Page 45 of The Shadowed Throne (Midlife Fairy Tale #4)
F or a moment, nothing happened. Other than Ro’s Silversmith dagger pulsating heat like a tiny sun shoved down her boot.
Ro watched Anyka’s eyes go from narrowed in smug pride to wide in disbelief as the dagger bounced off the metal plate in Ro’s stab-resistant vest and dropped from Anyka’s hand to the ground with a clang.
Hmm. That had worked exceptionally well.
Gabriel had purchased wisely. For a split second, she contemplated giving him a second estate.
A slip of wind whistled past.
Then all hell broke loose.
The rockterns landed and took on their neph forms, shielded from the sun by the ever-darkening sky, just as Anyka’s people pulled swords and daggers. The neph pulled weapons of their own. Out of the corner of Ro’s eye, she saw Gabriel had the two royal guards at the point of his sword.
Uldamar shifted back to his own form and raised his hands to the sky, which darkened considerably.
Ro was busy with Anyka but understood he needed to protect the neph.
Anyka howled when she realized her attempt on Ro’s life had failed, her eyes wild with dark rage. She let go of Ro and shoved her hands into the pockets of her gown.
More daggers, Ro knew. But that brief release gave Ro all the space she needed to unsheathe Meridiem and level it at Anyka. The weapon hummed in her hand, the blade gleaming in the dull light. “It’s over, Anyka. Drop your weapons. Hands in the air, away from the daggers you’ve got hidden.”
Behind Ro, the hiss of metal blades being unsheathed sang out over the wind.
Anyka seethed, her entire body moving with her harsh breaths. “It is not over.” She pulled her hands from her pockets. Each one held a gleaming blade. She drew one arm back behind her head to let a dagger loose, shifting suddenly to the left as if thinking Ro might strike.
A soft thunk was followed by Anyka’s jaw going slack. Her arm fell to her side. She blinked and went to her knees, both blades clattering to the stony ground.
The tip of a dagger protruded from Anyka’s chest. A stain spread down from the point, darkening the pale gray silk she wore. Her mouth stayed open, her breathing raspy and wet.
Ro gasped as she looked up to see who’d thrown the blade.
The uncle stared, eyes rounded in shock, same as the other men.
Princess Beatryce’s arm was still stretched out before her. It fell to her side, and her mouth gaped as she stared at her mother. The realization of what she’d done struck an instant later.
“No,” she screamed, her eyes blazing. She pointed at Ro. “That was meant for you, you wretched evil queen.”
Anyka slumped to the ground, half on her side, propped up by the hilt of the dagger. Blood trickled from her mouth. She blinked once. Tiny black tendrils wormed across the whites of her eyes.
Ro jerked back in revulsion. Proof of Anyka being umbraed ?
The troll guard seemed to be emanating a low, growling sound, but Ro couldn’t be certain it wasn’t thunder. The neph kept Anyka’s court back with their weapons.
Ro went to her knees beside Anyka, but she had no clue how to help. All she knew was that removing the blade would make things worse. “Anyka? Can you hear me? Try to hold on.”
She looked up. “Uldamar, help.” She turned to Ecclesia. “Please, do something.”
Uldamar reached them first. He held his hands over Anyka. “She’s fading quickly. The best I can do is put her into a trance. It’ll freeze her in the moment until we can get her to a doctor or healer.” He looked up at Ecclesia, who’d joined them. “Unless you know of something better.”
Ecclesia shook her head. “No, that’s a good plan. I’ll help. I can numb her pain.” She held her hands out much like Uldamar was doing.
Ro found JT with her eyes. “We’ve got to get her to doctor, someone who can help her. Can you carry her down to?—”
Beatryce howled, a keening cry that was a mix of anger and pain. “Don’t touch her! Don’t you dare lay a hand on her!” She pushed past the neph, who let her through, and fell down beside her mother, sobbing. “Mama, I didn’t mean to. Mama, please .”
She reached for the blade.
“Stop,” Ro warned. “You take that out and she’ll bleed freely. She’ll die.”
Beatryce glared at Ro through her tears. “Don’t you ever speak to me again, you horrid, stupid woman. You killed my mother.” She grabbed the hilt, seemingly determined to do what she wanted.
