King's Cage [Completed]

Chapter Twenty-One

Ahhhhh! This is the moment. What will happen? Who will she choose? What game is she playing? What is her next move? Play Maven? Or Cal? Ekkkk. Some people are going to hate me!

I take short fast breaths. Looking all around me I see how trapped we really are. I look over to Cal and grab his hand. Whatever happens next, we'll do together. He squeezes my hand and looks back at me.

"We're going to have to run through it, Mare." He yells over the noise. "Do you trust me?"

I nod my head. "Cal?" I yell, my headache returning. "I love you. Whatever happens-"

He cuts me off with a kiss, too deep for words. Full of meaning and fear and love and support. He grabs my face in his hands and kisses my forehead. "Don't you give up on me, Mare Barrow. He's just a boy, and you, my love, are much bigger than that."

So with a leap of faith, I run through the fire with him.

♥

Maven stands in front of us, an army behind him. Cal pays him no attention, rather he is patting me down, making sure nothing is caught on fire. He's confident.

Me... not so much.

"Hi Maven." I say, hoping he'll get all sentimental and let us go.

He stares at me, a smile on his face. "My dear wife. It's time to come home now. Jon told me it would be soon."

I nearly spit I'm so mad. "Jon is a liar. And there is nothing you could ever do in this world that would make me believe him not."

Maven thinks carefully on that. "Really? There is nothing in the world...."

Cal stands close to me. The heat of the fire and his body overwhelms me. Maven's army stands still behind him, ready to shoot at a moment's notice.

"Let us go." I say softly. "Maven you can end this." I beg.

Cal steps forward suddenly and the soldiers all raise their guns in unison. He raises his hands. "Brother, we can make peace. You don't have to do this alone. We can work together and-"

Maven stomps his foot. "No!" He cries. "No! You will not take my kingdom from me! I've always been in your shadow but not anymore. I'm done playing the nice one. I'm done being the one always left behind. " He turns to me and stretches out his hand. "Mare, what if I told you that Shade wasn't really dead? I could bring you to him, I could reunite you guys." He pauses as my jaw drops. He's lying. He's lying. He's lying. "Come back with me, Mare. Marry me."

I turn to Cal who tries to grab my hand, which is reaching toward Maven.

Shade

Cal drags me back by the shoulder and forces me to look at him. "No, Mare! He's lying and you know it. Listen to me. Don't do it. Do not marry him. Shade is dead. Nobody can bring him back. Stay with me. Marry me, not him." He whispers now. "Stay with me. Marry me."

I look into his desperate eyes for a long moment. Then I turn and look at Maven's...

Ohhhh dang! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm not sorry. Whoever still loves me comment your grief! :)