Mine to Fear (28 page)

“
How do we win?” Annabelle, sounding
resigned.

“
Let me go over the plan,” I reply,
eager to finally put it in the wor
ks
.

***

“
Are you ready for this?” I ask
Serena, Cynthia, Tawny, and Bethany.

Bethany's eyes are wide as if she's still
scared, but she nods. It's just as well. I'm scared, too.

“
More than ready,” Cynthia
says.

“
Honestly,” Serena says. “I'm
frightened. It's going to be a dangerous job, but it needs to be
done.”

“
Agreed.” I try not to bite my nails.
It's a habit I've never gotten into, and I'm not about to start
now.

“
I'm past ready,” Tawny says. “If my
people knew how bad this was, they'd be here at our side. At least
more than are already here.”

“
Your people?” Serena
questions.

“
She means our people.” I give Tawny a
look. “The Envadi. Just think how wonderful it would be to see the
faces of those with the Grand Chancellor if a bunch of
barbarians
were joining you in the
attack.”

“
That would scare them good.” Serena
smiles. “I remember how scared I was the first time I saw
Za
de
.” Her grin
fades.

“
We'll get to him,” I say. “We'll get
there, and he'll be just as safe as can be. Only bored out of his
mind from sitting around so long and thrilled to see
us.”

She nods, but the doubt in her eyes matches
the doubt in my heart. I don't know that the Grand Chancellor would
really just let him sit around. But I've learned more about healing
than I used to know. As soon as I can, I'll heal him up as best I
can. If we can get him good enough to go home, we'll buy him the
best healers in Envado. I only hope his injuries aren’t too severe.
I hold onto that thought. The Grand Chancellor wanted to show off
his death at the next tournament. He has to have left him in good
enough shape to be there.

And maybe my fears are wrong. Maybe the
Grand Chancellor is treating him better than I thought. Unlikely
though it may be, maybe there is reason to hope.

We're silent after that, all lost in our own
thoughts, fears, and hopes. Time passes, what seems like an
infinite amount of time, but it does move. Eventually, Lukas comes
for Cynthia. They are darling together. But from the look in
Serena's eye, I know she's missing Zade. They should have been
married by now instead of being separated by a sadistic
lunatic.

“
We'll see him soon,” I whisper to
her.

Her mouth pinches together like she's trying
to keep from crying out, but she nods. It takes several hours to
form a plan of attack. One I hope will win us the day, but with
backup plans in case it doesn't. With any luck, we'll be seeing
Daniel and Zade in the near future.

T
his is it.
It’s finally time to take down the Grand Chancellor. We will not
just meet him on his own territory, but we will smash him. And
then, we'll save Zade and Daniel.

There's no hiding this time. No cowering
behind bushes or running from guards. It’s just us, straight up,
ready to attack. We're numbered many more than the guards and
servants the Grand Chancellor keeps. With a little help from
Nathaniel on the inside, the Grand Chancellor isn't going to know
what hit him.

I'm in the front of the line at the Grand
Chancellor's house, ready, next to Jack. To one side is Cynthia,
Lukas, Chadwick, Katherine, and Charles. Those two are the only
tarnished present. On the other side of me are Serena and
Annabelle, the former with a gun in hand, and both with the fierce
look of a determined warrior on their faces. I would not want to be
the person standing between them and those they love. It will be
dire.

No holding back. No waiting for an attack.
It's just us, ready to charge ahead.

“
Before we do this,” Jack says for my
ears alone. “I want you to know somethi
ng
.”

“
What is it?”

“
I think I've fallen in love with
you.”

“
And I think I've fallen in love with
you.”

I don't know who starts the kiss first. We
both move toward each other like we're the only thing in the world,
and we won't let anything stop us from being together. From
kissing.

His lips are on mine, and I kiss him back
with all the energy and feelings I have for him. It moves through
me, filling me with peace even amidst the war. But the peace
quickly turns into something more. A blaze building through me.
Consuming me. It's like being in the midst of thousands of firework
spells, all reaching toward a grand finale more spectacular than
any before it.

When our lips finally part, it's with great
hesitance. I'd much rather go on kissing him then do what needs to
be done. But we are needed.

As the world comes back into focus, those
around us are grinning at us. But it doesn't last. Not now. Not
when blood is what's to come.

We grab hands, and I savor the final moments
we may have together. Our group must have finally been noticed from
the inside because the guard is spreading out on the front
lawn.

“
Let's go to war,” I call
out.

Behind us, the world fills with war cries.
The type of war cries that say they've never been to war before,
but they're ready to give all they have for a freedom that's been
ripped from them. A freedom we're about to take back.

I step forward, and the others follow. All
six hundred of them. There's only a few who aren't here, like
Phyllis who refused to come and Pernilla who's taking care of the
babies. Everyone else is a group of rage at what's been done to
them. The moment we've worked toward, the freedom I've wanted for
Chardonia, is about to finally happen.

As we move forward, so do the guards. My
spell is the first to fly, a bright yellow splattered with orange
fury, like a lightning bolt across their front lines. Some of the
guards block it with different types of spells. Others do not,
getting zapped with the bolt of electricity.

Spells are flying all around now, a
plethora of deadly colors. Someone cries out behind me, but even
more cry out in front of me. The battle pricks my heart, making me
ache for the guards who defend the Grand Chancellor. If only they
wouldn't support him, we wouldn't have to fight
them
.

“
On your left,” Tawny cries
out.

I throw a hastily shield together on my left
side just in time for a burgundy spell to smash against it. Hexes
continue to fling toward our group, but not as many as we're
sending out. The battlefield is an array of colors, reds blues,
purples, blacks, yellows, every color I can think of, and more are
stretching toward us and our enemy.

