Shattered Heart (Red Queen)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

•Cal POV•
She's back. Mare is back and alive unharmed. My heart swells when I look at her, not truly believing she's alive. A strong arm removes her silent stone cuffs from her wrists. She grins at me and lets out a sigh of relief when the weight is lifted off her.
"Carac will not see the end of this day," Mare promises and purple lightning streaks across the sky.
Farley is grinning at the power flowing through Mare's veins and asks, "What's the next move?"
"We take down the Lakelands," the Colonel answers simply. "Now that we have Mare back on our side, there's no stopping her. The Lakelands never intended for her to be freed, so we have the advantage."
Mare has a look of puzzlement on her face.
"Mare?" I ask. "What is it?"
She shakes her head and answers, "It was too easy. The King didn't even tried to stop Shade from taking me and he was quick to get Carac away from me."
"What do you you mean? The King never saw us coming. He had no idea," Shade protests.
"No, there was no way he didn't anticipate some sort of rescue mission," Mare counters. "He wanted this to happen."
I finally speak up. "Why would he ever want you to escape. He had leverage with you and knew you were not a threat if you were in chains. how could he possibly benefit from your escape?"
"I don't know, but something doesn't feel right. It doesn't make sense."
"Well, then we'll keep you off the field for a while," the Colonel decides.
"Absolutely not," Mare argues. "I will not stand by and watch as others give their lives."
"But if what you say is true," I start, "then you'll be playing right into his hands on the battlefield."
She contemplates for a moment and responds, "Exactly. He isn't aware that I know about his plan. I'll be ready for him and surprise him."
"I don't like it," I tell her, not wanting to lose her again.
"Maybe not, but we don't always get to choose the safe way out," she says and looks into my eyes. "I love you, Cal, but I will not let Norta fall."
I take her face in my hands and press my forehead against hers. "Neither will I. I will follow you, even to death."
"Enough with the dramatics," Farley groans. "Let's kill some Lakelanders."

•Mare POV•
     I glance across the street at Cal and see him staring back at me. I give him a nod of reassurance and he hesitantly nods back. The Colonel devised a plan for us to take down the Lakelander army. The Silvers in Maven's army are on the ground with Cal and I. The Reds are on top of the buildings, ready to shoot down any Lakelanders that slip past us.
     Maven stands beside me and I refrain from strangling him. I have to tell myself over and over again that he's not my enemy. He's on our side now, but that doesn't change what he did.
     "I hope you plan on saving that lightning for Carac," Maven comments and throws me a sly smile.
      I let a few sparks fly and he tries to suppress his flinch.
      "I'm sure I'll have some left over for you," I snap.
       "I'm counting on it," he replies. "Carac will be hiding behind his soldiers when they break through our front lines."
       "He's a coward, and will die as one."
      Maven smiles smuggly. "I'm glad you finally found your backbone. You'll need it as Queen."
      "You're really going to just give up the crown that easily?"
    A muscle feathers in his jaw and he gives me a cool look. "Turns out, being the king is not the dream job my wicked mother made it out to be."
    I raise an eyebrow at his admittance. I never thought the day would come when Maven admitted he wasn't suited for the job.
    "Glad you finally came to your senses," I say simply and end the conversation at that.
    Talking with Maven is always like skating on thin ice. One of us is bound to blow up at some point and this is not particularly the time or place to do so. I turn my attention back to the battle in front of us and take a deep breath. I can hear the shouts of pain, firing of guns, and explosions shaking the ground. How many will die today? How many of my friends and family will die? I do not  expect to survive this battle. Realistically, it is not logical. But I would never tell Cal or any of the others that. I can only hope they survive.
A see a silver-headed figure with metal armor running towards us. Evangeline. Honestly, I've never been so glad to see that girl. I never thought I would say that. As much as I dislike her, she could help change the tide of the war. Her eyes fall on me when she reaches us and she gives my a sly grin.
"Glad to see the Lightning Girl is alive and well," she comments.
I nod to her. "Same to you."
"The Lakeland army is pushing through our Silver forces," she tells us. "We won't be able to hold them for much longer."
Cal curses. "What do you need?"
She shrugs. "A little more firepower couldn't hurt."
"I'll go," I blurt out. Standing and watching is getting boring.
"No," Cal protests immediately.
I narrow my eyes at him. "I did not ask for your permission. We cannot win this war by standing on the sidelines. We have to play offense, not defense."
"She's right," Maven agrees.
Cal grits his teeth and I ignore him. I look at Evangeline and say, "Lead the way."
She grins and darts off towards the action. My eyes lock onto Cal's and I mouth "I love you" before I take off after her.
