The Mirror King (Orphan Queen) (37 page)

“You will
not
.” I lunged for Patrick, and when he moved to parry, I stepped inside his guard and thrust my dagger into his stomach.

Blood poured from the wound as he staggered back. “Wil?” Patrick clutched his gut with both hands, his face filled with
surprise and hurt. For a heartbeat, he was the same boy who’d given me writing supplies in the old palace, swearing to help me reclaim my kingdom.

No matter the cost.

“I’m sorry, Patrick.” I made myself watch as he fell to his knees, his eyes locked on mine. Around us, the bursts of din grew longer as people broke free. Tobiah stood at my side, and a line of my soldiers at my back. On the street behind Patrick, I caught Melanie and James running toward us. “This was never what I wanted. Our problems have always been so much bigger and more complex than what you saw.”

“You’re wrong. You need me.” Patrick scraped his sword off the ground and lunged.

Tobiah moved toward me at the same time I grabbed him and pulled him to safety, a breath away from the sword point.

Patrick’s blade clattered on the ground. He grunted and fell forward. Behind him, James pulled his sword free of Patrick’s heart, and Melanie looked on with a cold, distant expression.

Patrick was dead.

Heavy moments stretched as we stared at Patrick’s body on the ground. Prince Colin’s body lay close by. A faint numbness settled over me. Something I’d always thought was impossible had just happened. And I’d lost another Osprey in the process. Another person I’d once called a friend.

“Your Majesties!” Denise dragged my attention back to the park and the chaos within.

Chrysalis had recovered control of the wraith, so the battle had resumed. Blades clashed and people screamed. Everywhere I looked, there were bodies on the ground, and others trying to flee.

“We have to stop this. Come with me.” Tobiah took my free hand and pulled me toward a tall building. We threw our hooks and climbed up the side of an old, pre-wraith structure. Melanie and James guarded from below.

On the roof, we could see the whole battleground, all the reds and blues intermixed, and those with black knives on their uniforms struggling to contain the fighting. Wraith beasts plowed through, growing with the heavy concentration of mist.

“People of Aecor!” Tobiah called. “People of the Indigo Kingdom!”

No one heard.

I touched his hand. “What do the people call you, Tobiah Pierce? What do they whisper about you?”

“The heir to four Houses?” He shook his head as understanding dawned. “No, I don’t think I should. There’s already so much wraith.”

“And
it’s
what’s causing the panic right now. Contain it. I know you can.”

He sucked in a heavy breath and braced himself with one hand on my shoulder.

A mirror appeared on a storefront across the way. Then another to our right. And another beneath us.

Dozens of mirrors popped into existence. Round, oval, rectangular, octagonal: they appeared in a hundred shapes and sizes, fixed to the walls and lying on the streets. They were all bare, sharp glass.

Tobiah stood at my side, his face upturned and his eyes closed in concentration. His skin was pale and slick with sweat,
but mirror-reflected wraith light shone onto him. Us.

Wraith shrieked and spiraled upward, but Tobiah’s mirrors caught it—for now. Even the beasts were motionless, trapped in their reflections.

Everyone looked at us.

“People of Aecor!” I called, same as Tobiah had. “People of the Indigo Kingdom!”

Tobiah steadied himself and gazed over the crowd. It was impossible to say how long we had before the wraith escaped his mirrors, so we had to hurry.

I lifted my voice. “Colin Pierce is dead. Patrick Lien is dead. The battle is finished. Aecorians: your queen, the rightful heir to the vermilion throne, has won. Citizens of the Indigo Kingdom: you are all refugees, and by coming to Aecor, you agree to obey my laws. With me, I have King Tobiah, Sovereign of the Indigo Kingdom, House of the Dragon. He, too, is a ward of Aecor, per the Wraith Alliance.”

Tobiah made himself tall and proud, and in mirrors all across the park, I caught reflections of the two of us: black-clad vigilantes standing side by side. “Queen Wilhelmina has graciously taken us in. Indigo Army, you will submit to our queen. Aecorians who followed Prince Colin’s rule, you will submit to our queen.”

My heart thundered when he said my name. When he said
queen
.

I fought to hide the tremor in my voice as I spoke. “Our problem now is the wraith. It surrounds you. These mirrors won’t hold it forever, but I will take action to fix that upon my return to Sandcliff Castle.”

