33 | ACT II, SCENE V

P R E V I O U S L Y

"I hope you realise the hell you've just invited on yourself, Deimos. I will hurt you for this."

WEDGEMORE, NORMOUNT.

EDWINA

I STEPPED OVER THE STATE line dividing Dracnesse and Normount, fists clenched as the men behind me closed the gates with a salute.

My feet took two steps into Deimos's kingdom, Normount. And then I let out a furious hiss.

The Everly kingdom was in shambles.

Located close to Steffith, Normount too experienced the harshest and coldest climate. The brutal weather was all attributed to Deimos's daughter, Drusilla, whose hobbies included turning everything she touched to ice.

My kingdom, Dracnesse, lay on the other side of Normount as the two families shared the river Derwentwater. She'd have turned my land to frost too had it not been for the fire residing in me.

But right now, it was not the cold that enraged me.

It was the sight of the river.

Beautiful, blessed and bountiful, the Derwent had been the cause of deaths and manslaughter within Endollon's three greatest Houses; Everly, Valmont and Tremayne. The Valmonts lost Elodie and the river too, the Tremaynes lost my mother but got a half of the river. The Everlys kept their family intact and managed to snatch the second half, all out of the sheer cunning of Deimos.

The river was a blessing. A gift. A miracle. Its waters turned everything that touched it to gold, gallons and gallons of it, for the Derwent was enormously huge.

In Dracnesse, it flowed in a valley called Skargnesse, and the fields around it were golden, wheat stalks merrily waving in the breeze and shimmering peacefully in the sun. Only once a year was it touched, and we drew out twenty gallons of the water annually to convert to bricks of gold. Half of them were used on the people of Dracnesse; repairing their homes, getting them food, finding them jobs. The other half would go to the bank accounts, where it was stored for public emergencies.

Never had a single bit of gold gathered from the river made its way our Castle.

I never used that gold on myself. Never. It was an imperial rule imposed in Dracnesse, that the water would always be drawn on one specific day of the year. Touching the river otherwise was forbidden.

I hanged the men who stole the water.

The stealing stopped in three years.

And this made us the richest kingdom in the whole of Endollon.

The other half of the river ended in a city in Normount called Erstonia. And yet, here I stood in Wedgemore, Deimos's capital, watching the tributaries flow by, almost breaking my heart.

The river was dying.

It meandered slowly, pitifully, like an old man wheezing his way through the last years of his life. It had lost its original luster. What had once been a glittering and mighty river was now thinner and starving, muddy and mixed with god knew what filth people threw into it.

Such a waste.

With every step I took in Deimos Everly's kingdom, my fury rose higher and higher, more than enough to melt all its purple topped ivory mountains.

I was enraged, no, I was positively incensed.

Harsh winds blew, opposing my way as I spotted people shivering in their damaged huts, crying for food and help. It was a cruel cold, biting into my blood as my eyes fell on children clinging to their mother. She shivered and huddled them closer to protect them from the winds. Beside her lay a plate with breadcrumbs and a glass of water which had already frozen to ice.

They didn't even have clothes.

I raised my hands and closed my eyes, gathering my strength. Around me, I heard gasps of shock as people spotted their Queen. Ice thudded and fell but melted as my heat worked into the frost, thawing it. Easily, I drew in more spools of fire and defrosted the lakes and waters, heat radiating off my body in waves as people cried at the warmth and huddled closer to my feet.

No one should have to live like this.

"Get your vessels," I ordered them. "All of them. All your jugs and pitchers, all your glasses and bowls. Get them and stand at the gates of Raichester Keep."

"But - my Queen, the Lord Everly does not allow beggars at his gates. His men drive us away-" cried the woman. The other sullen faces nodded in agreement.

"Leave it to me. Gather your vessels and wait at the gates."

Further and further in I walked, as crowds of people followed the trail of warmth in my wake. Some of them began to depart to their homes to fetch their utensils as my lips pulled up in a smile. Yet my steps fell heavily on the snow as poverty gave way to even worse. The streets were bitterly cold and humid as I made my way to the richer parts of the city.

