Page 116 of A Trial of War
Behind him, the fallen skeletal creature shrieked as it raised its blade once more, ready to attack, when the tip of a broad sword speared its neck, slicing through whatever this creature was made of. The fallen’s corpse blew apart into a cloud of choking black dust, dissolving across the trampledearth. The last of its shriek faded into the roar of battle around us.
Captain Wyndfall appeared behind the creature, sword raised, breath ragged. His armor was dented and splattered with blood: some his, and some not. Head on a swivel, he scanned our surroundings for another threat as a scream tore through the skies followed by golden feathers slicing through the clouds of smoke and destruction.
Swooping down, Gilen shifted and ran toward me. “Princess, what in the gods’ names were you—” he started, then stopped when he took in the scene, his head snapping to the bear. “You healed quickly.”
The bear grunted, shaking its massive head.
I looked at the creature who saved me from my father, and my gaze met the warmest set of cocoa-colored eyes I had ever seen. They were deep and full of wonder, but also a hidden strength that somehow seemed to flow into me.
The bear moved forward, lowered its head, and offered me a lever to stand.
“Princess, meet Xander,” Gilen said, shaking his head.
“Xander,” I repeated. A low rumble vibrated against my palm as I ran it down the bear’s back. “Thank you.”
“He said he owed you for stitching up his head and wrapping his chest,” Gilen added.
“You’re welcome,” I said, the feeling of his fur softer than I thought it would be against my touch.
“Réalta?” Captain Wyndfall’s voice cracked, bringing me back to the present. The hardened captain who never faltered appeared shaken. “What do you want to do with—”
“He’s mine,” I cut in, releasing the bear’s fur and striding across the grass to stand before my father. I looked down at him as he struggled to breathe. The swipe of the bear’s claws had ripped into his side like a knife through butter.
He was dying.
“Réalta.” He gasped, dark eyes finding mine.
I hardened my stare, kneeling beside him as my fingers curled around the hilt of the dagger he held above me only moments ago.
I steadied my resolve as I raised the blade. “Your reign ends today, King Taran.” And I plunged the dagger into his chest.
The sound was wet and sickening. Something I would never be able to forget. His body jerked as the blade pierced through his armor, through flesh and bone, like it was nothing, sinking into his heart.
I sobbed, my hand shaking. And despite the rage and betrayal spiraling through my chest, I reached out and held my father tight, not wanting to let go.
“Réalta. Thank you for freeing me.” His voice was coarse and barely above a whisper. “Now,you… are queen.”
There he was—my father. The man who, despite his own heartache, loved me. Who raised me to lead our people with a strong heart.
My voice was hardly more than a whisper. “You came back. For a moment, you came back to me and then…”
And then his chest failed to rise, and his heart stopped beating.
I’d killed my father. The king was dead.
Captain Wyndfall knelt beside us. “The hatred in his heart was too much for him to overcome, Princess. You made the right choice.”
“The darkness he already bore was too easy for Minaeve to manipulate to her control, Réalta,” Gilen said quietly. “And now, you are queen.”
A sob tore from me, ugly and raw. I bowed over my father’s chest, fingers clutching his armor while the battle raged on, feeling distant.
“We need to move,” Gilen said after a moment, his tone soft but still urgent. “The front line is pushing this way. And Minaeve will have felt his mind snapping from her control. She’ll know he’s gone.”
The ground trembled underfoot. There was another blast, another scream… But I couldn’t bring myself to move, not yet.
“Réalta…” Wyndfall hesitated. “I understand this pain. I loved your father as a brother. But if you stay out in the open—”
“Just a moment,” I whispered.
