We•Will•Rise

Chapter Nine

The castle is a buzz of panic. Everyone speaks in loud, quick voices and over each other, as if racing to finish their sentence first.
We enter silently through the glass doors of the courtyard into the fray of people. I search for my people, Barron, Amari, or Leria, any of the three, just to make sure they're okay, but I come up empty. The castle entertainment room is too crowded for me to see much of anything and I'm too short to see over most everyone's heads.
"I don't see Barron," I say, trying to keep the worry from my voice.
"He's in here somewhere," Nikolai reassures me as we stop at the edge of the sea of people. Two Sultans come in last, dragging with them the frozen body of one of the vamphirs. Proof, for the Queen and the people.
I sigh and start to break through the crowd, going for the stairs that lead up to a stage where the Queen and princess's chairs sit for when they have entertainment brought in. The Queen and princess sit in them now, Amari watching quietly over the throng of people. The Queen is whispering to one of the two Sultans that flank her, some command I'm sure to get everyone to leave. But they couldn't leave. Not yet.
Someone suddenly screams and heads turn to find the source. A young woman wearing a green dress. She's pointing at the frozen statue of the vamphir, hollering at the top of her lungs. Other shouts start to join in, people quickly dispersing away from our group, giving the statue and us a wide berth. People in front of me part into two lines, making a straight path towards the stairs. The Queen and princess rise as we approach. I can't see their expressions from here, but I'm sure the Queen's is anger. We are quite a sight, the bunch of us, six Imordals and about seven Sultans all covered in both the black blood of the enemy and our own, striding in through the door carrying the body of a vamphir—and a frozen one at that.
The Queen says nothing as we take the stairs, all of us coming to stand in a line, shoulder to shoulder. across the two thrones. Amari stares at me in relief, a hand resting against her heart, and the Queen's face is . . .  well. . . absolutely crimson in rage.
"What have you done?" Her voice is a whisper, her words like venom. "You ruined my daughter's wedding! Seize her! Seize them all!" Her tone is a raging scream, and two Sultans start to step forward until they see the other Sultans standing beside us holding the vamphir. They hesitate, and Kyrad shakes his head. That's all they need apparently, because they step back and don't move again. The Queen looks at them with frantic eyes, "What are you doing? I said—"
"They heard you, Lavina," I say, my tone low and serious. I'm hyper aware of the crowd's whispers and the eyes on my back, but I ignore them, shoving away the urge to hide. Instead, I lift my chin and stand taller. "You aren't in charge here. Not right now."
"I'm the Queen!" She screams, spit flying from her mouth in her frenzied words. She steps toward me with a threat in her eyes.
"And I am a God," I say louder than I intended, my voice carrying through the room and echoing off of the walls. The whispers cease behind me, and even Nikolai's eyes fall in surprise to me. The Queen looks taken aback, her stern gaze faltering. I'm taken aback myself, in shock that the words left my mouth. I swallow hard and try not to let it register on my face, stepping towards her with my hands balled into fists at my sides. I let the anger I felt burning in my chest take over. It courses through my veins along with my gift as I speak. "You have been a disgrace to Adonia for forty years. You would have let those beasts come and destroy, burn and pillage your home and you would have never left your precious bubble until it popped at your feet," I talk loud and slow, sure everyone can hear me as my words bounce off of the walls, "You would have ruled over ash, Lavina." My tone conveys my years of pint-in rage at the Queen, at the unfairness and cruelty that has been her rule.
I turn away from her, perhaps the biggest slap to her face as she falls in shock to her seat, and step forward towards the ledge of the stage, addressing the crowd. "Tonight could have been a bloodbath had it not been for the people before you," I gesture to the Imordals and Sultans that stand to my right. "The vamphir are real, and more are coming," the crowd seems to inhale in unison, their eyes falling to the body of the creature the Sultans hold. "If you wish to leave, do so now. If you wish to fight—to fight for your people, your family, your home, then stay. Stay and show them that you aren't afraid, that they will not scare us away like fleeing rats and that we will defend our kingdom—our families—until our last breath and we will do so with fire and steel. With courageous hearts and love for our people. They won't win. They will fall, as they have before, and it will be because of the people that risked their lives from here on. Tell your friends, your neighbors, warn them of the coming threat and offer them the same as I'm offering you now: fight like a warrior, or run like a dog."
The silence is overbearing, like something thick stuck in my ears. And then I see Barron in the crowd as he raises his Grimstone dagger high into the air, "With fire and steel, we will rise!" He screams, then lets out a booming oorah. The crowd cheers, and suddenly, everyone's fist is raised in the air and oorah echoes like drums across the room. I raise my own weapon, and Nikolai and the others follow suit.
"With fire and steel, we will rise!" I repeat, the words verberating deep in my bones. The chant of our people, the call to our duty. Because it is true. Above all else, against all odds, we will rise.