Heir To The Nova (Book 3) (11 page)

Timing is everything they say, and the creature was a bit slow and unlucky to boot. The portal vanished, and his leap ended with him crashing hard into the log wall. Before he could recover, Winya and her sharpest enchantment removed his wretched head. Using Winya, I poked around the body until I located the key stone in one of the pockets of his robe.

“Seriously, Maya, you couldn’t have used a stick or something instead of me for this? You have no idea how incredibly foul this thing is, and that coming from someone that cleaves maggoty zombies for a living,”
Winya complained bitterly.

“Sorry Win, but I need to make sure we get this stone secured before something else happens. Besides, think how happy Alex will be when we tell him we recovered it.”

“Yeah, sure, you’ll get all the hugs and kisses; what do I get?”

“How about this? When we get Alex back, if you promise not to burn him, I’ll have him give you a nice polish.”

“Oooh! Do I get honing oil with that massage?”

“Yes.”

“Deal!”

I located the stone and withdrew it, wiping it off on the robes of one of the dark elves who certainly wouldn’t need it ever again. Completing my negotiations with my sword, I looked around, only to find that the battle was over. It took my parents awhile, not that the clansmen were really that difficult of opponents, but because they wanted them to suffer badly for their betrayals.

I was especially impressed with what my mother did to one poor bastard, who I can only assume was the one who murdered poor Kalah. I call myself a cruel fighter sometimes, but that even made me want to throw up.

I turned to my parents. “Can we go home now?”

“Definitely. I am so tired I can barely stand,” my mother said, leaning heavily against my father’s shoulder.

As we walked out of the longhouse, we were greeted by Bel’s liegemen and the twins, who were back in their dark elf forms. The seven of them bowed. “Welcome back, your majesties.”

My father waved offhandedly. “Thank you. It’s good to be back; but from what I can tell, none of you are really my subjects, so we can dispense with the formalities. I would be pleased to call you all friends, however. Now, we should get moving. From what Maya tells me, the capital is due to awaken soon and wonder what happened to their ‘Warrior Queen.’”

As soon as we cleared the fence line, I heard the familiar roar of fireballs over our heads as my grandfather began bombarding the compound. We didn’t bother to look back. I doubted there would be anything left of the traitors’ fort by the first rays of the sun.

The trip back to the capital was quiet, with my mother falling asleep on my father’s lap in the back, and the druid girls napping as well. Ryliss, on the other hand, appeared to vacillate between looks of horror and fascination as the twins selected seats on each side of her, after Dawn gave me a sly wink. I leaned across and whispered into the young scholar’s ear, “What? Haven’t sat next to a pair of silver dragons before, Ryliss?” She shook her head silently in wide-eyed wonder.

I chuckled to myself, finding that I felt so much better now. My parents were safe and now I can rid myself of all this ‘Queen’ nonsense. I’ll admit, I was starting to warm to the idea when it looked like I would be on the throne with Alex by my side. But I never thought being a Queen would end up with me being held in a dungeon and having to fight for my life on a daily basis. Right now, I was looking forward to a real bath, some fresh air and sunshine, and a decent meal; oh, and I want to see my horse!

I had just one other concern to worry about…Alex, my love, where are you?

Alex

Most of the way back from Bellrock, I had been consumed with thoughts about what I would find when I arrived back at the dark elf capital. Should I be angry? Should I be big about having my life shattered and dreams torn asunder? Should I beg her to run away with me to the amber forests of Ayerhs, after all? I shook my head for the thousandth time, still unable to decide.

When we reached the crossroads, Darroth and Elsa volunteered to continue on ahead, as the heavily-laden cart was so slow. I could also tell that the smith was unhappy with the speed to which the donkeys had limited Somnus. But we all knew that I would easily catch up with them before they reached the fortress anyway.

Letting Somnus fly, we ate up the miles to our destination quickly. Finally, with a heavy heart, I coaxed Somnus back up to the familiar hillock overlooking the main gate of the capital and looked down into the city. Everything looked pretty normal; the bustle of everyday life down there belying what could be the biggest conversation of my life.

Before I could formulate any thoughts, or even dismount, I heard Winya’s voice sing in my head,
“Alex! You made it back safely!”
She beamed warmly through the link.

Dismounting, I let Somnus have his own reins, tucked away my gauntlets, and sat down on the usual rock to face my destiny.

“Winya, please…I need to see the Queen. I need some answers and to find out where I stand.”
There was a pause as if she was conferring with someone.

Finally, with some hesitation, she answered,
“Alex, I’m sorry, I am told to advise you that neither the Queen nor the King is available to meet with you at this time. I am also to remind you that your banishment from the city has not yet been rescinded.”

The King? My heart just turned to lead and dropped to the ground. So that’s it then. The high elf council married her off to some clan leader to stabilize the government and save her people. The irrational part of my brain urged me to put on my helmet and storm down to the city and kill the bastard. But another part of me knew that the Maya I loved would never accept anyone who was in league with the Lifebane. So, for the sake of our mission, I could never act on my impulses. I had to keep telling myself that the key issue was still to defeat the great evil and keep this planet a place where good ‘people’ like Nia and the twins could survive. After that, I didn’t care anymore. My brain was vaguely registering that Winya was still speaking to me.

