Shattered Heart (Red Queen)

Chapter Forty

•Cal POV•
I have to get to Mare. Damn the Colonel and his demands. I just feel in my gut that something bad is going to happen to her. I dart past the lines of soldiers and head to the front lines where Evangeline and Mare are.
    "Get back here boy!" I here the Colonel bellow.
    I ignore him and continue towards the danger zone. I feel a rush of heat beside me and look over to see my younger brother. I groan at the sight of him.
    "Glad to see you too, Brother," Maven chides.
    "What are you doing? I'm going after Mare."
    We both duck as a Lakelander Strongarm throws a slab on concrete in our direction. I act before Maven goes and with one flick of my wrist, I send a ball of flames soaring in his direction. It slams into the Strongarm and the smell of burning flesh makes me wrinkle my nose.
    Maven claps me on the back. "Nicely done."
    I shake my head at him. "If you want to head straight to your death with me to the front lines, I won't stop you. But we need to hurry if you are."
    Maven nods and we take off again. We finally arrive at the ruined wall that was defending the city from the Lakelander army. I spot Evangeline, but no Mare. She waves me over before killing several Lakelanders.
"Where's Mare?" I yell over multiple explosions.
She points to the wall and shoves me out of the way as a spear of pure ice comes flying past us. Maven pushes himself in front of us, his hands ignited with burning hot fire. I turn my attention back to the wall and see Mare and Carac fighting on top of it. Carac raises his sword and slams it down on top of Mare's. The force causes her to stumble and she looses her footing. Even though I am far away, I can still hear the sickening crack of bone as her body collides with the concrete. I start climbing up the ruins to help. Carac chases Mare down the side of the wall and grabs a fistful of her hair in his hands. He yanks her up and places his sword at her throat. My mind races. I'm too far away to kill him and no one else is close enough either. I do the only thing I can think of and scream at her.
    "MARE, NO!"
This draws Carac's attention to me and Mare realizes it too. She shoves the sword away from her and grabs his leg, pulling him to the ground. She climbs on top of him and raises the sword. He heart races as she plunges the sword down into him. Relief floods through me, but it does not last long. A Lakelander is on the wall, headed towards Mare. I get a closer look at his face and feel sick when I realize that it is Orrec Cygnet, King of the Laklands. I see the glint of a blade in his hand and yell at Mare to warn her.
    "Mare, behind you!"
    My voice is drowned out by a nearby explosion and she doesn't get my warning. Before I can even react, King Orrec shoves his blade into Mare's abdomen.
    I stop dead in my tracks. The world seems to stop moving too. My heart shatters into a million pieces. I hear Maven call out to Mare in the distance and his voice brings me back. King Orrec yanks the sword out of her body and she falls. I scale the rest of the wall, blinded by anger. The only thing on my mind is his death. He will pay for what he has done.
    I lunge at the king and tackle him to the ground. The sword slips from his grasp and grab a fistful of his shirt in my hands. Over and over again, I punch his face. Hot, sticky blood slides down my arm. The king raises a hand and sends water rushing in my face. It drowns me as it is shoved down my throat. The king throws me off of him. I come to my senses and ignite my hands. The heat of the flames turns the water into steam. I clutch at my throat as I cough out what feels like gallons of water. King Orrec is already on his feet and signaling for his forces to take me out. Not a chance. I leap onto the king's back and pull him down. I wrap my burning hands around his throat. His eyes widen and his troops do not fire at me out of fear that I will kill their king.
    "Enough killing," I seethe. "It's time to stop this and call for a cease fire."
    "Never," he chokes out.
    I send a wave of heat into my hands against his throat. "Fine, have it your way then."
    I press down on his throat and his eyes practically pop out of his head. His face turns purple and my mind flashes to all the people he has hurt and killed in this war.
    I feel a hand on my shoulder and a soft voice say, "Cal, that's enough."
    I tear my attention away from the wicked king and look for the source of the voice. My eyes lock onto brown ones. Small hands cup my face and tears begin to stream down my face. Mare. She's alive. But how?
    "H-He killed you, I saw it," I manage to say through my confusion and joy.
    She shakes her head and smiles. "You should know that I'm too stubborn to die like that."
    I laugh and she continues to explain. "The wound didn't kill me immediately. Ironically, Maven helped save my life."
    That's a damn miracle.
    "He called for a healer and Sara Skonos ran to my aid. She healed me and here I stand," she tells me. "The time for war is over, Cal. Let Orrec go."
    I look back at the Lakeland King and slowly release him from my grasp. He gasps for air and behind to crawl away from me. Before he can get far, Maven appears behind him and grasps his shoulder.
    "Going somewhere, your majesty?"
    The Colonel and Farley join my brother and haul King Orrec to his feet. They drag him down the wall to begin negations. I turn my attention back to Mare and we both break out in massive smiles. We did it. We survived.
    I envelop her in a hug and she kisses me. I sigh at the feeling of her in my arms. Never again will I let her go.
    She pulls away from my embrace and says, "We need to get down there and deal with Orrec."
