Page 41 of The Final Battle

“Part of me hopes we never need to find out, but if they broke him, I have a bad feeling this is going to bite us in the ass,“ Jade grumbled as he yanked a sheet off the floor.

There was a massive gash running through it but seeing as they sliced open the mattress, I wasn’t shocked. “Her father was only the second generation from the man who deserted the clans, correct?“

“I’m not the right one to ask that, I didn’t keep up with all the gossip going around the clans. I was just trying to keep from being put to death by my own brother.“

He made a good point, but I remember Cassarah saying something about it when they revealed the legend of the Dragon Queen. “Okay, this could be nothing but the last king of Sheca knew that Cassarah would be born of a deserter. What if somehow there was information given to that man when he left or found its way into his hands along the way? What if the Lost King is trying to find a way to deal with that fact that Cassarah is so much more powerful than him now that she has the Dragon Throne’s magic?“

Back in the office, Jade and I laid out the sheet as close to the chair as we could while keeping it out of the pool of blood. With the flick of a knife Jade cut the man free and I had to move quickly before the body fell to the side. The man’s head lolled back at an unnatural angle. Whoever slit his throat used so much force they almost cut the head off. Together, we wrestled the deadweight onto the sheet and tied it. Hauling it down the hall into the mother’s room, out on the balcony, and down the stairs into the garden was no easy feat. Her mother was much easier to handle, already being surrounded by sheets.

Jade located the gardening shed and picked the lock, earning us a pair of shovels. Not knowing how much time we would have left while Cassarah was preoccupied, we got to digging. It was clear this wasn’t the first body dump that either of us had done, with how we didn’t question how large or deep of a hole to make. When Cassarah finally joined us, we were putting the last few shovelfuls of dirt back into place. Dangling from her hand was a pillowcase filled with what looked like books.

“Did you want to say a few words or any sort of farewell to them?“ I asked not knowing how they’d raised her and their thoughts on death.

Cassarah dropped to her knees between the two graves and set the pillowcase aside so she could put a hand on each plot. “I forgive you,“ she whispered. “While everyone will tell me you don’t deserve my forgiveness, I choose to live a life free from that burden. I know you both loved me in your own ways, even if you were terrible at showing it, Mother. Father, you were my hero, and knowing that you would turn your back on me for the sake of appearances hurt more than you’ll ever know, but I still choose to forgive you. May whatever secret you kept hidden prove to be one that will be the Lost King’s downfall and not mine.“

Her voice started to crack at the end, telling me that she was most likely crying again. Everything in me just wanted to steal her away from all this. This woman whose heart was so full of love and forgiveness didn’t deserve this. Hit after hit the Lost King sent her way and each time this woman got back up, dusted herself off, and kept moving forward. How anyone couldn’t see the power and strength in that didn’t deserve to know her at all.

Now I was supposed to get her back to Creisal, where we were fighting a war on all fronts. King Thomas might be on our side, along with a few trusted members of his personal entourage, but that left us at such a disadvantage. Dark magic was in play, made evident by her father having been killed, allowing that face changer to use the man’s death to fuel his magic. What I’d much rather be doing is convince her to run away, to get the others and fly across the sea and discover what might be out there. To leave this all behind and live a life free from all this pain. Yet, I knew she would never allow me to do that. Her sense of duty was so strong she wouldn’t be able to look at herself in the mirror until she finished the job assigned to her.

“My heart, we should be heading back,“ I murmured as I crouched down next to her. “I wish there was more that we could do here for the others, but we can’t bury them all.“

Cassarah looked up at me, her eyes red and puffy from crying but they glinted with anger. “We can send them to the afterlife when we set the house on fire.“

“What?“ I asked, thinking I’d just misheard what she said.