“ Don’t ,” Uldamar said firmly. “She’s not dead, but she will be if you remove that blade.
You must get her home and to a doctor as quickly as you can.
We’ve put a trance spell on her to keep her from dying and another to protect her from pain, but it won’t last more than a day.
She needs help. As much as you can get her. ”
Beatryce took her hand from the hilt, her mother’s blood marking her fingers. She wiped at her tears, smearing blood across her cheek. “Uncle, now ! Wyett! Trog!” She looked over her shoulder at the frozen men. “Move, you idiots! Help me. Can’t you see your queen is dying?”
The neph stepped aside, and the Grym men rushed forward. Ro, Uldamar, and Ecclesia got out of the way.
The men started to lift Anyka, but the troll grunted and pushed them away. He bent, eased his arms under her body, and picked her up. With Beatryce at his side, he carried Anyka toward the stairs.
Everyone moved to make a path as the Grym court left.
Shaking with emotion, Ro caught Ishmyel’s gaze, stopping him in his tracks.
“I pray she survives, but understand that whatever happens, Malveaux is done causing problems for Summerton. Her attempt to kill me will be made public. Everyone will know what she’s done.
If she survives this, she will be charged in Summerton courts.
If another attempt is made on me or any of my people, I will remove all of you by whatever means necessary, and Malveaux will be under my rule. There will be no mercy. Any questions?”
Ishmyel just swallowed and gave a little shake of his head, then hurried after the troll, his grandniece, and the rest of the men.
Ro felt a hand on her back. She turned to see Gabriel beside her.
“Are you all right? You’re trembling.”
She nodded. “I’m okay. The vest worked like a charm. I might have a small bruise, but otherwise, I’m unharmed.”
He exhaled. “I did not enjoy watching you be stabbed.”
She smiled and managed to take a few good breaths. “It wasn’t my favorite part of the day either.” She looked past him. “Where are the royal guards you were holding?”
“I took their weapons, then sent them down to the dock to signal for their boat to return to the dock.” He made an odd face. “Should I have kept them as prisoners?”
“What you did is fine. Do you think we should have held them as prisoners?”
“At first. Then one of them started crying and the other one lost control of his bladder. I thought letting them go home might be better. Malveaux’s finest, they were not.”
Her brows rose. “What did you do to them?”
“Nothing,” he said, not innocently enough. “I might have mentioned I was the unsycht they’d heard about and, yes, I do enjoy the taste of fae flesh.”
“ Gabriel .” She rolled her lips in to keep from laughing, but it was a welcome break from what she’d just been feeling. “You’re terrible.”
He smirked. “I know.”
JT came up to her. “Mom, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, honey.”
He pulled her into a hug. “That was insane.”
She hugged him back, holding on to him tighter than was necessary. “Yes, it was.”
When he let her go, she took a few steps away from the group to address the neph.
“You brave men and women are all to be commended. Thank you so much for what you did today. You’ve made your king and queen proud, and you have helped further strengthen the alliance between our kingdoms. Tonight, there will be a feast in your honor in the great hall. ”
They all laughed and cheered, then quickly bowed.
She looked from them to those of her people who’d come with her. “What do you say we go home?”
JT nodded. “I say it can’t happen fast enough.”
Ro linked her arm through Uldamar’s. “I am so glad you’re coming with us.”
He smiled. “I am very glad to be going with you. You should also be commended, your highness. I believe you must have a spine of the purest metal to have stood before Anyka today, knowing she planned to kill you.”
She shrugged. “I had a vest to protect me.”
Gabriel joined them. “Doesn’t matter. That vest could have failed. And then…” He shook his head, looking out at the water. “I don’t want to think about that.”
“Neither do I,” Uldamar said. “But you must let me examine this vest. I am very curious about the magic it employs.”
Ro grinned. “No magic. Just good, old-fashioned American technology.”
Gabriel nodded. “Purchased from a gun and ammo shop in Texas.”
“You bought it?” Uldamar asked.
“I did,” Gabriel said. “At the behest of our queen. Best trip I’ve taken to the mortal realm.”
“I would agree with that,” Uldamar said.
Ro linked her other arm through Gabriel’s. “How about the next trip we take is on a boat?”
“Yes, your highness,” they both replied.
Then the three of them finally headed for the stairs.