Thousands of eyes gazed up, some with anger, but more with hope.

“I
need
you all to work together. Protect one another. Every one of you is valuable.” I stopped myself before looking toward Patrick and Colin; we could have used them, too. The sense memory of my dagger entering his gut still echoed in my fingers.

Tobiah took my hand and squeezed the sensation out, though it probably wasn’t meant to be comforting, but a reminder. Hurry.

“You have your orders. Those who refuse to obey will be arrested and put on trial. Those who wish to throw out their former allegiances will be pardoned.”

Immediately, people began moving, calling orders, looking for guidance from their comrades. I let them be, keeping my head high as I strode toward the side of the building to climb down again.

A faint keening rose up, inhuman and piercing.

Tobiah stood where I’d left him, his hands clenched at his sides and his jaw tight.

“What is it?” I walked back to him. The noise grew louder, humming like bees. Below, everyone was looking around, moving more quickly.

Tobiah met my eyes. “Wraith.”

With a sharp
crack
and flash of light, every mirror in the park exploded.

GLASS AND LIGHT
shot upward in a thunderous explosion, but as the shards began to rain down, they vanished.

Tobiah was sweating, shaking, gasping. “It escaped. It broke free of the mirrors.”

He’d gotten rid of the mirrors before they caused people harm. That was something. But now the wraith mist was free; it swirled and shrieked, spinning through the park with a blinding glow. Mist burst outward, stretching farther into the city.

I took Tobiah’s hand and hauled him toward the edge of the building, where Melanie and James waited on the ground. “Down we go!”

We rappelled as quickly as possible. People ran from the park, others killed wraith beasts, and some attempted to make arrests. The brilliant light of wraith silhouetted my friends
below, making my eyes water. I blinked away tears and looked for a place to land among the crush of people and screaming wraith.

Melanie took me by the ribs to steady me. “What happened?” She stepped back to give me room, elbowing others aside. “I thought Chrysalis had control.”

“He did.” I stashed my grapple and line and wiped my stinging eyes. “Now he doesn’t. Maybe because of the mirrors; it’s hard to say. Regardless, we need to go to the castle
immediately
.”

“Right.” Melanie shoved me close to Tobiah so James could watch both of us, and she began rounding up soldiers with knives painted on them. “Protect the queen!” Her voice carried over the din. “Protect the king!”

A small chorus took up the call. “Protect the queen! Protect the king!” The words spread and people circled us, creating a human barrier. Melanie and James led the group out of the lowcity.

We plowed through the confused disorder of people struggling to escape the park, but it was too slow. We’d never make it to the castle if we were forced to walk like this.

I leaned toward Tobiah. “Can you make more mirrors?”

He gave a swift nod, and a heartbeat later, a giant mirror appeared on a factory wall ahead of us, reflecting the blinding light of the park.

Tobiah staggered with the effort; I lunged to support him as more mirrors came into existence.

James glanced back.

“I’ve got him!” I matched my steps with Tobiah’s, directing him and taking as much of his weight as possible while he closed his eyes and called a hundred mirrors into being. A thousand, maybe; the wraith wasn’t contained in the park anymore, and if he wanted to stop it all, every wall in the lowcity needed mirrors.

But the wraith did stop. It trembled in its own reflection, buzzing angrily.

Tobiah’s breath rasped by my ear.

“How long can you keep those?”

“Until we don’t need them anymore. Or until the wraith breaks free.” His tone was grim, determined. It was hard enough to believe he’d remained standing after creating the bridge this afternoon; that he was still functioning through two manifestations of mirrors . . .

I tightened my grip on him. “That’s good. We’ll make it.”

With the wraith contained, the crowd moved faster through the lowcity and the line of factories, but it wasn’t enough. Tobiah couldn’t hold these mirrors for long. We had to do something.

Ahead, a clatter of hooves and voices rang out. “Mel!”

I scanned the crowd to find Oscar riding in with a squad of black-knifed soldiers.

The perimeter of guards paused and broke open. Oscar leapt off his horse, Sergeant Ferris close behind as they spoke to James and Melanie.

I aimed Tobiah toward the nearest horse, a familiar chestnut. “Ferguson!”

“That’s not his name,” Tobiah groaned. “Like all military horses, he was given a name before you decided to steal him.”

