His Red Queen

Chapter Two

The scarlet guard narrowly helps Cal escape. Wherever they are taking him, I hope that they are not using the train that they showed Maven and me. But Cal is alive and that is enough for me. I watch guiltily as Maven and Elara curse his name. 

Maven swears that he will find him and kill him. In the Bowl of Bones, our old instructor, Arven falls to the ground. Silver blood pouring from him and his left side burned beyond fixing. Any skin healers that show up to fix him are too late. Evangeline and Ptolemus prowl around with my other would-have-been-executioners.

Maven begins speaking, taking my hand and pulling me up to stand with him. "I would like to announce my engagement to Mare Molly Barrow, a red girl from the stilts. You may remember her as Mareena Titanos but she is Mare. She is a red girl from the stilts and I have protected her from the Scarlet Guard." He glares at me, daring me to go against what he said. "Now, bow to your new red queen."

Some people cheer but then a silence falls among the crowd. Maven waves over his sentinels and guards who escort us away. As much as I hate Maven, he is the only one protecting me right now. So, I take his hand when he reaches out to me. His hand is warm against mine. I feel for electricity and I get a small spark at my fingertips, just enough to make him jump.

"Arvens!" he snaps through gritted teeth as he pulls his hand away. When we are far enough from the crowd, two Arven guards stand on either side of me. They send steady waves of silence, and when I try in vain to feel my lightning, I feel no electricity come to me.

We get back to the palace and I turn around to the sound of shoes clicking behind me. Volo Samos is following us.Lord Volo walks up to us, anger written on his face. Maven waves him away but he does not leave us.

"I'd like to hear what Lord Volo has to say," I tell Maven after he tries to get his guards to make Volo leave us.

Volo ignores me, ever the Samos that he is. "You chose her after Evangeline rightfully won Queenstrial?" Volo Samos sputters. "My king, do you know what making a filthy red your queen will do to us?"

I say nothing. Let Maven explain why I am his queen. Let him tell them how I am a red girl with a silver ability. Maybe I will be lucky and his own court will swallow him whole and I can disappear, leaving him to his fate.

Maven takes my hand, bringing it up to kiss it and I try not to shudder. Volo gawks at his display of affection and glances over at Evangeline and Ptolemus who are not here. I almost sigh in relief who knows how Evangeline is going to react. Perhaps she'll fashion me a crown with pointed edges that will tangle in my hair and slowly stab me.

"I chose her," Maven says, shrugging. "I am king and I will do as I please." His gaze travels from Volo to the sentinels, to the Arven guards, one of which is holding onto my arm hard enough to bruise. His eyes settle on me. "Isn't that right Mare? Or is it that you chose me over my brother, the traitor and murderer?" Maven booms.

I bite my inner cheek enough to draw blood. Red blood. Blood that should have me killed. "Yes," is all that I say. If I do not go along with this, my family will pay and they have already lost Shade. I cannot let them lose me too or worse, I cannot lose them.

Volo looks as if he has been struck. He bows curtly. "Your highness." With that, he leaves us.

Maven rolls his eyes and begins walking quickly. I follow, trying to keep up but I am exhausted and my body hurts. Not to mention the silences who are keeping me from using my lightning.

It's funny really. Just yesterday I was the little lightning girl. Now, I am Maven's little queen-to-be.

We reach the hall where the royal family's chambers are and Maven sends the Arvens away who stare at me as if I am a wild animal being released when it should not be. At least I know that they want to protect their king. Although, that makes any plans that I am trying to come up with more difficult. If only I could get them on my side.

Maven opens the door to his room. It is unlike Cal's. Maven's room is neater, no books and maps all over the place. It is smaller too. He sits down on a plush chair. "Sit down, Mare."

I nod and sit across from him. Taking in his sharp, beautiful features, I blink quickly, as if trying to snap out of a nightmare. Wanting to believe that he is the boy who said he loved me. The shadow of the flame who I got along with so well. That his piercing blue eyes held kindness in them instead of fiery resentment, jealousy, and obsession. Tears threaten to betray me and I wipe my eyes.

I should have been with Cal. I could have gotten away with the Scarlet Guard and figured out another way to keep my loved ones safe.

"He's gone," I say, mostly to myself. Maven sits up straighter and I see little flames on his fingertips. In defense, I summon sparks to my own hand.

He glares at me. "Don't do it Mare. If you know what is good for you, you will be compliant. I happen to have people keeping an eye on the Stilts."

I get rid of the sparks. "Maven. I mean, King Maven, we have a deal. I told you I'd be your queen but you need to hold up your end of the deal. Leave them alone."

Maven nods. "I am a man of my word, Mare. You will understand that someday. When I say that I will find Cal and bring him to justice, I swear it and I mean it."

Maven has betrayed me once and I know he will do it again. I must tread lightly in whatever I do. "I want no part in that."

Maven laughs at me. He looks like a child, his father's crown too big for his head, crooked in a mess of raven curls. "That's fine but you will not get in my way. Whatever you are planning, little lightning girl, know that I am always going to be a step ahead of you."

I think for a moment before responding. "I thought you were good." The words are barely a whisper. "I thought you loved me." The last few words seem to cut him like one of Evangeline's knives. For a split second I see...vulnerability in the boy king's face. And to twist the knife just a little more, I add, "I thought I loved you."

"But you loved him instead?" Maven turns it around on me, an edge to his voice. "That's fine. It's always been like that." He gets up, standing in front of me, looking down at me, making me feel even smaller and weaker than I already am. "And look who's won. Not Cal. Not my father. Everyone has always favored him but here we are." 

Is that all this is? Sibling rivalry.

I grimace at the memory of King Tiberias' death, the memory still fresh in my head. Having had enough of this conversation, I get up and make for the door. My legs feel like lead and my head is still pounding from the silent stone earlier today and the Arvens, though they are not present.

I look over at Maven and his eyes meet mine for a moment. He seems to see how broken I am and he shakes his head. "I'll have a skin healer in your rooms for you. Get some rest. Tomorrow, I want you to show that you are on my side. It shouldn't be too difficult though, seeing that you were betrothed to me and not Cal to begin with."

Anger bubbles up inside me and I feel the electric hum of the cameras outside in the hall come to me. It's exhilarating. Maven watches me in fear as I summon a ball of electricity, letting it grow and spark.

"Arvens!" he cries as he quickly summons fire to his hands and glares at me. We stare each other down for a long moment, silently daring the other to strike first.

I burst through the door quickly, making the lights blink rapidly in the hall. Evangeline is in the hall along with Elane and Ptolemus. Elane makes herself invisible when she sees Maven an me. Coward.

Evangeline snarls at me and uses pieces of her armor that she still has on to make two swords. She aims one at me and the other at Maven. I watch wide eyed, expanding the electricity in my hands and letting lightning dance along my arms. 

Ptolemus creates a spear from his metals. There are no Arvens around and I don't even want to think about what the Samos siblings might have done to prevent them from being here.

Evangeline looks between Maven and me and smugly mocks our Arven trainer, smirking. "Who has the advantage?"