Save the Sea (Saved by Pirates #3)(41)
“You love my sons, they are your chosen,” she says, and looks down at the crown for a long while. I don’t answer her, she knows the answer, anyway.
“They are fighting the king now, with my other chosen and my army. They don’t know I’m here, what I came to do,” I explain to her, hating that I had to make this decision without them. And I still couldn’t do it.
“They wouldn’t stop you. It’s time I died, and you will send my evil chosen after me. I will make sure he pays in death, his soul will burn with the god of souls in hell,” she exclaims. I believe her completely, seeing the determination in her eyes. She looks up, her eyes so much like Ryland’s as she smiles, and her mouth parts in shock. She coughs, and blood trickles out her mouth as I look down, and see the end of a long dagger appearing through her stomach.
“Finally, I get to be with my chosen,” she chuckles as the dagger is pulled out. “Not that they ever left me,” she whispers as her eyes fade, and her soul leaves her body. She falls suddenly, and I catch her, holding her to me as I look up and see who killed the queen.
“You . . . . How could it be you?” I mutter, shaking my head as Livvy drops the dagger on the floor and takes a step back.
“He never killed me, and I owed you. We are even now, Cassandra. Please don’t stop me from leaving,” she says, walking towards the door. I gently place the queen on the floor, closing her eyes and picking the crown up.
“Stop! I deserve more of an explanation from you,” I shout at Livvy as she rests her hand on the door handle.
“I am done. I should have died at the hands of whoever won me at the auctions, but I did not. I believe you only saved my life because I was meant to help you now. To do something no one else could,” she opens the door slightly. “The king will be weak now, and he won’t have his gifts. You can finally win.” Her last words end on a scream, as the door falls away from a massive blast that sends me flying across the room, landing next to the bed which slides away. I panic, reaching around as I fall and grab hold of a floor board, waiting for the rocking to stop. When the dust settles, half the room is gone, and the walls don’t exist anymore. I look across the battlefield, seeing thousands of guards and my people fighting. There are hundreds of ships, some are sinking, while others are on fire in the sea. I look up, seeing the king riding his dragon, flying across the sky and burning the ships. Even without his gifts, he is still burning everything.
“Vivo!” I scream out, placing the crown on my head.
24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Hunter
I almost drop my swords when everyone stops to watch the castle fall to pieces. The sound of my father’s dragon snaps me out of it, knowing I can’t die. I can feel Cassandra is alive, and that’s all that matters. I look around and see fire, death, and destruction everywhere. There is so much of it. I spot Everly fighting back to back with Chaz against four other guards, and they need help. I lift my sword, chucking it straight towards the guard nearest me, and it goes straight through him. I run over, pulling it out of his back before he can even fall to the floor. Everly continues to struggle against two guards, and one of them manages to knock her to the ground. Tyrion comes running colliding with him, and pushing him away. I run over, but I’m too late to stop the guard from stabbing his sword into Everly’s leg, making her scream. I kick him off of her, stabbing him in his chest before he can get up. Chaz finishes off the other guard with her sword, and I see Tyrion is dealing with the last guard just fine.
“Chaz, she needs you!” I shout to him, kneeling down as she screams and holds her leg. Chaz runs over, taking my place as I stand to keep an eye out for anyone coming near.
“We need to wrap this, and it’s going to hurt,” Chaz warns Everly, pulling out the bottom of his shirt and ripping a long bandage from it.
“Do it!” she demands, closing her eyes, and I spot a guard running towards us. I smack my sword against the guard’s as I hear Everly’s scream behind me. He watches me from under his helmet, and it suddenly seems to dawn on him who I am as he fights harder. I smack my elbow into his face, knocking him to the ground and slamming my sword into his chest.
“Vivo!”
“Did you hear that?” I ask, looking up to see a tiny part of the castle left standing and Cassandra standing on it, glowing a blue colour, and the crown is on her head.
“She is going to fight the king with her dragon!” I growl out, knowing how dangerous her reckless decision is, but I have to believe in her. I look around, seeing the changed ones using their gifts to throw guards into the sea, but most of the guards are running to the decks and trying to kill everyone there instead. I run back to Everly, who Tyrion has managed to pick up, and Chaz stands near them. I look around, seeing Ryland near the cliff, and Jacob and Zack protecting some of the changed ones.
“Can you walk?” I ask Everly, and she shakily lifts her sword.
“I can.”
“No, you can’t. You need to rest or you might do serious damage to your leg,” Chaz warns, placing his hand on her shoulder, but she shakes him off.
“I can fight.”
“Then you will, and I will be at your side,” Tyrion promises her, and she nods, barely able to remain standing. I share a look with Chaz, and we both agree without words that we need to keep Everly alive. Not just because she is to be queen at the end of this, but because Cassandra will kill us if we let anything happen to her.