Here Lies the Queen

Chapter 19

Bella watched Hunter jerk back. She felt the sharp prick of the spear as it sank into his back and out the other side. He looked at her with pain and fear in his eyes. Understanding, too. A ringing started in her ears as he fell to his knees, his eyes still on her. Mud and water splashed onto her legs. The rain continued to fall. Slowly. Each drop glistened and landed on the ground, the man on his knees, on the woman standing above him.
She saw the light dim in his eyes. He smiled at her and mouthed, I love you. Then the fire went out. Water mixed with blood as he fell to the side.
And didn't stir again.
The world moved in slow motion. Soldiers stopped running as they realized what happened. Lightning flashed against the sky. People still fought, unaware of the horror that just happened. Her sword fell from her hand. She screamed and the spell broke on her.
Sounds came rushing through her ears. Wave after wave of fire burst from her, not burning anything. She screamed in pain, in heartbreak, in rage. Someone attempted to touch her and she snarled. They retreated.
Her soldiers ran behind her, revealing a grinning girl with white hair. Bella's vision tunneled. Shayde was going to die. Slowly.
Bella approached her, sword drawn. She sheathed it and ripped a knife from a corpse. Shayde thumbed free her own sword and moved into a defensive position.
"You fucking bitch," Bella hissed at her. Her vision went red as she threw up another ring of fire. Shayde only grinned back at her before attacking.
Bella threw the knife. It sliced across Shayde's cheek, drawing blood. It threw her off balance and Bella was able to kick Shayde's sword out of her hands. It landed in the mud a few feet away. The girl made to move for it but Bella snarled.
"Old fashioned way, then?" Shayde said.
The two females launched themselves at each other. Bella's fist connected with Shayde's jaw as she felt an impact in her stomach. Shayde tackled Bella and they wrestled in the mud.
Shayde was atop Bella, pushing her face into the ground. Bella jabbed her with her elbow and she fell. Bella punched her and her nose spurted blood. She didn't notice the wall of water as she pummeled the girl.
It slammed into her, forcing her off. She screamed and fire erupted around her. The water evaporated, leaving Shayde on her feet, ready for round two.
Bella didn't let herself breathe before kicking Shayde. They grappled for a bit, pulling each other's hair and biting the other. Shayde drew Bella's sword from her sheath and drove the hilt into her stomach.
Bella collapsed and Shayde was on her. The sword glinted as it came down and Bella groped around. Her hand found Shayde's sword and she pulled it up. The blades sang as they met.
Bella shoved Shayde away and they circled each other. The wall of fire was dropping. Soldiers, both friends and enemies, circled it, watching their leaders fight. Thunder cracked and Shayde flinched.
"Scared of a little thunderstorm?" Bella taunted. "Weak."
"I killed your lover," Shayde said. "That doesn't seem weak."
"You will pay."
"I think I'm glad I killed him. I'll do it again, if given the chance."
A maniacal smile spread across Bella's face. "Oh, you have a monster in you, too."
Shayde snarled, her pretty face twisted. "You're the monster."
"Yes." Bella straightened and held up a wreath of fire. "I am."
She exploded. Fire washed over Shayde. Through the flames, she could see the girl had a shield of water around her. Bella poured her heart into the fire. She burned and burned. For Samuel. For Father. For Hunter. For her people.
Her skin stripped away, revealing red muscle underneath. She felt her shoulders rip open and something push forth. Dark feathers brushed against her arms. She sighed and power radiated off her skin.
Mutters came from around her. She looked around and could've sworn she saw Hunter standing next to several others. He nodded and a small noise escaped her throat. It sounded like a sob.
Her fire continued to ripple out but she allowed Shayde to stand. The girl had the sense to look at least slightly scared.
"What are you?" she breathed.
Bella shrugged. She didn't know. But Shayde didn't need to know that. "Your worst nightmare."
Shayde drew herself up and inhaled. Then exhaled. As if steeling herself. "Why did you love him?"
"His demons danced with mine." She reached out her hand and the Elder Sword flew to her. It hummed as it connected with her skin. She twirled it until she was sure it would obey her. Her wings flared behind her. "And you killed him."
Bella watched Shayde's eyes harden. She picked up a fallen soldier's sword and advanced. Bella waited until they were nose to nose before letting out a battle cry and bringing her blade up.
