Page 10 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen (The Heartless and the Wicked #4)

FIVE – KOLFINNA

Kolfinna fought against the smokeless shadows, her fingers grasping at nothing as she tried in vain to free herself. Rakel’s shadows disbursed over her in waves, each stronger than the previous, until she tripped over something and fell to the floor, her limbs swinging in every direction.

In the back of her mind, she knew she couldn’t unleash her own magic, not when she couldn’t see anything. Someone could get hurt, or worse, die.

She still remembered the feeling when she had inadvertently killed Hilda’s men, who had been keeping her captive, with her shadow magic. She remembered the frenzy of the inky shadows that had burned and overtaken the men and women responsible for her pain and suffering.

She couldn’t release her power, but her control was slipping. The more Rakel’s magic ate away at her, tugged at her skin, and seared her body, the more Kolfinna’s mana bubbled at the surface. She tried to rein it in, but it grew restless within her and writhed beneath her flesh defensively.

“All you had to do was stay put.” Rakel’s voice boomed from every direction. “Why do you insist on making this so difficult?”

“Stop!” Kolfinna shrieked. She wasn’t sure if it was meant for Rakel, or for herself, because her control was waning with every passing second.

She tried holding it in, but her magic was rebellious—it wanted to protect her, it wanted to lose itself against the oppressive shadowy whips consuming her.

“Commander Alfaer could have kept you like a mana slave. He could’ve had you drugged and bound until we needed your power. But no, he gave you respect, dignity, and freedom. And this, Kolfinna, is how you repay his kindness ?”

Kolfinna couldn’t see Rakel through all the black blanketing the room, but she could hear her steps closing in. The other prisoners screamed, groaned, and cried out loud. Her mana continued to thrash within her. She couldn’t lose control, she couldn’t.

“Shut up,” she whisper-shouted, scratching at her own throat to free the wisps of magic clawing over her. “A prisoner is a prisoner, no matter how gilded the cage is.”

A short, haughty laugh filled the room, drowning away the screams of the prisoners. “Is that what you think? Because, dear, it can get much, much worse.”

Kolfinna couldn’t keep it in anymore. Her own shadows burst from her skin, fending off Rakel’s in seconds. They warred with each other, pushing against each other until slowly, Rakel’s shadows pulled away from Kolfinna’s skin and flesh.

Kolfinna’s mana drained faster as she pushed herself to her hands and knees. She could actually see the cracked gray floors now, as opposed to minutes ago.

All at once, Rakel’s shadows receded to one end of the room and the darkness faded until they could all see again.

The prisoners were huddled against the walls, holding onto their chains like anchors.

Their bodied were stained purple from the magic.

Fear and panic made their eyes widen, and Kolfinna’s chest panged at the sight of it.

Rakel’s full lips curled into a dark scowl. “You dare lift your shadows to fight me?”

Kolfinna’s shadows moved on their own, lunging at Rakel without waiting for a response from their wielder. Rakel dodged, her own magic swarming over Kolfinna’s.

Just like all the other times, Kolfinna had no control over her shadows.

They attacked instinctively like they had a will of their own, but she noticed that they avoided the prisoners.

Almost like … they knew who her enemy was.

She also noticed that unlike last time, where Rakel had been stronger than her, this time the elf woman seemed to struggle against her relentless shadows.

“You ungrateful—” Light materialized in Rakel’s hand and she sliced Kolfinna’s shadows into thinner ribbons, where they fell to the ground limply and dissolved into dust.

Kolfinna raised her hands and hurled stones from the ground at Rakel.

The elf woman swatted them away with beams of light, and they ricocheted off her magic and buried themselves into the skull of one of the prisoners.

The man’s head smashed into the wall with the force, blood splattering behind him.

The prisoners beside him screamed, scrambling further away from the dead man.

Kolfinna’s stomach twisted, but she didn’t have time to think of the man, because Rakel shot light rays at her again.

She rolled on the floor, dodging them and sending a torrent of stone spears in her direction.

Her own shadows continued to warp the space around Rakel, whipping around her violently and obscuring her vision.

Suddenly, the temperature rose and a burst of purple fire shot at Rakel, burning the elf woman’s shoulder. She shrieked, falling to her knees and clutching her injury. The smell of smoke and burning flesh filled the air immediately.

Kolfinna whipped her head behind her to find Herja outside the doorway of the room, flames flickering on her fingertips. She was outside the runes, Kolfinna realized with a start. She could use her magic.

Herja’s blazing blue eyes connected with Kolfinna. “Let’s go!”

She didn’t wait, didn’t think, just ran after Herja. They both sprinted down the corridor, Rakel’s shouts and screams following behind them. Kolfinna twisted around and raised a hand, pulling out the stones from the hallway walls and collapsing them to close off Rakel.

