Page 34

Everetta

Just as Fletcher's hands reached for my own to transport us, I suddenly remembered, “Wait! We have to come up with a plan. We can't just show up out of nowhere." I bit down on my lips, staring with pleading eyes at Fletcher's exasperated sigh. My eyes were gleaming with desperation and glee. I knew he would agree.

"Evie, my brother's in trouble. Do you really think this is the time for dramatic entrances?" He did have a fair point, but...

"I'm sure he can handle himself. Besides, he's got Lulu with him. They're both ROYALS , so I'm sure they can hold them off. Come on, please. I was just humiliated by how easily Eli took my memories. Sure, I've got them back now, but it doesn't change the fact that he managed to take them in the first place. Please, it'll also strike fear into our enemies. Just imagine me showing up, and bam! Lightning strikes behind me. Oh, wait, or better yet, thunder strikes first, then boom! There I am! Right where the lightning struck! Oh! Oh! I know! I could stand on top of a mountain of bodies and be like, 'Villains, bow before me! For I am the great hero who has come to save the day! ' What do you think, Fletch?" I asked, smiling up at my boyfriend, who was nearly a foot taller than me.

Slapping his face with his hands, Fletcher sighed at my overly enthusiastic charm.

"Everetta, sometimes I don't know if you're joking or serious," Fletcher muttered cryptically.

What did that mean?

I was just me. The charming cunning beauty that I was.

"But fine. You're right, it would help divert their attention. But wouldn't it also distract my brother and Lucarious?" he began before I waved him off.

"Please, they should know better by now. If they don't, then I guess they just aren't fighting hard enough," I shrugged still smiling my bright beaming ray of joy.

"You do have enough magic for the fight, yes?" I know he was just checking up on me but please I was always ready to go with magic. If I wanted to, my magic could easily be recharged as quickly as well, lightning. "Did you just ask me that? You shouldn’t need to. Magic's part of my thing you know." I cocked a brow giving Fletcher the answer he needed. He shook his head chuckling a little before he teleported us to the battlegrounds.

The issue now with the poison was keeping my magic levels down. It shouldn’t be a problem in this fight since I would be casting out just as much magic as I would be regenerating.

Snapping my fingers, I caused lightning to appear before a small hill of dead soldiers. Then I reappeared on the field away from Fletcher and above the bump of bodies on the ground.

At that moment I was glad Fletcher couldn’t sense my emotions. If he did he would have discovered the small relaxations in my shoulders as our hands detached from one another. Ya, I’ll have to deal with that trauma from the memories some other time. I couldn’t let Fletch find that out, it would damage his pride. As a good girlfriend, I should do my best not to hurt his ego.

Looking down at my feet I frowned at the small barely hill-sized stack of bodies. Man, I wish it was bigger. Then again, they seem like palace guards with their silver and blue armor. It would probably be a bad idea if there was a mountain of bodies since shadows don't really have bodies. So the only bodies I would be standing on would be from our side.

Hmm, maybe I didn't think things through.

Oh, well! It's too late now.

"Villains, bow before me now! For I am the great hero who will be your ruin!" I bellowed. I decided to change the last couple of words because ‘ruining someone's life’ sounds much better than ‘saving the day’.

I watched as the fight continued. No one was turning to me, I felt a little down. So all that drama for nothing—how sad. It sort of ticks me off.

You know, you put so much effort into something only to have people ignore you. Maybe I should have made the sound of thunder louder. Then again, there was already so much noise. Maybe that was why they didn't hear my roar. I’ll make the ground shake too next time.

I pouted, feeling a small pat on the top of my head. Looking up, I spotted a weary smile etched across Fletcher's lips. I turned away, unable to meet his eye. "Maybe next time. For now, why don't we try and save my brother's castle from being taken over, shall we?" he asked, assuming I would be trying this again and again until I got the results I wanted. Most of the time I would, but I wasn’t so dense as to not read the room. The giant monsters rampaging near the castle certainly placed a damper on my fun.

I sighed.

I was hoping to have a little fun. How rude of them to spoil my mood.

