Elijah wouldn’t have afforded me the same privilege, but I was a better person. What were we if the fae didn’t follow tradition? My cousin had been a poor king, but if Malovia forgot him, we were bound to repeat the mistakes of the past, and put another royal on the throne that was just as bad as he. Elijah’s legacy, short and brutal as it was, had to be remembered.
“We’ll take him,” Alexei offered, and he nodded to Theo. Alexei conjured a stretcher, and the two of them laid Elijah’s body upon it, though it was difficult— his organs kept falling out, and there wasn’t an easy way to lay him on the stretcher with his back severed open as it was.
“Parade him through the streets before you do so,” I ordered. “The people must have proof that their king is truly dead.”
Theo nodded. He and Alexei proceeded down the stairs with Elijah’s body, and their mates followed.
Delmare looked over the balcony of the roof, and said, “Em, your brother’s down there, as well as Finlay, Amantha, Ozzie and Jasper. Looks like they made it out all right.”
“Go to them, and tell them the news,” I said with exhaustion. “Gather all of them in the Grand Foyer. We must reorganize, and strategize.”
“Ethan, you need to rest, and to grieve,” Emma said firmly.
“We cannot rest. This will have to be dealt with.”
Delmare and Stefan hurried down the stairs. Emma grasped her hand in mine. “I’m so sorry.”
Bitterness infected my insides. “That was a terrible, miserable way to die,” I spat. “I will never conjure another spriggan again. I refuse to put someone through another merciless death. Even he deserved better than that. I can never… will never… forgive myself for mutilating him like that, before the end. And in front of his mate, no less.”
“This war has made monsters of us all,” Emma remarked solemnly. “I’m here for you. And I love you.”
“I love you as well. More than you will ever know.”
Emma’s life for my cousin. I had made my trade. The Hidden King was dead, and therefore, she was safe.
Despite Emma being the love of my life, it still wasn’t an easy sacrifice. But she came first.
She always would.
“Is it over, then?” Emma asked. “Has Gabby lost her right to the throne, now that Elijah is gone?”
I sighed, and rubbed my eyes. “No. Malovia’s monarchy imparts equal power to both the king and queen, and that power doesn’t vacate if one or the other dies. She still has authority over the country.”
“But.. when your father died, your mother didn’t take ownership of Malovia,” Emma said slowly. “The King’s Contest was held immediately, that year.”
“Because by the decree of the gods, the King’s Contest is sworn to be held every twenty to twenty-five years, regardless of whether the king is dead or not,” I replied. “By the time he died, my father had been on the throne for over twenty years. My father was already preparing to have someone replace him, before he was killed. It will be another two decades before Gabby will be forced to give her throne up to another Contest winner.”
“But she can’t rule here in Dolinska.” Emma blinked. “After what she did to the university, she’ll be an easy target at the palace.”
“I know where she’s going. And she’s got enough followers to keep her crown. We still have a long road ahead.”
Emma fell silent. I massaged my temple— a pounding headache was beginning to grow there, the lack of rest and the pain of grief causing stress to gnaw away at me.
“I know you don’t want to hear this right now,” Emma said quietly. “But you did the right thing, wrong as it feels. He put Malovia through so much pain. It is a better world, now that he’s gone.”
“He was a cruel king indeed.”
I sighed. “But he was right about one thing. War is coming. The magical races will rise up to fight each other again. Whether it’s tomorrow, next year, or twenty years from now, therewillbe another Great Supernatural War— and I’m not sure if the fae can survive it this time.”
“Then we’ll prepare for it.” Emma put a hand on my arm. “But we have to make sure the fae don’t go extinct before it happens. One step at a time.”
Emma guided me down the stairs. We entered the school and walked toward the Grand Foyer, as I’d told everyone that’s where we needed to gather. As loud as the battle had been before, now, everything was deathly quiet. There were so many bodies scattered around— people that we lost, soldiers that had died defending Elijah’s rule.
I tried not to look at them, but it was hard. So much of the university was destroyed. The building itself remained standing, for the most part, but artwork, furniture and tapestries within the palace had been ruined. The school would have to rebuild.
In the hallway, we came across a lone figure who appeared even more haggard than I was. Professor Hemlock sat upon a stone ruin that had fallen from the ceiling, her head in her hands and shoulders shaking with sobs.
I felt very sorry for her as I approached. We’d won the battle today, but the outcome was far from a happy ending.
