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I should’ve felt disappointment and disgust at what had transpired between Feremir and the queen.
Not joy... Not happiness...
It was Fiona. As soon as I darted my gaze to her, I knew she was trying to talk to me.
I went to her mind.
I will close the portal, she thought. Protect Kieran. He is the true king now.
Don’t,I said. We can save you too.
But she didn’t wait to see if we could.
I never wanted to rule, Fiona thought, a sad smile curling her lips. The queen wasn’t lying. I felt her confidence when she said father was gone. Kieran might be our only hope. Promise me. You will protect him.
She was determined. I knew I could not sway her decision.
I will, I replied.
The second monster entered the room through the portal, and Kieran and Dearen went to fight him. The Queen of Light was going to another soldier to create more monsters. If she had gotten to all the soldiers in the room, there would be too many for us to fight.
Fiona moved.
She pushed her elbow into the soldier's stomach holding the blade to her throat. The man bucked, and his grip loosened. He was already unfocused as the queen rampaged through the room, turning soldiers into monsters. He was scared that he would be next, allowing Fiona the distraction she needed to escape.
Feremir, I spoke to my little brother as I reached into my belt to take my blade out. Fiona is going to close the portal. Pass through before she does. The queen lies. She is evil.
I wasn’t being smart. If Feremir believed the queen, he could tell her what Fiona was planning.
He met my gaze. I could not reach his mind.
He did not move. He turned away from me.
I waited for him to speak out and ruin Fiona’s plan.
He did not.
Feremir! I said. You believe me, don’t you? She is evil. You cannot stay with her.
Feremir did not turn to me. But at once, I could reach his mind.
I will stay, he thought.
I could not accept that. My little brother couldn’t align herself with the Queen of the Seelie. He could not...
I will stay to help the princess, he said. The queen trusts me.
Fear for my brother competed with relief about the fact that he knew the truth. I wanted to persuade him to escape. I wanted to tell him that he was just a boy and he did not have to endanger himself like this.
But Feremir closed his mind to me.
The queen dragged the third monster as he transformed, and before Fiona could reach the portaler at the back of the room, the queen pushed the third monster into the portal. I did not have time to persuade Feremir and Fiona to step on the other side of the portal. I did not have the time to tell them that they did not have to sacrifice themselves like this.
The third monster attacked Brigid as soon as it stepped through the portal. She reached for her sword, but the monster’s claws touched her arm before she could stop it. She shrieked in pain but did not let go of her fighting stance. I had to help.
I ran into the monster and hit it from the side. The beast howled with pain as I pushed my blade into it. I did not want to kill the soldier, but I needed him to be hurt enough to stop fighting.
I saw Fiona through the corner of my eye as she went to the Master Portaler. He was wide-eyed as he kept the portal open and watched the horrible scene before him. When he saw Fiona approaching him, the man tried to flee, but Fiona had her blade out within seconds. She stuck the knife to the man’s chest, and the portal closed with a shimmer as the monster I was fighting roared and pulled itself off the blade I was still holding on to.