The buildings became more and more lavish as I neared Deimos's home. The streets were smoother than marble, the people had fur lined coats as they stuffed themselves with rum and cake, oblivious to the miserable condition of the rest of the city. Peacocks wandered in rose lawns and trees swung with exotic fruits.

I reached the gate of Raichester Keep.

One could never have looked up to see how high the structure was, built out of pure, solid gold as it was. The light bounced off it, creating a dazzling facade and almost blinding my eyes. Even the bolts and keys were made of gold, sparkling radiantly as the sun and showing off the power of the royal House of Everly.

The guards noticed me and bowed. They shot each other a hesitant look before opening the elegantly wrought gates which closed behind me with a clang. All the crenelations and towers were draped with the purple banners of the Everlys emblazoned with a silver basilisk.

From the stars we came, to the stars we rise, the banners read.

The tinkle of the water fountains was interrupted by the footsteps of the Everly treasurer, Cassius. He gave me a sly smile, ready to vanish just as slyly before I caught him by the sleeve.

"Summon your lord."

"You mean Lord Deimos? Why, may I ask-"

"You may not," I snapped. "Now, are you going to summon him or do I have to send him your burned body as an invitation?"

A moment of silence descended as the treasurer regarded me unwillingly. A white peacock crooned in the distance.

"I will... fetch him for you," Cassius muttered darkly. "Would you like refreshment, your Grace?"

"I asked for your lord, not refreshment. Does Deimos Everly look like a glass of lemonade to you?"

"Err... I suppose not," he looked at me queerly, his voice trailing into the silence. He turned his back and made his way into the corridor as slowly as possible, and I nearly punched him in the face, wanting to throttle the daylights out of him.

"Who dares summon me?" demanded a dreadful voice behind me. Appearing out of tendrils of black mist, Deimos stormed to me. "You!" he hissed.

"Me," I raised my hand and smiled sweetly at him. He suspiciously regarded me as my anger expressed itself in the sweetest of smiles that could bring even angels down from the heavens. His eyes narrowed and then squinted even more suspiciously at my smile.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Excellent question," I hissed softly. "Something I should be asking you, in fact."

"And how is that?" Deimos hissed.

"Well, you should be falling at my feet and asking for forgiveness for your crimes. And instead, you have the fucking audacity to just stand there and ask me what I am doing here, fool!" I snapped.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't speak in riddles," he murmured casually, yet the wisps of darkness emanating from him grew further.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't communicate in jokes."

"And what are you here for?"

I pulled off my blue cloak and turned my neck to him. My hair had been put up in a chignon, leaving the skin of my throat bare to his gaze. His eyes lingered on the spot of blood still resting on my skin.

"Remember this?"

Deimos didn't reply, instead resting his hand on the banister of the stairs. His face imparted no expression, smoothly concealing the memory of how he and his sons had given me that scar.

"I come here to collect my dues, Everly," I finished in the silence, leaning in to dangerously whisper in his ear.

"I don't have any money to give you," he growled. "I do not allow beggars in my Keep."

My fist opened.

I slapped Deimos right across his cheek.

"I'm not a beggar, bastard. You will return what you took from me."

The sound had resonated in the halls, ringing along the corridors. I saw his wife and sister, Fayette, roaming the halls with a nonchalant expression. A white hand suddenly pulled back my wrist.

"Get the hell out," Drusilla hissed, holding a dagger to my throat. The sheets of her raven black hair fell on curtains across her face, but her lavender eyes were transfixed on her father, who was still reeling from the shock of the impact of my palm. A cold mist began to spread over the room.

"Ah. Missed your father's little soiree to my home, did you?" I taunted.

"You better go back before he visits you again," she snapped into my ear, smelling of blood orange and cherries.

Deimos sauntered over and pulled the dagger out of his daughter's hand. Her vehement gaze lingered from both of us as he leveled the tip to my heart.

"Leave."

