As a new queen rises to power, the kings of Caeleste grow unrest. The Inlustris in their sights, they send an assassin to Antonella Feulune's palace, and the war is declared.
Inexperienced and filled with grief, Antonella sends off her fiancé on a t...
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Jax breathed out a sigh of relief once I got rid of the ashes of the late King Rasmus and extinguished the burning trees. I watched over what once was the battlefield in disdain. Soldiers marched out from their place bombing the palace, and went away without looking back.
They served no one.
Perhaps they would follow their queens, but if they were like Flambers when I first came into the throne, then they would start following them months after. People were always so afraid of change, especially of a change of power to what they all deemed the weaker sex.
I sighed, looking over at the ruins all covered in an abundance of bodies. This was what the weaker sex could provoke.
"He's gone," Jax whispered. He stared at me as if asking for confirmation. I nodded, and tears welled in his eyes. They threatened to fall but he swallowed them back as he stared over at all the bodies.
"I've always dreamed of the day he was no more." His voice cracked as he hastily wiped his cheeks with the back of his hands. "The abuse he bestowed upon me and my buddies...it was unlike anything I've ever experienced. Thank you, Queen Antonella."
I reached out a trembling hand to him and he gladly accepted it. Kora and Marisole joined in on the love. Kora took Jax's other side while Marisole buried her face on my shoulder, snaking her hands around my free arm.
"We must find the Flambers," I said after a minute of pure silence. They nodded, turning away from the carnage before us. Vultures started flying around in the sky. I grimaced, but at least they had something to feed themselves with.
The thought twisted my insides.
It was one thing to see so many people lose their heads, but being eaten by birds was where I drew the line.
A vibration rattled the ground. My heart plummeted thinking the attacks weren't over and something was missing, but then I saw my brume flashing its green light. I bent down to it and accepted the call.
Elena's smirking face greeted me. "Your Majesty, you put up quite a show. Your mother would be proud."
"Isn't that the mistress?" Kora whispered behind me. I figured I had lots to explain to them, but now was not the time.
"Elena," I addressed. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"I'm glad you asked." She stepped away revealing the gentlemen all standing tall and proud, surrounding a tied up Mahli. He was gagged as he stared at me through the brume. His eyes glistened with an anger I thought I would only ever see in King Rasmus.
I quirked a brow at the sight. Behind the gentlemen, the bodies of the other kings and Prince Linus lied about confirming their death once more. The silver and blue arrows still protruded through their chests, glimmering slightly with the lasting effects of my magic.
"Prince Mahli, you disarmed all my guards within a second, and yet there you are, tied up at last. I expected a little more fight than that."
He breathed out and didn't even bother to fight to say anything.
"Your mother had warned us about the possible involvement of another kingdom of a foreign land," Elena explained. "Queen Talia was also a great help."
I didn't know if it was the absurdity of my situation-a young woman surrounded by death and destruction whilst being told that her late mother had foreseen every single event and was helped by Queen Talia of Fortis Crystallum-but I started laughing until my ribs ached and I was gasping for breath once more.
Mother would forever be known for her perceptiveness.
"I want him brought over immediately," I told the agents through soft chuckles.
"As you wish," Alec said, and bowed. Hektor, Stefan, and Angelo followed suit. Their eyes shined as the brume disconnected.
"You know King Oskar's mistress?" Marisole asked.
I chuckled at the three shocked faces. "There's much you don't know. Come. We shall find the others."
"Will you tell us about your glamorous life now?" Kora asked.
"Does this really look like glamour to you, Kora?"
"No..."
"Precisely."
"But you must have had an elite life before you ascended to the throne!" She continued rambling about what she thought was the life of a royal. I let her detail all the wrong assumptions. At that point, I wasn't going to bring more disappointment to them. Too much had happened and I needed the amusing distraction.
Alas, the worst had passed and now it was time to start the next chapter, whatever it may be. Potentia Flamber, although destroyed, was now calm. The Inlustris was protected from the greedy.
"How many dresses do you own?" Kora inquired.
I chuckled. Life was still present, and that was what was most important.
