Page 44 of The Shadowed Throne (Midlife Fairy Tale #4)

T he guard Anyka had posted near the dock came running up the stairs, the sound of footsteps preceding him. “Queen Sparrow has arrived.”

“Good.” Anyka took a breath to quiet the voices that had come awake since stepping onto Tenebrae.

This was it. Her moment was nearly here.

Trog grunted softly behind her. To her right was Ishmyel then Wyett, to her left Hawke and Nazyr.

Beatryce stood behind her with Trog. They were all in the open yard just before the prison entrance, the dark, craggy walls at their backs.

It would take Sparrow and her people a few minutes to ascend the stairs that led up from the dock. Anyka gestured at the guard, and he went to join the other one, near the far cliff’s edge, which would put them on the other side of Sparrow.

They were young but, according to Hawke, eager to prove themselves.

Anyka doubted Nightborne would allow two of her royal guards to flank Sparrow’s party, but she wanted to see what she could get away with. Maybe he’d be too occupied with keeping his eyes on her to pay attention to them.

The three she’d sent ahead should be nearby, but she’d yet to find any of them amongst the rocks and crevices.

A testament, she supposed, to their stealth training.

She didn’t risk checking on them and alerting any scouts Sparrow might have sent.

Didn’t matter. Anyka’s guards would be within earshot, and they’d appear when she gave the word.

Minutes ticked by, and at last, Sparrow appeared at the top of the stairs, her people coming up behind her. Nightborne first, then her son, his guard at his side, then the rest of them, including an old woman Anyka had never seen before but had to be the sorceress called Ecclesia.

The darkness hissed softly. The woman had power, that much was obvious. So why had Anyka never seen her before? And where was the grizzened wizard that usually accompanied her?

“Queen Anyka,” Sparrow called out, her gaze steely in the gray light.

Anyka’s attention returned to Sparrow. The Radiant queen looked like she’d gained weight. She’d gotten thick through the middle. Thicker . Anyka barely managed not to sneer. “Queen Sparrow. Welcome to Tenebrae.”

Thunder rumbled in the distance. The storm that had been threatening would soon be here. Sparrow glanced toward the roiling clouds. “Good day for a storm.”

Whatever that meant. Anyka frowned at Sparrow’s words, then quickly nodded and agreed with her. “Yes. Good day for it.”

Sparrow stopped several lengths away. Too far away. Her people gathered around her—except for Nightborne, who went and faced the guards by the cliff’s edge. The guards looked at Anyka as if asking what to do.

Anyka ignored them. She wanted them to stay where they were. If Nightborne scared them off, they didn’t deserve to be royal guards.

Sparrow held her ground. “You wanted to talk of peace, so here I am. How do you propose we reach this peace?”

Anyka slipped a smile onto her face, one made possible by the thought that Sparrow would soon no longer be a problem, and walked closer. “By talking. By finding common ground. These men that make up our courts, they don’t know the way of women, do they?”

Sparrow had not moved closer the way Anyka had expected her to.

“What does the way of women have to do with peace? I’ve tried to negotiate a treaty with you since nearly the day I became queen, and you’ve shut down every attempt while spreading lies about me.

Is that a woman’s way? To be difficult and deceitful? ”

Anyka blinked. This was not going how she’d imagined. She’d never get a blade into Sparrow if she couldn’t get close enough. “I am … sorry for that. All I can say is that neither the time nor the circumstances seemed right.”

“And now they do?” Sparrow tipped her head as if confused. “What’s changed?”

Anyka thought fast. “You … removed the curse from my kingdom.” The words were bitter on her tongue, but she had no choice other than to speak them.

She had to keep Sparrow placated until the time was right.

She squeezed her hand until her nails cut into her palm, the pain like a balm helping to appease the darkness inside her.

“Something my people will forever be grateful for.”

“Then you agree to peace?”

“Peace is all I’ve ever wanted.” Not exactly a lie. Peace would come when Anyka ruled both kingdoms. Peace through force. There would be no other way but Anyka’s.

“Should I have my council draw up an agreement? Will there be free trade between our nations again? Will the Brightwater Bridge be reopened? Tell me, what does this peace look like to you?”

Sooty tendrils of doubt crept into Anyka’s mind. How was she going to get close enough to do what needed to be done?

The darkness wanted blood. She wanted blood. Quickly, she nodded. “Yes to all of those things. That is what peace looks like. Trade between the two kingdoms, citizens able to travel freely. A return to unity between us.”

Inspiration struck. Anyka extended her hand, still holding tight to her smile. “Let us bind this peace now.”

The expression on Sparrow’s face changed into something less angry, more resolute. Her gaze, steely once again, flicked toward the ground before returning to meet Anyka’s. Sparrow took a step forward. A flock of rockterns swirled overhead.

“You want to shake on it?” Sparrow asked.

“Yes,” Anyka said. “A handshake, to seal the deal.”

“All right.” Sparrow walked toward Anyka. Sparrow’s son said something. The wind caught the words and funneled them away before Anyka had a chance to hear them.

Didn’t matter. Anyka moved forward, the goal in sight.

Time slowed.

Anyka played out the moment in her head about how she thought it would go.

She would reach her other hand out as well, as if attempting to clasp Sparrow’s hand in both of hers.

At the last instant, she would slip the dagger from her cuff, grab Sparrow’s hand, pull her close, and shove the dagger into Sparrow’s heart.

As she did that, she would call forth her hidden guards, who would launch themselves, along with the guards by the cliff’s edge, into Sparrow’s people and decimate them. Nazyr, Ishmyel, Wyett, and Hawke would join in.

Trog would remain with Beatryce, keeping her safe until the bloodshed was over. Once Sparrow was down, Anyka would grab Merediem. Maybe she’d plunge it into Sparrow alongside the dagger, just for good measure and the poetry of the Summerton queen dying by her own blade.

Yes , the darkness hissed.

Anyka stretched out her other hand, her smile coming easier. Sparrow just stared at her, no smile, nothing but a cold look in her eyes that Anyka thought she had no right to. Anyka was offering her exactly what she said she wanted—peace—and this was the look Sparrow gave her?

The nerve.

Only a few steps separated them. The rockterns shrieked, circling closer. Anyka reached for the dagger tucked into her cuff. The metal was warm from nestling against her body. Only a few inches separated them. Anyka slipped the blade free, wrapping her fingers around the slim hilt.

Sparrow stopped, her eyes on the dagger.

Anyka grabbed Ro’s outstretched hand to keep the Radiant queen from running away, raised the dagger high into the air, and yelled, “Now!”

Then she sank the dagger into Sparrow’s chest.