Unlikely Queen (Crystal Castle 1)

I say nothing.

“‘With as much destruction it will bring, it will also give us hope. Her reign will be no more.’” He repeats the words from the prophecy. It’s not the whole thing, but certainly some of it.

“I’m not the prophet.”

“You really do suck at lying,” Bronik says.

John and Patrick have managed to pull their torn pants on, and they come to stand near me. My sister is back at my side as well.

Bronik turns to Tatiana. “You’ve done a good job of protecting her,” he praises. She doesn’t blush at his words or say anything back. “But she is of age now, and you can’t keep her hidden forever.”

“You have the wrong person,” Tatiana says.

I didn’t know of the prophecy until I was eighteen, and I sure as shit didn’t think it was about me. That was until one night when I didn’t come home. I was twenty and wanted to sneak off with the other witches, but they didn’t want me around them. They put their spells on me, tested me, but none of them worked. I was immune to their conjuring. And only one person could be immune to that.

The prophet.

Or so we had heard.

When I got home, I asked Tatiana. She shrugged it off until I asked her to hit me with a spell.

She knew then that I knew.

There was no going back.

Our mother had told her before her death and made her promise that she would do everything in her power to train and prepare us for when the day came. That when the queen found out who I was, she would want me dead. I was best kept hidden, but in plain sight was the wise choice.

It worked for years. My sister did as our mother had commanded. She trained and made me stronger. But we all knew the day would come when they would discover who I was. And with that knowledge, I would either die or the prophecy would be realized.

Tatiana was hoping for the latter.

Me, I wasn’t entirely sure which option I wanted.

That’s a lot of pressure for someone who has never been loved.

“You lie, but I understand why,” Bronik responds to my sister and then turns back to me. “You have to get to the queen, but you cannot do that by walking straight into her castle. She will know and she will kill you the first chance she gets. You need to go around, and in doing so, you need to collect allies on your way.”

“What?” I question, confusion swirling in my mind and probably written all over my face.

“You have to go through the Viper Forest. There you will find the Viper himself. He hasn’t been seen or spoken to by anyone for over two hundred years. The queen has no say in that area. It’s forbidden to go there, and anyone who does, does not come out alive.”

“Then that’s a death trap,” John says, shaking his head.

Bronik turns. “It very well may be, but the Viper holds a special power that you will need to break the queen’s barrier. And only he holds it. And if you want to save your sister, it’s the only way.”

“What power?” I ask.

“One where you break all the wards.” He smiles, and my sister gasps. “Now you know why it is forbidden. You didn’t think she would be given all this power without a failsafe, did you? Traps to undo it?”

“Why don’t you get it, then?” Tatiana asks.

“I cannot collect power as Talia can. Am I right on that fact? That you can collect power?”

I look across at my sister, who closes her eyes softly, then reopens them. I can only do that if it’s given. I cannot steal someone’s power. Well, in all honesty, I have never tried to.

“And am I correct in guessing she can only get it if it’s given?” Bronik asks, raising one eyebrow.

“Yes,” I say.

Tatiana shoots me a death stare.

“Good. You must go. It takes days to get to him, and you must be on high alert the whole way. It’s been named the Viper Forest for a reason,” Bronik says.

“You could be sending us in there to our deaths, making the queen’s job easier,” Patrick alleges.

“This is true, but why would I do that? I could easily kill you all now.” Bronik smirks.

“What happens when Talia gets through?” Tatiana asks.

“Such faith she will?” Bronik asks.

“Yes,” Tatiana replies without hesitation.

“I will meet you on the other side.” He looks at me, winks, then disappears into thin air.

“We aren’t doing it,” John states.

Tatiana walks past him and comes straight to me. “We need to change.”

I nod and we walk back to the wolves.

We will do anything to get our sister back.

Any damn thing.

Chapter Eleven

We walk back with John and Patrick close behind us.

“You can’t go. No one in history has gone into that forest and come out alive,” John says more to Tatiana than to me.