Leighton

58 Betrayal

Estelle

I felt my power leave, still tethered to me but I couldn’t see what was going on. Instead of feeling stressed I felt light, like I was floating ? I looked down and I could see my body standing in its space.

“Don’t be confused my dear.” A strange voice sounded in my head

“Who are you?”

“She’s the moon goddess silly.” Greer said.

I looked down and I could see her body standing just like mine.

“Where are we ?” I asked.

“You are nowhere and everywhere at the same time.” She said unhelpfully so I tried a different tack.

“Why are YOU here?”

She looked sad. “I came to take back one of my children. But I lingered to speak with you, both.”

“You are at war, and it began a long time ago, before either of you were born. It’s not fair but that is the way.”

I didn’t want to be rude but her visit seemed pretty pointless.

“You will be faced with obstacles that will have you question my decisions, and while I admit I haven’t always got things right, with you, both I chose your mates for a reason and you need to believe, stay strong to your bonds.”

I had felt something about Leighton since I met him, I didn’t need her to tell me to trust him. Before we could ask for guidance or help I saw mother’s wolf running towards us. She paused at my body and nudged me with her nose.

“I’m sorry for everything my little Princess.”

Then she leapt into the mist and they both disappeared, but I didn’t get a chance to process before I was suddenly standing back in the circle, the powers crackling at my fingertips and the mist had cleared.

Adalfudis was here and Leighton was fighting him. I didn’t take in anything else around me but, automatically I started firing in his direction, anything that I could do that gave Leighton a better chance of surviving.

I watched as Leighton managed to stab the King, I kind of hoped he would evaporate before my eye but he just screamed for help. Wounded but very much alive.

Instantly it all went black. I didn’t know if I heard a crack or felt it but there was the sound of swirling air above me and I ducked instinctively. Somehow in the darkness Leighton’s hand found mine and he pulled me to him.

Time seemed to still before the mist started to lift. I felt the warmth of Leighton spread through my body. I hadn’t realised I was so cold until I felt him pressed against me.

When the darkness cleared and I could see I looked across the room at my father. I could see the devastation on his face and I knew it hadn’t been a dream. Without a word he got up and ran of. I went to follow but Leighton stood firm, holding my hand in a vice grip.

“Why are they still frozen.” He asked staring at the bodies of Jackson and Oliver lying on the floor, unmoving their features frozen in place.

“I don’t know.” I managed to reply but I needed to go and see and my mother.

Leighton was roused from his confusion by the anguish in my voice. Still clutching that sword he turned to me. “What happened?”

“I don’t know.” I whispered, unwilling to say it out loud.

There was a loud sound of anguish as my father roared from the medical bay. A sob escaped my lips as he confirmed my fears. Matching howls sounded from all around the palace. Leighton looked at me with sadness as the realisation dawned on him.

“The Queen ?” He whispered, pulling me to him as I nodded, silent tears sliding down my face. “Oh baby.” He whispered into my hair, holding me tighter as I felt his sword press against my leg.

I looked over and Greer and Iris were kneeling at the fallen bodies of their mates. I sniffed and wiped my eyes, knowing I had work to do.

Greer caught my eyes. “They aren’t dead?” Her statement loaded question, that I couldn’t answer, but she knew the answer too. If they were she would have felt the bond snap.

“They are hexxed.” Ara answered, equal concern in her eyes as she looked at Jackson.

“How do we fix it ?” The steely voice of Iris rang out across the room.

“You kill the witch.”

“That’s the only way ?” I asked.

Ara wrung her hands together like she didn’t like the answer.

“Killing the witch will break the hex, we can try to reverse it but I would have to know the exact spell she used ..”

“Well I suggest you start there.” I told Ara. “Defeating this witch clearly won’t be easy. What went wrong with the weapon?”

“Nothing, went wrong, we didn’t have enough power to keep the weapon alive without the spell. But it worked because the sword is still here. We just need more power to activate it. The only problem is the witch knows it exists now and that we can use it to defeat the King, you saw what one blow of it did, even in its weakened state did to the King.”

“Speaking of it what do I do with this?” Leighton asked, trying to hand it back to Iris.

“Keep it,” she said. “I couldn’t yield its power.” She said, her voice full of guilt like she had failed.

“You weren’t meant to use it. The weapon chooses its owner once made. I was surprised it chose a wolf though.” Ara told her.

“Why?”

