Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,148
but she shall find it twice; the sword shall seek her out, yet she shall seek it twice. Twice she chooses and twice she falls and twice she rises. She is fire. And all shall burn. Imagine my joy, believing one of my own flesh and blood would be chosen. But prophecy speaks in riddles; its irony does not escape me.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Tala could see the mirror flicker again, ever so slightly. The firebird was still stretched out on the floor, motionless. But the ice had stopped encroaching upon its still figure, and she was at least grateful for that.
“Your prophecy is only the latest in a long line of dooms past. What the feline refuses shall the outlander take, to slay the queen of hearts at the cost of wonder. This is what it says of Alice Liddell, and through her efforts Wonderland died, however inadvertently. The dragon that wields the sword shall overcome shadow, until the day he is thrice betrayed by love and brotherhood and kinship. This is what it says of Arthur Pendragon. She is fire. And all shall burn. This is what it says of you.”
Tala heard a faint clink from somewhere behind her.
“I don’t believe you,” she said desperately, her teeth chattering. “B-besides, wh-what good will the sword be if yuh-you can’t use it?”
The Snow Queen laughed. It was a beautiful sound. “Such fire. So much like my beloved Kay. Arthur encourages that in his knights, though his temper was legendary even among them. Oh, yes,” she added, when Tala started, “didn’t he tell you? It was my childhood friend and Arthur’s foster brother, who rode off to Camelot to be knighted. I saved his life at the battle in Camlann that cost Arthur his. Your mother is irrelevant. You are still Kay’s daughter, destined to wield the sword. Help me unite the lands, and keep the secrets of our kingdoms’ magic away from the greedy outlanders.”
“B-by killing more people,” Tala said. “By turning more r-refugee kids into enemies of the s-state, like you did Ryker. By f-freezing more kingdoms who w-won’t bow down to yours. Why are you even doing this?”
“For love, of course,” the Snow Queen said, still smiling. “For Kay. What other reason should there be? Are you not willing to risk everything for love, my Tala? How much are you willing to risk for friends?” She turned back to the firebird. The ice resumed its climb up its neck, nearly encasing the firebird within it. But at the same time, Tala felt the ice entrapping her melt abruptly.
As soon as she was free, she lunged toward the queen, swinging her arnis sticks with all her might. “You leave it alone!”
The staff froze the instant it touched the woman and shattered with little warning, cutting into her own skin and making her cry out. The Snow Queen laughed.
A swift blow of wind dropped Tala onto the stone. Her fingers grazed the hilt of the embedded sword.
“That’s enough, Annelisse.”
A soft gasp from the queen. Tala’s father stepped out of the mirror, his own arnis sticks at the ready. “We’ve both outlived our lifetimes several times over. Must we continue with this madness?”
“Always!” The Snow Queen’s bright blue eyes blazed. “I sacrificed everything for you! And until you return to me, I will. Never. Stop!”
Her father attacked. The blows glanced off the queen, who moved with shocking speed, matching her father blow for blow. She sent out a wall of ice that he broke easily with his sticks, before spinning low to attack her legs. She stumbled, and he moved to strike at her head. But the Snow Queen stepped back and her hand rose, balled into a fist.
Her father grunted as sharp ice spikes shot out around him. One tore into his shin.
“Dad!” Tala cried out.
“You’re getting slower, Kay,” the Snow Queen said gently. “The years are telling on you, my love. You’re no longer the fresh-faced knight who snuck into my castle to bring me flowers and sing me ballads.”
“Some days I believe you should have left me to die on that field with Arthur,” he rasped. “A soul is too steep a price to pay for this.”
“What need do I have for one? I am powerful. I am immortal. We can still rule together, you and I. I can restore your lost youth. I can adopt your daughter, take her for my own. We mourned our lack of children. Perhaps this is our second chance.”