“Like Jade said, there won’t be anything to come back to now that my parents are gone. This house holds no life and only evil remains, so we are going to burn this place down. Let those whose lives were lost be set free in the fires of rebirth,“ Cassarah explained as she got to her feet, brushing off her legs. “The dragons will be able to do the job with all three of them hitting different points. When the world sees the blaze, the Lost King will know I’ve been here and received his message.“

Jade looked at me a little panicked at that thought. “Are you sure that’s wise, little bird? We don’t want to show our hand, that would mean we know about the face changer in Creisal.“

“You don’t think he meant for us to see through that person? That man had no idea who my father was, he even said he barely had any time with the man. How could Henry believe I wouldn’t see through it? No, this was his plan, to get me here and to witness the atrocities that he inflicted on my parents.“ The rage in Cassarah’s voice grew the longer she spoke.

It was clear if she hadn’t been pissed off at the Lost King before, she was now. Her body, while weighed down by sadness, seemed to give off this pulse of fury that I could feel brushing along my skin. While not having sight of my own was tough, it certainly made my other senses stronger.

Both Jade and I wanted to comfort her, knowing that her rage at the loss of her parents was driving this choice, but I didn’t think she’d be open to the gesture. “Is that what you really want to do?“

“Yes,“ she stated. “While I won’t drop to his level, I won’t be seen as weak either. He needs to know I’m not backing down, no matter what he throws at me. Let the Lost King taunt me by sending a man pretending to be my father to my room and steal my family from me. People who get desperate making rash moves like this betray the fact they think they’re losing. Right now, it looks like the Lost King wants this to be anything but a fair fight.“

While I couldn’t disagree with her thoughts, I didn’t like it either way. It’s true this might never come down to a battle as we’ve seen in the days of old. Countries lining up to mow each other down, this battle could instead, be heading more in the direction of how the mercenaries fight. The Lost King has been playing by our rules more than he has anyone else’s. It makes me wonder if he truly wants a massive war. He came and stole Norden in the middle of the night when they least expected it.

When I think back on it, I feel it was more about the fact he wanted his Father to know he stole it from him. He’d been tossed away and here he was creeping in to take what should have been his, in his own mind. The fact that Cassarah was there, along with Payson to help him cause diversions, made it all the better. A man who has been kept hidden away all his life was now making a splash across our whole world. Everyone knew the name the Lost King and why he was doing all this. Did he even know or care that his father was dead and didn’t know or care about what was happening?

“If that is what the queen wants to do, then we shall see it done,“ Jade said, his formal tone betraying he wasn’t in support of this, but wouldn’t say no.

Cassarah turned to look him in the eye. “As your queen, I order both you and Zan to help me burn this mansion down.“

Jade gave her a brisk nod, turned on his heel, and left out the garden gate. Shaking my head at how stubborn both of them could be, and how in many ways Jade and Cassarah were so similar it caused them to butt heads, I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and urged her to follow after him.

“You know he gets pissy when he wants to protect you and you won’t let him,“ I commented, leaning my head against hers for a moment. “I have to agree with him on burning this place down. Do I get your anger and need to show the Lost King you’re not backing down because of this… yes. Do I also believe it’s foolish to bring unwanted attention while there are only two of us to keep you safe? Yeah, I do, but if you keep that order as you’ve given it, then we will do as you command,“ I explained as we exited the garden.

Cassarah slumped against me. “Is it really a stupid idea?“

“Are you really asking me?“ I countered.

Pausing, she looked over at Vasin, who was puffing smoke looking highly irritated. “Vasin agrees with you. But how can I just stand back and let him do this without consequences?“

“You aren’t doing that. Just because you wait to unleash your anger at him another time doesn’t mean you’re giving him a free pass. You are acting wisely and using that anger to fuel your efforts in taking him down for good,“ I reasoned. “Sure, eye for an eye sounds great, but what if you could just end it all at once, instead of just acting out against the individual act?“

She took a deep breath and let it out, her head dropping with the exhale. “If you and Vasin are saying the same thing, then I clearly am not thinking straight. Let’s just head back to the others, there’s more to deal with and if we leave now, I might be able to get a few moments of sleep.“