“He’s Ferguson to me. Now climb on.” I steadied Tobiah as
he tested his weight on the stirrup, then lifted himself onto the saddle. I pulled myself up after him, awkwardly swinging my leg over Ferguson’s neck.

Tobiah looped his arms around my waist, pulling me close.

From atop Ferguson, I had a better view of the mirrors that shot wraith light everywhere, illuminating panic and terror. Rivers of people poured north.

“Melanie!” I directed Ferguson toward her. “We’re running. He can’t hold these mirrors long, and I need to get to Radiants’ Walk.”

“Go!” she called. “I’m right behind you.”

“Hang on, Tobiah.” I kicked Ferguson into movement, shouting at the people ahead. “Watch out! Make way!”

Ferguson seemed reluctant to trample anyone, but he nosed people out of the way, snorting and nipping when they wouldn’t let him through. Soon, more riders joined us: Melanie, James, Ferris, Oscar, and a handful of Queen’s Guard.

At last, we broke through the worst of the crowd and all our mounts slipped into a gallop. I hunched low over Ferguson’s neck.

The thrum of hooves and drone of voices filled my ears as we made straight for the castle, its towers and ramparts rising over the city like hope.

Behind us, glass shattered as the wraith broke free. Tobiah screamed, raw and wrecked as he pressed his forehead against my spine. His whole body shuddered, and his fingers dug into my sides hard enough to bruise.

I pressed my heels against Ferguson and urged him onward. He knew this. We’d done this before. He pushed ahead of the
other horses, grunting and snorting as the inferno of wraith gained on us.

Blinding and boiling, the wraith grew brilliant with shining mist and stink.

“Mirrors, Tobiah!” I hated to force his magic, but we’d never make it if he didn’t do this.

Tobiah leaned over me, his arms tight around my waist. His breath came hard and ragged, but he didn’t let go.

Ahead, a handful of new mirrors glimmered to life on shop walls. Tobiah gasped with the effort, but the force of wraith behind us paused. One of the guards riding alongside us cheered, but James shushed him.

“It’s not stopped,” James shouted. “We aren’t safe until the barrier is up.”

We turned onto Castle Street and rode for my home with everything in us. Drumming hooves, Tobiah’s ragged breath, the screams of people fleeing wraith—these sounds filled my head as I kept my eyes on the castle. The overlook was visible from here, a wide, flat surface lit with dozens of gas lamps.

Closer. We were closer.

The street ahead was clear. I urged Ferguson faster and faster.

The crack and shatter of glass blasted again over the pounding and the blood rushing through my head. Tobiah groaned and his hands slipped around my middle. His weight pulled away from me.

I reached around and pressed my hand on his back, trying to keep him from slipping off. But as Ferguson picked up another burst of speed, Tobiah slid backward.

James rode up alongside us and heaved his cousin back into place. “We’re almost there! Just hold on a little longer.”

Thin tendrils of wraith slipped up behind us, nipping.

One of the horses shrieked and a soldier cried out, but there was no time to look back. Tobiah groaned and shook himself conscious once more, his grip tightening on me when he realized we were still in transit.

“More mirrors?” James kept his hand on Tobiah’s shoulder, a feat while we ran at full speed toward the castle.

Tobiah’s answer was faint. “No.”

There was no other option, then.

As we reached the castle rampart, I reined Ferguson hard, pulling him to a stop at the thick gate, left open for our return.

Other guards thundered by before they realized what I’d done, but James was still beside us. “What are you doing?”

“The only thing left.” I stripped off a glove and dug Connor’s small, silver mirror from a pouch on my belt. Dented, tarnished, but still reflective. “
Wake up
,” I whispered, and the mirror began to shine in my hands. I pressed it against stone.
“Wake up, stay here, and grow. Grow until you cover the entire wall
.
”

Dizziness swarmed through me, filling my sight and stealing my balance, but Tobiah kept his grip on me, and James added his strength, too. I breathed through the magical exertion as silver rippled outward, spreading across the stone.

All across the city, wraith halted.

“James, the overlook.” My words felt slow. “Get us there now.”

The overlook stairs were nearly impossible to climb.

Tobiah and I staggered up the narrow passage, James and Melanie at our heels.

“We couldn’t get the carts through,” Paige said from the rear, “so Rees and I improvised. People carried the barrier pieces in baskets and scarves, anything they could find. Is that all right?”

