Warrior Witch (The Malediction Trilogy #3)(5)

Aiden was regaining consciousness, his face wet with tears. His stifled sobs tickled at my magic, and I had to curb the urge to grind his bones to dust for what he’d done. For whatever weakness that had caused him to make a deal with my father, and for the lack of strength that saw him caving in the space of an hour to the will of the troll Cécile had resisted for weeks.

The Regent had been a capable ruler, well liked by the people. I didn’t have time to win the islanders over, if such a thing was even possible. I’d needed him, because the humans would have followed him. And now I was left with this: a man who had committed patricide and regicide, and in doing so, had ensured no one in their right mind would follow him.

“Do something.” Marie’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. She’d dropped the sword and was crawling through the pooled blood toward Fred, her hand outstretched. “Aiden, do something. Avenge your father.”

Fred took a step back, eyes going to mine for directive. “Tristan?”

Marie froze. “You are not my son.”

Someone pounded on the door. I had only minutes to decide what to do, how to salvage the situation. I removed the magic disguising Fred. “No, he isn’t.”

Her skin went deathly pale, eyes going back to Aiden. The realization that her own son had killed his father marched across her face, and as angry as I was with Aiden, it struck a chord in my heart. Would I see the same expression on my own mother’s face when the time came? Would my justifications matter to her, or would she only see a cold-blooded killer who’d murdered his own father?

“He’s not in control of his own mind,” I said, not sure how much of a difference knowing would make. “He’s made some sort of promise to cede the Isle to my father, and he’s under compulsion to fulfill his word.”

“Why would you do such a thing?” Her voice shook.

For a moment, I didn’t think Aiden would answer, wondered if he even could. Then he said, “I never thought it would come to this. I never believed they’d be freed.”

It was an excuse, not an answer, and to her credit, Marie understood that as well. “Why agree to it at all?”

Before Aiden could speak, something heavy hit the door. They were trying to break in, no doubt believing I’d dispatched their entire ruling family. And when they saw the bloody scene in the council chambers, it wouldn’t be Aiden they turned on first.

I dropped to one knee in front of Marie and caught hold of her shoulders. “There isn’t time for explanations. We’ve only a matter of hours to prepare our defense against my father, and I do not think your soldiers will follow Aiden after what he has done.” I glanced at the weeping lord. “And even if they will, we can’t risk it while he remains under compulsion.”

Crack! The wood of the door splintered. They wouldn’t be able to break through my magic, but as soon as they were through the door, they’d know it was me keeping them out. I gave Marie’s shoulders a little shake. “Will your soldiers follow your orders?”

“You can’t be serious?” The lord whose weapon Marie had taken had been inching toward the door through our exchange, but my words had stopped him in his tracks. “She’s a woman!”

Marie ignored him. “How do I get my son free of this compulsion?”

Crack! I grimaced. “The only way is to kill my father.”

“And then Aiden will be himself once again?”

There was no way to predict how Aiden would fare, whether his sanity would survive, whether he’d revert to man he was before. “He will control his own will, his own self.”

She went very still.

“Marie, there is no time for this.” My heart threatened to beat out of my chest, and it was all I could do to keep from looking toward the shattering door. “Will they follow you?”

“Get your hands off me, troll,” she whispered.

I exhaled, letting my hands drop to my sides as the awareness that I was going to have to take control of Trianon by force settled onto my mind.

“Step back,” she said, reaching for the sword next to her.

I did what she asked.

Her eyes went to the lord who was now clawing futilely at my magic. “My Lord Lachance, attend to me. Help me away from this creature.” She held out a beseeching hand.

Lachance stiffened, and with palpable reluctance, edged his way toward Marie. “Stay back, fiend,” he said, and under other circumstances, I might have laughed.

“My lady.” He reached a hand to her without removing his eyes from me.

She stabbed the point of the sword through his throat.

I gaped as the dying man collapsed, entirely unsure of what I was witnessing.

Marie placed the hilt of the sword next to his hand, then climbed to her feet. “Lachance was a traitor,” she said. “A spy and assassin in the employ of the troll king. He killed my husband, and would’ve killed me if not for the quick actions of my son.” Walking to Fred, she extracted the blade from his hand, dipped it in the pool of blood, then replaced it. “Put his disguise back in place.”

I complied, seeing the beginnings of her plan.

“If anyone learns what Aiden’s done,” she said, “they’ll see him hanged. I’ve already lost my husband to you creatures – I’ll not lose my son. We’ll keep him hidden away until we’ve won this war, and then you–” she leveled a finger at Aiden, “–you will spend the rest of your life atoning.”