31. Chapter 31

Chapter thirty-one

H aven had never given much thought to how she would die. As she looked down at the arrow protruding from her stomach, she had only one thought,

At least she'd gone out heroically.

Looking up to where the man was still standing a few feet away from her, Haven found him wearing a wide smile,

"Nicely done" He told her

Confusion wracked through Haven as he came to stand in front of her, his footsteps echoing through the forest. Haven hoped the sound of his footsteps wouldn't be the last thing she heard. Gripping the arrow tightly, he leaned in and whispered ,

"All hail the Queen"

As soon as he yanked out the arrow, Haven stumbled back in shock. She felt no pain at all. None. Nothing when the man had initially gripped the arrow, nothing when he'd pulled the arrow back out and nothing after the fact. It was as if she'd never been shot at all.

Looking down to where she'd been impaled only seconds ago, Haven found no blood. In fact, as she put a hand to her stomach where she'd thought the arrow had impaled her, she found not even a wound. The only evidence she'd been shot at all was the small hole in her dress from the tip of the arrow.

Havens brows knitted together. Looking up in confusion she asked,

"I don't understand, what's going on?"

"You passed your test" The man told her, still wearing that wide and slightly creepy smile.

After he said it, Haven felt a strange power erupting from her. Gasps rang out from all around her. Somehow, a large group of fae had gathered while she'd been freaking out about being shot. Haven had been so distracted that she hadn't even seen or heard them show up. Their abrupt arrival shocked Haven, although she didn't get much time to dwell because next thing she knew, the air suddenly changed and the fae gathered went from hesitant interest to outright awe.

Feeling heat at her feet, Haven looked down, her own gasp ringing out as she did. An entire circle of ground around her feet was on fire, wisps of flame floated in the air around her like ashes rising with the wind. The fire wasn't even the most shocking part. Every bit of Haven, from the tips of her toes to her fingers and even the curled ends of her hair was wreathed in shadows. They were all over her, circling her arms, flowing through strands of her hair and crawling up her legs. The shadows oddly provided a warmth wherever they touched her skin.

Haven could not believe what she was seeing.

Almost instantly, people began dropping to their knees. A few pointed at her, whispering to themselves. It took her a moment to understand what they were pointing at, sure a woman standing in a ring of fire covered in shadows probably wasn't the most common thing to happen here but these fae were looking at her with so much awe in their eyes you'd think a god was standing before them. As Haven was about to, again, ask what the hell was going on, she felt a pulsing heat right above her heart.

Looking down, it took Haven a second to figure out exactly what she was looking at. Above her heart, hovering close enough to touch the fabric of her dress were two symbols created out of the same fire and shadows currently wrapped around her body and circling her feet. Upon closer inspection, Haven thought she might faint. Those weren't random symbols.

Floating close enough to her to be patches on a uniform were two crests, crests she immediately recognized from her time spent in the library searching the stacks for the diary Binah wanted her to find. Thankfully Haven paid close enough attention to the paintings and various pictures around the library of all the royal crests to not be completely in the dark.

She might recognize the crests but that didn't mean she understood what they were doing floating above her tattered dress.

"What does this mean?" She asked aloud, hoping someone might take pity on her and answer.

A few people called out, "All hail the Queen," which only deepened Havens confusion.

The man that had originally been blocking the path reached up to pull off his hood, he was the only one not currently kneeling. As his hand slid further back and his face was revealed, Haven recognized him. It was the crown regent, Niks father. A few gasps rang out with his reveal. Anyone who made a sound immediately closed their mouth as the crown regent turned to Haven and said,

"It means that you are so much more than we ever could have guessed"

Turning to address the crowd behind him, the crown regent appeared to be excited, maybe even gleeful at this news but Haven could see the barely concealed rage brewing under the surface. It was dark and dangerous and made the hair on the back of Havens neck stand up on end.

No matter what words may come out of his mouth, Haven knew the truth. She could see it in his eyes, sense it in the thinly veiled hostility radiating off of him. He did not find this news good by any stretch of the imagination.

"For almost a century we have believed the Montali and Rionach bloodlines to be lost, but they are lost no longer! I would like to introduce you all to Haven Montali Rionach, daughter of Morana Montali and Robert Rionach. The next great Queen of this kingdom!"

As his last words rang out and fae began clapping, Haven found, possibly for the first time ever, that she was genuinely afraid of what might happen next.