Stay (22 page)

“Be careful with that Callie!” I heard Jenna
call to me over the sound of the rushing wind.

I lowered my hand gently and the twirling
wind started to slow. The swords were softly placed onto the
ground. I saw Brokk bend down and pick one up out of the corner of
my eye. The rest of the guardsman held their hands up in
surrender.

“Where is Lilith?” I asked the guard standing
out in front of the others. He must have been some sort of
commander because he had lots of stars and stripes sewn onto his
uniform.

He looked around hesitantly, but he did not
speak. I motioned for Brokk to move toward him. Brokk was there in
an instant. He wrapped an arm around the guy’s neck and held a
blade to his throat.

I asked again. “Where is Lilith?”

“Sh-she’s gone.” He stuttered. “She took some
of the guards and left.”

“Where?” I asked again. “Where has she
gone?”

When he did not answer, Brokk tightened his
grip on the guy’s neck. “Answer her!” He yelled.

“I-I think they went to the surface.” He
choked out.

“When?” I demanded. “How long have they been
gone?”

“O-only about,” He paused gasping for air.
“Thirty minutes.”

“We can still catch her.” Brokk said.

“No.” I said, looking at each of them. “You
stay here and keep an eye on the guards. I can do this on my
own.”

“Callie, wait.” Jenna yelled. “You are going
to get yourself killed. We should all go.”

“If we all go the guard will have time to
reorganize. I need you more here.” I turned and looked at the
commander.

“Do you know who I am?”

He peered up at me, but he did not
answer.

“I am Calliope Rose, daughter of the former
Queen Faylinn and King Elvin. Do you know what that means? It means
that I am your true queen. You will serve me or you will die.” I
glared at him. I was being so serious that I almost wanted to laugh
at myself, but I held my composure. “From now on you will answer to
Brokk or to me. Is that understood?”

“
B-but, Brokk is just a foot soldier.”
He started to say.

“You will address me as your queen!” I
yelled. “And Brokk is my betrothed, which makes him your future
king! I suggest you start acting like it!”

Brokk jerked his head up to look at me, as
did Jenna and Tuck. I really did not have time to explain myself,
and I really did not know what I would say. It just sort of came
out in the heat of the moment.

I turned and ran for the door.

Chapter 23

As soon as I was outside, I opened my wings
and leaped into air. I soared over the city looking down at the
twinkling lights that lit the streets. The wind washed over me, it
was so exhilarating that I could not help but giggle. I looked
around and spotted a few guards posted around the perimeter but
they never bothered to look up to notice me.

I brought myself down at the opening to the
tunnel that led to the surface. I remembered that it had taking
Brokk hours to bring me through it when I first came to Petrona, so
the queen could not have gotten far.

I started running through the tunnel as fast
as I could but I feared that I would not have the endurance to keep
up such a pace for very long. I tried to extend my wings, they were
able to open fully but there was not a lot of room for error. If I
was not careful, I would damage them on the sharp rocky walls. I
tried pushing them straight out and that helped a little.

I carefully picked myself up and flew. I
bobbed around a little at first and that made me a bit nervous, but
soon I had gotten the hang of it. I pointed my body like an arrow.
I felt like superman as I held out my arms, willing myself to go
faster.

The slick inky floor of the tunnel soared
past me in a blur. The smell of the damp stale air filled my nose.
My sinuses burned from it, but I pressed on.

I slowed myself after traveling for at least
twenty minutes. Surely, I was getting close by now. I listened
carefully for the sounds of footsteps or whispers. I thought that I
heard the sound of something moving up ahead, so I landed onto my
feet. I walked at a quick pace, trying as hard as possible not to
make too much noise and draw attention to myself just yet.

I peered ahead and could just make out the
silhouettes of the guard. I froze and moved against the wall. I
took a moment to pull myself together. Now that I had found them,
what was I going to do?

I stepped out from the wall and closed my
eyes. I called to Demi, the earth spirit and soon felt the ground
under my feet begin to rumble. I heard screaming from up ahead as a
large mound of earth and rock rose up from the floor, blocking
their escape.

I stood in the center of the tunnel as Lilith
and her guardsman began to run back towards me. They stopped when
they finally noticed me standing there.

“You insolent child!” Lilith screamed as she
moved to close the gap between us. “How dare you show your face
here! I should have finished you when I had the chance!”

“That is quite enough.” I said in the most
stern voice that I could muster. “Your time here is over. You may
have been able to manipulate my parents into giving up their
kingdom, but I am not as easily fooled.”

She stared at me for a moment and then let
out a loud booming laugh that echoed throughout the tunnel.
“Guards! Get her!” She called.

Several of the guards rushed toward me. I
help my palm out to them and called Erion to push them back. They
were frozen in their tracks as they fought against the wind to
carry themselves forward.

“Give it up Lilith!” I yelled. “You are no
queen! Nor have you ever been! You are barely even Fae. You have
even lost your fairy magic. You are pathetic and your tyranny ends
today!”