"Fine. I don't understand why everything has to be so serious," I plunged a dagger into the gut of a charging shadow a little disappointed at my failed big entrance. It was cloaked in darkness, so it wouldn't just pass through the thing. Looking behind Fletcher, I spotted a pool of black tar behind him. Hmm, he must have been watching out for me while I was making my big entrance, which turned out not to be as big of an entrance as I’d liked. No one was even paying attention but Fletch. I could always count on him to be on my side, even if my ideas are a little out there.

Swirling around, I roundhouse kicked a shadow in the gut before casting a layer of shadow over Eli, Lucarious, Fletcher, Akasuki, and whoever else I sensed.

Not the soldiers, though—they'll just have to be slaughtered.

Why? Because it's shadow magic I’d just cast. Since my magic is far stronger than the soldiers on the field, the layer of shadows I cast over their bodies would soon fuse through their skin, causing them to be corrupted and turn into shadows themselves. Everyone I knew had their own protective shield around them and enough magic to ensure that the shadow magic I cast wouldn't bleed through their barrier and corrupt them. As for Lucarious, well, he might not have any protection spell around him, but the man is half-dark fae, so he should be fine. If the soldiers carried even the slightest hint of dark magic in them, I would have had no trouble casting the spell over them so they could fight back, but none of them did. The Wolf Court was as pure as they came.

Lifting my leg high in the air, I ax-kicked the shadow I’d just punched in the face. Flashing a dagger in my hand, I lifted the shadow’s crumpled body by the neck. "You know, I was really fucking hoping to have some fun. Yet, no one even clapped for my amazing entrance. Don't you think that's so unfair?" I rattled on, but before the shadow could even tilt its head in confusion, I was already slicing off its head. Crouching down, I kicked back, knocking the shadow coming for me from behind. Turning, I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"Well, aren’t you just a coward, coming at me from behind? Don’t you think I could sense you?" I tilted my head slightly grinning like a mad woman before smashing through its ribcage and tearing a hole with my foot through its stomach. Ripping my leg out, I peered through the gap in the thing's body. I smirked at the shadow trying to stitch itself together with lines of sticky black blood stretching from one end of the gap to the other. Grinning, I looked up to where the outline of a head with no face was before reaching down and planting a foot on its neck. "Bye-bye~" I wiggled my fingers to bid the thing farewell with my free hand before yanking the head from its body, effectively turning the form into nothing but black liquid. The gaping hole in the thing's body stopped its regeneration before fizzling away into ash.

As always, the only way to kill a shadow was by detaching their head or ripping their heart out. Just as I was thinking this, I reached out a hand in front of me, tearing out the only red-colored item in the thing before it crumpled to the ground and turned to slush but not before it uttered those same words, “Help me.”

I closed my eyes for a brief second trying to ignore that new information. I couldn’t let that distract me, not right now. Before I was just killing to get some steam off, I could let my guard down a little then. Right now, I need to protect the castle. Needless to say, now was not the time to get caught up in my thoughts.

"Everetta! A little help here?!" I heard someone shout from nearby as I turned toward a scene I didn't think I would ever get to see.

Finally some fucking entertainment.

I beamed taking my time to stroll over

There with his back against the ground lay Lucarious. His body was being pinned down with one paw as another tried to shred him like cheddar cheese. I watched as he threw fireball after fireball at the creature. The thing was like huge with its black-furred body and razor-sharp claws on all four of its paws. Two in the front and two in the back. It was more like a cross between a werehound and hellbear. The body was round and puffy like a hellbear, but the head was like a werehound, its snout sticking out longer than typical for a hellbear. And, oh!! It had a fluffy black tail just like a werehound too. Oh, it would have been so cute if only it wagged its big giant tail. Its body was fifteen feet tall.

I stared and looked on as each fireball was thrown and absorbed into the creature's body. Hmm, what should we call it now werebear, houndbear, or maybe werehell, hellwere? Naw, the first one was good enough. I observed the scene before me, noting how the monster grew bigger and bigger with each fireball thrown into its body.

