74. Elianna

Chapter seventy-four

Elianna

Pure agony pulsed through me in a violent haze, as if every bone in my body had shattered a thousand times over while the queen’s puppet tormented me. Both of their gazes remained on me, enjoying every bit of pain they witnessed at their disposal.

The only thing keeping me going was knowing that Jace was alive, feeling him on the other end of the bond that I desperately yearned to let him through—but I knew him sensing all of this, feeling the full extent of it, would only put him at greater risk.

He would hate me for shutting him out, but I wouldn’t risk him—just as he wouldn’t risk me in the battle at Ellecaster.

“Be sure that her heart is still beating. I don’t want her dead yet,” Idina stated.

Azenna smirked as she slammed my body into yet another wall—a grunt left me at the force of it. “It beats. She is strong-willed. Defiant.”

Idina snarled. “She always has been. ”

I flashed a blood-stained smile at them in response, ignoring my body as every inch felt like it was bursting into flames.

Azenna’s eyes flared as panic took over her features. She started glancing frantically in every direction—her torture attempts at me ceasing from whatever suddenly distracted her.

“Something is wrong!” she bellowed. The High Witch turned to the queen. “The wards are down! Something has happened to Sylvae.”

Mother of the gods. Hope surged through me at her words as Idina looked as if she would kill Azenna right there for something going awry with her plans.

Everyone’s attention moved to the throne room doors as they burst open, slamming into the walls at their sides as my sister leapt through them.

Her eyes met mine, and my heart was ready to burst from both pride and nerves for her being here.

“Mother!” she barked. “Release her!”

Idina laughed at her daughter’s demand but then shot Azenna another vengeful look. “How did you get out?!”

“You have always underestimated me and what I’m capable of,” she hissed while storming towards them.

She shot me a sympathetic look, but I had never been more fucking proud in my life. That was my girl— defiant , just like her sister. A grin stretched across my face as I remained under the witch’s faltering hold.

Azenna took a threatening step in Avery’s direction and I lashed out at her sorcery, writhing beneath it to get to her. “Where is Sylvae?!” she barked .

Avery’s hands balled into fists at her sides. “Dead,” she answered proudly.

My eyes flared. “Holy gods,” I managed to breathe.

“And I would be in her place if I hadn’t stabbed her in the heart first!” Avery ripped a curved dagger from the belt of her dress and showed it to the High Witch.

Idina’s head snapped to Azenna. “Your crone tried to kill my daughter?!”

Chaos ensued in the throne room as arguments lashed out from everyone—and then all the windows burst . Glass shattered from all sides and angles of the giant room as they rained down from the high ceilings.

Everyone moved to shield themselves from the sudden blast, including Azenna, causing her to release the spell she held me in. My body fell to the floor, but I blocked the hard contact by tucking and rolling the best I could.

Glass cut into my skin as I landed while it continued to rain down on us. My hand flew to the hilt of my dagger, ready to strike as I lay in a non-threatening position, trying not to draw too much attention as everyone remained distracted from the blast.

Shadows erupted through one of the windows, swarming through the room like a haze of death—and then Veli appeared above us. My aide levitated in the air as she leisurely lowered herself to the ground, eyes illuminating with pure, surging power.

Complete awe took over me at the sight of her, and the pure fear that slithered into Idina’s eyes .

Azenna took a step up to Veli, eyes glowing with her blinding power. “Fool of a witch, deserting your kind, as always.”

“Fools flock to fools, I presume. And I will choose them every time,” Veli answered with a menacing smirk that mirrored my own as I watched through the curtain of my hair.

“Witch, don’t you dare leave my side!” the queen roared at Azenna’s back, but it was too late.

The High Witch shot out in a rush of shadows at Veli, whose own flew to cover her instantly. I worked to push myself up as the two witches soared around the chamber, their magic lashing out at each other in deadly strides.

The air crackled with untapped power as their sorcery was unleashed. The throne room's tapestries fluttered, and some were ripped from the walls as a tornado-like wind formed in the space.

A swirl of inky darkness enveloped Veli, coiling around her like a living serpent. Azenna unleashed bolts of the same shadowy energy across the room, but Veli’s own countered them, acting as a barrier.

Shockwaves reverberated through the room as their forces clashed, causing everything around us to rattle. A clicking sound echoed, drawing my attention up to the swaying crystal chandelier as it fell from the ceiling. It was aiming right for where Avery stood, stuck in a daze of watching the witches fight one another.

