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Elizabeth let the knife slip from her hands, and Theodore took one last breath before he died.
The lords ran out of the chamber in a frenzy, leaving Elizabeth standing still in the center of the room. Her gaze was transfixed on her deceased husband, but no emotion stirred upon her stoic face. Then Lord Nathan stepped toward her with a chilling glare, and I was about to rush to her defense when two guards clamped Elizabeth’s arms together and pinned her to the ground. “No! No!” Nathan shouted, his voice trembling with rage. He strode closer, thrusting his finger at me. “This is all your doing! I know it! You will pay for this!”
Cries of agony reverberated off the walls, echoing into the chapel. Suddenly, the main doors were ripped open with a booming crash. In their wake, a powerful gust of air brought with it an absurdly enormous group of men. Clad in mismatched armor, they looked as if they had only recently emerged from a long and grueling battle. Leo, August, and Hudson strode in at the head of the army, followed closely by Eva. Before any of them had a chance to draw their weapons, the DuPont guards raised their guns menacingly. The tension in the room became tangible, and I didn’t know what to expect next.
A raging scream tore through the air as Lord Nathan clamped down on me. His fingers dug into my skin, his strength stronger than I’d anticipated. He yanked a jagged blade from its sheath hooked to his waist, the sharp edge pressed against my throat. Fear seized me in its chilling grip.
My men roared and surged forward, but it was too late—I was already at his mercy. I glimpsed Leo running toward us, the fire in his eyes igniting a spark of hope inside me, Eva right behind him. August took down a DuPont man with a flying tackle and slammed the head of his hammer into the man’s skull, and for a brief moment, he made eye contact with me—and I knew what had to be done.
Hudson killed the DuPont guards holding Elizabeth and pulled her into his chest, stroking her hair as he stared at me. “Fight,” he mouthed.
I stomped on Lord Nathan’s foot, making him groan in pain. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for the feel of the blade sliding through my skin.
But it never came.
Nathan’s grip slackened and I jolted from his grasp, my breathing heavy. Pools of red liquid cascaded from his throat, staining the marble floors beneath us. I glanced up at Eva, who stood imperiously with a blade pressed to Nathan’s throat. Her lips twisted into a sadistic smirk as she pushed the weapon deeper into his flesh.
“Surrender,” she commanded coldly.
“You will never win this fight,” Nathan croaked, undeterred.
Leo snorted in derision and surveyed the room with scornful eyes. Nathan trembled and held Leo’s gaze as I felt a fire ignite in my chest. I moved to stand amongst my men.
“You tried to take my wife,” August growled, veins popping from his neck.
“You tried to take my baby,” Leo bellowed, his body shaking with fury.
My heart thumped wildly, a sense of empowerment taking hold. I held Eva’s gaze for a moment before turning to Lord Nathan.
“Bow to me, Lord Nathan,” I commanded, my tone now laced with hatred. Taking the shining sword from Eva’s grip, I pointed the blade toward Nathan’s chest. He locked eyes with me, his face a mask of rage. He didn’t move, so I stepped closer and pressed the sharpened steel into his chest. “Now!” I screeched, the venom making me tremble.
He dropped to his knees in surrender—eyes wild, breath ragged. His hands shook as he begged for mercy. Bile rose in my throat as he pleaded, but I hardened my heart.
“You murdered Atticus,” I spat, my voice razor-sharp. “You deserve a fate much worse than death. And I’m going to kill you.”
With a sinister notion of amusement, Lord Nathan sneered and said, “Kill me, and my guards will kill you.”
I fixed my gaze upon his face and bellowed in defiance, “Your men work for me. They know of your lies, Lord Nathan!”
Panic brimmed in his eyes as he spluttered, “You don’t have the nerve to take my life. You’re too cowardly.”
A feral rage erupted within me, and as a live wire of fury, I charged forward and struck his face with all my strength, my fist slamming against his jaw. The crack echoed off the walls of the cathedral. He staggered back with a howl of pain and looked up to see me poised like a hawk over its prey. With a voice of thunder and fire, I declared, “You know what, Lord Nathan? I’m the Bloody Queen. And as my first decree, I sentence you to death!”
With one last swipe of my blade, I severed Lord Nathan’s head from his body. A collective gasp echoed through the cathedral. His head spun through the air and tumbled to the floor in a sickening thud. Blood spurted from his neck in a gory fountain, coating the marble ground with thick drops of red.
The room was silent except for my heavy breathing.
My sword clattered to the ground, and I felt Leo’s strong arms encircling me, pulling me into him. I shuddered in his embrace, my heart pounding in my chest. It was finally over.
My arms felt heavy as I lifted them and pulled away. Leo wrapped his hands around my wrists, a calloused grip cutting through the violence that filled my veins. His lips landed softly on mine, uttering a promise of love in the midst of this carnage. I whispered it back as a dozen men knelt before me, their voices a chorus of loyalty.
Leo released me, and August surged forward to wrap me up in a warm embrace. He murmured against my skin, his words a promise to keep me safe. His kisses were sweet emblems of love and affection in this place of death and destruction. I held him tightly, desperate to capture the moment and carry it with me forever.
In a wild frenzy, Leo began barking orders at the shell-shocked soldiers. August tugged on my arm, urging me to flee. But I couldn’t. I was determined.
“We’re not leaving,” I declared. “We’re getting married right here. Right now.” My voice echoed in the smoldering ruins, the ashes of our fallen enemies still dripping off our bodies. “The world needs to see that we are an unstoppable force.” Leo grabbed my hand and August’s and pulled us together, joining us in an iron-clad embrace as the surviving Redview army and lords cheered in victory.
Astonishment pierced my core as my dearest friend Leo uttered the words, “I think Atticus might be sad to miss your wedding.”
