Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 85

When they arrived at the castle, they were met in the courtyard by Gethwine and a small phalanx of her guards. While she normally had the appearance of not being a single hair of out place, now Cole could see some of the strain of keeping a throne that was not hers by right. Her hair had been hastily thrown into a knot at the nape of her neck, lacking the delicate and intricate braids that most Eldritch showed off. Her dress was also obviously one she had worn for multiple days, with wrinkles pressed deep into the silk material. Her eyes flashed like the sun on a lake's surface, and her lips were a blood red gash as she pressed them tight.

"You summoned me," Cole said, fighting the urge to vomit as she walked right up to the queen of the land and didn't even dip her head in deference. She had barely even made it to the castle, and it had taken Tanwyn all night to convince her to go. To finish the plan.

The lack of a bow did not escape Gethwine and she bared her teeth. "You're traitorous actions have reached my ears, and I cannot let them stand without punishment," she snarled.

Cole took a deep breath, her eyes flicking to the guards who stood uncertainly a few feet away. This plan banked on them honoring their oaths to protect the rightful rulers, but still Cole almost wanted them to stay loyal to Gethwine. For a small, panicked moment, she wanted to be caught and stopped. She wanted to stay the human Cole, not Eldritch Queen Caspia. She wanted to sit out the war in a dungeon, letting others make the hard decisions. But she knew that wasn't possible. She couldn't let Thijs and Gethwine destroy the lives of so many people.

"I've done nothing traitorous, because you are the one who is the traitor. Why would you ever make allies with someone who dabbles in such dark magic? My mother may have given up the throne for love, but I will take it back from anyone who aligns with Thijs and the evil things he plans for Soma and Avallen," Cole said.

Gethwine laughed sharply. "You think that you can understand what is going on here, little girl?" she said, eyes sharp like swords. "You were born not even two decades ago. I've lived thousands of years in comparison. I've seen the rise and fall of hundreds of human kings and queens due to their feeble human nature. I've seen your bloodline grow weaker and weaker, until your mother abandoned us. You think that I will let you take it back when you will only run us into obscurity like the human kings and queens of old? Like your mother tried to do to her own royal bloodline?"

Cole held her chin high. "My mother shouldn't have left," she said, though it hurt. She didn't want to betray her parent's love, but the safety of hundreds was now at risk because of it. She wished there could have been some other way. "But she did it out of love and a hope for a better future. She didn't think that wars would spring up, and that the Eldritch would ever think of helping a madman use dark magic to twist the nature of humans and fae alike."

"Thijs' magic may be dark, but it offers protection. The powers that his son now possesses after binding with the ancient magic... they are extraordinary. And he is only a weak human. Imagine if we can use the powers for ourselves? Ancient magic combined with our own would mean that we could easily take over from Thijs. We could finally walk among the humans freely, like we used to do in the olden days."

Cole shook her head. "We can unite the Eldritch and humans another way. Using shadow magic is not the answer. Bastian has been changed. He's been... corrupted. He's not Bastian anymore," she said, biting back tears. "Who knows what that magic will do to your people? It could turn them into monsters." She clenched her fists. "And what makes you think that Thijs will ever let you get stronger than him? Even now he's planning on taking down Avallen and ruling fae and human alike."

Gethwine shrugged. "You may think he is clever enough for that, but I won't let him. We'll move faster."

"No," Cole said. "You need to stop helping him right now. You need to fight him and stop him before he becomes too powerful for anyone to stop."

"I don't have to do anything that a halfling tells me to do," Gethwine said, taking a step forward. She thrust her hand out, palm facing upward. "Give me the Sparkstone and perhaps I won't kill all of you right now."

Cole reached into her pocket, her fingers closing tightly around the Stone. "No," she said. "You'll only hand it over to Thijs and he'll use it to turn even more people into the abominations that he turned Bastian into. I won't allow it."

"Give it to me!" Gethwine nearly shrieked. She spun on her heel, staring down her guards. "Get it from her! Now!"

The guards shifted uncertainly, their eyes shifting from their queen to the girl whose blood they were sworn to protect. Their hands hovered above hilts, wings unfurled and magic thrumming in the air. It was a standoff. No one wanted to betray the queen they had served for so long, but they also could not deny the rightful heir and the power of her words against the dark magic of the human king.

Now it was up to Cadfael and his bards' words, and how well they might have changed the people's minds.

Cole straightened her shoulders. "You've heard stories about my mother and me," she said, addressing the guards. "We are sorry for the pain that my mother's leaving caused, and believe me she has suffered for it in her own way. But now I am come back to lead you and keep Avallen safe. I will stop Thijs and restore the balance between humans and fae. I have both bloods in my veins, which means that I want nothing more than to let the two mix and become allies once again." She drew in a long breath. "But I will not ally with a man who causes such destruction."

The guards began to whisper among themselves, and Gethwine glared at them. "Are you betraying your queen?" she yelled.

Cole shouted over her. "Join me in fighting the human king, and when we win I will put a new monarch on their throne. Together we can build peaceful realms that Eldritch and human can walk among with safety. We can rid the world of the dark magic Thijs is building, and not worry about war or death any longer."