Evangeline turns her head to look at me as we run and says, "You better prepare yourself for the front lines. It's a bloodbath out here."
"I think I can handle it," I reply confidently.
We dart past soldiers, many of them dead, and keep pushing until the sound of firing guns and explosions make my teeth vibrate. I look around and can only see fallen bodies littering the streets. Red and Silver blood flows like a river around me. So many of my own are dead. How did it come to this?
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, the metallic scent of blood makes me gag. It is time to stop this madness. I let sparks dance at my fingertips and catch up with Evangeline, careful to avoid stepping on bodies. She is staring up at the broken wall in front of us, watching as Lakeland soldiers pour through.
"Wanna get in on this action?" she asks as metal snakes up around her, forming an even thicker armor around her body.
I lift up my arms and call upon my lightning. Dark clouds begin to swirl above us with purple and white lightning shooting through it. When enough power grows, I unleash it upon our enemies. Lightning rains down upon the soldiers and slices through their front lines. Screams fill my ears as bodies fall.
Evangeline grins beside me and says, "Now that's what I'm talking about. Let's go."
She takes off again and heads straight into the turmoil. She shows no fear for the bullets barreling towards her. I have to give it to her, she is one tough girl. I chase after her but we get separated when a Storm steps in front of me and begins twisting his hands. A tornado forms and whips the wind up around me. You have got to me shitting me. Really, a tornado? Red soldiers are swept up into the twister and are thrown onto buildings, their bodies shattering upon impact. I sent a blast of lightning at the Storm and fry him. The tornado dissipates and I keep fighting. Many Silvers throw their powers at me, but I electrocute them before they get the chance to touch me. I remember what Carac taught me and feel for the electric current pulsing through their bodies. Once I find it, I cut it off, killing them instantly. I guess Carac wasn't completely useless.
Speaking of Carac, Evangeline screams at me and points to the wall. Carac is standing on it's ruins, killing massive amounts of soldiers with his abilities. Rage courses through me and I shove past every damn soldier to get to him. A small force of Lakelanders stand between Carac and me. Without a second of hesitation, I destroy every last one of them. Carac is mine. He will meet his end today.
    "Come to kill me, Mare?" He calls to me with amusement in his voice.
    I bare my teeth and reply, "I've come to turn you to into ash."
    He laughs as a I begin to climb the ruins of the wall. He holds his hands out to his soldiers and yells, "She's mine! Don't touch her!"
    He pulls out a sword from its sheath at his side. I glare at him and watch his every move, waiting to see what he'll do.
    "Let's have a little fun, shall we?"
    He motions to one of his soldiers and they timidly hold out a sword for me. I take it and give him a questioning look.
    "No abilities," he tells me. "We'll just be at a stalemate if we use our powers. I want to savor it when I kill you."
    I smirk and grip my sword in both hands, "You wish."
    I am going to slaughter him. I'm no where near as experienced as him with a sword, but I don't need it. My pure hatred will be enough to destroy him. Without another thought, I launch myself at him.
    I sloppily swing my sword at him, misjudging how heavy it is. He easily avoids it and returns the move with a swipe at my ribs. I jump back enough that it is just a small slice. I narrow my eyes and advance again. I slam my sword down and he blocks it. Over and over again, I hammer my sword down upon him.
    "You're weak, Mare," he taunts. "You'll never be able to win this fight."
    I give a shout of anger and slice at his legs. I hit his right leg and he stumbles. He hisses at the pain but steadies himself and lunges at me. He raises the sword back above his head and slams it down on my blade with such force that I trip on the rubble. I fall for several feet, crashing into every slab of concrete I hit. I feel several of my ribs crack and I groan in pain. Carac chases me down the wall. I push myself to my knees and he grabs my hair, yanking my head back.
    He leans down and seethes, "I told you I would kill you, Little Lightning Girl."
    Carac lifts his sword to my throat but freezes when he hears Cal's voice.
    "MARE, NO!" He screams in anguish.
    I glance up and realize that Carac is not longer paying attention to me. I shove his sword away from my throat and grab his leg. I pull him off his feet and onto the ground. I climb on top of him to hold him down. I grab my own sword and lift it above my head.
    "Goodbye, Carac," I say and plunge the sword into his heart.
    The look of shock on his face as he dies is one I'll never forget. He begins coughing up blood and starts to choke. I grin as the light leaves his eyes. I stand up off his body and sigh of relief. I hear Cal yell at me, but his voice is lost in an explosion. I whip my head toward him to see if he is in trouble, but stop dead when something collides with my lower back. I look down to see a sword protruding from my stomach.