Page 138 of Wrath of the Fae Queen
Aldrin’s soothing hands run across my brow and through my hair. “It is almost done, dear heart,” he says softly.
Thin black streaks form across Leonardo’s skin, thrashing and dancing before evaporating. “She is my half-sister, and ourpowers are two sides of the same coin. She creates this realm’s most deadly poison, and I can absorb and control all poisons, including hers. Only I can bring a person back from its clutches, so you are welcome.”
Leonardo pulls back from me, leaving me panting and covered in sweat, but somehow feeling cleansed.
“I didn’t think Titania would have enough time to get you into the throne room, or be cruel enough to make you watch my supposed betrayal of Aldrin, but I apologize for the fact that you had to watch your mate die without knowing he would be brought back. You should have been safe from the poison and trauma in your cage.”
I sit up. “How long—” My voice breaks. “How long have we all been…” I can’t say it. My mouth won’t even form the word.
“Dead?” the Starlight King asks and I jolt. He pulls out a pocket watch and glances at the time before flicking it shut. “Two hours. The battle is still being raged in the streets. Titania hasn’t made the announcement yet that she had the true king and queen killed. She wants the people to be shocked and distracted when bodies are hung from the walls in the morning, so she can obliterate them.”
“Bodies that she will never get,” Aldrin cuts in, pulling me against his chest once more. “Are you ready to stand?”
I nod and he lifts me onto my feet. My legs shake and I wobble a little, but my strength slowly returns to me.
Aldrin tips my chin up and gazes into my eyes. “We fight the moment you are ready.”
There is a fluster of activity all around me as more Starlight soldiers enter carrying bags of supplies. Weapons, spare armor, healing potions to restore energy and food. Both Cyprien and Aldrin inspect the offerings, handing out swords and axes to any who need them. I dress in a new set of armor for the third time in days, then take the half-dozen daggers he hands to me,and strap a crossbow and full quiver to my back. I eye the short sword gingerly—not my weapon of choice—but sheathe it at my side regardless.
Jasper brings me a thick slice of herbed bread, soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. It reminds me of when I was alone and vulnerable in a cage upon a litter, and he risked his cover and his head to bring me food. I take a bite and warmth blooms through me at its heartiness.
“I have failed you far too many times since you arrived in this court.” Jasper’s lips press into a thin line. “But I hope tonight I can start to make amends.”
I place a hand on his arm. “You did everything you could, Jasper. We were always playing the long game.”
Aldrin claps his hands and the sound booms through the room. He steps up onto one of the tables, drawing the attention of all, looking more like a god of death and destruction in his armor than a king.
“Listen up, everyone,” he commands. “Thisis our final offensive. Tonight we will demand blood and we will be victorious. Titania has let her guard down, quite literally. King Leonardo’s agents, as well as our own, have confirmed that she believes she has won and that we are dead. The High Chancellor has sent the majority of her forces in the palace out into the streets to clash with our forces. We will strike hard and fast, and before she can call them back, we will be upon her. I promise you this: Titania will die tonight!”
The room erupts with cheers, vicious grins on all the faces.
Aldrin’s eyes land on me and he holds out a hand, pulling me up onto the table beside him. “Tonight, I take my rightful place on my throne, with my queen crowned beside me!”
My stomach dips. We have been fighting toward this for so long, but I have never thought much beyond the final battle.
Right before we depart the morgue, Aldrin places a hand on Leonardo’s shoulder. “You will distract Titania and keep her in the throne room while we open the way for my army to enter through the secret passages, as agreed.”
The Starlight King nods. “And my people will make sure she never receives word of what is happening.” He leaves without a backward glance, a band of his soldiers flanking him.
I stop Aldrin right before he steps out of the morgue to lead us into battle, grabbing his face in both my hands and kissing his lips hard. He melts into me immediately, snapping an arm around my waist and dragging me in tighter. I could lose myself in his soft lips and the way his tongue moves against mine. Instead, I pull back, staring into his eyes.
“Titania is yours to kill. She tormented you for longer than me. But Torin…” My lips curl into a savage snarl. “Torin is mine.”
We march in silent unison down the quiet palace corridors, our two parties cloaked behind Silvan and Zinnia’s invisibility wards, taking out the abundant fire orbs as we go and thrusting the space into dim shadow. From the inkiness, our allies from the Assassins of Belladonna materialize in bands, pulled in from the battles on the street by Starlight fae who teleport in and out.
My target is the closest entrance to the secret passages that lead out of the bowels of the palace, where Edmund should be waiting with his force. We round a corner and I hold up a hand to signal my people to wait. With the invisibility wards held in front of us like a shield, those behind can easily see my signals.
The discreet panel in the wall, normally hidden behind artwork, is guarded by at least a hundred warriors on this side alone. They choke the narrow passageway, many leaning against walls with weapons still sheathed.
I place my hand on the wall beside me and reach into my connection with the Wisteria of Mythanar. Its thin branches burrow through mortar and punch little holes in marble tiles to wrap around my fingers. Through its essence, I become aware of the wards barricading the door to the secret passage and the number of enemies lying in wait within.
It truly would have been impossible to penetrate the palace from this tunnel. Even if we made it through the horde protecting the outside of the passage and to the top of the stairs, this force before us could have picked us off one by one at the choke point of the door, which only one person can pass through at a time.
I signal for half of my warriors to loop around and corner the guards on the other side of the corridor in a pincer attack. My heart skips a beat when a single sword is raised from the empty air on the far side and I know Silvan has them in place.
“Charge!” I bellow, and my people scream alongside me, the invisibility wards dropping at the last moment.
The assholes don’t even see us coming.
