We hurried down the passage, the golden lights growing brighter as we approached them and dimming again after we passed.

  It wasn’t long before we got to the door that opened directly behind the thrones.

  “We’ll go first, see who all is in there. It was a closed meeting between the traders and the council, but that should be over by now. We’ll come back for you.” Igraine said, squeezing my hand before heading through the door, Silvo just behind her. He cast a quick glance back at me and nodded once, before he too, disappeared through the door.

  I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes, placing my hand on my chest to try and calm my racing heart. I’ve been scared before, countless times, but never like that day the mages marched into the forest, pushing people further back, burning homes as they went. I hadn’t even thought about anything, just grabbed my rapier and ran to the edge of town, standing with the others as we pushed back.

  We’d just been standing there, the people around me shouting at the mages. They hadn’t moved, not until someone sent a blazing ball of fire magic into the middle of the crowd, just in front of me. The attack started almost instantly after that. I’d launched myself straight into the fray, blocking spells where I could. 4 mages were taken down by me, but by the time the mages called for a retreat, both sides had lost a lot of people. I remembered clearly, the face that I saw last. The captain of their squadron had looked me straight in the eyes and laughed. Laughed when he realized a Nightingale had raised a weapon against the kingdom’s mages. Laughed when he saw the destruction around him. It made my blood boil all over again.

  I leaned my rapier against the wall behind me and put my hands on my knees, squeezing my eyes shut. That man. That vile man was going to get what he had coming to him. If it wasn’t by my hands, then I hoped to the gods that Karma herself would rain down everything she had on him.

  I snatched my rapier back up as I heard the door rattle and Silvo popped his head back inside.

  “Queen Elincia has agreed to meet with you, but King Edvard won’t tell the guards to stand down.” He stepped further in. “Depending on the outcome of this meeting, you could either be cleared of your crimes against the mages or you could be turned over to them.”

  “Them.” I shook my head. “You talk like you aren’t part of them.” I brushed passed him, not in the mood to deal with his current indecisiveness.

  “I could have just not warned you at all.”

  “So maybe you are a little better than them, but I won’t thank you and it doesn’t change anything. You’re still a part of them.” I glared at him over my shoulder. Part of me missed our small friendship we had growing up, but the rest of me knew it didn’t change anything.

  I left through the door and didn’t wait to see if he was following me or not. I ducked around the thrones and was met with two guards, one a mage and one a knight. The knight reached down for my rapier and I gave it up, unhappily, but I didn’t want to unnecessarily provoke anyone until I had a grasp of the entire situation. The mage held out a bracelet, one chock full of different stones and runes that would keep me from using any magic at all. I silently held out my left and she put it on. Instantly I could feel a sort of wall go up between myself and my mana. I wouldn’t have been able to use much magic anyway, but it was an awful feeling, knowing I couldn’t even access it for comfort.

  The guards stepped out of the way and Elincia held her arms out towards me and I ran forward without thinking. She pulled me in for a hug and I wrapped my arms around her tightly. I didn’t care who else was in the room right then. She really was like a second mother to me and I really needed a hug right then.

  “I’m glad you’re alright.” She said, pulling away to run her fingers through my snarled curls like she always did. “Now, a little birdie tells me that you need to talk to me. I’m sorry about this.” She said, motioning to the bracelet on my wrist. “But someone insisted.” She turned to glare at her husband, where he sat on the throne.

  I almost didn’t recognize him at all. The dark shadows under his eyes, his face pale and haggard, the usual joy he radiated was all but gone.

  “What’s happened to you?” I said, barely above a whisper. It was then that I felt it, a dark presence, but it wasn’t in the room. Somewhere deep, distant, but very much all around us.

  “You see it too, then?” Elincia asked, looking at me with her silver eyes, her perfect eyebrows scrunching.

  “I think even someone blind could see something is wrong.” I scoffed.

  “I wouldn’t be so sure.” Elincia said, walking to sit on the throne between Edvard and Igraine. “Now, care to explain your little stunt in the forest?” She looked at me, suddenly very serious and very much a queen.

  I straightened up and rolled my shoulders, listening to them crackle as I walked to the edge of the dias and stepped down. “I only did what was necessary. The mages attacked and we defended our home, simple as that.”

