Song of Blood & Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles #1)(89)

A brittle cracking pulled his attention upward. The perfect, smooth surface of the Queen’s encasement, hovered here, out in the open, nearly a thousand kilometres from the palace. The shell was cracked open like an egg.

Below it, a figure floated, wrapped in ivory fabric. Her skin shone gloriously, her dark, curling hair swirled around her head, blown by a nonexistent breeze. She moved like liquid, spinning and stretching. She righted herself and hovered before Jack, her dark eyes piercing him with intensity.

He swallowed and lowered his head in deference.

The Queen had awoken.





CHAPTER TWELVE


Jasminda was drowning in Earthsong. Normally, her Song was the placid surface of a well. Now, instead of being calm and still, the well was a raging river, with white-capped waves shuttling over its banks. The swell pulled her under with its sheer force, leaving her sputtering, coughing, gasping for breath.

A warm solid hand rubbed her back in gentle circles. She focused on the feeling, the comfort, and leaned into a familiar embrace. Hands stroked her head, her face. Lips brushed her forehead. She wanted those lips someplace else so she rose to meet them.

Jack.

His kiss was like air to her. She breathed him in and held him there inside her, never wanting to exhale. His arms tightened around her, and he pulled his lips away. She whimpered, wanting to keep kissing him. On his chuckle, she opened her eyes.

His smile undid her. She stared at him, drinking in the beauty of his features.

“You died again,” he whispered.

“I did?”

His expression shuddered, and he glanced down at her clothes. She followed his gaze down to her dress, covered with blood.

“You have to stop doing that. I don’t think my nerves can take it.” He pressed her back to him wrapping his arms around her as she became aware of her surroundings.

Shell-shocked refugees emerged from their hiding places, staring in awe at a point behind her. She pulled away from Jack, craned her neck around, and nearly fell backward.

Floating above them was Queen Oola, ethereal and beautiful, fierce and overpowering. Jasminda gaped at the Queen’s familiar face. Looking at the woman was like looking into a mirror.

Something hard jabbed Jasminda’s closed fist. She uncurled her fingers to reveal the bronze pendant bearing the Queen’s sigil attached to a thin metal chain. The caldera surrounding the pendant was gone, burned away by the awakening spell.

A hush of quiet descended. No bullets hissed, no canons roared. Though she could not pull her attention away from the Queen to the battlefield, the fighting must have stopped upon Her arrival.

The refugees begin to kneel. Jasminda climbed off Jack and kneeled, as well, bowing her head.

“Jaqros Alliaseen. Jasminda ul-Sarifor.” The Queen’s voice rang out, rich and thick as raw honey. “Rise.”

Jasminda darted a glance at Jack, and both of them stood on wobbly legs. Power surged along her skin as she and Jack were lifted into the air and drifted over the heads of the awe-struck crowd. The spell released her less than a metre away from the Queen, her legs even wobblier than before.

Queen Oola floated down until She was almost at eye level. The pendant in Jasminda’s hand seemed to transfix Her. Jasminda held it out in offering. The chain lifted into the air and settled around Her neck, where it belonged.

“I owe you a gratitude for awakening me. In return, you must bow before no one.”

Though she had not initiated it, Jasminda’s connection to Earthsong flared to life. The slow trickle of her weak power enlarged, and she was engorged with a rush of Earthsong. She struggled to catch her breath as the sensation shot through her. It was like being in the link all over again: everything around her sharpened into focus. She gasped as pure energy pulsed inside her.

Jack caught hold of her hand to steady her. She gripped him hard.

“Your Majesty,” she said, inclining her head. “Why me?”

Queen Oola drew closer, Her dark gaze peering deep inside Jasminda as if seeing her very soul.

The power surging within her made it hard to concentrate, but Jasminda stared at the pendant resting against Queen Oola’s chest to bring her thoughts into focus. “Why was I the only one affected by the caldera? Why could no one else see the visions?”

Queen Oola’s expression did not change, but Her eyes lightened and a breeze lifted Her hair. Blood magic may be broken only by those who bear the blood.

“Whose blood? Mine? I’m sorry, but I don’t under—”

“Prince Jaqros,” the Queen interrupted, rising.

Jasminda wanted to push for answers, but Queen Oola had effectively ended her inquiry. She looked around. Every eye in every direction was glued to the Queen.

“You are the rightful ruler of this land,” Oola said, turning to Jack.

He deepened his bow. “I rule only in your stead, Your Majesty.”

“You are loyal and true, as is your beloved.” She swept Her gaze to Jasminda, who still vibrated with her new, incredibly powerful Song and a head full of questions. “I will abdicate my throne to you.”

Gasps sounded. Jasminda’s own heartbeat pulsed rapidly. She held on to Jack even tighter.

“My gift to Jasminda is the strength of Song she will need to be queen. Use it well. My wish is for you to unite the people as they once were. And rule. Well.”

She surged over the heads of the troops, toward the place where the two lands met. “This border is no more,” Her voice carried, strong and clear. “Singer and Silent will live as one. Be it so.”