Unstable by Lacey Carter Andersen
22
Emory
I thinkwe’re going to die. Drake, Adam, and I are in rough shape. Not just after the beating we took, but after breaking every speed limit to get here, not eating or drinking, and watching Princess dying. When we pulled up to the battle, we exchanged a look. A look that said that Kiera was somewhere here, in danger, and that we had to find her.
Even if it killed us.
Drake had said, “Ready?”
That one word held so much damn meaning. Were we ready to die on a battlefield? Maybe not. Maybe we all wanted that storybook ending where we had a happy life with Kiera at our sides. But life had showed us that wasn’t how things went, so we were ready. Ready to do whatever had to be done to find our woman and save her.
Even though things looked bleak.
Adam had kissed Princess’s head, and they’d exchanged a look that made my own damn eyes tear up. Our mutant was crying when we opened the door to the van and jumped into the frey. But somehow, that made sense to me. Princess was dying in the van. We were dying out here. It felt like this was where things were always headed.
Drake roars when he exits the van, and the sound shakes the very sky. Then, he starts to shift into his dragon form as I focus on the battle and give into the berserker within me. I feel myself swelling. My thoughts fade away. And Drake is suddenly a massive black dragon. Covered in scars. His wings in tatters. Looking like a dragon of old, guarded his horde of jewels.
It seems a terrible thing for the last dragon alive to die here.
And that is my last clear thought before my vision turns red, and then I’m diving into the battle. Adam is somewhere beside me. He’s picked up a bloody sword. His shield shimmers in and out of existence as big berserker fists try to crash into him, and a vampire attacks from his side. But for a man with tears rolling down his face, he never hesitates. Never looks anything but a warrior.
It surprises me how clear the vision of my best friend is in that battle. Especially when my mind is in a berserker rage. My fists crunches into the faces and bodies of my brethren. I feel their attacks on a deep level that screams I was already too broken to fight. But luckily for me, the rage keeps the pain at bay, like something itching at the corner of my thoughts, but not quite clear.
I kill and kill. Balls of black magic explode all around me, shaking the earth. And probably hitting my dragon, but I try not to think about that.
I fight and fight.
Bodies fall in front of me. Blood runs down my chest and tangles into my torn shirt. It runs down my fists. And I have no idea how much of it belongs to me, and how much of it belongs to my enemies.
A berserker smashes into me. Somehow I’m flat on my back. My fists move, but they don’t connect. The sky spun above me, and then it’s darkened by the leering face of a berserker as he punches my body over and over again. My hands twitch at my side, but I can no longer lift them.
My only regret is not seeing Kiera. Not knowing if she’s safe.
Because I gave everything. Every last drop of myself. And for the first time in my life, I feel like a man people can be proud of. A man who wears them same golden ring on my finger as the people I love.
And then the berserker on top of me is thrown off. Adam stands above me in all his glory and offers me his hand. I can’t take it, and he seems to realize that. And then the tiny mutant is helping me stand.
“Kiera and Cole got attacked in the tower. They’re trapped. Drake is going to try to save them.”
Adam’s words slowly form in my mind, and I feel myself shrinking. Damn it. I’m so far gone I can’t even keep my berserker shape.
“More vampires and berserkers are coming from the woods, and the mages’ attacks are doing more damage than the demons planned. The odds are starting to turn against us. We need to do something different before everyone ends up dead. Emory, you need to declare yourself the king. Most of these berserkers don’t even want to be here. Can’t you feel it? You need to save us and them.”
“I’m no king,” the words sound twisted in my mouth.
“You don’t need to believe it to make them believe it. Please, Emory, just try.”
Just try. It’s such a simple ask. But it’s terrifying. When I try, I fail. When I don’t try, I fail. Maxen beats me every time. He’s the champion. The golden boy. I’m the failure. If I state my claim as king, will everyone laugh?
Fuck. Is that what I’m worried about? Being more of a disappointment to my people?No. I didn’t care about the way they saw me now. I would do anything for Kiera… for Adam. For Drake. Even face my own terrible fears. Again.
“What do I say?” I ask, and my words sound clearer.
“Tell them you are the true king of the berserkers, and you order them to stop. Say that it was decreed. That it was the prophecy. Play on their superstitious nature.”
A berserker races at us. Adam’s shield shimmers into existence. The berserker pounds against it, but he can’t touch it. Adam has really gotten better with his powers.
“Just say that?”
Adam smiles at me. “Yeah, it’s that easy.”
I take a deep breath. In Adam’s eyes, I can truly see he believes that. That he believes in me.
And I refuse to let him down. Not again.
I try to stand without Adam’s help, but I can’t. The vision of what I thought a king should be fades away, and I accept that this king will be a man who can lean on his best friend, and that’s okay.