I think we're winning. Nathaniel said these
would be the only guards. If we can just get past them, we'll only
have the Grand Chancellor to deal with. The thought spurs me on. I
flash a burgundy spell, filled with rage at how the Chardonians
have been treated. The spell hits a guard who falls to the ground
and doesn't get back up.

The guards are growing few and far between.
We're making headway toward the house. We've got this. We're
winning the battle. Soon, victory will be ours.

Quiet descends. Not a peaceful sort of
silence, but one that leaves a chill in the air. The guards who
have not fallen part and move to their knees. If it weren't for the
parting, I would think they are surrendering. But this is no
surrender. They are honoring someone. There's only one someone that
could be.

The Grand Chancellor.

M
oments later,
the Grand Chancellor strides out onto the field, Chancellor Ryan on
one side, Chancellor Stephen on the other.

“
I want my son,” Stephen
shouts.

How did he know? I glance at the girls, all
of whom have gone pale.

“
You only have daughters,” Cynthia
yells.

“
Not anymore. And I want him.
Now.”

We must have a spy in our midst. How else
would Stephen know? We've known all along it was a possibility. But
who would possibly betray us. Phyllis. One of the few people who
refused to come fight. Of course it's her. Only it's Theodore that
steps forward. “Your son is back at their hiding spot in the caves
with the mother and daughters. I'll take you to him if you promise
my safety.”

Immediately, I want to zap the traitor with
a hex. To think I healed him. “How could you?” I yell.

He smirks at me. “You didn't really think
I'd want to free a bunch of women, did you?”

Stupidly, I did.

“
You have a deal,” Stephen says,
ignoring me.

The traitor walks over to join the
Chancellors and Grand Chancellor. I want to hex all three of them
with the most powerful spell I have. But the way the Grand
Chancellor carries himself like he has no fear of our entire
rebellion stays my hand. Why does he not fear us? Or…is it
possible? Could he be about to surrender to us?

But then why is he grinning?

He raises his hands, and I just barely have
time to throw a shield up before a black with crimson and gold
streaked spell flies at our entire group. It slams against my
protective spell with a burst of black, darkening my world.

My power wanes fighting against his,
becoming weak inside me. I need rest. We all need rest.

The Grand Chancellor smiles, a viscous,
hungry smile that says he wants all our deaths. He holds both arms
out to the side, and his Chancellors step forward, one on either
side of him.

My throat chokes up, but at least he's
sending Ryan and Stephen, though I can't help but wonder how the
girls will handle fighting against their own father, even if he is
a jerk.

Several hexes fling our way, crimson light
smashing against our shields. I shove a cutting spell out, straight
at Stephen. His shield is thrown up a little too late, leaving cuts
on his arms.

Ryan spits a hex out, glittering with red
and black. It's headed straight for me. I don't have enough energy
left for a shield. No time to move. Then something slams into me,
knocking me to the ground with a painful thud.

Chadwick lays next to me, groaning. He just
saved me from Chancellor Ryan. Ryan! I jump to my feet and cast a
vicious burgundy hex toward his heart. It misses, hitting the side
of his shield instead. He laughs and aims his hand at me.

Cynthia flashes a black spell straight at
Chancellor Ryan. It smashes into him, and the whole field goes
silent as he falls to the ground.

I run to Chadwick, his leg twisted wrong. He
coughs.

“
Just hang on. I'll heal you right
up.”

He coughs again, this time with some blood.
“It's too late for me.”

“
No, it can't be!”

He puts a hand on my cheek before I can
start to heal him, drawing my gaze to his. “Be happy with Jack.
He'll treat you well.”

“
But you have to stick around to fight
with me.”
My tears run onto his hand.

“
I love you.”

His hand goes slack. I check his pulse.

Nothing.

Chadwick is dead.

T
he world
grows dark. Cold. Without Chadwick, it will never be the same. Zade
will be beside himself when he finds out his best friend died to
save me. I want to shrivel up into a ball and never come out. But
there's not time to think of it. The Grand Chancellor is raging
toward Cynthia.

She stares him down like he's nothing more
than a bug in her way.

He raises his hands, but before he can cast
a spell, Nathaniel comes running out of the house. “Wait! Father,
wait!”

He runs right up to the Grand Chancellor
like he doesn't care that he's the most powerful man in the county,
maybe even the world.

“
You can't harm them.”

“
What?” The Grand Chancellor's voice
is low, but threatening.

“
They are just trying to get their
freedom. You can't hurt them over that.”

“
You should be out here helping me,
not stopping me.”

“
But—”

The Grand Chancellor throws a silver spell
at his own son. Someone nearby gasps as Nathaniel is raised in the
air, wrapped in that silver spell, and flown back into the house
out of sight.

The Grand Chancellor turns back to us, his
expression disturbingly calm. “I don't tolerate disobedience. Not
from anyone.”

A spell the color of an angry cloud flies
from him. Cynthia blocks it as best she can, while we help. Tawny
is too close to the battle. Too close to the Grand Chancellor. The
Queen is going to have my head and hers. If the Grand Chancellor
doesn't get us first.

My power is so we
ak
. Faint. No one else must be doing much better
as another spell crashes into our shield. The pure wall
cracks.

“
Retreat,” I call, heart heavier than
our loss.

As one, we move backward, working to escape
while still maintaining the spell. The spell grows weaker. As I
look around, I realize that not everyone retreating is interested
in helping us all retreat. They're already gone.

My power is weak. So, so weak. And though
Cynthia is stronger than me, she can't be doing much better after
this fight. “We have to go.”