This chapter is slightly shorter bc it would have been just too long otherwise. Alas, enjoy!
♔ 𝔑𝔦𝔯𝔞 ♔
An asset.
Inet works silently as she tightens the lace on my corset. I look at my reflection. The fabric is as black as my ruined heart, satin that begins at my waist, running to the floor behind me and in front of me. My legs are on display through the deep slits, though my thighs are wrapped in twists of lace, swirling over my skin not too dissimilar to the Stygian. Or Calix's shadows.
I need to keep.
The bodice is made of the same lace, two strips that cover my breasts and slope off of my shoulders. The side panels are missing, but the same twisting designs lay over my rips, just as they do towards my throat and down to my elbows. It is a stunning gown, but so unlike all that I have warn before. It is somehow darker, and queenly and villainous. Wearing it, I look like all the evil that the prophecy of the Seer promised. Darkness and ruin and death.
When Inet finishes with the lace, she pulls my hair from over my shoulders and down my back. I can see the ruined mark from Calix.
Do not think I did this for you.
"No." I say, pulling my hair forward once more. It covers it. Hides it, like how I hide the mark of Abutilon with my power. It feels as though this new body is ruined already. Marred with ownership.
Inet nods, stepping backwards before running her eyes over the selection of jewellery scattered across my dresser. "Would you like silver?"
"No." I repeat, and the Stygian appears to glove my hands and weave through my hair. "There is no need." She says nothing else as I leave my room, heading straight for the garden.
It is mild outside, warm enough that I will fair fine without a jacket, but as the sun continues to lower from the burnt orange sky, so does the temperature. That is no surprise, for Autumn is here, and so is the beginning of the Equinox. Tonight the competitors announce themselves, and I plan to reveal myself to those who do not already know of my existence.
I avoided the first night, the pointless celebration of drinking and dancing, for I do not think I could manage to maintain pleasantries with those that I wish dead. Truthfully, I do not think they night would have been much of a celebration at all, because as soon as I show myself, I know that I should expect an assault from several Fae. They are going to want to kill me.
Vasami lifts her head as I drift across the grounds. "Fly with your children to the Royal Court. Wait for me within the trees. I will call on you when I arrive." She blinks once, and then snaps at Maxas and Callisto before all three lift into the sky. Vasami leads, the two young trailing behind her. I watch until they disappear into the distance.
"You're terrifying enough without inviting your wyverns too." For the first time I have seen, Tynan is dressed like a warrior. A dark pair of dark navy pants sculpt his legs, and laid over them is plates of ebony steel armour, like that which sits across is torso and shoulders. His hair is knotted from his face, expression grim.
"I thought it best in case the Royals and Lords required a little extra persuasion to let me compete." I do not add that I will instruct Vasami to tear apart any Fae that dare threaten me, too.
He hums thoughtfully, rubbing a hand over his jaw. "You are a Queen. They cannot deny you."
"I am sure they will try." Tynan offers me his hand to escort me back inside, but I do not take it. His brows furrow with concern. "I will come alone. Better that Calix and I are not seen to possess an alliance before the first task."
"Are you sure that is the only reason?"
I did not do this for you. You are an asset I need to keep.
"Yes." I lie. It somehow does not seem fair to tell Tynan that my faith in Calix's honesty has been shaken. This mark means he cannot kill me without killing himself, but it does not mean I am protected from his exploitation. I refuse to be a pawn again. "I will Scere alone."
He looks as though he wishes to say something else, but second guesses himself. With a still nod, he lays a hand on my shoulder and gives it a gentle squeeze. "Then we'll see you soon."
"Save me a dance, Tynan." He parts with a smile, and I remain stood in the garden alone for a long while longer.
It begins now. So long I have been desperate for my revenge, and now I can pursuit it. The Fae that wronged me will fall, as will any that gets in my way. I know exactly who will feel my wrath, and I do not care to stain my hands with the blood of innocents either. There is no goodness left within me anymore. My anger has stewed beneath shadows and secrets, has corrupted me into something cold and evil, and now it is time to show them what I have become.
The villain they always feared.
♔
The Royal Court house is lit up. Music drifts from within, and the chatter of guests can be heard above it. The grounds are still. Unlike the last Equinox, there are no Redcaps patrolling through the instream of arrivals, for since Ozias' death, the borders reinforced. There is no need for bloodthirsty protection this time, or at least, they assumed. I am sure things would be very different if they knew I stood outside.
"Vasami." I murmur, and the trees shift with movement. She looks weary – her last time here was not kind to her, for she was shackled and beaten. Still, she stalks towards me when I call her. The small growls of her young follow close behind. When she is at my side, I run my hand across her snout. She huffs out a breath. "Your young will join me. You need to enter only if I call on you." I beckon Calisto and Maxas closer, the latter beating his wings so he can perch on my shoulder.
The Stygian remains wrapped around my hands, but through them I let my claws grow into long and lethal points. They throb with a need for blood, to gut another as I did the late King of Cracuria, but for now I need to remain calm. I will not steal myself of the Equinox. The throne needs a leader, and I need to be sure of who will sits upon it.
My shoes click in the silent corridors, matching the steady beat of my heart. Calisto's feet pad behind, and Maxas chirps on my shoulder. They seem excited, as though they know what is about to occur, and when the music within the Throne room slows to a stop, part of me considers that they all do. They know their end is approaching, and its going to be a beautifully savage thing.