“Alex!”
Winya repeated in a concerned voice, and I could tell there was a lot she wasn’t telling me, but I wasn’t at my most perceptive at the moment
. “Alex, there is a dark elf courier coming out in a few minutes with a letter for you and bringing Kaima so you can take her back to Sky Raven with you. She has been a real pain in the ass since Somnus left.”

“A letter? A letter, Winya? So this is how it all ends?”
I asked bitterly. Somehow, I could sense real pain from her in the reply.

“Please, Alex, just wait for the letter and all will be explained.”

After I shared with Nia what was happening and what was said, she wisely decided to fly off and inspect the burned out trebuchets and give me some space. I could tell her little heart was breaking, too. A few dark morose minutes later, Somnus threw up his head and came to attention. That was followed by an excited whistle and a near dance as he shuffled his flaming hoofs impatiently.

Looking down the couple hundred yards to the gate, I saw it open and Kaima shoot through at a fast trot, an elf in formal courier livery and full helm on her back. As fast as the Vakhas are, it still seemed to take ages until the rider pulled up and walked the mare the last few yards to the rock where I sat. With a snappy salute, the rider reached into his courier bag and handed me a packet of paper tied in gold twine and bearing a wax seal with some ornate design on it. Then he moved the mare back a ways, dismounted, and started to secure the warhorse’s gear for the long trip back.

I stared long and hard at the envelope like it was a sentence of death. In a way it was for me, the death of all my hopes and dreams since leaving Foalshead. I could scarcely imagine life without Maya. Resigned to my fate, I broke the seal and laboriously unfolded all the pages. Pausing to blink away some tears in my eyes before I started reading…they were all blank…I shuffled through them all and concentrated, stupidly expecting words to suddenly appear like they do with my parents’ letters, but nothing, just blank pages.

“What’s the matter, Magic Boy? Need someone to read it to you?” I heard a familiar voice purr behind me. Huh? I whipped around to discover the dark elf courier was actually a she, and she had removed her helmet, revealing curly silver locks and a hesitant, hopeful smile.

“Maya?” I gasped incredulously, torn between the joy of seeing her face and the heartbreak I was expecting. Uttering a small cry, she raced over and leaped on me, straddling my lap. Face-to-face we stared into each other’s eyes for some very long moments. Then she took my hand, guiding it through the unbuttoned folds in her uniform until my palm was resting on her bare chest.

“Do you feel my heart beating?” She inhaled deeply and leaned her forehead on mine. “Know this; the heart you feel is forever yours, Alex Martin, and only yours. I am so sorry if I’ve hurt you.” I drank in her closeness like a draught of the water of life, still unbelieving.

“But you’re a Queen! And Winya said there’s a King now…so…?”

She silenced me with a quick kiss. “My parents, Faeron and Renalla, are alive. They are the King and Queen! Can you forgive me this one last little deception at your expense?”

I nuzzled her gently and whispered, “Right now I could forgive the loss of an arm or a leg; anything, as long as it wasn’t my lips.” And I crushed her to me in a warm frantic embrace that lasted a very long time. Finally, we came up for air, and my dark elf growled lustily, nipped my ear and slid off my lap, pulling me to my feet with a brilliant smile.

“What was that,” I chuckled, “the Jag’uri Puma coming out?”

Maya blushed. “Oh, you know about my spirit animal now, do you? Yes, she’s been making her wishes known a lot more forcefully as of late.”

“Her wishes?”

“Yes, she grows impatient to claim her mate!” She took my hand and pretended to bite it. “Who knows what damage she’ll cause if we don’t find a way to appease her soon.”

I’m pretty sure my face heated up perceptively, because Maya reached up and ran her hands lovingly down both sides of my face and they felt like velvet ice. “I longed for this every day we were apart,” she whispered brightly, her eyes shining with relief. Together, and I mean really together, we walked over to the horses. She calmly stroked Kaima’s back and looked at me, tilting her head.

“Hey, I never found out what your spirit animal is, Magic Boy.”

“Well, it’s a Vakha Stallion.”

“That figures,” Maya quipped matter-of-factly. “Big, stubborn and clueless!” Kaima snorted humorously and bobbed her head up and down. Our laughter was interrupted by the arrival of a very confused but happy pixie. We explained it all to her as we walked hand-in-hand, leading our horses down the hill to the dark elf capital.

The front gate opened right up for us and I was half expecting to find that annoying guard who was so kind to see me off last time. Instead, there was a full squad of guards in heavy armor waiting for us, all led by Ollis.

“Good to see you again, Prince Alex; I hope your trip was fruitful.”

“It was, Ollis; thank you for asking.”

He turned to Maya. “We have kept our side of the agreement, my Lady, will you keep yours?” The man actually looked nervous for asking this.

She nodded. “Yes, Captain, I will not resist.”

“Very well, then. Men, take the Princess into custody.” Three guards came forward to cautiously snap binding irons on her wrists.