“Avery!” I screamed as I leapt up, ignoring the pain tearing through every one of my muscles from Azenna’s torments, and dove for her. I tackled her to the ground just in time, our bodies rolling along the glass-covered floor. The chandelier exploded into millions of tiny shards the second it came in contact with the marble.

Veli’s eyes flashed to mine in horror, and then gave me a nod. She reached out for Azenna, wrapping her shadows around the screaming witch, and sent both of them blasting back out through the windows and into the air above the city.

The throne room turned eerily silent as their battle took to the skies. The only sounds were our deep breaths and the crunching of glass beneath us as we slowly began to move.

“Avery, darling.” Idina’s voice sounded from the dais, where she now stood in front of my father’s throne— my throne. “Come with me, darling. Come with your mother. We must leave. It isn’t safe.” Her words were frantic and full of nerves.

Avery scoffed and then sat up next to me. As I worked to push myself up alongside her, I reached down toward my sheath, only to find that my dagger was gone.

Fuck .

“I will never go with you,” she breathed.

Idina’s mouth twisted into a scowl as she stormed up to us, aiming for Avery. My eyes landed on my dagger, only feet away, hidden beneath the piles of glass that littered the floor. The obsidian blade glistened in the light that shone through the shattered windows.

The queen reached us then, her attention flashing between me and my sister cautiously as she stretched her arm out and grabbed Avery’s wrist. She tugged at her daughter’s arm violently, sliding her body through the glass, leaving a trail of blood in her wake as Avery screamed and clawed at her mother’s grasp. Crescent-shaped blood pooled on the queen’s arms from Avery’s fingernails digging into her skin.

Idina’s attention was fully on forcing Avery to escape with her. I used the distraction to push my body through the searing pain and reached through the pile of glass, wrapping my fingers around my dagger’s hilt.

Avery kicked and screamed at Idina, but she was injured from our fall, and the queen’s grasp on her was like a death grip as she dragged her body up the steps of the dais.

I pushed myself to my feet, my eyes narrowing in on the female who had taken everything from me—my life, parents, crown, and siblings. All because of hatred in her heart from what her own family had done to her, and jealousy of not being able to be with who she loved when my father only desired the same. They were each prisoners of a contract they had nothing to do with. It cost my father and mother their lives—and now the queen’s actions would have the same deadly consequences for herself.

They say the wrath of a female scorned could rival that of the gods, but what of two queens? Each willing to burn the realm down for those they loved—one benevolent, like her father, and the other even more cruel than her own.

I positioned myself into a fighting stance and held my dagger tight in my grasp—the blade my father had created for me, and that my mate had reforged. The dagger that meant everything to me and reminded me of those I loved most would now take the life of the person who had worked to take theirs .

Idina’s amber eyes widened in horror as they met mine. I took my first step toward her and then another. Before I knew it, I was storming up to the queen, the corners of my lips tipping up at the sight of fear in her eyes—mimicking the fear she had placed upon so many others.

It was satisfying to know I was the one who put it there.

Avery finally shoved out of her mother’s hold once I reached the dais. Idina stumbled backwards, clutching her chest as she watched me approach in slow, taunting movements.

“Elianna, I—” She sounded as if she was about to burst into tears, and one of my own slipped, but mine wasn’t out of fear or sadness. The single tear I let slip was that of relief as my fingertips ached with the need for vengeance, sensing that it was about to be within their grasp.

I forcefully grabbed the false queen by her hair, slamming her against the unforgiving brick wall and silencing the plea for mercy that tried to escape her lips. “You do not speak here. Anything you say will fall on deaf ears.”

Pulling her hair down, I brought the tip of my dagger’s blade to her throat as it became fully exposed.

“If you would just let me try to explain!”

I brought my lips to her ear, and I felt a shiver of terror roll through her body. “Such a terrible listener, as you have been for the last century. Idina, it’s my turn to speak— my turn for revenge.”

A retort was working its way up her throat, but I pressed the sharpened tip further into her skin, a bead of her blood rolling down its blade .

My face was now positioned directly in front of her own, making sure she was looking into my eyes for what I was about to say. “You are a tyrant, usurper, murderous cunt. Everything that you did was to exact vengeance on innocent beings, all because you believed yourself to be superior to them.”

“Your father—”

“My father was many things. Yes, a fool was one of them, but it was heartache that drove him there, caused by you . The male was terrified of you, for what he feared you would do to me, and he let his entire kingdom suffer for it.”