Shayde blocked but her arms trembled. Bella drove her back against the flames, hitting her again and again. The girl glanced around for support but found none. Her soldiers were already gone.
Fire singed Shayde's arm and the sword clattered to the ground. Bella let the fire die and allowed several people to come forward. Chains clinked around Shayde's wrists, ankles, neck. Bella surveyed her prize.
She heard people hushed whispers about her wings, about her appearance. She blocked them out. The only thing that mattered was Shayde.
"Bring her to the castle," Bella snapped. "Don't let her have visitors. I have business I need to do before I deal with her."
Shayde spat at Bella's feet as she was dragged away. "You will burn."
"No." Bella grabbed her face and made her look into Bella's eyes. They burned so hot that she could feel the heat radiating out. "You will." The guards heaved her up and dragged her away. Bella watched her go without a smile.
Her people gathered around her, jabbering and talking about how she had killed that white-haired general, how she defeated Shayde, how she became whatever she is. Bella felt her wings retract. Skin stretched over her body once more. Mel draped a cloak over her to mask her nakedness.
"Quiet," she said. Her people died down. She scanned the masses. Hell's legions were on the other side of the field, herding prisoners into lines. Her brother was staring at her from the middle of the Guard, her mother beside him. Several monsters were scattered among them.
"I don't know what to say," she announced. "I do not know what happened. I do not know what to do. I am hoping that you can help me." She explained what needed to be done. They moved out, leaving her alone with her family, blood and chosen.
"My dear," her mother began.
Bella interrupted. "Do not talk to me. Leave." Her mother frowned at her daughter but left.
Mel approached Ash and whispered something to him. He broke away and headed to where Hell was.
"How are you feeling?" Mel asked Bella. She was covered in blood. Bella couldn't tell if it was hers or others.
"Fine." She remembered the woman with the golden armor. "Cordelia isn't. I saw you got your revenge."
Mel blew her hair out her face. "But someone else will take the throne. Maybe worse, maybe better. It's the same cycle."
"We can always go to war again." Bella looked over the battlefield. The rain was beginning to lessen and the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds. A happy sight for festering bodies. A cloud of death hung over the field. It would stay there for a while. Bella turned around and her heart shattered.
Hunter was still on the ground, his body curled around the spear in his back. His eyes were glassy and looked up at the emerging sun. A trickle of blood slid from his mouth. She approached and wiped it away.
"Take him away," she said. "Put him in the garden." Several people lumbered forward and heaved him up. They half carried, half dragged him away.
"He'll be okay," Mel said.
Bella didn't answer. Too much death had happened here. She closed her eyes and breathed, "May your souls grace the eternal waters of death."
Her people shrank away as she strode through the palace. The cries of the wounded echoed through the halls. She went to her room for clothes. Mel helped her dress, then headed to the dungeon. Bella ran down the steps and threw open the door to Shayde's cell.
"Here to finish me off?" the girl drawled. "Or gloat?"
Bella seized her by the hair and dragged her out. The girl struggled against her but to no avail. She was hauled to the stage still erected outside. Her people had been gathered as she ordered. They stared at them as Bella dumped Shayde behind the podium.
Shayde raised her head as Bella shouted, "All in favor of death?"
All hands went up. Bella drew the Elder Sword from the sheath at her waist. The metal flashed in the sun as she raised it.
"Wait." Shayde held up her hands. "Wait."
"What?" Bella snarled.
"If you want to be the hero, you would let me live. I can help you-"
"Enough."
"Okay! Okay. I don't know how to tell you this." She chewed on her lip before saying, "I'm pregnant."
Jeers and taunts erupted from the crowd. Shayde looked like she was on the verge of tears. From what Bella could see, she was.
"Whose is it?" Bella snapped.
"What?"
Bella pressed the sword against Shayde's stomach. The girl drew back, a panicked look in her eyes.
"It's Quentin's."
Bella sucked in a breath. Shayde and Quentin had known each other a lot longer than Bella thought. Thoughts crashed inside her head.
"Quentin's not here," she said.
Shayde looked up at her. "What?"
"I said, Quentin's not here!" She leveled the sword at Shayde. "You're lying."
"Why would you think that? I'm not!"
