The Story of the Trees - Sword, Ring, and Crown Book One

Chapter Forty-Three

The descent down the mountain was relatively uneventful. Going down is always easier than going up. However, it was tricky, with the ropes down the rock face. Jeanne slipped, and Luke's arm gave him trouble. Good thing we'd brought a first aid kit. Once we were down on the ground, Ciaran healed Luke's arm and our other injuries. Then we ate the sandwiches Dom made. The victory made them taste fantastic.

After a while, we made it back to the vaadin and climbed on its back. Just as my father had said, it took us back to the portal with no balking.

We exited the portal at 11:45 pm, and I held up the wish coin defiantly at Duir. I was first, which meant that the vaadin had really gone faster. She sneered at it, then at me. I did not see Marisol, Regina, or the other two women. They only had fourteen minutes, and I wondered if they would make it. A few minutes later, however, Regina was standing by Duir, holding a golden mask. She hadn't gotten through her trial scott-free because her seven consorts were present, but much of the rest of her court was missing. She had only a few more than I had left among her banmuinen and concubines. I wondered what happened to them but didn't care to ask. Despite being bruised and dusty, she still looked amazing. She'd lost her veil, and I saw how beautiful she really was now that I could see her brilliant azure eyes.

Her consorts were just as dusty, with scrapes, bruises, and torn clothing — at least the difficulty levels had been pretty equal. I was expecting her to be pristine and eating a bag of peanuts as she strolled through the portal. Enan wiped some grime from his forehead as he eyed me. He looked unhappy that I had beaten Regina here.

Not long after Regina arrived, the lavender goblin girl showed up. She was bloody, and she looked quite smug. In her hand was a blue rose. Her massive court was all present.

With the bell ringing at midnight, Marisol appeared. She was as pristine as a daisy, with her court all in place. Regina's brows lifted at the unsullied appearance of her friend.

The siren girl never appeared.

"You are late, Marisol, daughter of Parson Metovis. You have failed the trials."

"No!" she screamed. She threw down the amazing feather she had in her hand. It looked like a sunset and had edges of gold. "I brought the phoenix feather! Here it is! I'm only a minute late! You can't do this to me! My father is of the Counsul!" she whined.

"Silence!" Duir shouted, and Marisol quieted down. She stood there sniffling while her feather got dusty from the ground.

Duir straightened her robes and said again, "You have failed. Return to your home."

"But... that's not what was agreed! I —"

"I said silence!" Duir stalked towards Marisol, causing her to cower away and finally prostrate herself.

"Forgive me, Mother Oak!" She cringed in expectation of Aisa's punishment.

I flinched, expecting Aisa to beat Marisol, but she stopped in front of her and clenched her fists. "Leave!" Duir shouted.

Marisol stood up and stalked away, and gave me a venomous look. I shrugged at her. There was no way she could peg this on me unless the assassination attempt was her fault.

My eyes narrowed at the possibility. She was awfully tidy, and Duir seemed reluctant to punish her even though she'd thrown a hissy fit. I smelled a big, garbage-covered rat.

"Very well, Elect Madeline," Valenia spoke up. "You may use the wish-coin. What shall you wish?" I raised a brow at her polite tone. She was looking at Duir, who was still visibly upset. Her smile was tight as she nodded at me.

My eyes widened at the news that I could use the wish-coin now? I looked at the coin and wondered what I could wish for. Everything within me felt like this could be like the monkey's paw. If I wished for my mother back, she'd probably come back as a zombie. That would be okay since zombies don't really bother me, but she'd stink, and I'd have to keep her from trying to eat my friends. If I wished to win the contest, I'd probably win in the worst way. If I wished to go back home, then Aleria would probably be covered in a blizzard, or my friends would be stuck.