I hold up my palm as I come closer to the double doors, the ones I am so familiar with. It stays before me until I begin the feel the air tremble against my skin, pulsating with an energy I have created, powerful enough to knock down buildings and ravage woodlands. I do neither – only throw it at the closed doors and continue sauntering forward through the shrill screams as the doors, now broken from their hinges, barrel through the crowds.
My grin is sincere, as all eyes turn to me, the wyverns at my side, and lapse into a stunned silence, spare the small whimpers of injured. "I hope I am not too late." I shout out, looking forward at those who already stand on the dais. So many familiar faces, among them, Calix and Zaire. "I plan to compete!"
Calix's smile is so slight, I hardly notice it. The expressions of fury though, they surround me. The Lord of Vrodora, the Lady. Riyan looks a moment away from exploding, her entire body vibrating with barely restrained anger, and as I expected, she raises her arms in preparation to strike me. I only smile, raising my hands and commanding the Stygian to move.
It does, striking for the Lady of the Moon like a snake, coiling around her arms and throat and waist. Rorik yells out, advances to save his sister from my hold, but the Stygian takes him too. Muzzles him, tightens his limbs to his body. There is a glimmer across those around them – the other Lords erecting their shields. The crowd are screaming again, petrified of this darkness they have never seen before, that slithers across the ground at their feet, forcing them back against the walls until I own the space before me.
There is nothing ladylike about the way Riyan flails as the Stygian drags her towards me. She screams out against the power that tightens around her, and I just chuckle. "That was not the greeting I was expecting."
She snarls at me, the sound something like an animal's growl. I know without the need to be told that she is trying to shift into whatever beast hides beneath her skin. "You are supposed to be dead." I lift a hand to stroke down Maxas' neck as he begins to become restless.
"A part of me did, I suppose." I murmur, clicking my fingers to return Calisto to my feet. She moves compliantly, snarling at those around us. "Consider me reborn, Riyan. As a Fae, one far crueller than the human who killed your King."
Several gasp, though the reminder only reinstates the hatred that previously burned for me. Libitina cackles from within the crowd, shoulder through those around her until she reaches the front. Her eyes spark with amusement. "You cannot restrain me forever, murderer. I will kill you as soon as your power wanes."
"Her power doesn't wane, Riyan." Libitina announces, stepping forward with a wide grin. "You might be waiting a long while for the opportunity."
"Or not," I concede. "I plan to compete in the Equinox, so you will have every chance then."
She sneers, leaning as close as the Stygian will allow her to. "You think I would allow you to compete for our throne?"
"She cannot," a feminine voice calls, and I lift my eyes to the dais, noticing for the first time the young female that stands proud beside the dozen others. Glossy black hair falls to her waist, her dress washing around her feet like lapping waves. I know immediate who she is, just from the sultry tune of her voice. Dasanye, daughter of the Poseiren Queen. "This is a competition for Royals and Nobles, no? Or is it to become a mess of rabble from your poor streets?"
"She is no rabble." A Lord speaks. Dark hair. Darker attire. A Lord under the moon. He knows exactly who I am, and what I have become, obvious from the look in his face. An ally.
"She is a Royal." Calix declares, nodding his head in a sign of respect. I only glare.
Zaire blanches and steps forward. "Impossible." He claims.
I run my hand through my hair, letting the Stygian linger there to form a crown, one that flames with fire and hardens with frost. My smile grows slowly. "Estranged from the King of Xandara. I am not surprised to see that my father did not bother to humour this event of yours."
I step towards Riyan, whose eyes have grown wide. "But I am not just a princess. I am Queen Daenira Alinac-Tenybris of Cracuria, and I believe that suggests you should bow." Riyan fights for her words, the crowd around us stunned to silence.
"No," Zaire argues, turning to Calix as though he has orchestrated all of this. Always underestimating me.
"It's true," Libitina laughs, sauntering towards me. "I watch her gut the late King with nothing more than her hands."
I hear the clang of metal against the ground, and when I turn, it is to see that Cenred has lowered his weapon and taken to a knee. He does not look at me, a sign of his respect. Beside him, the blonde Fae who begged me return to Abutilon realises how viciously the tides have changed. He knows what power I have, and knows what I plan to do to his Lord, and now I have the chance to do it. He drops to his knee too.
Others follow, reluctantly, and then Libitina is beside me, postured exactly the same. Bowing to me. Behind her, at the front of the gathered Fae, Marquis and Aelia, bowing on the ground.
Tynan follows, few around him rushing to follow his example, and then there is movement on the dais. Calix lowers himself, his eyes fixed tightly on mine. The ally, the Lord of Sirius, follows suit. It is not many for numbers, but the sight is beyond thrilling.
"You should set an example for your subjects. When a Queen says bow, you bow." The Stygian forces her and her brother to the ground, and power rushes up my spine when I feel Riyan's forehead against my feet. "Consider me the final competitor, and consider the hospitality you show me, for I am far worse than the last version of me who bore my name."
———
It's finally HERE. The EQUINOX!!!!
And I have a feeling this one is going to be so fkn messy, you know?
I can't wait for what's to come.