Page 63 of The Crown of the Last Fae Queen (The Heartless and the Wicked #4)

THIRTY-TWO – KOLFINNA

Fear settled deep in Kolfinna’s bones even as threads of her mana spread throughout her body.

The last time she had faced Vidar, she had almost died and Blár had been defeated too.

She couldn’t imagine that she had grown much stronger since then, even though she had a better grasp of her shadow and light magic.

Her mind raced with idea of how to defeat him—to catch him by surprise so that she could run with Aslaug—but every thought turned to ash as her imminent defeat loomed overhead.

Vidar shifted on his feet, his magic thrumming through the dense air. Even with his helmet masking his expression, she could read the displeasure straightening his shoulders, the disapproval that hung around him like a cloak. His wings flared.

“You would fight me over this?”

She raised her chin. “I will.”

“The princess and I had an arrangement.”

“It doesn’t matter! She’s helped you enough with these passages.” Kolfinna waved her hand at the tunnels and then at the corpse of the king. “You don’t need to kill her over this. She gave you the king.”

“You are still very na?ve.” Vidar flicked his wrist and a swarm of shadows erupted from his hands straight toward Kolfinna and Aslaug.

She kept her heels firmly in place and erected a thin stone wall at the last second, before creating swords made of light magic—something she had never done before, or even thought of doing until that moment. They glowed sinisterly as she cut through the curtains of inky black.

Aslaug screamed and when Kolfinna whirled on her feet, she noticed the shadows had wrapped around the older woman’s torso and throat. Her eyes bulged and purplish-black tendrils of magic webbed over her flesh.

“Aslaug!”

Kolfinna tore through the shadows with her swords, but more took the place of the ones she cut down, and in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but wonder—where was Vidar?

A second too late.

Someone grabbed her by the arm and yanked her backward. Kolfinna spun with her sword, but it didn’t connect with anything. Vidar’s gleaming red eyes came into view, and his magic—indescribably cold, like the touch of death—held her in a tight grip.

“Stop resisting,” he said, and a touch of sadness entered his tone momentarily.

“No—” Kolfinna inhaled sharply, the corners of her vision darkening. “If you want me to free your wife, then you let her go.”

Vidar hesitated. “You would go that far for a woman you barely know?”

She wasn’t just any woman, but Kolfinna didn’t need to tell him that.

He watched her for a moment, caught up in his shadows, and murmured, “You truly will forgo freeing your mother over a disagreement between you and I?”

“A disagreement? Don’t distill taking an innocent woman’s life into a mere disagreement .”

“She is a threat.”

“She isn’t a threat; no one even knows she’s alive.”

“When they realize that her son is Blár Vilulf, and that he is the nephew of the king, do you not think that they will put him on the throne instead?”

The blood in Kolfinna’s face slowly drained; he was right. Blár was next in line for the throne, which was now—she glanced at the king’s dead body— empty .

“But … but if you take her, you’ll have a bargaining chip.

” The words came out of her in a rush; disbelief colored her tone, but so did desperation.

If Vidar had Blár’s mother in his grasp, there was no telling what he could do or force Blár to do.

But if she didn’t bargain right here, then Aslaug would die anyway.

This was the only way she could think of to save the woman, but it tore at her heart to make such a cruel trade.

Vidar watched her carefully. Finally, when she thought he wouldn’t relent, he released his hold on her and she collapsed to the ground. Her hands instantly went to her throat, and then to the necklace hanging around her neck. He hadn’t hurt her, and yet … his magic was unnerving.

Before Aslaug could crumple to the floor in a similar fashion, Vidar picked her up and slung her unconscious body over his shoulder. His eyes glowed red when he turned them to her.

“Find your mother. I will face the fire captain.”

Kolfinna’s eyebrows pulled together. There was only one “fire captain” and he wasn’t here in the underground tunnels. Unless Vidar was planning on going to him? But what purpose could that serve? If Fenris wasn’t here, he must have been in the capital fighting Agnarr.

Upon seeing her expression, Vidar chuckled softly, though there was no mirth in his intonation. “You have been so focused on all of this that you haven’t sensed his presence? His mana?”

Kolfinna focused on her mana, then, and straightened at the feel of the fiery, heavy mana drawing closer. It was powerful, lethal, and likely a foe.

Was that really Fenris?

The hairs on her arms rose and sweat beaded her forehead. She hadn’t realized that the temperature in the tunnels was growing warmer, more suffocating. She had thought it was all because of Vidar, but likely Fenris was playing a role in it too.

