Crowned (Beholder #4)(63)
And right here, in this moment, the world was perfect.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Rowan and I stood at the far end of the Meadow of Many Gateways. Casters and Necromancers alike milled around the periphery of the long rectangular grounds, waiting for the festival to start.
Technically, they had to get through our coronations before the festival actually began, but that was a minor point in Caster culture. My Necromancers joined in the fun, not drinking themselves silly, but not sitting in a corner speaking in monotones, either. Also within the crowds roamed many Changed Ones. With Viktor dead, they were no longer a threat and could be reunited with their families. It had been sad work, but our palace mages had found the dead bodies of the Changed Ones that Viktor had killed in testing out his army. Over the past weeks, we’d held mourning ceremonies for all those lost. It had been a hard month for my Caster people.
But that was over now and a coronation was about to begin. I wore my formal Caster gown, which was little more than a band of leather that covered my chest, hips and waist. I’d paired it with a hooded black cloak to celebrate my Necromancer rule as well. Rowan had done the same. He wore his leather trousers and nothing to cover his chest, paired with another black cloak to match mine. We were going to become Genesis Rex and Regina, Tsarina and Tsar.
Or we would do so once our guests of honor arrived: Mlinzi and Walinzi were expected at any moment.
In the meantime, everyone else seemed to already be here. Kade, Amelia, and Jicho were in the crowd, along with Nan, Mrefu, and a good number of the Zaidi. Even Amelia’s brother Philippe and his new wife had journeyed in for the occasion. Philippe was now married to none other than Veronique, another woman with Necromancer power who’d been imprisoned with me in the Midnight Cloister. I could never imagine that girl being happy, but Veronique positively beamed with joy as she walked about at Philippe’s side. Another young survivor from the Midnight Cloister, the six-year-old Ada, trailed along with them as well. Ada was now their adopted daughter. Somewhere during the last few months, Philippe and Veronique had resolved their differences, eloped, and adopted a child. One of these days, I’d have to corner them and get the full tale.
Behind us, a gateway flared with orange light as Mlinzi and Walinzi burst onto the scene. As always, the ground shook as they landed beside us.
“You’re late,” I said to Walinzi.
She gave me a sly grin. “Just because we’ve decided to permanently live in your world, it doesn’t make you the rulers of me and my brother. We answer to no one.”
“Kill,” said Mlinzi. These days, that was his stock answer to everything. Walinzi said it was nothing to worry over, so I tried to ignore it.
Rowan turned to me. “Are you ready to start us off?”
“Mostly.” I’d been successfully avoiding public speaking. Now that I was ascending my thrones, that time was over.
“You’ll dazzle them, I know it.”
Rowan raised his arms and the meadow fell quiet. Every set of eyes seemed trained on me. He lowered his arms again; this was my signal to start.
I cleared my throat. Now, I could use magick to enhance the sound of my voice, but Rowan and I planned a major casting for today, and I needed all my power for that spell. Instead, I simply spoke as loudly as I could. “My people, Necromancers and Casters! Today, Rowan and I stand before you t as your Genesis Rex and Regina, your Tsarina and Tsar. Normally, this coronation would involve hours of ceremony, rites, and speeches, but I know my Caster subjects wouldn’t appreciate that.” Some of the Caster folks cheered at this.
As we’d planned, Rowan then continued the speech. “However, this morning is about a new era and doing things differently. Elea and I wield new hybrid powers now, and that means change. The old ways must be ended. Never again will someone need to sacrifice themselves with the Martyr’s Comet. Elea and I have another way to keep our world safe.”
It was my turn to speak again. “Plus, we know how our people enjoy a nice display of magick.” The Casters cheered once more. I was fairly certain some of them had already started celebrating, even though it was fairly early in the morning. “So without further ado, we invite you to witness the launch of our new regime.” I looked over to Rowan. “Ready?”
“Absolutely.” In this moment, all the love in the world seemed to shine in his eye. I couldn’t imagine a better way to start our new ceremony and life together.
Moving in unison, Rowan and I knelt down and set our palms flush against the ground. We’d spent days sharing energy and hybrid power. Now, both of us were ready to cast the mother of all spells. As we’d learned, all we had to do was ask our hybrid power for help.
“We’re ready to begin,” I said.
“Free these worlds,” added Rowan.
Instantly, cords of violet power wound down our arms and burrowed their way into the earth. The hybrid magick had begun its work. Seconds later, purple ropes of light and power burst up again from the ground, winding themselves around the gateways closest to Rowan and me. After that, the cords moved on to the next archways, and the next. Soon, every arch on the Meadow of Many Gateways was buried under tangled layers of light, ropes, and magick. It was a beautiful sight.
Closing my eyes, I gave the hybrid power one final command. “Now.”
A series of deafening booms sounded as one after the other, the gateways burst into rubble. The crowd toasted, cheered, and sang. Some children began crawling up the tails of Walinzi and Mlinzi, who then proceeded to give monkey-back rides to anyone who asked, so long as they were children. The adults were invited on their backs only to be summarily dumped off again by “accident.” These were trickster gods, after all. No one truly expected them to change.