“He never even gained knowledge of the scars my body still bears because of you. You state that neither he nor I are worthy of having mates, but it is you , Idina, who is undeserving of one.” I huffed out a hateful laugh. “Or perhaps you and Callius just truly deserved each other.”

Avery pulled herself to her feet, watching us with wide, disbelieving eyes.

“I just wanted to love freely.” Idina’s words were hoarse, barely above a whisper.

A wicked grin crept up my face. “Always such a liar. You wanted power . You wanted to take back what was ripped from you by males your entire life, and in turn, did just that to another female—one whose birthright was that power. To rule over the realm and protect all of its creatures. You never protected anyone but yourself.”

Tears slipped from her lower lashes then, but nothing but pure fury-filled hate lingered in her stare as she watched me, trapped between the wall and my blade .

Her gaze moved to Avery. “Why?” she croaked out. “You support her and her claim, yet I am your mother.”

For a moment, I felt awful that my sister had to see this—until she spoke.

Avery’s eyes darted back and forth between me and Idina. “And she is my sister,” she answered. “And Jameson was my father. I share just as much blood with them as I do with you. You took my father away from not only us and your other children, but the Kingdom of Velyra.”

My heart was ready to burst as I listened to her condemn her own mother in my honor.

“This is what you deserve,” she whispered ruthlessly.

My eyes locked with Avery’s then, and she gave me a subtle dip of her chin.

Another plea of terror was working its way through the queen, but never had time to escape her as I lodged the blade in her throat. Her eyes flared before they turned lifeless as I held her in my grasp, her blood pouring down her front. Once I released her, I sent her body tumbling down the steps of the dais, leaving a trail of crimson behind her.

The only sounds now were mine and Avery’s labored breathing, and my stare slowly lifted to hers as it filled with tears, slipping down her cheeks.

“I thought they were going to kill you,” she whispered.

“Me too.” I gave her a soft, tight-lipped smile.

A moment later, we lunged at one another in tandem, crashing into each other’s open arms, and tightened our embrace. We hugged each other so firmly I thought our bones would snap.

The day began with so many unknowns, one of them being that I wasn’t sure I would ever see my sister again, and I was thankful to Terra and every wretched god above that wasn’t the case.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

She pulled back from me then. “For what? You just saved me.”

“Everything. For this.” I gestured to Idina’s body. “And for accusing you of keeping the nature of my mother’s death from me—I regretted it the moment it left my lips. I know you would never do that, and you didn’t deserve what I did and said following it. I’m just so sorry, and since you were taken, I didn’t know if I would ever get the chance to tell you that. It’s been killing me.” The last words left me in a whisper.

She smiled at me softly. “Lia, you were forgiven the moment it happened. I knew your anger was misplaced. I can’t even fathom how you’ve dealt with everything. Let it go down in history as our first sister fight.”

A snort left me at that.

My eyes then roamed over her body—her dress was covered in onyx gore, while her skin was littered with bleeding cuts and bruises. “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she breathed. “Gage? Is he alright?”

My lips pressed together in a thin line. “I’m not sure. We have to go out there and help the others,” I said.

I took her hand in mine and guided her towards the throne room doors, picking up my sword that I had lost when Azenna first attacked me and sheathed it on my hip as we left her mother’s body behind .

“ Jace ,” I breathed down the bond, praying to the gods that he was okay, but I felt him there—his heart beating rapidly.

“ Lia! ” His scream echoed through my mind, and my pace quickened, feeling the sense of urgency in his tone.

“ I’m okay, and I’m coming to find you .”

His sight took over my own, and the castle walls morphed into a hazy battlefield, where males and men raged on in their fight for victory, but they weren’t alone. Centaurs, giants, and countless other creatures of the forest were sprawled throughout the battlefield, aiding the mortals in their fight for survival.

My steps faltered and a booming laugh left me, stunning Avery, whose stride halted with mine.

“Those lying bastards.” I chuckled out loud as relief worked its way through my aching veins.

Three swords flew in front of my vision, two held by my mate, crossing as a shield in front of him, as another blade worked to push through them—through him .

A growl, deep and ferocious, worked its way out of me as the sight of Kellan came into view, holding the other blade.

“ Hold on, handsome. I’m coming .”

I turned to my sister and reached for her hand. “Help has arrived. I’ll explain everything later, but I had one more trick up my sleeve before we came to get you. We need to get out there.”

We both took off in a desperate run, through the castle’s main entrance and down the streets of Isla, aiming for the city’s gate.