Chapter 67

67

CASSANDRA

I blink my eyes open. My body feels weightless, and I realize I'm floating in warm, still water. My arms are stretched out, and I sit up, seeing the white dress I'm wearing spread out around me in the crystal-blue water. I look around, spotting the sea god sitting on the edge of the pool, his golden hair waving in the breeze. There is nothing else to see, just the cave walls. I swim over, pulling myself out the deep pool and sitting down next to him. The sea god has his eyes closed, his hands folded on his lap as he faces a cave wall.

"It feels like a long time since you have come into my dreams," I muse, and he opens his eyes, not looking at me as he speaks.

"It is the last time. You will die, or live without the help of gods very soon," he explains to me .

"Why did you bring me here?" I ask, ignoring the fact he said I could die. Not very reassuring.

"To say goodbye," he says, and he must feel my shock. "Can gods not have feelings, Cassandra?"

"Do you?" I question him.

"Yes. I love all the children I bless. I love all my own children, but it does not mean I can protect them," he says.

"You have children?" I ask.

"Another story for another day, perhaps?"

"But we will not speak again."

"No, we will not," he comments and looks at me, his eyes glowing a light-blue as he places his hand on my shoulder, but his eyes go to my stomach.

"This is your future, and when you save yourself, you will also save everyone else," he tells me.

"What if I die? What if I can't do this?" I ask, holding a protective hand over my stomach.

"Then everyone dies. The world ends, and only the gods will walk on Calais, but I believe in you," he says, leaning closer and kissing my forehead, right on my mark as everything drifts away into darkness.

"Wake up, Cassandra!" Someone shakes my shoulder as they whisper the words frantically to me. I blink my eyes open, putting my hand over the dagger and seeing Jacob's mother standing over me. She straightens as I sit up, putting the bag on my lap. I open it up, pulling the crown out, just as I hear the sound of cannons, screams, and dragons roaring, but they are lost in the distance as the power of the crown overwhelms me. I have to shake my head, gaining some kind of control.

"The war has started. It happened earlier than we thought," she says, and I nod. I know my pirates would have rushed in here because of my leaving. I stand up, holding my dagger in one hand and the crown in the other as I follow Jacob's mother to the door. She unlocks it, and we walk out into the large, empty corridor.

"My husband, and those loyal to the princes, have gone ahead to disarm the guards surrounding the queen," she explains to me as we run down the corridor. We run around a corner, and she leads me to a set of stairs. As we run up them, a cannon smashes into the staircase, going straight through the wall.

"Faster, they are destroying the castle," she says, grabbing my arm and pulling me up the stairs around the falling stone. I climb with her, holding on to the dagger and crown even when it's hard to. We come out to another corridor, and it is packed with guards. There are at least ten guards on the floor knocked out. There are five still standing, and they nod at us when they spot us. Jacob's mother runs to one of the guards, holding him close, and I walk past them all, straight towards the closed door .

"The queen is in there, with two maids passed out," one of the guards tells me.

"Thank you." I ask one more thing of them just before I open the door. "Now, do not let anyone in here, please?"

"For the crown and for our children's lives, we will protect the door," the man I presume is Jacob's father says firmly, and the guards move into a line between the door and the only staircase. I take a deep breath before opening the door and going inside. The room is dimly lit with several candles. There are no windows and just a simple bed. On the floor near the door are two brown-haired girls, their heads hung down, so I can't see their faces. I can hear that they're breathing, so I know they are okay. The queen sits on the bed, her long, almost-black hair hiding her face.

"Queen Riah?" I ask, but she doesn't move. She doesn't even flinch at my calling her name. I look down at the dagger, swallowing the nervousness that builds up in my throat as I walk over to her. I go around her, sitting next to her on the bed, when she suddenly stands up. I stand up, too, facing her as she raises her blue eyes to meet mine. She looks so pale, so thin and lost. Her eyes, though, they are the image of Hunter's.

"You have his eyes," I say, not realising I've even spoken out loud until she nods.

"I-I can't do it," I say, dropping the crown and the dagger onto the floor, staying still as they bounce on the wood before settling. The sounds of dragons roaring, swords smashing against each other, and screams can be heard outside. Yet, the room is eerily silent in a way. Queen Riah keeps her eyes locked with mine, not blinking, not moving. She is like a doll, no fear ever shows in her eyes as I face her with a dagger. Not even when it is clear I came here to kill her. Her lips mumble something, nothing that I can make out as actual words. I watch her lean down, and pick the crown up, a glow floating up her arms, and her mark lights up a glowing blue colour.

"You must let me die. You have to save the future, you have to save the sea, Cassandra," she insists, and it's the most I've ever heard her speak. Maybe the crown is giving her some power, power she is using to speak to me normally. To get past the damage that has been done to her by a man she once loved and trusted.

"You're their mother, and I love them. I can't do that to them," I say, taking a deep breath. When I need to be strong, when I need to be emotionless, I'm not. I can't do this, and it will cost me everything.

"You love my sons, they are your chosen," she says, and looks down at the crown for a long while. I don't answer her, she knows the answer, anyway.

"They are fighting the king now, with my other chosen and my army. They don't know I'm here, what I came to do," I explain to her, hating that I had to make this decision without them. And I still couldn't do it.

"They wouldn't stop you. It's time I died, and you will send my evil chosen after me. I will make sure he pays in death, his soul will burn with the god of souls in hell," she exclaims. I believe her completely, seeing the determination in her eyes. She looks up, her eyes so much like Ryland's as she smiles, and her mouth parts in shock. She coughs, and blood trickles out her mouth as I look down, and see the end of a long dagger appearing through her stomach.

"Finally, I get to be with my chosen," she chuckles as the dagger is pulled out. "Not that they ever left me," she whispers as her eyes fade, and her soul leaves her body. She falls suddenly, and I catch her, holding her to me as I look up and see who killed the queen.

"You . . . . How could it be you?" I mutter, shaking my head as Livvy drops the dagger on the floor and takes a step back.

"He never killed me, and I owed you. We are even now, Cassandra. Please don't stop me from leaving," she says, walking towards the door. I gently place the queen on the floor, closing her eyes and picking the crown up.

"Stop! I deserve more of an explanation from you," I shout at Livvy as she rests her hand on the door handle.

"I am done. I should have died at the hands of whoever won me at the auctions, but I did not. I believe you only saved my life because I was meant to help you now. To do something no one else could," she opens the door slightly. "The king will be weak now, and he won't have his gifts. You can finally win." Her last words end on a scream, as the door falls away from a massive blast that sends me flying across the room, landing next to the bed which slides away. I panic, reaching around as I fall and grab hold of a floor board, waiting for the rocking to stop. When the dust settles, half the room is gone, and the walls don't exist anymore. I look across the battlefield, seeing thousands of guards and my people fighting. There are hundreds of ships, some are sinking, while others are on fire in the sea. I look up, seeing the king riding his dragon, flying across the sky and burning the ships. Even without his gifts, he is still burning everything.

"Vivo!" I scream out, placing the crown on my head.