  “Your parents have had to answer for your crimes for the last several months. You killed kingdom mages and continued practicing magic even after the law was put into place.”

  “Why is it that I commit those crimes and yet my parents are the ones paying for it? Why is magic even outlawed in the first place? You do realize how much it’s hurting your people, don’t you? I never took you for one to turn a blind eye to their suffering.”

  “You forget who you are speaking to.” Elincia said, standing, her eyes cold.

  “Apologies, Your Majesty.” I said, bowing low. “But seeing as how I’m still under arrest anyway, I might be feeling a little bold. Bold enough to use this opportunity to speak my mind.” I straightened up and put my hand on my hip. “Speak what we’re all thinking.”

  I watched as Edvard stirred, muttering to himself.

  “He’s not even there, is he?” I asked, my brow scrunched as I watched him.

  “Enough.” Elincia sighed, sitting back down. “He is there, just… not right this moment. You know he has power over the mages, he-”

  “Does he really though?” I interrupted. “Seems to me that it’s the other way around. As a mage yourself, you’ve allowed them to bring whatever this is into the palace,” I motioned at the air around us. “Allowed the mages to outlaw magic and hurt your people. People you swore to protect when you became queen. It doesn’t seem to me that you have any control over anything anymore.”

  “Enough.” She snapped, her composure breaking. “There is a lot more at stake here than you are aware of. You have no right to come in here and accuse me of anything when you don’t have all of the facts. Especially when you have outright broken a law, and are now speaking to your queen with as much impertinence as you have.”

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  “Mother.” Igraine said, glaring at Elincia. “Neither of you are getting anywhere at this rate. If I know you as well as I think I do, you both have the same goals, so please figure this out without arguing. Lord Silvo wants Rivienne for something, I think if you both meet with him with civility, maybe we can get to the bottom of all of this.”

  “You mean you don’t even know what’s going on either?” I asked Elincia, gaping at her.

  “Of course not.” She scoffed. “Edvard and Silvo have secret meetings all the time.”

  “All the more reason to talk to him and get to the bottom of this.” Igraine said, standing. “Silvo, do you know where your father would be right now?”

  “His study if I had to guess.” He said, his eyes on her. I watched him in curiosity, wondering if there was something going on between the two. They were never close, but now… I wasn’t sure.

  “Your parents should still be there.” Elincia said, taking a deep breath through her nose.

  “What?” I narrowed my eyes at her. “What do you mean they’re with Lord Silvo?”

  “Who do you think has been doing all the questioning?” Elincia stood, walking over to me. “Anything concerning magic is handled by the mages.”

  I turned to walk away, headed to the Order’s headquarters when a blade tip met the middle of my chest.

  “You haven’t been dismissed.” The knight said, his brown eyes staring at me coldly.

  “Send word to Lord Silvo. I request his presence immediately. Along with all three of the Nightingales.”

  Three? Elidyr. I turned away from them all and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I could only imagine what she has to say about all of this.

  “While we wait, how have you been? Really.” Elincia asked quietly.

  I didn’t respond right away and instead focused on calming my nerves. I couldn’t snap at Lord Silvo like I’d done to Queen Elincia. I shouldn’t have snapped at her either, but what’s done is done.

  Before I got the chance to, however, there was a low growl from behind us, on the throne.

  “You.” King Edvard snarled. But it wasn’t him. “You’re supposed to be dead.” The voice growled low, echoing through my very bones.

  “What?” I blinked.

  He shook his head, before launching himself at me with inhuman speed. The guards did nothing to stop him.

  I coughed and gasped for air as he wrapped his hand around my throat and picked me up off the floor, my feet dangling. I dug my nails into his arm, clawing uselessly at him, desperately trying to get him to let me go. My nails dug deep, drawing blood, but he didn’t seem phased by it at all.

  “You’re supposed to be dead.” He said again, squeezing tighter, my vision beginning to go black.

  “Let her go.” Elincia said, blasting him with enough wind magic to send any man flying.

