Shattered Heart (Red Queen)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

•Mare POV•
     Corvium's tall walls of steel and stone loom over us. Five thousand Lakeland soldiers wait anxiously around us. I stand in the middle of the group with King Orrec Cygnet and his devilish son Carac. King Orrec is commanding the army from a safe distance. After his Silver soldiers bribing down the wall, we will move into the city and find a safe place to stay while the battle commences. Carac wants me at his side at all times and promised that I'll be safe with him. It won't do any good though, because he will kill me as soon as the battle is over. But I have to be quicker and free myself from his iron grip.
       King Orrec turns to the general standing beside him. "It is time. I want every greenwarden, oblivion, strongarm, and magnetron at the wall. Order them to bring it down."
         The General nods curtly and begins shouting orders at his soldiers. In seconds, green vines are snaking up the wall, prying apart the stone like it paper. Giant cracks runs up and down the barrier. An explosion to my left draws my attention. Oblivions are blowing up entire sections of the wall. The strongarms take their places beside the greenwardens and begin hammering at the cracks. Stone flies every which way. When all that is left of the section of the wall in front of us is the metal skeleton, magnetrons rip it apart. My heart pounds wildly in my chest. They took the wall down in minutes. What chance does Norta have against the Lakelands?
          "Move into the city!" King Orrec bellows.
        Soldiers pour into the streets, but no opposing forces meet them. Where is Norta's army? Are they just going to let them take the city? Suddenly, fire and bullets rain down on the Lakeland soldiers. I look up to see hundreds of Nortans on top of the buildings. Brilliant. One soldier stands out among the rest. He isn't wearing a regular uniform, but one of brilliant red and black. His curly black hair is swept out of his face and a wicked grin curls his lips. My breath hitches. Maven. I feel sick and I think I might pass out. Maven Calore, King of Norta, is here in the city. A dark thought clouds my mind and secretly hope a Lakeland soldier kills him.
       No. He is not your enemy any more. He's here fighting. His fire and presence is proof that he is not aligned with King Orrec and will defend his kingdom. But if Maven is here, where is Cal. Did he make it to Corvium to warn Maven? Or did something happen to him? I have the strong desire to scream to Maven. He probably will never hear me over the gunshots and Carac will harm me if I do. I use my better judgment and decide against it. I have an idea of how to take Carac down, I'm just waiting for the perfect opportunity to do so.
        So many soldiers on both sides have already fallen. Red soldiers, Silver soldiers, and Newbloods fight in a blurred mass of chaos. I wish I was there fighting with them. Side by side with Newbloods like me instead of by Carac.
A clap of thunder from the gray clouds above us caused me to jump. A ferocious storm is blowing in quickly. Windweavers and storms call upon the power of the weather to bring down the Nortans. Rain begins to fall and soaks everyone and everything. The rain is coming down at a strong and steady pace. It won't be long before the streets of Corvium are flooded. Then, the Lakelander nymphs will be able to drown their enemies like sewer rats. Wind whips around me and I can barely hear anything over the rain and thunder. The lightning calls to me but I still have these damn Silent Stone cuffs on. Soon, though, electricity will once again flow through my veins.
The air suddenly turns brutally cold and the rain turns into snow. The inches of water at our feet begins to freeze. Shivers. But Nortan ones aligned with Maven. I try to pick my feet up out of the water, but it is freezing too fast for me to do so.
"Carac," King Orrec calls out to his son, "get to the front of the lines and kill all in your path. These shivers are going to turn us into ice statues if we don't stop them."
Carac nods to his father and is able to break free of his icy prison. He quickly sprint forward and I lose him in the clump of soldiers.  Perfect.
"Well, my dear," King Orrec addresses me, "is this how you imagined this battle would go? Were you prepared to watch your friends die as they defend a kingdom that had already fallen?"
"You haven't won yet," I tell him. "The battle has just begun."
He chuckles at my remarks. "You're a fool to believe Norta will win."
"And you're a fool to believe your son is loyal to you," I reply, starting to spin my web of deceit.
His cruel smile fades. "What do you mean?"
"Carac is eager for the throne, your majesty. Before he captured me, he told me that he was going to murder you. He wanted me to help him do it, which is why I escaped."
The king's face doesn't change. "You don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't I? I would watch my back, if I were you. Carac may try to kill you during this battle," I warn him.
King Orrec clenches his jaw. He's starting to believe me. This may be easier than I thought.
The king then begins to shout orders at his men to find Carac. He's now very distracted by the thought of his son trying to murder him. With out warning, someone grabs my arm and pulls me against them. I try to turn to face them but I am overcome with the feeling of the air being sucked from my lungs. The Lakeland soldiers around me disappear and I find myself in another place. I collapse to the ground and look around to see Newbloods gathered around me. I quickly turn around to see who teleported me here. A familiar face greets me. Shade.
I scramble to my feet and throw myself into his arms. His embrace crushes me, but I don't mind. My cheeks are damp from tears I didn't know were falling. I bury my face in his shoulder and let my tears fall. Shade runs his hand through my wet hair and pulls away to look at me.
"You're alive," he says in disbelief.
"I'm here. I'm fine." I tell him.
He looks me over. "And your wound? Has it healed?"
I touch the spot on my stomach that was pierced with glass weeks ago. That injury separated me from Cal and caused me to be Carac's prisoner.
"Shade, I'm fine," I promise him.
"Good," he breathes and wraps me in another hug.
This time, I pull away and ask, "Where is Cal?"
"Maybe you should turn around," a low voice suggests.
I freeze not truly sure if my ears heard correctly. Cal made it here and is safe. He's right behind me.
I slowly turn to face him. There, in front of me, is the man I love. My heart explodes in my chest and my feet move towards him in blinding speed. He catches me in his arms and lifts me from the ground. I take his face between my hands and kiss him deeply. We're here together, and that's all that matters.
"Mare, I love you," he whispers in my ear.
I close my eyes and whisper back, "I love you too. More than you know."
Cal finally sets me down but keeps me close. I can see pain in his eyes, but I don't know what from. I look him over, but see no visible wounds.
"I'm so sorry," he apologizes in a strained voice. "I will never leave you again for as long as I live."
I nod, fighting back tears. "I know. I'm sorry it had to be this way."
"I-I thought I lost you, Mare. The very thought that you were gone, it... I can't even begin to describe what it felt like."
I hold him close to me. Will I ever get the chance to do this again? Will one of us die in the battle raging before us? I can't bear the thought of not being with Cal. We've been through so much together and it can't end now. I won't let it happen.
"Sorry to break up this reunion," the Colonel says from behind us, "but there's currently a battle being fought. And we're on the losing side."
I turn to face Farley's father. "We won't be for long," I reply.
"Someone get these cuffs off her," the Colonel demands gruffly.
A strongarm with Maven's forces steps forward. He takes my left arm and grabs the cuff. He crushes it between his hands and it falls to the ground. I hold out my other arm and he does the same. As soon as the Silent Stone leaves my skin, I feel a great weight lifted off me. I take a deep breath and call upon my lightning. It comes rushing back to me at full power and lights up the air around me in purple sparks. I grin a turn to face the Lakeland forces. The Lightning Girl is back.