“Berserkers!” I shout.
The battle rages on.
What are you trying to do? Drake’s voice echoes loudly in my head.
I wince. Tell them as their king I’m commanding this battle to stop.
Drake’s pained laugh comes in my head. I can help get their attention.
And then, the bastard roars. Not just any roar, but the kind of roar that brings the entire battlefield to its knees. I look behind me at the fierce dragon. Torn bodies litter the ground around him. His muzzle is covered in blood, and then he unleashes a blaze of fire over us all. Not close enough to hurt our allies, but sure as hell close enough for us all to feel the warmth… and to start sweating.
Go, he commands.
I clear my throat, my gut twisting. “Berserkers, this battle is over. The false king no longer commands you. I have married the female berserker. I am now your king.”
To my surprise, all eyes are suddenly on me.
“Demons, my people have been led astray by a monster. I hope that if they are willing to surrender, you will spare their lives.”
The demon king is covered in blood as he rises to his feet. “I will allow it, if the true king of the berserkers gives his word.”
And then Maxen leaps to his feet. The bastard looks like he hasn’t even built up a sweat. Not a drop of blood marrs his dark clothes. “True king? I am the true king. Once I kill him and take back my stolen bride. At this point, it’s simply a formality.”
I try to smirk, although I’m not sure it works. “No, it’s not. Because you’re going to die before any of that can happen.”
He opens his mouth, and then I hear a scream.
My gaze snaps to the tower. Kiera is in her berserker form, she nearly tumbles from the window, but Cole drags her back. The fucking berserkers and vampires in the tower haven’t stopped their attack, and it’s clear Kiera and Cole are outnumbered.
I’m on it.Drake sounds grim.
My heart thumps a little harder as the ground shakes as the massive dragon moves back from the fight, and I feel cold dread when I realize he’s going to try to fly. Those wings of his… there’s no way. He could shift back into his human body and climb the stairs, but we both know he won’t stand a chance.
It’s the only way.
I guess both of us were going to face our demons today.
“Emory is a bastard!” Maxen shouts, and my gaze jerks back to him. “He is only half my father’s son. He doesn’t deserve to be king just because he stole my bride.”
“He’s the better man in all ways,” Adam says, and I hear a few grumbles of agreement.
The berserkers and demons are looking between us. It’s clear no one knows what to do. Unfortunately, including me.
And then… something changes in the air. The ground rumbles, and I turn to see Drake racing toward us all, flapping his wings, he leaps right over our heads. And by some miracle, soars. He actually soars. His tattered wings looking like the torn flags of war. He wraps himself around the tower and pokes his nose toward the openings at the top.
Get on!His shout echoes through the air.
“Let the two would-be kings fight.” I turn and see the berserker king watching me closely. “He who wins will win the woman and the crown.”
Maxen looks terrified for a half a second, and then he glances at me. His calculating gaze runs over my battered form, still leaning on Adam for support, and the asshole smiles. “Agreed. Emory? You ready to finally finish this thing, or would you rather just kneel down and give me your head now?”
“For Princess,” Adam whispers fiercely beside me.
I clench my teeth together and push unsteadily to my feet, finally standing on my own. “Agreed.”
A circle forms around us of berserkers, vampires, demons, and even a few mages. It spreads through the whole area, leaving friend and foe standing together. But I try not to see any of them. I just look at Adam. There is complete confidence in his face.
A soft, weak voice whispers in my mind. I didn’t save your lives… so that you could die now.
I curl my hands into fists. If Princess was still fighting, I could fight too.
Maxen begins to take on his berserker form in front of me. I try to do the same. I swear I try as hard as I can, but my body won’t. Even just trying to take on my form leaving me sweating and shaking.
I look at Adam, feeling panicked.
He doesn’t say a word, he just hands me his sword.
I take it, my grip slippery on the bloody hilt. Wiping it as clean as I can on my blood soaked clothes, I turn it toward Maxen. I haven’t seen his berserker form very many times. He’s always been the kind of guy who didn’t like to lose control in front of people. But now, I can’t decide which of his forms terrifies me more. The berserker in front of me is nearly as large as I am in my form, and that’s saying a lot, and he looks like he’s completely lost to the bloodlust.
His teeth clench and unclench together, and then I swear he grins.
He races toward me, and the circle widens away from me at his approach. Not that I blame them. Some terrified part of me wishes I could run away too.
Instead, I plant my feet apart and level my sword at him. If I can do this right. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll survive this thing.
He closes the distance between us in seconds, and I do exactly as I intended. I spring away from him at the last second, knowing how slow berserkers can be to react in their forms, and swing my sword after him. It slashes his back, but he’s out of reach too quickly.
