Page 102 of The Princess of Nothing
“MOVE!” Cedric screamed over the sounds of swords clashing and screaming. I blinked twice, my mouth parting slightly, as I took in the head of a decapitated luna, his accusing, final glare now empty.
Cedric tugged me away, and I landed in a heap of snow. Shivering the flakes away, I stood. “There’s too many.” My heart fluttered. I could hardly hold onto the sword in my trembling fingers with one hand and my staff with the other. “How did they get so many here?”
“We were betrayed,” Cedric said simply, brandishing a sword in his hands. He couldn’t use magic to harm like us, but he was good with shield spells and used his wings to spring down on our enemies. He’d told me what I already knew, but it still stung. Someone—or more than one—had betrayed our position, meaning Edgar had been able to send his ships to several beaches while we were at the mountains.
I hated seeing my people ready to die for Edgar—a king not worth dying for. My lips were icy cold, my dress bloodied, and stare fierce.
Then I saw him. Edgar Mortis. Cousin. King. Foe.
A crown of gold and red glistened on top of his head. His brown waves curled around the spikes pointing up. His Mortis-blue eyes found mine. In many ways, he resembled my father, but his features were softer. I saw something in his expression: uncertainty.
I’d always been told of his passive nature, how he wanted peace. I couldn’t understand how it’d led to this. I’d been made to believe he was this pushover who believed in healing from crystals and didn’t want any part of politics. Morgana said power had changed him. I guessed in the end, it would destroy him. He stared in my direction, on the back of a white stallion.
My heart stopped.
It wasn’t what I’d expected. His eyes looked too much like mine, like my father’s and mother’s. I assumed she was still on Inferis. She hadn’t bothered to join me here. I felt the tiniest bit guilty for not asking after her, but she’d never cared for me much.
I ducked when a spell shot my way. Edgar’s conflicted stare crossed mine. He looked down at his head guard, a man I recognized as General Frost, the man who determined my fate.
Blaise rode to my side and grabbed my hand. He pulled me up onto his horse, knocking the air out of my lungs. Cedric disappeared from my line of sight.
I gasped once I’d caught my breath. “What are you doing?”
“Getting you your crown.” He galloped forward. Snow dusted around us in a flurry.
As I gripped into his waist, the sword tumbled from my grip. “NO!”
I still had my staff. Edgar grew closer, his general in front of him, poised to fight. Markings of a warrior were sprawled on his face, his scars stretching out, thin and pink over his aging skin. His eyes were the color of storm clouds. Barrel-chested and with muscles filling his armor, he stood taller than us by several inches. His horse, like him, stood strong and proud.
Fear of dying gripped me as Blaise and I got closer. It all came down to this. I couldn’t concentrate on anything but them.
“Get ready!” Blaise shouted. Unlike Cedric, he trusted me to handle myself, or understood my duties more, instead of trying to keep me out of danger. Frantically, I scrambled for a paralyzing spell, but it bounced right off him and hit one of my own soldiers square in the chest.
I knew I shouldn’t, but the lure of sacrificial magic was strong. The power, untapped and deadly, lingered as it always did when I was in my most dire need. Perhaps that was what Licia meant when he told Morgana not to use that magic to help me. I hoped she wasn’t, but I knew she’d done it before.
Two spells shot at me but bounced off. My protection spells from Morgana and Licia, I mused.
Shock erased my thoughts. General Frost stabbed his sword through Blaise’s horse, throwing us to the ground. There were no spells against swords or weapons, which was why they were still used.
Standing, I steadied myself, but he was quick. I jumped out of the way and grabbed a sword lying on the ground. I was always useless at this. Edgar watched, jumping down from his horse. His presence pulled a fury out of me I’d kept buried until now.
“COWARD!” I screamed at him. “You call yourself a Mortis. You steal MY crown. MY throne. You threatened MY people. I will KILL you for it!”
“I see you’re no different from your father,” he snarled. “Then I will take pleasure in ending his line.”
“Family against family.” I grappled the hilt and plunged it forward. I held myself strong as Blaise got into a fight with General Frost.
Shows of extreme force kept Edgar winning. I dodged another almost-lethal attack. I came close to hitting him twice, too close apparently. General Frost pushed Edgar backward into Blaise, then diverted his attention to me.
Frost wasted no time with words. Instead, he sliced the blade of his sword through the air. He was better than Edgar, far better than me. I didn’t stand a chance.
In his belt, I spotted a dagger. Small but deadly. It was a far smarter option than fighting him back with a sword.
As he crashed downward, slicing the blade down over me, I nimbly flipped the space between us and landed at his stomach. I had seconds. If that.
I grabbed his dagger and pulled it to his throat. Surprise filled his features as I sliced it across his neck.
I couldn’t believe it. I’d killed him. My gaze pulled up to Edgar’s, who looked behind me.