“It’s an ancient magical weapon. I thought it would choose a witch, maybe because it wasn’t made with dark magic … maybe..” Ara was clearly thinking out loud and saying any more she skuttled of.

“We should get Oliver and Jackson to the medical bay.” I gently told Greer and Iris. I didn’t think either of them could process what was before their eyes. They looked so strange, frozen in time. I didn’t dare touch them to see if they were cold.

I linked some guards to come and help with Oliver and Jackson.

“Was anyone else frozen ?” I asked them when they arrived.

They looked between themselves and then at Leighton, like they didn’t want to say.

“Others were, but now, they are gone.”

“Gone ?” I asked.

“Somehow, they were taken. We haven’t worked out how yet but a few wolves are missing.”

“How many?” I asked, drawing his answer.

“Four or five.”

“Do we know who?”

“We believe they took Peter and the futures King’s brother. They fell together. Also Antonio is missing and least another warrior.”

Antonio was my mother’s gamma. He had been meant to be her royal advisor until she married my father and he wanted Seamus. Antonio was too loyal to my mother to leave so stayed as her personal guard.

“How did they get them out of here ?” I didn’t understand why Oliver and Jackson had been left, unless it was only because they had to leave in a hurry. “Someone had to be helping them, unless they are still here.”

“The Alpha’s mate says she can feel he is alive but can’t sense him, so he can’t be her your highness.”

“We need to go see Felicity.” Leighton finally spoke , taking charge as I was still trying to work it all out.

She wasn’t hard to find and flew to Leighton when we arrived.

“Thank goddess you two are okay. Aston was so worried.”

“What happened ?”

“The witch was doing something to the barrier, it wasn’t going to hold. The King warned us it would weakened when he left but to hold them off as long as possible. Ashton fought the witch, I don’t think she was expecting so much resistance. She was throwing potions around then started chanting something. She hit Peter and he just froze mid air. Thankfully Ashton caught him but the witch got past us in the chaos. I tried to invade her mind but I couldn’t but she threw potion back at me and Ashton jumped in the way. He just froze instantly.” Her voice caught but she continued. “Then a portal opened up beside her and pulled them into it. You have to get him back Leighton.” Her voice was laced with desperation. While she was trying to be strong she wasn’t a warrior.

“We will. I promise.” He declared.

I didn’t know if he knew what we were up against. We had failed to kill Adalfudis. The witch knew about the weapon and wanted it for herself. Now we were also down lots of powerful wolves to help us. I suddenly felt overwhelmed. Even though Leighton was lost in his own pain, my feelings were obviously so strong a felt him saw my hand reassuringly. I looked up to see he had steely glint in his eye, the kind I knew know he got at the start of a battle.

“Let’s find the King, we need to plan our attack.”

I knew he would still be with the Queen so I lead him in that direction, my feet dragging as I neared not really wanting to enter her room and face reality.

It was eerily silent as we approached the room. Her body lay in the bed much the same as before, minus the slow rise and fall of her chest. It was like that light inside the room had dimmed. My father sat beside her, his head in his hands. Seamus stood at his shoulder, his face tight.

“I can’t believe she is gone.” My father said eventually. “They said she would get better.”

It dawned on me that her wolf didn’t reach out to him when we had been in the spell room. That he hadn’t been aware of what she was doing.

“We need to arrange a state funeral. Today, she needs to be buried before we leave.”

“No.” My father said.

“Louis, she is right. It needs to be done. You know the protocol. It’s the way.” Seamus told him, as my father looked at him for help.

I needed out of that room. Something wasn’t right and it was making me ansy. I knew Leighton was feeling my confusion to as he gripped my hand harder to settle me.

“What’s wrong ?” He asked as soon as we left her room.

I didn’t answer but dragged him further away.

“She came to me, well her wolf did. She gave me her power.”

“Her wolf came to you ? How is that possible?”

“It was like she had the same potion as we did but I don’t think she had.”

Which meant the only way her wolf could leave her would be if her heart was broken, damaging the bond between her and her wolf. Someone had betrayed her.

Leighton pulled me into his arms, I didn’t realise I was crying until I had soaked his shirt.

“We will find who did this. I promise.” He whispered in my ear.

“First we have a war to win. Call the warriors, we need to plan. We won’t have much time.”

I owe my tears and tried to pull away but he pulled me tighter.

“You don’t need to be Queen right now. For now you can just be her daughter.”

He kissed my hair and I felt him stroke my head, as I cling on tightly and let myself weep for a moment.