“As long as the pieces are there.” I lurched up the last steps to find a huge glittering pile of barrier scales in the center of the overlook, and a small crowd of nobles and military.

Stumbling forward, I caught Queen Francesca’s eye, Kathleen Rayner’s, even Chey’s. Near them stood the Corcorans and a handful of other Indigo Kingdom nobles, all watching with frightened expressions. Many of them still wore their ball gowns from earlier this evening.

It seemed like ages ago.

The Ospreys were there, too, with Aecorian nobility and the remainder of the Queen’s Guard. Claire leaned against the railing, both feet attached.

I glanced at Paige. “Why is there an audience?”

“They’re afraid,” she said. “They want to know what’s happening.”

“Then they’ll have to wait until we’re finished. We can’t delay.” As Tobiah and I marched toward the barrier pieces, Melanie and James flanking us, I wondered what they saw. A king and queen, dressed as vigilantes? Or two young people, thrust into power before they were ready?

The castle shuddered as wraith strained against Connor’s mirror.

“What’s your plan?” Melanie took my arm to steady me.

“Don’t even ask,” Tobiah muttered. “She hates telling people her plans.”

“Do you remember when I told you about Mirror Lake?” I knelt at the pile of barrier scales, shining in the light of gas lamps and wraith. Our audience moved to hear, but guards kept them back. “And the other night, you, James, and I talked about creating a barrier ring around Aecor.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You’re going to turn the Red Bay into a bigger Mirror Lake.” Her eyes were wide as she gazed at the massive pile of scales.

“Not just the Red Bay. Tangler Bay, all the way through the Hand River and Grace Bay and the Wildern Sea. Yes. All of it.” I glanced from Melanie to James to Tobiah. “Mirror Lake didn’t just hold back the wraith for longer than the barrier, but
normalized
everything that touched it, everything that reflected over it. We’ll need to remove the wraith that’s in the city, but once it’s gone, we should be able to hold on for a few more years.”

Someone in the crowd asked, “Will this be enough?”

The pile of barrier scales here stood taller than my head. There were thousands of pieces. Hundreds of thousands.

“I can’t even consider that we won’t have enough.” There hadn’t been many pieces in Mirror Lake, but this was so much larger. I bent to take a scale from the edge of the pile; it was warm, but not as warm as those from Mirror Lake had been. Though maybe with the wraith heat pouring over the city, everything else felt cool by comparison.

“They won’t be
alive
, will they?” James stood at Tobiah’s
side. “Like Chrysalis or”—he lowered his voice—“me?”

I shook my head. “They have magic in them, but they’re not magic, or wraith. They’re just pieces of metal formed in a very specific way.”

And if they did become truly alive, we’d know right away, because I’d be dead.

The castle shuddered again, making our audience shriek. Guards pushed them back.

It was just the four of us now. Tobiah, Melanie, James, and me—and this immense pile of silver scales that could be our salvation, or could ruin everything.

If I died, the mirror would fail. Chrysalis would revert. James would die.

Tobiah lifted his eyes to mine, something desperate and hopeful in there. “Are you sure?”

I repeated the words I’d told Melanie before I ventured into the wraithland. “If I’m not willing to take risks for my people’s well-being, I don’t deserve to be queen.”

He bowed his head. “I’d make the same choice.”

“Wake up.”
I squeezed the barrier piece in my ungloved hand.
“Wake up and when I command one piece, I command you all. Do this exactly: scatter in the water, circle the entire peninsula, and hold your position. Refuse to wash out with the current. Resist being swallowed. Don’t let yourself be buried.”

The expected dizziness came, making me sway. I breathed through it. Maybe that was all. Then black fuzzed the edges of my sight and my temples gave a single warning throb.

Everything spun. I groped for something to hang on to as I dropped forward. Hands grabbed for me—I caught the shapes
of James and Melanie in my fading vision—and they held me upright.

“It’s working.” Tobiah sounded far away.

“
Go into the water
,” I commanded.
“Follow my orders.”

Silver shimmered and people shouted. Barrier pieces slithered across the overlook, waterfalling into the Red Bay below. I clutched my piece, my connection, and peered over the edge of the cliff.

“Hold her!” Tobiah shouted. “Don’t let her fall!”

The hands on me tightened, but faintly I could see the shine of the barrier as it surged into the water, through the dark depths, and vanished.

Then the world faded.