  He merely laughed at her attempt before turning his attention back to me. “I guess I have the pleasure of killing you again, Sage.” I heard, just before darkness swallowed me up.

  ~~~

  When I came to, I was laying on the cold marble of the throne room, a good distance away from the dais. I rolled onto my side and watched as mages and knights both struggled to hold off the king. Lord Silvo blasting ice spell after ice spell at him, the king just raising a hand to block each spell like it was nothing.

  My throat was sore, swollen feeling and I had a pounding headache, but I sat up anyway, looking around. My parents were by the throne room doors with Elydir, a group of knights standing just in front, defending them. All around me, pillars had cracked and crumbled to the floor, cracking the beautiful marble.

  Igraine had my rapier in hand and was attempting to reason with her father. Not that the monster before us was even him. His eyes had turned a bright green and horns were protruding from his head, scales had appeared along his neck and arms.

  I desperately wished I didn’t have the nullifying bracelet on, I could at least try to help some. I stood up and leaned on a broken column, holding my throat as I felt it pulse. Painfully aware of what had happened. I felt like I’d been run over by a herd of centaurs but I looked around for the mage that had the key to the bracelet.

  My chest ached still, but I made my way to a body just a little ways from me. I carefully rolled the body over and pulled back the hood, being met with the wide, unblinking eyes of death. It wasn’t the mage I was looking for, so I closed her eyes and pulled the hood back over her face and moved to the next body.

  “Rivienne!” Silvo called from where he was crouched by a fallen pillar, his tome in hand as he set some sort of trap spell.

  I jogged over to him and grunted, holding my wrist out to him, unable to talk.

  “I can’t-” He stopped when I glared at him, channeling my full force of fury into it.

  “I- fine. Just… promise you won’t kill him or my father.” Silvo said, taking the bracelet off with a quick spell.

  I nodded once and took the bracelet from him, shoving it into the pocket of my tunic dress. I walked towards the dais and stopped, halfway between Silvo and the fighting. I closed my eyes and focused on the mana swirling about the room, drawing what I could in to myself. I wasn’t exactly sure what I could do, if Queen Elincia’s wind magic didn’t even do anything. I had a few powerful spells I could try, but without the magic circles in my tome, I highly doubted I could even use them.

  “I guess I can have the satisfaction of killing you again, Sage.” His voice echoed in my mind. Sage? I thought back to the history books I’d been able to get my hands on and tried to recall some of the spells that were described in the books. I remembered being surprised when I saw a colored sketch of the water sage, his hair a lighter shade of green than mine. I could see why the monster would get us confused, but it still didn’t make much sense to me right that moment.

  There was one spell outlined, Tetrabiblos. The Sages had all worked together to create the spell, raining the very stars down on their enemies. It was too big of a spell for the current situation as I risked killing everyone else. But if I modified it…

  I pulled my wand out of my pocket, glad I still had it with me and thought of the scribbled magic circle in the book, putting a hazy picture together in my mind. I felt a magic circle begin writing itself beneath my feet as I channeled magic into it.

  I felt Silvo place his hand on my shoulder, his mana intertwining with mine, our thoughts connecting.

  “What are you planning?” He asked, his worry palpable.

  I didn’t respond, just sent him the pictures in my mind, a jumbled mess of my thoughts.

  “You really are insane.” He said, but continued pouring his mana into mine.

  “Ischyros Tetrabiblos!” I thought in my head, as the spell finished writing itself. I opened my eyes and watched as the magic circle mirrored itself above and below the king, stars falling from the circle as they also rose from the bottom circle, twining around the king, halting his attacks, locking him in place inside his celestial prison.

  I collapsed to my knees, coughing up blood. Silvo knelt next to me, his unsufferable large pool of mana barely depleted at all. It wasn’t fair. He placed his hands on my shoulders, pulling me up. He was talking to me, but his voice sounded far away. I tried reading his lips, but my vision was swimming too much.

  I tried to fight him off as he tilted me back to pick me up, bridal style, running as another pillar crumbled just behind where we had been. I quit trying to push away from him when I realized what he was doing.

  He set me down near the doors where my family was and ran back towards the dais. Mom knelt next to me and helped me sit up as I continued coughing. I couldn’t hear or see anything anymore, but I felt her pull me against her, I felt her cool fingers on my face as she held me close. I hated feeling like this, my king needed me and I couldn’t do anything else. I gave in and let the darkness claim me again.