“Custody? What for?” I demanded, in no mood for more heartache.

Maya smiled serenely. “Alex, please be calm; this is a good thing, and the only way I will be able to stay with you. Do not fight this; I will be back soon, my love.” She rose up on tip toes and kissed me once more before the guards escorted her away, leaving just Ollis.

“Alex, I’m sorry about this, I really am; but I need you to follow me, as well.”

“What’s going on, Ollis?”

“The King has decided you need to be present for the trial. We should hurry, though; it will start the second they arrive. I’ll have someone take the horses.”

Drawing my tower shield off its tethers to Somnus and loosening my war hammer, I once again reluctantly found myself following someone going somewhere that I really didn’t want to go. But I had just gotten Maya back and, dammit, I wasn’t going to lose her now. If that meant I had to sit though a stupid trial–or level the town–to do so, then so be it.

Ollis led me a few blocks in a direction I hadn’t travelled yet in the city and, finally, through an archway and up flights of stairs to some sort of viewing platform. We were in an outdoor arena area that looked like it was probably used for trials of horsemanship or mock battles. Its bottom had a sand floor surrounded by a six-foot wooden fence. There were a number of stout foot-thick pells in the middle of the arena in two rows. The stands above the arena walls were completely packed with townspeople. Below me on the arena floor stood Maya, now in a long formal white dress, her hands still shackled, with three elf guards standing behind her. Oddly, she had a big smile on her face as if she were receiving some kind of a reward instead of a trial. Slightly above where I was standing, sat Faeron and Renalla in a formal box. Behind them loitered a large number of dark elves in formal robes whom I didn’t recognize.

Faeron had already started his speech, and I think we missed most of the introductions from the sound of it; but he was just getting to the meat of it, apparently.

“Crown Princess Maya Talmin, daughter of King Faeron and Queen Renalla Talmin, you have been charged with the high crime of illegal assumption of the right of rule from your liege. How do you plead?”

“Very much guilty as charged, my King,” Maya’s voice rang out clearly to the crowd.

“Very well, by your own admission of guilt, I will hand down the sentence. Normally in these matters, this is an automatic and immediate sentence of death!”

What the…? I couldn’t help myself, I tensed up and my hand automatically started for my hammer, but Ollis gently grabbed my arm and shook his head, and I saw Maya still smiling brightly in the arena below.

Faeron continued, “However, in this instance, it appears there are extenuating circumstances that warrant the crown’s mercy. Those being that the prisoner did not seek the crown for personal gain; and by all accounts, it was believed that she was required to assume the throne. Additionally, the prisoner did, in fact, personally lead the rescue party that restored the crown to the proper King and Queen.” He paused for effect. “However, this is still a serious offense; therefore, punishment must be meted out. By the decision of the ruling counsel, I hereby strip you of the title of Crown Princess, and revoke any and all claim on future rule of our people.”

I heard a number of surprised gasps from the crowd, and immediate murmurs and whispering, with most of them leaning toward this being a horrendous punishment. I would think it was still much better than death, but then I’m not a dark elf. Maya, on the other hand, just beamed more brightly and looked over at me and nodded. I leaned over to Ollis and asked him what was going on.

He rubbed his grizzled chin and leaned back to whisper, “Alex, the short version is that it is a capital crime to accept the crown before the previous ruler is known to be dead or the crown passed down normally. In this case, they were assumed dead, even by the council, so Maya wasn’t at fault. But we’ve never had a case like this come up before; usually it’s the heir plotting a coup and it’s a pretty cut and dried case. To be honest, the council has been pulling out their hair and burning up the law books trying to figure out what to do. Plus, it is recognized that any punishment too severe will likely sour relations with Sky Raven forever. And don’t think that people didn’t take note of what you did for us to help break the siege. People are still talking about the fire tornado and that stone monster.”

The King continued to speak, “You are relieved of all rank in the dark elf community; however, I am ordering that you will retain your citizenship and, of course, all family ties remain unaffected.” The crowd was pretty subdued throughout this entire event so far, but I could see they were waiting for the other shoe to drop, so-to-speak. “Speaking of family ties, I would like to take care of a bit of business since we are all gathered in this public forum. Sir Alex, are you present?”

“Here, my King,” Ollis shouted.

“Ah, there you are. If you wouldn’t mind stepping into the ring with my daughter.” If a King tells you to get into an arena with your lover, I guess you do it; so I walked over to the rail and vaulted it, easily jumping down into the arena. I didn’t bother to lighten the weight of my armor at all because I was still annoyed at this entire charade. The impact of my weight shook the place pretty good, and people looked at each other in consternation. I took my place by Maya’s side; and suddenly, without anyone touching them, the shackles that bound her dropped to the ground with a rattle of chains that made everyone in the arena draw in a breath. The forged metal became liquid, pooled, and then reformed into a metallic-hooded snake that lifted its head to the crowd, its eyes glittering like mirrors. The three guards who were supposed to be detaining her backed up slowly, the whites of their eyes showing their unease. Finally, I allowed the metal construct a last menacing hiss before it soaked harmlessly into the sand.