Her Cinder Throne (Completed)

Chapter 95

As Cole marched forward, Thijs' men and Cursed came toward her, trying to stop her. She barely even looked at them as she raised her hands, summoning as much magic as she could out of the Sparkstone to send them flying to the sides like toys. She barely felt the exhaustion leaking into her as her body took the toll of so many battles and so much magic used. She just fixed her eyes on Thijs and kept her feet moving, marching onward, until she stood a few feet away from him, her ax leveled at his neck.

"You're going to pay now," she growled, her eyes never leaving his. "You took my mother from me. You left me an orphan, a slave in your mines.Why."

Thijs exhaled in what was almost a laugh. His eyes still danced with amusement, like a sick child delighted by the death throes of a worm. "Your mother was my ticket to Gethwine's compliance. Without your mother, there would be no one to challenge her to the throne. But, with your mother still in my hands, Gethwine would think twice about betraying me."

"Why didn't you take me as well?" she asked, choking on the words. Her mother had been punished for the crime of once being a royal, but Cole had been the one to actually betray Gethwine. It hurt her that her mother was the only one to suffer.

Thijs shrugged. "I did not know of you, and I suppose Gethwine thought a half-human girl would not be anything to worry about."

"It doesn't matter anymore," she said, pushing away the past from her mind. It truly didn't matter. She needed to think of now. Of what she could do to stop the horrors Thijs had in store.

"No, it doesn't. Because both you and Gethwine will die here tonight. There will be no Queen of the Fae, and in turn there will be no kingdom. It will fall to the victorious conqueror, and become just the first of my new lands."

Cole shook her head. "You've got it wrong. I'm going to be the one to kill you. Not the other way around."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that," Thijs said, and even before he had finished talking, a black blur caught the corner of Cole's eye. She didn't have enough time to move before it slammed into her, dragging her to the ground. She hit the floor with a whoosh of air, and groaned in pain as her stab wound burned.

Dizzily, she climbed to her feet, turning around to see that the person who had attacked her was clothed in a black cloak and tunic, a dagger in his hands. Baerghast.

"You," she said, swinging her ax but getting blocked.

"The king will not perish tonight due to your traitorous machinations," Baerghast hissed, his lips just visible under his hood, twisted into a snarl. "You may have magic, but you're weakening. I can see it."

Cole looked down at the blood seeping out from under her chestplate. It mixed with the sweat on her tunic and the dust and mud of battle. Her arms shook as they held even the light ax, and her legs wobbled. Exhaustion raked through her like a winter breeze. He was right. Even with the Sparkstone, she was not going to last much longer.

She spat on the ground and redoubled her efforts, dodging Baerghast's blows and trying to get in his guard. It took her a few minutes, but finally she found a split second where his arm was caught in her hand, twisted away from him, and she was able to bring the ax down on his leg.

Baerghast shrieked in pain, crumpling to the floor and holding the back of his knee. She had severed a tendon, making it impossible for him to use the leg, though he tried. He snarled, writhing on the ground as he tried to get to his feet. When he saw it was useless, he took his dagger by the blade and tried to throw it at Cole's face. She blocked it with her magic, before turning back to Thijs.

"Why don't you fight me like a man?" she asked, her chest heaving with exertion.

Thijs didn't say anything, he just smiled and stood there. Confused, Cole approached him, readying her ax.

"Bastian! Come out and do your job!" Baerghast shrieked from the ground, as if he was ordering around a lazy stable boy. The sheer audacity of it shocked Cole, causing her to pause, along with the mention of that name. She didn't even process what it meant until she felt a chill on the air, and the sound seemed to leek from around her.

She looked up to see a shadow melt away from the roof of the cavern, dropping just a few feet from her side. Bastian's face was gone now, replaced by a formless mass. She would have never known it was him, and would have even struggled to think that it had been human at all, if it wasn't for the hilt of her dagger, still sticking out from where a heart should have been.

Her mouth hung open, her ax dangling useless at her side, as the Cursed moved toward her. It reached out a hand, almost as if to caress her cheek. She froze, remembering the tender touch of the prince in the stairwell, how she had almost wanted him then. How she still felt a small pinch of longing when she thought of his face.

But then one of the cave monsters leaped out from behind Thijs, sinking it's claws deep into Cole's shoulder. She screamed, falling backward, struggling to keep the claws from digging into her neck. The monster grabbed the edge of her chestplate with its needle teeth, shaking her around like a dog with a bone. She continued screaming as Bastian waved his hand for more of the monsters to pile on, all biting her wherever her armor could not cover.

Baerghast finally got to his feet, swaying on one leg and clutching his wound with his hand. He spat on the ground. "Kill her," he said, voice burning. "Stop toying with her and kill her, you imbecile."

Even as the monsters gnawed on her arms and legs and shook her around, she felt the burn of Baerghast's words. He was talking to his prince, yet he spoke as if he was less than a dog. As if he was something to be ordered around and used.

Bastian paused for a moment, his head swiveling around to Baerghast. There were no features left to see, but it was clear that he was not pleased. Baerghast scowled, unwilling to back down, but looking a bit more contrite. Afterall, he was not the one with four cave monsters at his command.

Then, Thijs spoke. His voice hard and cold and devoid of anything that might have been emotion. "Did you not hear your orders? Kill her."

Bastian motioned for his monsters to back up. They sprung away, and he floated to her side, his feet touching down so he could take the last few steps to her side. He looked down at her.