Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 77

In response to Cole's question, Tanwyn shifted his weight so that he was sitting on the ground, one arm draped over his knee. "I'm not going to lie and say that all the Eldritch hate Gethwine or want your mother's bloodline back on the throne. However, the guards and everyone at the castle are bound by ancient blood oaths to you and your mother's family. There is a small but important section of the regular Eldritch who would support your mother outright, and a bigger section that could be convinced."

"And if we got them on our side, we could find someone to heal my mother without worrying about Gethwine coming to arrest us?"

Tanwyn nodded. "With enough of them on our side, she might be too afraid to attack us so blatantly. She'll have to resort to stealth."

Cole frowned. "That still leaves her as a threat. And with Thijs and his new dark magic... I'm not sure we can risk having them free to work with each other." She purposefully didn't mention Bastian, or even let herself think of him. If she did, she was afraid she might cry. And she was telling herself that she'd never cry again. Especially not for Thijs' son. Even if he had been the first to reach out to her simply because she was herself... not for his own agenda.

She quickly shook her head to dislodge the thoughts.

Tanwyn was silent once again, but only for a few seconds. "The only way to stop that would be to fight." He reached down and took her mother's hand, pressing it gently between his own. "I'm not sure she would be able to withstand a battle for thrones. They're bloody and traumatic and can ruin lives as quickly as a breath."

Cole knew he was right. Her mother was too frail. It was a miracle she had been able to survive all the travel and magic they had used just getting the Sparkstone and escaping, let alone fighting Bastian and transporting them to another world entirely. It wasn't so long ago that she had been untethered and loose in her own mind, unable to focus on the happenings around her. A battle would break her entirely. Thousands of lives in her own hands and the fate of more than one world riding on her victory... it was too much to ask of anyone. But especially not her mother. The woman who had already willingly given all that up to live her life quietly.

Cole pushed herself to her feet, walking a few yards away from where Tanwyn sat by her mother's side. The shadow of the canopy overhead still enveloped her, making it hard too see for long distances. It was what she wanted. A moment alone. A moment to think without seeing her mother's far-too-pale face and the glint of desperation in Tanwyn's aqua eyes that she was beginning to fear losing at any moment.

She stared out into the forest, her breath short and choppy and her hands shaking. Her mother was behind her, dying of exhaustion and a split between her Eldritch blood and her human way of life. When her wings had been ripped from her body, she had accepted the life of an ordinary woman. It wasn't right that greatness would be shoved back into her arms when she had no means of safely protecting herself. In fact, none of they three did. Her mother and Tanwyn, with their wings brutalized and their identities stripped from them. She with her blood split in two directions, but with no power on either side.

Thijs was growing ever stronger as he dug deep into the earth and released the old magic of nature. He twisted it to his will, spreading its ruthless power to corrupt the lands that he had not yet been able to conquer. And Gethwine lent her magic to him, binding humans and magic in ways that should never have been. Whatever she had done to Bastian, it was a perversion of truth. A line that should not have been crossed. And if she knew Thijs, what he did to his son he would gladly do to the soldiers under his command... and the ordinary people he could now make deadly.

If nothing was done, Thijs and Gethwine would be unstoppable. Whether Thijs kept his allegiance with Gethwine and left the Eldritch world alone or not, his dark power would still seep in. Gethwine would not be unaffected by that glorious power. Her people would not ignore the chance to become more. It was only a matter of time until nowhere was safe. Thijs would march forward, twisting the once quiet lives of thousands into the thunderous drums of war.

She rubbed her eyes, pressing away tears that she did not want to shed. There was a decision to be made, and she needed to make it fast. Her mother was fading and needed help, and the more time they spent hidden was more time for Gethwine and Thijs to grow more powerful.

Turning on her heel, she walked back to Tanwyn. He rose at her approach, somehow knowing that what she had to say would be important. She stopped a foot away from him, meeting his eyes. He reached forward, taking her hands in his, enveloping her fingers in his large palm and passing his warmth to her skin.

She took a deep breath, knowing that once her words were out of her mouth, she would not want to take them back. Once she spoke, it would be a new life.

"My mother will pass the crown to me. I'll become your queen and fight the usurper of my throne and the invader who threatens it." She pulled him close, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face into his chest. His heart thumped near her cheek and she closed her eyes. "Show me how."