FOR HER, HE WILL SET EVERY KINGDOM ON FIRE.
Kyron LeFur never wanted to be king. He may have united a torn people and ended a bloody war, but none of that matters without his queen. She sacrificed her crown for him, and now he will stop at nothing t...
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"I don't think I can do this," I whisper, staring up at the monster standing before me.
The climb wasn't so intimidating from far away. Even with my fear of heights, it seemed manageable—a couple of good grips on the rocks and hoist myself to the top. I could handle that. I scaled the wall at Basecamp and lived inside a palace built in the trees for months. How bad could a few meters off the ground be?
Bad.
Terrible.
Horrendous.
Because it isn't just mere meters. The closer we got, the taller it grew. The temple practically kisses the stars. I would need to climb up to the heavens to get the Imperium. Not to mention the bones. Thousands of bones lay at our feet, protruding from the snow like some kind of shallow mass grave trapped in eternal winter. Smashed skulls and broken arms—the skeletons of people.
"This place is clearly not the enigma that we thought," I say, my voice trembling with fear.
"You've come too far to let a clump of rocks steal a victory from you," Greer says, slapping her palm against my back.
I glare at her from the corner of my eyes. Easy for her to say. She doesn't have a crippling fear of plunging to her death and becoming just another splattered mess on the ground. This is the type of shit she would do for fun. I'm sure all these people felt just like her until they lost their grip and fell to their deaths.
Ashavee slides in at my other side. She has shifted into her human form. The extra cloak I brought for her wrapped around her body, and her feet are bare. She pushes her wild black hair from her face and looks up. "That's all that stands between you and ending a bloody war."
"It holds the opportunity to create true equality for our people," Greer adds.
"Reach the top and your kingdom will hold the power it once had."
"It's the finish line to a long, happy life with Kyron."
After my attention darts between them, I look down at the bones. I'm sure that all these people had good reasons to find the Imperium as well. Was it worth it? Were the things they so desperately wanted worth risking their lives for? I let the questions stew in my brain for a moment and apply them to myself. Are the changes I can make with the Imperium worth dying for? Can they motivate me to swallow down my trepidation and face my greatest nightmare come to life?
Yes.
"If I don't make it, please make my death sound more heroic than it really was. I don't want my tombstone to read: Here lies Raelle. May her splattered remains rest in peace," I say.
Greer shakes her head, and something akin to admiration creeps across her face. "This isn't your end, Elle. And even if it was, this is heroic. Our people are lucky to have you as their queen."