It appears the man hadn’t caught on to what the beast was doing. Maybe it was the life-crushing grip Lucarious was caught in or perhaps it was because he was currently trying to avoid more of his tanned skin from becoming even more of a shish kebab than it already was. Seriously, the man had cuts everywhere: his left cheek, his upper right eye, his lower arms and legs, his middle, his sides, everywhere. I think I could even see the bones of his ribs with how deep his cuts were. The cuts were coming so quickly his body didn’t have enough time to heal itself. This wasn’t good.

“What in the shadows Ev, aren’t you supposed to be helping me?!” Lucarious was bellowing, barely dodging the next swipe of claws the beast threw at him. I cast a small bubble around me to shield me from the creatures coming at me. I made sure to use dark magic as it seemed to be the only thing that worked against these things. “What?! No please?” I asked to mask my true intentions. I couldn’t very well just jump into a battle without information now could I? Besides, it was fun watching him struggle

Lucarious gawked back at me, his fury evident in the deep frowns of his lips and the trench that was his eyebrows. I gestured for Lucarious to continue knowing fully well that he would never say please. It went against his pride.

While I was playing my little charade I was hitting the beast from the other side, where there was nothing but a wall to distract the thing. A wind blade here, a water slash there, little dirt boulders against the thing’s side.

Nothing.

Ok, fine. It wasn’t nothing. The thing was absorbing all my attacks.

Everything I threw at it didn’t even seem to deter the creature but it did catch its attention. The monster swerved its head to catch its invisible assailant only to be met with a wall. The distraction might also have been what was needed to lessen the hold on Lucarious’ body. I guess the thing wasn’t so smart that it couldn’t multitask, which was really just shifting your attention from one thing to another super quickly. In honest to magics truth, there is no such thing as focusing on two things at once.

Lucarious seemed to have finally noticed the “ invisible ” attack. Clicking things together.

Finally .

Lucarious channeled his magic into himself to gain more strength. He removed the paw anchoring him to the floor. Once freed it seemed he noticed the other slight detail. The beast was no longer fifteen feet tall but seventeen and growing more

His face went pale at the realization that he and I might have quite literally and figuratively fed the thing with his flames.

Again, let me reiterate the reason why I’m able to use elemental magic. Just like with dark magic, I could use my ability to create a spell that would grant me access to wind, water, and earth. I could use fire as well but since I already knew, thanks to Lucarious’ stupidity, that the thing could also consume fire I didn’t bother. The thing was the moment I stopped my invisible attack the thing would turn its enraged eye back on Lulu. So, I had no choice but to feed it more of my magic as I watched it grow. I made sure to only give it a sliver of my magic so it didn’t just make it grow like ten feet tall in an instant.

Lucarious’ pale face turned even more crimson than before as his rage came back in full force. “What the fuck.” He seethed as he launched his fists into the thing’s stomach. For a moment I thought Lucarious might have been swallowed up into the thing like his magic but a second later the beast was sailing away. Lucarious landed back on his feet looking over at me, a brow cocked. I grinned, mouthing a “What?” But before I could utter a word or Lucarious could roll his eyes as I was sure he would want, a howling cry of agony pierced the air. It wasn’t from a monster or shadow. I’ve only heard it once before, a long long time ago.

“Eli.” I gasped out before I flashed myself across the yard.

Games over, no one hurts my prey.

I was still pissed at the man.

No one was killing him before I did.

As I flashed into existence the sight before me froze me to the ground. I couldn’t breathe, and not just because I walked into a trap but because of the man before me, and ok, maybe a little because of the trap. Seriously, I felt like my life was being sucked away. I didn’t need to look down to know what was embedded in my gut as blood choked out my mouth.

Standing across from me holding a similar sword that was poking through my chest, was my son, or well our son, Eli, and mine. His bright blond waves wore my strands. His chilly ice-blue eyes harbored the same cold venom just like his father, Eli.

How?

How did he get here? I mean I was planning to find him and his siblings soon but-

Another scream, or bellow was more like it. A body dropped before me as a third identical sword made of obsidian and iron plunged through Lucarious’ chest. It was iron? How did they get iron, and how did they know? The only other being who truly knew of a fae’s weakness was…

Mab. She did this, of course, she did. I knew she had betrayed me but I never would have thought she would use iron. She promised me if she or I would ever attack one another she would never use iron and I wolfsbane. It was cowardly. I watched the glimmering rainbow reflected by the light on the iron sword as I watched three strands float and meet in the sky.

