Emeralis Veilborne's Arc

Chapter 4 of 4

The ride north took days. Emeralis and Koral crossed cold hills until the queen's home rose from the valley. It was a castle of white stone and red roofs, tall towers wrapped in crimson banners. Emeralis had pictured a fortress. This looked like a fairy tale. That made it worse. Her parents burned so this woman could live behind pretty walls. The iron gate stood open. No guards stopped them. Emeralis and Koral walked into a wide hall of white marble. Firelight danced along the columns. Then two women stepped from the shadows to block the path. They were elves, tall and graceful, with hair that burned like living flame. Ember light traced their bare arms. Their eyes glowed gold. Heat rolled off them in waves. "The queen expected you," one said. Her voice was warm and calm. Both raised their hands, and fire bloomed in their palms. The elves threw twin streams of flame. Emeralis dove behind a column. The smell of burning stone hit her, and for a heartbeat she was back at her home, watching it fall to ash. She shook the memory off. Koral pulled water from a fountain and sent it crashing into the first elf. Steam filled the hall. The elf screamed and dropped to one knee. Emeralis slapped her palms to the floor. Roots tore through the marble and coiled around the second elf's legs. The elf burned the vines, but Emeralis was ready. She poured acid down the roots faster than they could burn. The green fluid hissed across the elf's skin. The elf staggered, and Koral's water whip took her from behind. Both elves fell still. A slow clap echoed from the far end of the hall. Queen Ignia Flamecrown sat on a raised throne. She wore white and red robes and a crown of red jewels. Long white hair spilled past her shoulders. She looked small, almost harmless. Fire curled around both her hands. "You killed my parents," Emeralis said. Her voice shook. "You burned my home." "I burned many homes." The queen smiled. "Yours mattered so little I forgot it." Emeralis charged. The queen hurled fire, but Emeralis threw up a wall of thick roots to catch the flames. She sprinted through the smoke and grabbed the queen's throne with acid-soaked hands. The wood dissolved. The queen toppled. Koral's water pinned her arms before she could burn again. Emeralis stood over her, breathing hard. She pressed one glowing hand to the queen's chest. Acid ate through the red robes. The queen's fire guttered and died. Her eyes went empty. The crown of red jewels rolled loose across the marble. Emeralis picked it up. The queen was dead. But the queen's words stayed with her. Many homes. Many agents. Killing the head might not kill the war. Then boots thundered in the corridor beyond, and cloaked men filled the doorway, drawn by their fallen queen.