Bella crouched in front of her. Shayde flinched as she snarled, "Quentin doesn't leave a child behind."
The girl began to shake as Bella lifted the sword again. It hummed in anticipation as she prepared to bring it down.
"Wait!" Shayde shrieked.
"What now?" Bella said. "I should kill you and be done with it."
"It's just, a hero would let the villain live. They would be praised for showing some restraint. And the villain would be paraded about and made fun of. Not to mention, the songs that would be sung about the hero!"
"Really?" Bella crouched in front of Shayde. "I would be a hero?"
Shayde beamed at her. "Of course! The mighty Belladonna, who protected her kingdom at all costs! Who gave up her life and soul to save her people. Who showed mercy to the person who destroyed everything!"
"Yes. Yes. Keep going," Bella encouraged. "Tell me more."
"I would be at the mercy of you."
"I would be the hero if I let you live?"
"Yes!"
"Even with everything I did? I almost killed you! On multiple occasions."
"That's okay. I know you didn't mean it."
Bella grinned. "Okay." She turned and nodded to the guards.
"Thank you so much! Hunter would be proud of you."
"How do you know?"
"I just do." Shayde was grinning ear to ear. The guards grabbed the chains and wrapped them around Shayde's torso. "What are you doing?"
"Taking you back to the dungeons." Her people shifted in confusion.
"Get these off me!"
"No." Bella raised the Elder Sword again.
"No. No!" Shayde's shrieks echoed in the air. "Help me!"
"Nobody's coming to help you," Bella crooned. "You don't want me to be a hero, do you?" Bella advanced with the sword. "You just want to live long enough to escape!"
"Yes! I mean, of course not! You don't have to live in darkness anymore! You can still be the hero!"
Bella raised an eyebrow. "I don't live in darkness. It lives in me. It lives in me and bows." She yanked Shayde's chains forward and spat, "and I'm no hero." She faced the crowd and said, "I am Queen."
"Long may she reign," they murmured.
"I am Queen!" she roared.
"Long may she reign!" they roared back.
"I AM QUEEN!"
"LONG MAY SHE REIGN!"
A flash of metal and Shayde's head toppled from her body. Blood sprayed onto her feet. Her people cheered as she lifted Shayde's head, still dripping blood. Her body fell to the ground behind them.
She dropped the head into a basket before heading off stage. A gust of wind and Sanriel landed beside her.
"Quite dramatic, don't you think?" her friend said. Bella shrugged. "Where do you think she'll go?"
"Wherever people like her go." Bella turned to look at Sanriel. Her red hair glinted in the light, clear of any blood or gore. "I need to be alone."
Understanding flickered in her eyes. "Of course. I will go help your brother." She flapped her wings and rose into the hair. Bella watched as she pressed her fingers to her brow, then flew off.
People still screamed within the rooms inside but she didn't stop. She made her way to the garden where Hunter's body was laid. Red and white roses surrounded him. The spear was still stuck in his body and she pulled out. Blood dripped from the end. She tossed it away.
"Hunter. Please come back." Her throat closed. "Please. Come back to me." Tears trailed from her eyes and onto his body as she sobbed over him. She stroked the soft blond hair she had dug her hands into countless times. His eyes were still open, gazing at nothing. She closed them.
"May your soul grace the eternal waters of death," she managed to say before a wave of pain washed over her. She tilted her head back and wailed. Great, heaving sobs wracked her body. "Is this the price?" she screamed at the sky. "Is this what you wanted?"
She lowered her head and cradled his face. He looked so peaceful in death. She leaned forward and kissed him. His lips were already cold. Devoid of the fire that used to flicker within.
She stayed with him until the sun began to fall. A couple of raindrops landed on Hunter's face. Tears joined them as she wiped them away.
"One day we'll find our way back to each other," she promised. "One day."
She stood. Her limbs were sore, either from the battle or sitting. She didn't know. And didn't care.
Before she faced the endless councils, the meetings, she let one more wave of fire devour Hunter's body. A phantom wind stirred the ashes and swept them into the wind.
A small flower caught her eye. It was a small thing, as red as blood. It looked almost like a rose, but with a black stem.
Six minutes.
That's how long it took for the flowers to spread across her kingdom. All over houses and the roads, the Devil's Flame grew. Signaling the beginning of a new reign.
The beginning of the True Queen.