I try to get a second blow into his neck. A killing blow, but he turns, and shifts, and my hand trembles, striking too late and too slow, a slash across his chest.
He roars in anger. He barrels at me again, and this time all I can do is get out of his way. He misses me, but spins around. Instead of just running at me, he moves slower toward me. I back up, one knee gives out, and I have to bite back a scream of pain to force myself onto my feet once more. He punches out. I barely manage to duck to avoid the blow. He strikes again, and his fist lands square in my gut.
I fly back and hit the ground. My breathing is labored. There’s at least one broken rib, probably more, but I can’t focus on that now. Rolling onto my feet, even when my vision darkens. I wrap one arm around my stomach and point the trembling sword at Maxen.
“Come on, give up!” Someone shouts. But the words aren’t angry. The person almost sounds worried for me.
“This is hardly a fight. Look at him!” Someone else says.
Blood drips into my eye, but I don’t even have the strength to wipe it away. Maxen runs at me again, and I hold my sword out in front of me, hoping the skewer the asshole. He slows as he draws closer, and then darts to my bad side, punching me again, nearly in the same spot.
I hit the ground again, and everything goes black, but I’m already struggling to my feet. Swinging my sword around and around. Not sure where to attack. Not sure where my enemy is.
“This isn’t a battle,” I hear someone grumble.
“What kind of king thinks this is a fair fight?”
I try to tune them out. But if feels like hundreds of voices are coming from all around me. The sounds start to blend together as I swing my sword and swing my sword, my vision still black. The pain threatening to sweep me under.
All I can do now is hope to die on my feet. Hope to give Drake enough time to save our woman.
That’s all.
“Enough!” The word is a shout of rage, and I instantly recognize the voice. Cole. Which has to mean that Kiera is here too. Right?
“No!” Maxen roars.
I hear the ground pounding. I can’t see him coming, but I feel him. My instincts scream to wait, wait, wait, as the sound comes closer and closer, and then I hear Princess’s voice in my head whisper now. I shift to my side and stick a leg out. It connects, even though a scream of pain tears from my lips. My vision wavers. It’s uneven, but there. I see Maxen on his knees, and it takes every ounce of effort I have to put my sword to his throat.
Silence swallows the battlefield.
“Kill him,” Comes from someone’s mouth, and then it seems the entire battlefield is chanting those two words.
I spit out blood. “No,” the word is hoarse. “There’s been enough blood today. I won. I’m the king. That’s all that matters.”
And then, I see Kiera in the crowd. Cole is standing beside her like a queen’s guard. They both look like hell, but some unexpected emotion rises inside of me that at least she wasn’t alone. At least he had been there to protect her.
I drop my sword and start toward them. My heartbeat is all I can hear now, and each step is uneven and shaky. Kiera and Cole start toward me, and then Kiera’s eyes widen.
Something slams into me from behind, and my head cracks against something on the ground. I wish I could say I blacked out. But I feel the fists that pummel my body. Every single fucking blow.
And then, my attacker is thrown off of me. I hear the sounds of battle behind the roaring in my ears, and then Cole flips me over. A scream tears from my lips, and he has a fierce look on his face. “Look. Look! Watch our woman kill our brother! Watch her!”
He turns my head to the side, and my body feels light. The pain fades away, and then it’s like I’m watching it all from far away. My mate… she’s incredible. She’s fast in her berserker state. But ruthless. I see several moments she could end this fight. But she doesn’t. She’s playing with him, breaking him one bone at a time. His face is twisted in panic, but even in her berserker state, I can read the fierce determination in hers.
And then he’s on his knees. She has an arm around his throat, cutting off his oxygen. He strikes weakly back at her, but she doesn’t seem to notice. Instead, her gaze goes to me.
“Come on, Brother,” Cole whispers. “It’s your turn. Kill him. Take the prize your mate has given you.”
The chants to kill him start up again.
“No,” I whisper, and the word sounds so damned weak. “Let her do it. I’ve… made peace with him. With the monster he tried to make me into.”
Cole stares at me strangely, then looks back at Kiera. “He wishes his queen to do the honor.”
And it’s strange, as I’m dying, to watch the life drain from Maxen. Strange, and satisfying. Not just to see him die, but to see Kiera. She is incredible. A fierce warrior. A woman deserving of the title of queen.
When there’s no doubt that he’s dead, she tosses him to the side. Her body slowly shrinks back into her form, and she glares over the crowd. “Now, one of you mages better get your asses over and start healing my men.” She doesn’t move until a man meekly steps forward and heads toward me. “And while that’s being done, I believe the demons and I need to have a chat about our terms.”
I want to keep watching her. I want my Kiera to be the last thing I see on this earth. But when the mage’s hands touch my skin, I finally slip away… to nothing.