“We don’t have much time!” Kolfinna said. “That’ll only slow her down for a moment.”

As if on cue, she heard the crashing and crumbling of stones.

They both hurried their steps. An elf soldier rounded the corner of the hall, and before Kolfinna could do anything, Herja blasted him in the chest with a ball of purple fire.

The soldier fell on his knees, screaming, as they ran past him.

“We can’t leave everyone else behind,” Kolfinna said, guilt forming in her chest thickly.

“We don’t have time,” Herja said between labored breaths. Her skin was still pallid, and it seemed to take all her energy to just run. “It’s better if we report back and let Sijur know what’s happening?—”

“Sijur is dead.” As she spoke, Kolfinna’s ears pricked and she glanced over her shoulder. Rakel was coming, and fast. She couldn’t see the elf woman, but she could hear her light-footed steps.

They had maybe one minute.

“What?” Herja’s mouth hardened, but she turned away, her fire-like hair curtaining her face for a second. “We still need to let our superiors know. This army is bloodthirsty and powerful. We know more about their power than the others. We must warn them?—”

“Herja.” Kolfinna opened her mouth to tell her about the half-elf, about how she was his daughter, about their plan to free the queen, but her throat closed up and no words came out.

The images of Katla’s severed head in Lord Estur’s hand flashed in her mind.

The jeers of the Royal Guards bounced in the back of her memories like phantoms. A cold, freezing panic filled in her seconds.

“What?”

“I …” She couldn’t trust Herja. She couldn’t trust … anyone.

Before she could speak, she heard another crash from behind them. She quickly looked over her shoulder. No one was behind them, but Rakel was gaining on them. How much time did they have?

“Go up the stairs,” Kolfinna finally said, pointing to the end of the hall where the staircase led. “Escape and tell everyone that the elves and fae are aiming for the capital. Leave, and fast! I’ll find another way to escape.”

“No—”

“Herja.”

They stopped at the end of the staircase and Kolfinna grabbed the red-headed woman’s arm, her eyes wide. Both of their chests rose and fell in quick succession Herja’s beautiful curls stuck to the sweat on the sides of her face and her neck.

“Listen to me, Herja, they’re coming after the capital. They want to free the evil queen. You have to convince the black ranks to work together. It’s the only way we’ll defeat them. Please .”

“Where will you go?”

“I’ll run to the other staircase,” she said quickly. “Rakel will follow me. I’m more valuable to her. Use that to your advantage and sneak out.”

Herja opened her mouth to argue, but she must have seen the grimness on Kolfinna’s face because she nodded quickly, and pulled Kolfinna into an unexpected, quick embrace.

“Survive.” Herja pulled away and stared at Kolfinna with a determined, hard expression.

Kolfinna’s throat thickened with emotion and she only bobbed her head in agreement. Herja spun and raced up the stairs while Kolfinna continued down the hall. In a matter of seconds, she could hear Rakel’s curses from behind her.

“You—ungrateful—princess,” the elf hissed.

Kolfinna’s thighs burned as she ran faster. She was sure there was chaos erupting all over the fortress as the soldiers scrambled to find her; she hoped Herja was able to escape during all the confusion.

She had just rounded the corner of the corridor when she collided into two fae soldiers.

One of their sharp, clawed wings sliced through her shoulder as she crashed to the floor.

Her knees cracked on the cement and blood gushed from her injury.

She struggled to push herself up from their tangled limbs and sweeping wings.

One of the soldiers, a vibrant eyed fae, clamped her wrist tightly. “You?—”

Kolfinna punched him square in the face; his nose crunched beneath her fist and he released her as a rush of blood erupted from him.

Kolfinna sprang to her feet, only for the second fae to grab her ankle and yank her down to the floor again.

She pulled her foot back and heel-kicked him in the face. He yelped, freeing her as well.

Just as Kolfinna scrambled up to her feet, slipping on her own blood and her wobbly knees, Rakel shouted, “There you are!”

Before she could spin around and face the woman, a beam of light shot at her back and she flew across the hall and crashed into the wall, which cracked and crumbled on impact.

Iron-tasting blood filled her mouth as she fell, her body crumpling.

White-hot pain smoldered her back and her eyes burned with unshed tears.

She saw stars dance in her vision, and through them, two leathered boots stomping toward her.

Rakel was snarling something at her—wicked words, she was sure—but she could barely hear them in her daze.

She pushed herself up on trembling arms when Rakel was suddenly in front of her. The elf woman slid her hand into Kolfinna’s thick hair and yanked her back until she was staring straight into her furious, murder-tinged red eyes.

“You insolent fool,” the woman sneered. “Sleep well, for when you next wake, you’ll regret stepping out of line.”

Rakel pulled her fist back and punched her face. It was the last thing Kolfinna felt as her face slammed onto the cold floor.