"We both know I'm not going anywhere before I teach you a lesson."

"Look at you," he tilted his head back and laughed heartily. "You stand here, in my home, with my dagger at your heart, and ask me to do what you say? Pathetic!" he snorted.

"Very well then. Since I consider your losses my gains, instead of getting my money back, I shall settle for destroying your family. How does that sound?"

"Very amusing," he snorted. His hand backed my spine, leading me to the doors and out to the gates.

"Seems like you've made your choice, then. Have a good day, Lord Everly," I smiled. Drusilla sneered at me, seething with anger as Deimos coolly regarded us both.

They both slammed the door shut in my face as I turned on my heel with. My feet made their way to the prime entrance and out to the lawns were the contingent of guards was waiting. They did not move an inch as I stepped out.

I gave them a charming smile and moved my fingers a fraction.

All of them burst into flame. Their screams rent the air for a second before the green hellfire I had released on them silenced them forever. My gaze turned back to the Keep. It was as silent as before.

The masses of people waiting outside the lawns cheered as they saw me. I bid them to stop as I pulled up my sleeves. The rolling crowds waited with bated breath, watching what I would do next.

I placed my open palms on the golden walls of Raichester Keep.

My blood heated up faster than ever, boiling up in my veins like an inferno as I recalled my powers from my very core. The castle was huge, but I was more than powerful to finish it off. The rush of power and adrenaline was a heavy combination, knowing that I was going to destroy anything and everything Deimos possessed, I was going to wreck it down to the ground to exact my revenge.

The first tendril of fire finally snaked out of my wrist, followed by another, and another. It crept up the golden walls as the beginnings of a smirk began to tug at the corners of my lips.

The flames attacked the gold viciously, spreading over it like clouds of vengeance. They licked the metal like a hungry kitten with a saucer of milk. Playful and gentle at first, patiently rising up to the challenge of its goddess.

The flames had reached the first tower as the someone inside the castle began to notice it and scream.

I did not stop, instead sending even more fire to feed the glowing flames. The Keep began to glow like an inferno, great and mighty and coated with flames which wound around the posts like giant serpents. Showers of sparks radiated as the walls began to spit and sizzle, devouring everything in their path.

The gold finally began to melt.

The Castle began its path to destruction.

The screams of the Everlys were drowned out as choking clouds of black smoke began to form. The west wing finally melted into streams of pure gold rolling down like raindrops from the sky. The shimmering pools of gold began to grow larger as the rest of the Keep began to go down like freshly whipped cream.

The inferno was now blazing, still in control of my iron hand as a wicked twitch of my palm sent forth a final burst of flame. It exploded into a cloud of heat and made the final remnants of the burning towers fall to my feet.

Ash floated to the ground like great dirty flakes of snow, showering onto everything, sprinkling onto the ground.

The Everlys would have survived, but everything they loved was gone.

The crowds of the people cheering behind me were watching with their eyes wide open, unbelievably regarding the spectacle.

One by one, each of them dropped to their knees and bowed their heads in respect. I placed my hands on their heavy heads and tilted up their chins.

"Take back what is yours," I nodded in finality.

Cries of gratitude rang in the air as the people gathered around the molten Keep like bees, scooping up the molten good that would hopefully buy them something to fill their stomachs and keep them warm at night.

I drew back my hands and rubbed them together as the warmth receded away. All the snow in the vicinity had melted to pure streams of sparkling water on the ground. My eyes lit up as I finally drew them away from the sight and turned back to the state line.

My work here was done.

The Everlys would remember this if that valued their life as much as they said they did.

I had burned all my bridges and danced in their ashes as they rotted to the ground. I feared no one.

• • • • •

Aaahhh! Now that was a sight to behold! Our girl loves burning things and I love making her burn them :) hope you all had a lovely Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year! Ps. My goal for 2018 is to finish COG :D

By the way, guess what I saw a few mornings ago?

#7 IN FANTASY?!!! HOW?? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

Love you a lot peeps, please drop a vote if you liked this chapter.