilling”—he stared pointedly at her unmarked wrist—“tool for them. They will use you as a weapon and discard you once you’ve lost your usefulness.”
“That’s not true,” she gritted out.
He reclined into his seat and watched her with an unreadable expression. She wanted to cross the table and grasp him by the collar, to shout at him that her friends were different. That Blár was different. But she was only reminded of the cruel treatment she had faced under the Royal Guards. How she was seen as an outsider, how the people in the capital treated her like a monster, how Hilda had tortured her for no reason other than her being a fae. It had been such a difficult past few months sinceshe had revealed her true nature—truly an uphill battle—but she believed it was for the best. Even if it seemed like she was failing.
“I know you want me to free your queen.” Kolfinna lifted her chin. She couldn’t show him how shaken up she was in front of him. Her stomach twisted into knots. She hated the oppressive denseness of his mana that made it so hard to breathe. She was valuable to him; she had to show that she wouldn’t fall so easily for whatever promises, or guilt, or plans he had in store for her. “I won’t do it.”
Vidar nodded slowly. “I assumed as much. Nothing will change your mind?”
“That’s right.”
“I understand.” He raised his hands and Kolfinna’s entire body stiffened. Was he going to blast her with his shadowy magic? Was he going to send beams of light to torch her body? But the attack she expected didn’t happen. Instead, he clapped his hands together. Loudly.
She only had to wait for ten or so seconds, the time stretching by slowly, until the door burst open and Rakel barreled inside, dragging a woman by the hair. She flung her to the floor. The woman rolled on the rug, her fiery red hair streaked with grime and dried blood. She coughed and pushed herself to her bloodied knees. Shadowy wisps were bound around her wrists, similar to the magicked cuffs Blár had on before he escaped.
She raised her head and Kolfinna inhaled sharply.
Herja.
2
TWO – KOLFINNA
The last timeKolfinna had seen Herja was three days ago; she had been vibrant, full of life, a spitfire, a worthy warrior with the most powerful flames Kolfinna had seen in a woman. But here, spread out on the floor with maroon-colored splotches of dried blood coloring her uniform, her hair knotted and dirtied, and her skin matching the gray walls, she was nothing like the woman Kolfinna knew. She almost didn’t recognize her.
“Herja?” She couldn’t keep the fear from seeping into her voice and she quickly clamped her mouth shut. They couldn’t know just how important Herja had become to her, but when she glanced over at Vidar and then Rakel, it seemed like they already knew.
Herja lifted her head slowly. Her brilliant blue eyes sparked with recognition. “Kolfinna,” she murmured, her eyelids drooping as if it was difficult for her to stay awake. She opened her mouth to say more, but slumped over the floor.
“What have you done to her?” Kolfinna couldn’t hide the horror from her voice as she ran over and dropped down beside her. She tried pulling her up into a sitting position, but it was like Herja had no strength left in her body. She collapsed over Kolfinna’s lap limply.
Kolfinna pushed back strands of her bright red hair and inspected her body for injuries, but she didn’t find anything too fatal. “What did you do?”
It reminded her too much of a different incident—back with Eyfura, when Revna had sapped her body of all mana. Kolfinna quickly pressed her palm over Herja’s forehead and closed her eyes to concentrate. Almost immediately, she could feel the faint pulse of Herja’s mana. It was barely there, almost completely drained.
Herja’s eyes fluttered open, like she was trying her hardest to remain awake. Her lips parted and she tried to speak, but her eyelids began shutting once more. Kolfinna held her tightly.
“It’s all right,” she murmured. “I’ve got you.”
“Kolfinna, you—you—” Herja’s head flopped to the side.
“How could you do this to her?” Rage like she had never felt before rattled off her bones and flesh, like a bowstring pulled too taut, ready to snap. This was what it meant to be a mana slave. To be forced to give up your mana to whoever wanted to steal it. To be drained of all energy and be teetering on the edge of death. How many people had taken Herja’s mana?
Rakel sniggered, the corner of her mouth raised in a smirk. There was no kindness in her elvish eyes; maybe only cold indifference. She upturned her hands. “Don’t look at me like that,” she said. “I’m only a very small fraction fae, soIcan’t take her mana.”
Vidar remained unmoving in his seat. His hands were folded over the map; he was watching her every move, she realized with a jolt. Testing her. But she didn’t care. She couldn’t help the fury that washed over her.
“Why would you do something like this? You want me to believe that your side is the correct side when you do things like this?” Kolfinna tightened her hold on Herja. The dull flow of her mana fueled her anger even more. She placed her fingerson Herja’s wrist and forced her own mana into her. It came in a slow trickle at first, before she pumped more into her. Slowly, the color returned to Herja’s cheeks and Kolfinna sighed in relief. At least she wasn’t too far gone. “Turning someone into … intothisis just cruel.”
