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ARCHER LETS GO OF EVERLEIGH’S hand and takes hold of Ginata. He drags her to Millard’s side and keeps hold of her arms.
Millard grins at her. “Together again, little Ginny. Tell me, do you still love me?”
“I hate you. Please Everleigh. Please. This cannot be. I would never hurt you, never betray you. It’s not right. Please. There must be some mistake.”
“The only mistake was me trusting you. You have broken my heart.”
Ginata cannot look at any of them, she lowers her head to the floor, tears dripping, shoulders shaking.
“Enough of this. Whatever you have said or done doesn’t matter anymore. Ginata, I will lock you up, Millard, I will kill you. I will be crowned and I will forget about the both of you and what you’ve done to me.”
Archer beckons Will to him and passes him a dagger. Will gives it to Everleigh and she drops it, as though it’s scalding hot. For all her bravado, can she really do this? End this? Kill him?
Millard opens his eyes, sensing her weakness and it’s the glint in his eyes that convinces her of what she must do.
Will picks up the dagger and stands in front of her, blocking the view of her brother. Archer talks over Ginata’s head. “Let me do it for you. Take Addyson in the other room and let me finish this.”
“I should do it.”
“Maybe, maybe not. He will still be dead.”
“I wish it hadn’t come to this.”
“We all do. Let me help you, let me do this for you.”
Is she less of a Queen if someone else kills Millard? More? Does it even matter? She turns to Addyson and takes her hands. Addyson turns to their brother, wiping her tears with her sleeve. “Our father wasn’t very nice to me but I never wished him dead. I wish you were dead. You are horrible. A liar, a murderer, a nasty evil person.”
Millard closes his eyes again. He doesn’t want to hear them. And nothing they say will change the past and nothing he says will change the past. The events that have led to them all being here in this room will never change.
Only Everleigh now has the power to shape the future. What becomes of him, Ginata, of Addyson and of herself.
He cannot live, she knows that much. The slightest weakness shown from her will encourage a rebellion against her at some point in the future, led by him or one of his supporters.
She looks at him. Her brother. Her handsome brother.
Any one of the people in this room would kill him on her behalf.
“Will, give me the dagger.” He does and she holds it in her right hand. “Archer, Ceryn, how do I do it...so it’s quick?”
“Stab him in the heart with all of your strength, stab in and up.”
She nods, feeling sick.
Will steps forward and puts his hand on her shoulder. She feels the heat from his touch and the love he feels for her. Addyson does the same, then Della and then the teacher. Ceryn and Archer cannot touch her because they are guarding her enemies but she can tell from the look on their faces what they think and how they feel about her.
She closes her eyes and their touch fills her up. With love, peace, friendship, support, help...all the things she will need off these people as she moves into her new role as Queen.
She is ready. She steps towards Millard but just before she reaches him, he grabs hold of Ginata, tipping her back and pouring something down her throat.
Ceryn pulls him back by the hood of his cloak, and sticks the point of her sword in his neck. He screams out but then laughs.
Archer pulls Ginata away from Millard. “What did you do? What was that you gave her?”
Ginata is spitting the liquid out of her mouth, crying and screaming and still Millard laughs.
“That, little Ginny, was my final present to you. Something you made for me. Ironic, don’t you think?”
“The death draught? No – you gave it to me, in the cottage.” Her voice has altered, the poison working its way into her system.
“Ah, no – that was the vial that you gave Macsen. I cleaned it out, filled it with ale. The death draught you made, I kept. You never know when these things will come in handy.”
Ginata is clutching at her throat, her body starting to spasm.
“And by the way – I lied. The two potions were a love potion and a potion to addle the brain. She didn’t betray you, after all.”
“What?” Everleigh feels all the breath leave her body.
“Sorry, sis. I just can’t help myself. Sorry, little Ginny.”
Everleigh drops to Ginata’s side. “Forgive me, forgive me.”
It is too late. Her skin is turning black.
“Della, look – this is how Finn died.”
At the sound of Della’s cries intensifying, Everleigh screams, an animalistic sound, and lunges for her brother. Without thought or care, she stabs at his heart with the dagger, not caring if it’s a clean or quick kill.
Ignoring the blood pumping out of his body, she turns away from him, from Ginata, from everybody.
Addyson takes hold of her and leads her away. Della follows them, her hand on Addyson’s back.
Once they have moved into Ginata’s bedroom, Ceryn stands in front of Millard with her sword. He must be dead, but if he’s not, she will finish him off.
Archer stands beside Ceryn, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, so she does not have to move her gaze from Millard. The pain at the loss of their best friend is held between them, a physical pain, a connection between them.
They cry for a minute and then Archer kisses the top of her head. He goes after Everleigh but Will stays with Ceryn. He silently takes her hand and she sobs, eyes still on Millard’s body.
Everleigh reaches the bed and drops on to it, weeping. “I cannot believe that. She was innocent. What have I done?”
The teacher drops to his knees beside her. “Everleigh, you must not, cannot blame yourself for this. That is exactly what Millard wanted. It’s why he said those things. It was his parting shot. He knew he could not live but he wanted to live on in your heart. Do not let him.”
“But Ginata-”
“Is a casualty of war. The same as Weaver, the same as Lanorie, or any of the dead men in the courtyard.”
“I cannot stand it.”
“You have to.”
Archer sits beside her, stroking her back, letting her cry, joining in.
Ceryn slips into the room, Millard is definitely dead, and the pages have wrapped him and removed him already, along with Ginata’s blackened body. Will tucks in beside her, his new place next to her.
“Now what?” Everleigh asks, her voice hoarse from crying.
“Now you are Queen.”
Everleigh drops her head, more sobs wracking her body.
The tension and silence are thick, but no one can celebrate the end of the war, the end of Millard’s life. Too much has been lost, so much sacrificed. The Realm as they knew it, is altered. They all are.
They break off into small groups, naturally, quietly talking, crying, grieving. Della and Addyson are always together and so nothing changes there. Addyson gives comfort to Della over the loss of Finn, and Della assures her that things will get better. “Will you come to live at the castle?”
“If your sister still wants me to, yes.”
There is nothing for her at her cottage now, except memories of her brother and his death, his betrayal.
Archer has joined Ceryn and Will, and Will quietly holds Ceryn’s hand as they talk about Weaver. How good he was, how kind he was, how much he liked to sew.
“He’d be glad I killed Wolf.”
“We’re all glad you killed Wolf.”
They smile and reminisce, tears mixed with laughter, grief and fond memories mingling in the bittersweet way they do when a loved one dies.
“I need to thank the men who fought,” Everleigh says, her voice small.
“Everleigh, you are Queen, now. You have to forget everything that’s happened and look to the future.”
She nods and asks Della to help her get changed into something less bloody before she faces her people for the first time.
They form a small procession, a very serious procession, as they make their way through the castle corridors and down to the great hall.
There are no guards on the door, and the noise coming from inside is deafening. Archer opens the door for Everleigh and a hush falls over the great hall.
She walks slowly through the crowd and takes her place on the dais. She smiles out at the men, the little maids, pages, stable boys, squires and Cook.
“My brother is dead. He killed many, many people. He was a truly terrible King. I am your new ruler. I am Queen of the Realm.”
There is a beat of silence and then a cheer, a stamping of feet and a banging of fists, as the cry goes up: “Long live the Queen!”
“Long live the Queen,” Archer whispers in her ear.
“And her King.” Everleigh grins at him.