    I nod in agreement and we carefully make our way down. When we reach the bottom, I notice that all fighting has stopped. The Lakelanders that remain are on their knees, surrendering to us. We finally won.
    Mare and I walk up to the others where King Orrec waits. She plants herself in front of him and crosses her arms.
    "You know, I must thank you for killing my son," Orrec begins.
    I raise my eyebrows in confusion, as do many others. Mare shows no reaction.
    "So that's why you let me go, isn't it?" She says in realization. "You let me go free so that I could kill Carac."
    "He was in my way," Orrec says simply. "He wanted me dead so that he could have my crown."
    I enter the conversation. "But he was your heir. He was supposed to have the crown."
    Orrec shakes his head. "No, he was not my heir. There is another."
    "What?" Mare says in confusion and disbelief.
    "He means me," a melodious female voice says.
    We all look towards the source of the voice and see a black haired girl standing on top of the rubble. She climbs down and each of us tense up. My flames are ignited out of fear of what this girl might do. She walks to join the king and smiles at us.
    "Meet my daughter and heir, Princess Iris Cygnet."
    Holy shit. None of us knew this girl even existed and she is the heir to the Lakelander throne.
    "While your armies may have put up an excellent fight, this war is far from over," Orrec continues. "You have no idea what we have in store for Norta. This land will run red and silver with Nortan blood."
    "Indeed, Father," Iris Cygnet smirks.
    Lightning cracks over our heads as Mare gets ready for a fight. My flames leap towards the two Cygnets, threatening them.
    "But I believe this land should first run with Lakelander blood," Iris says, sparking confusion in me. "First, it should run with your blood, Father."
    My mouth falls open as Iris plunges a blade I did not know she was holding into Orrec's heart. Orrec falls to the ground, silver blood collecting in a pool around his body.
    "Damn," Mare says quietly, "karma really is a bitch."
    I look at her in disbelief. Only she would say something like that at a time like this. Of course, Farley and Maven chuckle at her comment. I square my shoulders and remember who I am.
    "What was that all about?" I ask Iris.
    She wipes her father's blood off of her hands and looks at me. "My father was a tyrant and a cruel man. His time was over. I did not want to follow his ways, so this was the only way. His death has now freed me to create peace between the Lakelands and Norta."
    "How can we trust you?" I ask.
    "Well, I did just kill my own father in front of you," she says.
    "True," I agree, "but I have no guarantee that it was just an act."
    She nods. "I know that you only see my father and brother in me. Trust me when I say that I will not betray you."
    I think on it quickly. I need to trust her. We need peace. I really don't have a choice.
    "Brother, if I may," Maven steps forward. "In order to seal an alliance between our two kingdoms, I offer myself up to marry you, Queen Iris Cygnet."
    Even I cannot contain my shock. Those words really came out of Maven's mouth? Actually, it is slightly believable. That would make him a king if he married her. I smile to myself. Long live King Maven.
    Iris looks Maven up and down. "You have a deal."
    The rest of the negations are drawn up and signed. After a while, Mare slips away. I find her sitting at the top of the wall, watching the sun set over this city of victory. I join her and lightly sit.
    "How did we get here?" She asks me.
    I look at her and sigh. "It's been a long journey."
    "Indeed," she says, not taking her eyes off the sunset. "I was just a Red girl living in the Stilts not too long ago."
    "And I was just a Silver prince living in a world of naïvety."
    She grabs my hand. "Even through all the heartbreak, betrayal, war, and death, I would do it all again."
    "So would I," I whisper.
    She finally looks at me. "Everything is going to change now, isn't it?"
    I nod. "It is. I'm expected to take my place on the throne and become Norta's king."
    "I know," she says quietly. "You know, I was prepared to tell you that I couldn't do it. That I couldn't stand by your side as a queen."
    "Mare—" I start but she cuts me off.
    "I was going to tell you that I love you. That I love you more than anything in the world, but I couldn't do it. Not after all this bloodshed and war. Then I realized that I deserved it. I've been through a lot of shit for Norta and I deserve to sit on that damn throne and rule just as much as you do. If you are the Flame of the North, then I am the Light of the North. I am and will be Norta's queen."
    I smile widely at her. She is indeed the queen of Norta. I stand and pull her up with me. I hold her close to me and kiss her deeply.
    "Mare, you are no longer the Little Lightning Girl. You are the Lightning Queen."
    She smiles and kisses me again. The now dark sky lights up with purple and white lightning. My flames join her lightning and create a work of art. She laughs for the first time in a long time. I join with her and we watch our lightning and fire dance together in the sky. We watch a new beginning and the dawning of a new world. Together we started this fight, and together we ended it. Together, we will be forever.

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AHHHH!! Guys I'm so happy! I'm totally crying right now because this book is finally finished! If you've made it this far, I want to thank you for sticking with this book the whole way. I'm really proud of this book. It definitely has some errors and crazy chapters, but I'm really happy with how this turned out. I really hope you've enjoyed this book as much I have writing! Thank you for all the love and support!
Much love, Hanna Xx
And remember, rise, red as the dawn.