Okay, so maybe Fletcher was right. I should have rushed here sooner, but I thought they could hold their own. I mean, they were, in the shadows' name, two of three ROYALS here. So how the fuck did I catch Lucarious under a fucking werebear claw and now stabbed through a sword, one in which I and Eli had plunged through our bodies as well?!

ROYALS are supposed to be the strongest of all fae in the realm. Yet the number of shadows wasn't decreasing. If anything, the soldiers of the Wolf Court were dwindling as armored bodies upon bodies fell. Screams from the front gates of the castle could be heard. But what’s more strange was why wasn't the capital destroyed. As I crumpled to my knees I took all of this in, because things were just fishy as shadows.

If anything, shouldn't these creatures—who supposedly have no intellect behind those cold, glazed white eyes—attack anything and everything they see? Yet, the capital city, which was only a mile or two from here, was left unscathed. No billowing smoke seemed to rise in flames and my enhanced hearing couldn’t pick up any screams there either. The landscape of the castle grounds was pretty vast, yet...

I frowned, looking beyond the heads of shadows as I felt the crippling sucking of the sword against my skin, drinking me dry of my magic. I let more rage fuel me as I tried to understand what the hell was going on. There was no smoke, no screams carried on the winds from the direction of the capital city. Could they all be dead already? No, that can't be. The capital contained far more civilians than the couple hundred shadows here.

"Everetta! This is no time to be petty!" I heard Lucarious grunt in the background just as Eli moaned as if on the precipice of death.

"Shut up, I'm thinking!" I screeched back wincing as I felt even more of my magic leave me. Soon I would be dead along with Eli.

"Everetta!" I heard Eli gasp like he was drawing in air.

Huh, I thought the guy wasn't going to speak to me. I guess he would if it meant his life would be saved. Funny how he never thought of my life when he decided to take my memories. But never mind that right now—I need to get a better grasp of the situation.

The damn capital didn't seem to be under any attack. So then, was it only the castle being attacked? This made no sense... unless they weren't here to cause havoc, to create destruction. What's more, I looked at the guards as they battled with the shadows—or more like as the guards got slaughtered by them. The magic was getting eaten up, and with each dead soldier, two more shadows emerged from his remains. This makes no sense. Have the shadows evolved since I fought them mere hours ago?

No, they couldn't have. It was far too close together in time. So then what?

“It’s quite amazing seeing you struggle so much, almost as fun as watching my sister suffer.” A lyrical voice chirped in my ears. It was like the call of songbirds, not ravens. I paused in my analysis as a small bit of glee ran through me at the sound of her voice.

"Ahh!" Eli cried as the draining of my magic intensified and from his screams Eli’s too. Then Lucarious roared as well. I would have, too, if I weren't already used to the pain—the agony of having one's magic completely ripped from them. Or in the process of it. No, that can't happen—if it was, then I wouldn't be able to perform my spells. I can't stay in this state forever. A million thoughts were running through my mind but first things was first I needed to know who our attacker was because that voice there was no way it was Mab. I lived under her roof for ten whole sun cycles. I would know her laughter anywhere, it certainly wasn’t like the chimes of bells. It was more like a cacophony of crows feasting on their dead.

The roars of both Lucarious and Eli were like the eruption of volcanoes but it was all just background music to me as I forced my head to turn against the agony if only to get a glimpse of the black tendrils and magic above me. There it was, that bright glamour magic. That confirmed it, this wasn’t Mab, she hadn’t betrayed me. So then, who the fuck was she?

“…almost as fun as watching my sister suffer” Her words repeated in my mind as I turned back around, too weak to keep my head up. Flattening my body to the ground I huffed for air as well. There was only so much rage I could have before it burned out at the rate my magic was being pulled from me.

I watched the visible lines of blue, red, and gold strings from Eli, Lucarious, and I wiggle toward my son. Damn, in all this commotion I’d forgotten about him. What the shadows were he doing, and how the shadow was he able to take in our magic?

