31. Chapter Thirty-One

It was safe to say that the Witch Queen was not happy to see us if her murderous looking eyes were anything to go by. She sat on her throne, surrounded by a mountain of lilac taffeta, and staring at us like we were shit on her shoes. Well, she was going to rue the day she sent her witches off to be murdered, that’s for sure. I’d never seen Alec looking so lethal. I liked it. It kind of made me want to run just to see if he’d chase me.

But we didn’t have time for that right now. I’d have to park that thought and explore it later.

Alec stepped forwards, leaving the rest of us to flank him. “I hereby invoke the abdicare legem. You are to be stripped of your titles and lands with immediate effect.”

Jeez, he was hot when he was pissed.

Focus, Lori, my demon chided. You’ve plenty of time for that after we’ve saved the world.

I rolled my eyes at her. She was right, but I wasn’t going to tell her that.

You do realise that I can hear your inner monologue, right?

Well, fuck.

“You can’t do this!” Violette screamed.

Alec stepped closer to her, ready to go toe-to-toe if he needed to. “You sacrificed your witches to Mordecai. You are not fit to rule.”

“He’d have murdered us all if I hadn’t agreed.” Violette stood from her throne, walking down the dais until she stood before us. “What should I have done?”

“Come to the Circle for help,” Cassian said with a shrug.

She barked a bitter laugh. “That’s a crock of shit and you know it. The Circle couldn’t organise a piss up in a brewery.”

I strode up to stand side by side with Alec. “You destroyed witches and their magic. You have ruined covens, and they will never recover from this.”

“You’re doing this out of spite,” she spat, pointing her finger at Alec.

“If that were the case,” he said in a low whisper, “I wouldn’t have brought the Elite team. I’d have just killed you.”

Everything stilled as they stared at each other, and a chill of foreboding washed over me. This wasn’t going to end well. Judging by the twitch under her left eye, some bad shit was about to go down.

It was only then I realised something. “Where’s Iveri?”

Violette turned her gaze towards me, a sneer curling her mouth. “Where she belongs.”

I’d left Iveri in the Witch Queen’s care, hoping that she’d be safe and that she’d be able to keep an eye on things here. Oh, God. What had I done?

My magic reacted on instinct, like a knee jerk reaction, flowing from me and launching her backwards. She slammed into the throne, toppling it backwards with the force of her impact.

Oops.

Jasper shook his head at me but there was a smile lifting the corner of his mouth. Cassian just grinned like a maniac.

Rae wrapped her arm around my shoulders. “Didn’t Edwin tell you not to let your emotions lead your magic?”

“He might have mentioned it,” I said guiltily. What could I say? I was an emotional person. My magic would just have to get on board with that.

Violette emerged from her cloud of lilac taffeta, seething like a pissed off kitty. “You’ll pay for that.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Don’t think I will. Where’s Iveri?”

“In the dungeon,” she spat before hurling a necro ball my way. I caught it and launched it back. Her eyes went wide.

“Oh yeah, I’ve learnt some new tricks,” I said as I asked for my magic to reach out. Thick black swirls of shadow poured from my fingers. “Just come peacefully.”

“Never! I won’t let you take my kingdom from me.” Lightning erupted as magic filled the room. We all jumped into action, fending off her attacks as she hurled everything that she could at us. I couldn’t blame her, though. We were trying to take everything from her. Guards ran in from every direction, no doubt loyal to their mistress and willing to die to protect her.

“Lori, watch out!” Cassian roared as he slammed his body into mine, the pair of us narrowly missing a spell and landing in a heap on the floor. “That one would have melted your flesh from your bones.”

“Thanks,” I said, kissing him quickly before jumping back to my feet.

“Be careful.” Cassian slapped my ass firmly and then launched into the fray with a wide smile on his handsome face. That boy loved chasing chaos.

A bolt of lightning whizzed past my face, singing my hair.

Concentrate. If you lose an eye, how are you going to stare at his peachy ass?

My demon asked a very good question. Okay, I was focussed.

“Wanna join the party?”I asked my demon and I swear I could see her grinning.

I thought you’d never ask.

I felt her slide into my skin, her presence enhancing my senses and boosting the power in my core.

Let’s get this bitch.

I couldn’t agree more.

Carnage lay in the room by the time we’d got Violette restrained. She was knelt on the floor, her dress in tatters and blue splotches marred her skin – courtesy of a hex from Rae. She didn’t look powerful now and I almost felt sorry for her. Almost.

The guards who had stayed by her side and survived were in a group being watched over by Cassian. I could already tell he was getting excited over the fun he could have in his basement. Some of the guards had fled, but that was a hunt for another day.

I squatted in front of Violette, taking stock of her injuries and wondering why she did what she did. “Is this how you thought it would end?”

Her lilac eyes met mine, twin pools of sadness swirling in their depths. “I just wanted to protect them. I thought I could save them.”

“But you murdered your own people. You knew what he was capable of, knew what he would do. You couldn’t have been that na?ve.” I grabbed the crown and gently pulled it from her head. “I hereby invoke the abdicare legem.”

Alec stepped up behind me. “You will be taken to a place of exile. You will be stripped of your powers and left to live a mortal life.”

Violette whimpered as her magic left her, a radiant explosion of shimmering purples. It swirled in the air above us.

“What’s it doing?” I asked warily. I was standing under a vortex of powerful magic, and I wasn’t sure what was happening. Where did the magic go now?

“It will choose a new Queen,” Rae supplied helpfully as she stared up at the magic, a strange expression on her face.

The magic glowed brightly, turning a brilliant shade of white. Suddenly, it started to move quicker, churning and twirling, like it was agitated or excited. Then, it darkened, turning a shade of red that bled outwards until none of the white was left.

“Stand back,” Rae warned right before the magic exploded. It surrounded Rae, a tornado of red, and it pulled at her hair, her clothes, lifting her off the ground.

“Rae!” I went to reach her, but Alec held me back.

“Watch,” he said by my ear so I could hear it above the wind. What the Hell was happening?

The crown was yanked out of my hands, and it disappeared into the red mist. Light burst through the room and it was so bright I had to look away. There was a gust of wind, like a sonic boom, and then, there was nothing but silence.

After a moment, I risked looking at the spot where I’d last seen Rae, but whatever I had been expecting, it wasn’t that. “Holy shit.”

“You could say that again,” Alec said with a laugh.

Rae stood before us, crowned, and draped in royal robes looking completely pissed off. “What the fuck am I supposed to do now?”