Heat flooded her body and she screamed. Her eyes fluttered open to find the engineers frantically pulling the pads from her body, their faces a mask of concern. Rivers of pain spread from where the pads had been attached to her.
“What’s happening to her?” Janae asked from behind her.
“We don’t know,” one of the engineers said.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” the other one explained.
Layla writhed in pain. Her entire body felt as if it were covered in blisters, each one popping within in milliseconds of the previous one. She whimpered, her healing ability not able to keep up with the pain.
The last of the pads was ripped from her body. She closed her eyes, panting and moaning. Golden light encapsulated her body as her magic took control. It flowed through her like an icy river. Her muscles relaxed and the wounds covering her skin mended. Although her physical scars were made invisible, the emotional ones were less easily healed.
Without being given a choice, another baby had been sacrificed in her place. She knew what had happened next. Everyone did. An assassin broke into the fae royal family’s home. They’d killed the entire family, including the baby. They’d set fire to the castle to desecrate the bodies.
And it had all been because of her.
She didn’t know if her life had been worth the sacrifice.
“You are the once and future queen of the fae,” Janae said resolutely.
Layla turned to face her.
Her body and mind were numb from exhaustion and an overabundance of emotions. The small sliver of resistance she’d felt up until this point had shattered as she’d witnessed the woman who’d raised her exchange her own baby for her. No wonder her parents had always looked at her with a mixture of resentment and anger. She wasn’t theirs.
No, their babe had died with her parents.
She lifted her chin. The fae people had been unjustly slaughtered and enslaved following the assassination of the royal family. It was time there was a reckoning.
“My people deserve justice,” she said, her voice firm. “I may not be the queen they deserve, but if I can serve as a symbol of hope to the magical realm…” she paused. If she accepted this for herself, her life would be entirely different. She would never be able to return to The Wand as a bartender again. She could never escape into the obscurity of a poor, orphaned fae. As she stood there, staring the elvish queen in the eyes, she realized she didn’t care. Her scars would make her a better queen. Sure, she didn’t have the training or the knowledge she would’ve had, if she’d been raised in the royal court. But all the times she’d been shoved down because she was a fae, all the times she’d been silenced, ridiculed, abused, and forgotten. Those were the things had made her the best candidate for this role. She understood exactly what her people and the entirety of the magical world had experienced under King Renard’s reign.
And she wasn’t about to let it continue.
“Where do we begin?” she asked.
Chapter Fourteen
Smoke billowed across the screen as Layla and Janae watched the rescue team attempting to rescue Max. His body lay motionless just a few feet away from the robot. It spewed fire and bullets at the soldiers as it continued to push Max’s body across the beach. His ankles were already hidden beneath the surge of water as the tide came in. Soon enough, he wouldn’t be able to breath.
Assuming he was still alive.
“Come on!” she yelled at the screen as one of the elves was struck in the shoulder by a bullet. He pressed a hand to the wound and sank to his knees. Silver blood flowed from the wound, coating his gloved hand.
“You worry too much,” Janae said. She sipped wine from a glass as she continued to stare at the screen. “The robot may have been able to stop my nephew from winning during a one-on-one fight, but it will be no match for an entire squad of fighters.”
Another elf rushed forward and shoved one of the delicate silver flowers into the wound. She looped her arms around the downed elf’s torso and heaved. Although slight in stature, her muscles bulged as she pulled her compatriot beyond the robot’s range.
The camera panned over to where a band of three elves were approaching the robot. They formed a triangle of sorts, with the middle elf slightly ahead and centered between the other two. His sword blazed with azure fire. The other two elves carried laser pistols. They charged towards the robot. Crimson energy pellets struck the robot in the shoulders, chest, and torso. Black holes, ringed in melting metal, formed where each one struck. Sparks flew as the robot staggered forward, sending a barrage of its own firepower at its attackers.
The elf bearing the azure sword flung the blade over his head. It flew through the air, turning over itself and slammed straight into the robot’s chest. Blue flames sprang to life, enveloping it. It creaked and groaned as one of its arms fell off. The lead elf leapt into the air, kicking the robot in the face with both feet. Its head snapped backwards. It stumbled before falling into the water with a sizzle of smoke.
Layla gripped her hands together tightly as she watched one of the side elves dive past the robot and scoop max into her arms. Her body slumped slightly beneath the weight of him, but she turned and began wading back to the shore.
The robot surged from beneath the waves and tackled the elf carrying Max. With a guttural, mechanic clicking noise its still attached arm morphed into a blade as it brought it up to slice into Max’s unprotected neck.
Layla screamed, closing her eyes.
A loud bang rattled the room. She breathed in deeply, too afraid to look at the screen. She didn’t want to see Max’s mangled body. He’d been kind to her when no one else had been and she didn’t want to lose that. She didn’t want to lose him.
“A queen doesn’t close her eyes to the world, Layla Dione,” Janae whispered as she pried Layla’s fingers apart and took her hand. “She watches every second of it. That way, when atrocities occur, she will understand the pain of her people.”
Layla’s hands shook as she slowly cracked an eye. She couldn’t see anything beyond thick, dark smoke coating the camera lens. She stole a quick glance at the queen. Although Max was clearly in mortal danger, her face seemed serene, as if she hadn’t a care in the world.
“How can you be so calm?” she asked.
“Years of experience. One day you’ll have a young girl or boy who is destined to rule come to you and ask the same question. I’m sure by then you’ll have an even better answer than my own.”
Layla smiled at that. “If I live to see another day,” she whispered.
“Not only will you live to see another day, you will thrive in it.”
A warm, fluttering sensation filled Layla’s stomach at the monarch’s words. It was nice having someone believe in her for a change.
Her attention was drawn back to the screen as the robot pushed itself up. Exposed wires sparked as it lifted its one arm to fire at the elves. Max was slung over the shoulder of another elf as he raced through the crashing waves. The female elf who had originally rescued Max was nowhere to be seen.
“What happened?” Layla asked.
She watched as the remaining elf, the one holding the azure sword, fired three shots into the robot’s head. A hole the size of a fist formed in its forehead. Molten droplets of metal dripped into the ocean as the robot stared at the elf. Its red eyes glowed for a second longer before fading to gray. It collapsed, disappearing beneath the waves.