“If he sees you as you are now, he will kill you,” Vidar said calmly, shifting Aslaug to a spot on the ground.

“You are siding with us, even if it may be temporary, and he will not take kindly to your indecisive loyalties. Take your leave now, or you will forever be branded as being on our side and our side alone.”

She flinched at those words and how true to home he had hit.

He wasn’t supposed to know that she was thinking of this “alliance” as a potentially temporary situation.

Once Aesileif was free, she would figure out which side to choose more permanently.

But for now, she was on their side, and Vidar was right.

If Fenris saw her cooperating with him, he wouldn’t take that lightly.

She inadvertently wrapped her fingers around the pendant. “How will I find her? Is she … here somewhere?”

“She is underground here somewhere.” Vidar scoffed, eyes narrowing.

“They built their palace above the fae crypt. The amulet will lead you to where she is, but be warned that most of the passages leading to the crypt are likely sealed, so you will have to use your earth magic to reopen them. Be cautious.” He unhooked a sword from his waist and held it out to her.

She blinked at it—she hadn’t even realized he was carrying the D?d Svaerd.

Kolfinna took it wordlessly and strapped it to her hip. “Thank you.”

“May fortune follow you, daughter,” he murmured, turning to face the tunnel. “Now go.”

She hesitated, glancing down at Aslaug and then back at him. “You promise you won’t hurt her or kill her while I’m gone? What if you kill her while I’m freeing your queen?”

“I will not break a promise with you.”

“How can I trust you?”

She could feel Fenris’s mana drawing closer. Vidar did too, because he stared at the end of the tunnel. “You will be in a compromising situation if you remain.”

“But how can I trust that you will keep your word?”

“You will have to trust me.” He stared at her and through the slits of his helmet, she could make out the softening of his blood-red eyes, the way his white lashes lowered.

She had no choice in the matter, and she was running out of time.

Gripping the pendant tightly, she could only nod. “Fine. I’ll trust you.”

She spun on her heels and made a dash for it.

She ran down the winding path, the corpses of Royal Guards acting as crumbs to the path they had taken, and she eventually came to a point where the tunnels splintered into different pathways.

She didn’t remember crossing this when they first entered, but they had been in the thick of battle and she must not have noticed.

Fenris’s mana was even closer than before, so she took another route that put her further away from him.

The necklace bounced against her chest with every forceful step she took.

Her hair plastered against her clammy neck as the temperature rose higher and higher.

It was beginning to get harder to breathe.

She couldn’t imagine the outcome of Vidar and Fenris’s battle, and she truthfully wasn’t sure who would win.

Although she had faced Fenris in battle before, she doubted he had used his full power against her, so she wasn’t sure what the extent of his abilities were.

Likewise, she hadn’t seen Vidar’s true, full power either.

But for some reason she couldn’t name, she didn’t want either of them to die.

It was strange how she had come to care for her father in her own way.

Kolfinna had no clue how the amulet was going to help her reach Aesileif, but she could feel a tugging in her conscience with every step.

As if it was telling her, this way . But she didn’t know if she was simply losing her mind, imagining it, or if it was just her instinct. Either way, she followed it.

The D?d Svaerd was surprisingly quiet.

Left turn, right, left again. She felt like she was going in circles, but she must have been going in the correct direction because she could tell that she was getting further away from Fenris, from the palace, and from the Royal Guards.

None of them were in these parts of the tunnels.

In fact, she hadn’t felt anyone’s presence for the past ten minutes.

Fenris’s reach was weaker down here—she didn’t feel hot anymore.

There was also no light, and she had to use her own light magic to be able to see.

The floors became craggy and ancient, and she reached several dead ends where she had to press her hands against the cool walls, sense where the passage began again, and open up the sealed path. The more she walked, the more restless she became.

Had Aesileif actually been down here this whole time? Was there really an ancient fae crypt here somewhere?

Kolfinna’s steps slowed when she reached the end of the passage. Dusty, crumbling doors stood erected at the end, the metal hinges rusted and beyond repair, and various whorls and designs edged as a border around the set of doors. Above it, in an arch, were runes that read:

Here lies the ancient fae. Here lies the blood of fae. Here lies the crown of fae .

Her fingers brushed over the heavy stone doors and shivers ran down her spine. Whatever doubts she’d had about the fae crypt disappeared at the sight. The amulet buzzed at her chest, nearly scaling her chest where it lay, and even the D?d Svaerd hummed with power. The air was electric.

The fae queen was here.

Without wasting another breath, Kolfinna pulled the doors open.