She moved toward me and I pulled out my
sword. Her eyes grew large in surprise. “Faylinn’s sword! Where did
you get that?” She cried.

I took my stance, holding the sword up and
ready to strike. She reached her arm out and one of the guards
handed her a sword of her own. I stepped out before she had time to
strike and swung, but she was fast. She deflected my blow with
ease. I came right back at her with another.

I spun around hard and swung my sword out in
front of me. She was able to block my sword with hers but my force
sent her stumbling backwards. It only took a moment for her to
regain her balance and she came at me again with a vengeance.

We fought until I felt like I would not be
able to raise the sword again. My arms burned from fatigue and I
was panting for breath. Each swing of my blade was met blow for
blow. I had to end this.

I raised my sword, swung with all of my
might, and came down hard across her blade slicing it in half. The
sound of metal clanking across the floor echoed all around us. I
looked up to see a large pool of blood spreading across her
chest.

Lilith looked down at her cut, and raised her
hand to cover her chest. Her eyes were frantic and she yelled for
one of her guards. I asked Erion to release the wind and allowed
them to come to her. The others just stood their ground watching
the scene.

I called to Demi and opened the exit to the
surface.

“Take her now and do not return.” I said to
the guard kneeling at Lilith’s side. He lifted her up and carried
her into the darkness. I watched them until they were completely
out of site.

I turned to the remaining soldiers. “If you
choose to continue to follow Lilith then you may go, but if you
wish to serve me you are welcome to stay.”

They all stared at me for a few seconds and
slowly, one by one they stepped in the direction of Petrona.

I called to the sprits one last time and
closed the exit once again with large boulders. If Lilith survived,
I did not want her to return.

I followed the soldiers back to Petrona.

I stepped into a city that was just beginning
to stir with life. The merchants were preparing to open their
shops, and I could smell the scent of delicious bacon and biscuits
cooking.

The citizens stopped to stare as I was
escorted to the palace. I nodded my head at each of them as I
passed.

In the palace, I found Jenna and Tuck
lounging on the sofas in the living area.

“What is this all about?” I asked in
shock.

“Brokk has everything under control.” Tuck
answered, nodding toward the back of the house.

“I hope so.” I said as I rushed to find
him.

Brokk was standing outside in the garden
behind the huge glass windows of the dining room. He had the
guardsman all line up in neat little rows and he paced back and
forth in front of them. I watched as the guards who escorted me
back joined the ranks. One of them spoke and then Brokk turned to
look at me.

Comprehension showed briefly on his face as
he realized that I was back and what that could have meant. I
instantly ran for the door and before I knew it, he was inside the
hall and wrapping his arms around me. He lifted me up by my waist
and slowly spun me around.

“Callie, you are okay.”

“I am.” I said quietly and he bent his head
forward and kissed me deeply. My reactions to his kisses began to
get more and more intense. When his lips met mine, I felt my entire
body shudder from my head down to my toes. I deepened the kiss and
pulled him closer.

I am not sure who pulled away first, but we
both stood staring breathless into each other’s eyes.

“Is it over?” He asked.

“I doubt that it will ever be over, but she
is gone.”

“You didn’t kill her?” He asked in
astonishment.

“No, I only wounded her. Then I banished her
to the surface and sealed the tunnel. Hopefully, that will be
enough.”

“I hope so too.”

That evening we held a small celebration in
the palace. We ate heartily and laughed until our sides ached. The
housekeepers prepared a room for each of us to sleep, I refused to
sleep in the queen’s chambers until it had been completely stripped
of any trace of Lilith. That goes for the rest of the house as
well. No more stark, white everything.

Bree volunteered to take on the task of
redecorating. After Brokk had gotten things under control, he had
released her from my room. It turned out that she was his little
sister and that the queen demoted her to servant after my parents
left. No wonder she was so bitter.

The commander of the Guard called the
citizens together and introduced me as their new queen. Most seemed
to cheer, but not all. I would have to prove myself in the future
to them. In addition, I would have to be careful with who to
trust.

The next day was filled with the task of
creating a council and reorganizing the political side of the
monarchy. I insisted that elections be held so that the people
could appoint those that they trusted to the various positions.

Brokk stayed on in the palace but he chose a
room on a different wing than mine to give me some space. We ate
every meal together and spent most evenings in each other’s company
either reading or walking in the garden.

It’s funny that my parents had chosen him for
me when I was just a baby, but somehow it felt as if he was made
for me and I was made for him. I easily forgave him for the past
few weeks, admitting that I had over reacted. In addition, I began
to trust him again.

He took over as the head of the guard and
handled himself quite well. He would make a great King someday.

Tuck and Jenna stayed on as my assistants.
They found a small house in the city and were quite content.

I had not heard anymore from Lilith, but I
knew that it was only a matter of time until she resurfaced. There
is no way that she would give up that easily.

###

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