Rolling over so my face could see the child lue sky filled with shadows I knew it was now or never. I couldn’t hold on any longer. I needed to cast my spell. I already knew the bases of the spells I needed so it was simple enough. When you try and look for a spell to regain your memories you do tend to come across some more in turn. Suddenly two pools of pitch-black eyes stared down at me, her grin nothing like the fairy she was pretending to be.

“…my sister…” Words replayed in my head as the pieces started to fall in line.

Her false hair was as black as the night but as silky as a spider's web. Her wings glistened like gold on one end but the other was as pitch black as a night in the shadow woods.

"Titania" I spat out as relief coursed through my bones. A feral grin slit the Queen of Fairies’ lips. I have no doubt she heard me but seeing as I seemed like I was about to die she didn’t care.

"With them, we'll be able to have infinite amounts of magic now. She really was right," I heard Titania say, but it was so hazy I couldn't have heard her right. And her voice sounded off. Why did it sound so off?

"Of course, my queen," I heard what was supposed to be my son say as I screamed again as the pressure of the thing piercing me jabbed deeper if it could even do that.

Ok, I know I said I wouldn’t scream but this was more like a scream of anger than pain.

Titania. I had only heard of her from Mab. She seemed like the kinder sister of the two in the stories but from my experience living under Mab, Titania played as many games as Mab did. In my opinion, Mab was better, at least she owned up to her lies rather than hiding behind some false identity as Titania was doing. Was this how she marked Mab as the villain in their stories, she pretended to be Mab and made all her- nope, let me stop that thought right there. I’ve seen Mab at work and I can’t say she was any less of a shadow herself. I was sure some of those stories on Mab were true and not just Titania using glamour to look like her sister. Shadows maybe this was the first time Titania used glamour to look like Mab.

Never mind that, getting sidetracked . The important question was what was one of my sons, who I had with Eli, doing with the queen? Now, keep in mind he was made from magic, so Eli and I never really, you know, did it .

I'll have you know I am still a virgin.

Wait, am I going to die as a virgin?

Again?!

Well, fuck, I needed to save us. But if I cast my magic to find a new body now the battle would still rage on Eli and Lucarious would still-

Suddenly an idea hit me.

I could freeze them.

I could transport them back to wherever they were and momentarily halt them from teleporting with a cage barrier to make it magically impossible to teleport anywhere. Mab had taught me that a while back. That would prevent any continued attack while I was gone. And then maybe I could- no I’ll have to hurry in my search. The barrier couldn't be maintained long, and to halt time—to mess with time—required a sacrifice just as large-my body would work.

Now, the issue was magic, but if my current body was going to die anyway— the magic in it would be just enough to- yes, then I wouldn’t have to go through that arduous process of making sure no magic remained in my body yadie yadie yadie.

I turned, meeting Eli's gaze. I hated him, yet I still couldn't bring myself to stop caring for him. He was my best friend—or he was. We went through everything together. I wish... I wish things could have gone differently, but we all need to make sacrifices for the people we love. He has to understand why I was doing this, right?

"Everetta!" I heard a bellow coming from behind—it was my bond, Fletcher. It seems he and Akasuki finally noticed us. Her white hair and red eyes glowed beside Fletcher as I nearly teared up. I wasn't planning on doing this so soon, but it was clear what I needed to do. With how much the shadows have evolved, and how broken my body was from the poison and my constant rages, I won't be able to last long anyway. Turning away and staring at the dirt, I began to chant my spell—or rather, spells. A lot of them. One combined spell to hold off these shadows, Titania, and my son. Then another for my body to die and my soul to find another vessel.

I couldn't meet Fletcher's eyes, for I knew if I did, I would forget. I would give up everything to be with him, to live a normal life with him. But I couldn't do that. For them, I would give my life. A flicker of golden hair beamed into my final thoughts as my soul left my body. As I heard the bellows of Eli's cries and Lucarious' roar of pain, I couldn't help it. I looked up at the piercing light blue eyes of the one I loved. His eyes were understanding but brimming with tears as Fletcher quietly nodded, "I'll see you soon," he mouthed before everything turned black.