Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 55

"Queen Aderyn... Didn't die. She lives still. And her daughter. Is here. Lady Caspia. Stands here. The rightful heir of Avallen," Tanwyn choked out, his voice weak but loud as he forced every ounce of strength into his damaged throat. "The blood you swore to protect. Stands here. Do not betray. The oaths you took."

The soldiers froze in place, their faces blanching. Their eyes jumped to Cole, looking her up and down as if she had appeared from nowhere. They stared at her face, taking in every feature, and she squirmed under their pressure. A few villagers screamed, and their eyes added to the stares.

Gethwine roared, her face beet red as she lunged at Tanwyn. "LIES!" She throttled him, slamming him into the ground by his throat. As the dust flew up around them, she wrapped both hands around his neck. "Aderyn died years ago! Lady Caspia never existed!"

Tanwyn, though being slowly choked to death, smirked up at the queen and if he had the breath to he would have laughed at her.

"Your highness," one of the guards said, his voice tilting up with uncertainty. "What is Lord Tanwyn speaking of?"

She snarled, whipping her head around to look over her shoulder. "Have you already forgotten his name? Tanwyn o Gorwaedt. Prince of Lies. You believe a man who was birthed from a traitorous wench under the Liars Star?"

The soldier's mouth slanted downward and he shuffled his feet uneasily. He glanced back at the other guards, and the uncertainty her felt was mirrored in their faces.

"If Queen Aderyn is alive, we must find her," a villager shouted from the crowd, and soon their sentiment was carried on other voices until it rolled into the streets like a wave. The queen ignored them, still putting all her weight into her grasp on Tanwyn's neck.

"Stop!" Cole shouted, attempting to pry the woman's hands away. But the queen was ready for Cole's interference now, and she merely raised a hand to throw up a glittering magic shield around herself. Cole bounced off it uselessly, falling into the dirt with a thump.

Tanwyn's eyes fluttered shut.

Fear pulsed through Cole's veins. She could do nothing. He was going to die. She was going to watch Tanwyn die right in front of her while she sat uselessly by, a stupid, powerless human in the faerie world.

No. She wasn't powerless.

Her hand flew to her pocket where the ring Tanwyn had given her to escape the castle still sat. It didn't have much magic left on it after their escape to Avallen, but the tiniest glow still sat in the stone. She wouldn't be able to fight with it, and with her mother still in the stable she wouldn't be able to leave Avallen with Tanwyn. Her only thought was as stupid as they came, but it was all she had.

Closing her eyes, she imagined Tanwyn's heart connected to hers by a glittering string. A lifeline between the two, sharing life and death. It was a silly fairy tale from long ago that she couldn't even remember being told, but it was there. A memory of protection for someone that the other could not part with. With a scream, Cole drew the last bit of magic from her ring, willing the connection to life, an invisible string to connect her heart to Tanwyn's forever.

A blue light exploded from her hand, flying to Tanwyn like a bolt of lighting. It slammed into his chest, sinking into the fabric and giving him a jolt that made his eyes fly open. The queen stumbled backward for a moment, staring at Cole with wide eyes.

As soon as the magic hit Tanwyn, Cole felt the searing pain of burns circling her throat. Her wind knocked out of her and she dropped to her knees as pulsing pain developed in her shoulder. She gasped in shock, blinking as the pain rolled over her all at once. She barely managed to keep her eyes open, staring at Tanwyn, as she tried to gain control over herself.

"I've bound my life to Tanwyn's," she bit out, before Queen Gethwine could finish her attack on the fae. "I am Lady Caspia. My mother was Queen Aderyn, and I call upon the blood oaths of the Eldritch to protect my life and that of the soul that I have bonded to."

The soldiers reluctantly lowered their swords, their glance going to Queen Gethwine.

Cole choked as Gethwine continued to squeeze the life out of Tanwyn. Cole could feel the darkness creeping in around the edges of her vision, and her legs and arms began to feel cold and tingly. She dropped to her knees, gasping for breath. This had been a stupid idea. She'd only ended up killing both herself and Tanwyn.

"Your highness, we cannot allow you to kill a blood heir," the lead soldier said, his voice regretful but firm. "Release Tanwyn o Gorwaedt."

"He is not blood heir," the queen said through clenched teeth.

"Yet his life is bound to our princess. She carries the last of the royal blood, and we cannot let her die here."

Gethwine ignored him. The soldier raised his sword again, but this time not pointed at Cole or Tanwyn, but instead at his own queen. The other soldiers followed suit, surrounding the queen with their weapons and steely gazes.

"Relinquish Tanwyn and return him to our princess," the soldier repeated.

Gethwine's eyes burned like hellfire as she slowly released Tanwyn's neck. He immediately heaved in breath after breath, wheezing and coughing as he writhed on the ground. Cole found herself doing the same, sucking in the sweet air that now suddenly tasted like the freshest morning dew on her lips. She clutched the dirt underneath her in her fists as she waited to regain control of her body.

"You'll regret this," she snarled at her soldiers. "I'm the queen now, not the girl."

"We will see. The council will wish to hear from the blood heir and see her suitability as a sovereign. She will come back to Annwyn with us."

Cole's eyes widened. Panic struck her like a sharp chord, and her eyes instantly sought out Tanwyn, as if he could do something about this sudden development. He still lay on the ground, rubbing his injured neck, but he managed to glance back at her, his eyebrows dipping down as worry danced in his eyes.

"I don't wish to come back to Annwyn," Cole said. "I don't want the throne or to do anything to harm Queen Gethwine. I merely want to leave Avallen in peace and disappear once again."

The soldier shook his head. "I am sorry, Lady Caspia, but you are too important to let go. You carry our ancient bloodlines. You are the heart of Avallen. The soul of our beings. We must take you back to the council for assessment."