Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 99

Twisting around, Cole pulled up the edge of her tunic, which now sat just at the bottom of her ribs, to reveal her stab wound. It was shallow in comparison to Bastian's, but a waterfall of sticky red blood still ran down her side. She cupped her hand just under the wound, waiting for it to collect a little pool in her palm. Then, she leaned over Bastian. His hand already was full of his own blood and he held it up, shaking and pale.

"Do we have to say anything?" Cole asked, nerves racking through her body. She felt like vomiting.

Gethwine shook her head. "The blood is all. It binds you. Twists your bloodlines together so that you become two of the same."

Cole looked down at Bastian's face, which looked faded and worn, but oh-so-human. The fear and tenderness he'd worked so hard to hide from his father now stood out in stark contrast to the blood and dirt on his face. He was freely showing himself as Bastian, for the first time not the son of King Thijs.

She leaned down, kissing his cheek, before angling herself so that he could reach her side. "Ready?" she whispered. He nodded, and then she tipped her hand over his wound, letting her blood mix with the jagged flesh. She felt his hand press against her side, weak and shaking, but felt nothing more than his fingers against her bare skin.

She looked to Gethwine. "How do we know it worked?" she asked.

"Command the Cursed and see," she replied.

Cole replaced the fabric on Bastian's chest and placed his hand on it to keep the pressure up. Then she stood, grabbed a sword from the ground, and turned around to walk toward the fray that was becoming more of a blood-bath. She could no longer tell who were Thijs' men and who were hers, but she knew exactly who the Cursed were. They hovered by the stairway up to the palace, ordering their monsters to attack anyone who came too near.

Cole pushed her way through the fighting, blocking blows with her sword as she approached the Cursed. She ran her hand over the Sparkstone, smearing Bastian and her own blood all over the surface. It glowed and she looked up at the Cursed.

"I break the curse binding you to Old Magic," she said, holding her hand out and summoning up magic from deep within her. She knew at this point she was using her Life Source, like her mother had when first fighting Bastian. But she needed to stop the Cursed as soon as possible.

She had no idea what sort of magic she was summoning, nor what she sent blasting toward the Cursed. It was colorless and formless, more like a shimmering heat wave as it spread over the air and washed over the Cursed. As it did, like a wave cleaning away sand, the shadows melted from the Cursed. Eldritch faces appeared behind the shadows, flushed and confused, and brilliant jeweled wings unfurled where shadowy tendrils had once been. They crashed to the ground, and the monsters they once controlled fell over, as dead as if they had been stabbed through.

Cole turned, trying to see over the seething mass of human bodies, trying to see Bastian or Tanwyn, but instead found herself pushed against the wall by the force of the fight. She panicked, knowing she didn't have energy to fight her way out, and so she tried to make it to the door. But she was barely on the first step when she heard a loud voice break over the din of the battle.

"I command the forces of Thijs, former king, to put down their weapons!" It was Bastian's voice, somehow amplified to fill the entire cavern. "The old king is dead, and as his son and heir, I claim his title of king. Now obey your commands or be marked a traitor and punished with death!"

It took the men a few seconds to register what they had heard, and then a few more for them to slowly stop their fighting. They looked wary, unsure if Cole's men would still attack them, but when that didn't happen, they turned to see Bastian, supported by Tanwyn, standing at their backs. He was covered in sweat and barely conscious, but they could see that he was no longer a Cursed. They could not see Thijs anywhere, nor his ally Gethwine.

The cavern stood eerily silent after the clash of war, and then slowly, sobs and laughter began to rise from the men. They fell to the ground, wiping tears away or clutching each other, relief flooding from every corner. No more battles. No more fear.

Cole bit back her own tears as she pushed her way to Bastian and Tanwyn, and slipped under Bastian's other arm. "Where's Gethwine," she whispered. Tanwyn, face grim, shook his head.

"She was bleeding too heavily. We couldn't help her without magic."

Cole nodded, knowing that the queen would only cause more trouble if she was alive, but still feel a chill at the knowledge of her death. She hadn't wished to take anyone's crown or life, and yet here she stood with two thrones newly occupied and two monarchs dead and gone.

"Well, we need to get out there and let Mabon know he can stop fighting. And have Bastian call off his own men."

They hauled themselves out of the old dungeon, supported by both Cole's men and Bastian's, heading into the palace and out of the front door. The sun now gleamed down on them, hot and humid, and completely at odds with what had just happened. Cole blinked against it glare, feeling the blood go itchy on her skin. Bastian sagged against her and she focused on getting him to the wall so that she wouldn't fall over herself.

They could hear the battle still raging outside, but Tanwyn led them up to the top of the wall instead of through the hole they had blasted into it earlier. Once at the top, they could see the bodies. Mostly dead, though small pockets did still fight. Cole felt sick at the sight of the carnage, but she knew they could stop it soon.

"You'll have to boost your own voices," Tanwyn said, sliding out from under Bastian's arm and propping him against the edge of the wall. "I ran completely out of magic." He lifted up his hand, showing the dull Sparkstone ring.

Cole drew what power she could to amplify her voice.

"Mabon! Generals! We have succeeded!" she shouted.

Her men looked up, hope in their eyes, and she saw the ripple of movement as the generals ordered their men to start retreating.

Cole turned to Bastian, holding her hand against his neck to amplify his voice.

"As newly made king, I, Bastian, order my men to stand down. There is no need to fight any longer. We are at peace."

A similar reaction to the one in the old dungeon washed over the men still fighting, and then the air filled with the sound of swords and armor hitting the ground. Thijs' men stripped themselves of the trappings of war, throwing them away and then collapsing to the ground or smiling up at the sky.

Cole let her magic drop, and felt herself slump against the wall. "We've done it," she said, smiling at Bastian. "We're free of him. Of everything."

Bastian's lips curled at the corners, but his eyes already fluttered. "Bastian. And Cole. No more. No... less."

His eyes slammed shut and he fell.