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This wasn’t one man waiting to be killed any longer but three. If only she played her cards right.
“Who am I to believe? I have guards, all trusted men in my service, but they are saying two very different things.”
The suitor let out a whimper, flinching away with every step the queen took toward him. Tension was thick in the air, anticipation hot and fuzzy in her stomach. Could they feel it? Could they feel the way the universe was calling them to this exact moment? These men were meant to die today.
Every step she took, she put all her weight into, letting her movement be heard. The guard’s armor was warm from his body heat and the sun that reflected brightly off it, her fingerprint leaving behind a streak. She hooked her finger at the back of his outfit’s neckline, pulling just enough for her to see the two fresh red sores hidden below the collar.
So the suitor was telling the truth…
But the crowd doesn’t know that.
“My friends, I fear we have been victims today. I have seen the likes of this many times over in my life. All of which have been accompanied by tragedy.” She circled back to stand before the suitor. One by one she wrapped her fingers around her staff and pulled it from its sheath.
Even the guards were quaking, their grips loosening on the suitor. She held the staff before her, looking into the globe to admire the powerful flames that licked the glass. They danced and projected heat onto her cheeks as if there was no barrier between them. Moistening her lips, she lowered the staff and let her attention bounce from one man to another.
Horses stomped and whined, trying to back away. They too could sense such terrible things. No one else moved though. Even though Idalia swore she could hear every hammering heart, not a sound was emitted.
“I believe,” her voice rang out strong despite the way her face still looked puffy and sad, “we are all suffering from the aftermath of the Impelling.”
Even the word struck fear and caused men to gasp all around her. She gripped her staff and leaned into it, breathing in the feeling that tore through her from the bottom of her toes up to her head then back down through her limbs. It was an effort not to smile, to keep her face downcast and neutral.
“Since I cannot be sure,”a lie,“for the safety of us all, the three will be put to death.”
“No, no, no.” The suitor was mumbling. Tears had soaked the collar of his shirt, making him look even more pathetic. He tore from the guards’ grasps that had loosened at the decision, crawling forward on hands and knees to plead. “What can I do? How can I prove to you that I am unaffected?”
Idalia pinched a strand of his hair between her fingers, twirling it, then discarding it so she could cup his chin. The last touch he’d ever receive. “You cannot change your fate.”
His wail split the air, one of the guards behind him dared to take a step back. While the suitor was clearly unwed, both guards had bands on their fingers. They had families, potentially children. The smallest bit of empathy cracked through her wicked black heart only to be quickly filled again by the raging demand of her power. It was their family or hers and she’d pick her family every damn time.
Not a soul saw the twitch of her fingers against her staff. Heat scorched the air, forcing the crowd to back away as fire rained down on the three men before their queen. It ate through metal armor and clothing until it was blistering their skin. The smell of burning hair stung at her nose first.
The crying wails were amplified to screams of pain and multiplied by three. There were gasps, shouts, and someone gagging in the group of men that surrounded her. The suitor reached for her, flames licking at his fingers. One step carried her out of his reach.
Men were jumping out of the way as one of the guards took to running. The other had already crumpled to the ground and began to roll through the grass. No matter his attempts this fire could not be put out without the queen’s command.
Nothing could be done for them.
Queen Idalia turned, letting their deaths wash over her, and left her courtyard and the charred bodies behind.
“When do you think it will be enough?” Burke asked once they’d gotten out of the crowd and headed into the castle.
Idalia cocked her head, unaware that he’d even followed. Burke could be as silent as he was deadly. A door closed them off from the shouting that had died down to groans and whispers from the onlookers. She’d have to remind someone to go out there and clean up the mess…
“It will be enough when the gods quit demanding it of me.”
“Gods or god?”
The tap of her staff against the tiled floors stopped. “Who am I to question?”
“It isn’t your job to question it. I suppose, it is mine.” There was a shadow of something that flashed across his face, but it was gone before she could decipher its meaning. The queen pursed her lips but continued her trek down the halls.
“It will all be over soon enough. Are their bodies still preserved?”
Well… parts of their bodies. What was left of some of them, anyway. Poor Sienna had been torn to pieces and her parents were nothing but jutting broken bones.
How many bodies would it take to fix theirs? How many lives would give them their immortality? Idalia might be killing for a long while yet, but with good reason.
“They are still well managed.”
