Unstable by Lacey Carter Andersen
23
Kiera
The negotiations took three days.But the demons were good hosts. They allowed my men time to heal. They allowed my people to leave their lands without any more bloodshed. I watched the berserkers leave as Maxen’s head, firmly mounted on a pike, watched over it all.
To my surprise, no one seemed to feel that as queen I was somehow subservient to Emory. As he healed, my voice held the same weight as his own. It boded well for my people. If I had to be queen, I didn’t want to be some silent figurehead who nodded beside her husband.
Our terms with the demons were simple as well. We leave them alone, they leave us alone. Any treasures stolen from them were to be returned, and the vampires were to leave our lands immediately.
I easily agreed to everything, and then sat back watching the demon’s celebration with my heart aching. The mage’s healers worked on Emory, Adam, and Drake. Adam recovered the fastest, seemingly like his old self by day two. Cole never used the healers at all, he simply mumbled about remaining at my side as protection, and that’s exactly what he did. Drake was out of bed, eating and walking by the second day, but it was clear that his limp would be permanent, as well as, his many scars from the battle.
Emory never awakened...
Princess slipped into a strange state. The mage’s tried to help him, but nothing they did seemed to stop what felt like an inevitable decline.
So as everyone celebrated, I did not. I gave orders to my people. I made certain my parents, brothers, and town were safe, and that his men knew who was in charge now. And I spoke to the entire gathering of the berserker lords through an online video, laying out the terms of my agreement with the demons, and making it clear that nothing like this would ever be allowed to happen again.
My father sounded damn proud as he backed me up every step of the way.
But as good as all of that was, all I wanted to do was sit by the sides of my men, and Princess, and give them the little support I could. It felt like a cruel joke that I now had the power to undo some of the evil Maxen had created in our world, but it prevented me from being where I wanted to be the most.
There’s a knock at the door to the demon king’s study. He looks up from the maps we had been reviewing, to make certain we each knew where our lands ended and began, and the scattering of papers from the berserker lords, their promises to the terms I set out.
Cole tensed at my side, as did the demon king’s guards, but the big king simply nodded.
The door opened, and Adam stood, wearing a rainbow-colored shirt and dark jeans. Apparently, the demons had helped him to find clothes he’d liked, after learning he’d never really had a chance to choose his own clothes. Each day he’d worn something new and different that brought a little happiness into our dark world.
“Emory is awake,” Adam says, but his face is pale.
“Adam?” My heart aches.
“And Princess… he’s fading. Fast.”
I look at the demon king. He studies me for a long moment. “I have heard of this Princess’s feats as a warrior. It seems he deserves a warrior’s funeral. The most important of our negotiations have been reached. Tend to your king. Tend to your warrior. We will resume the rest of this when that is done.”
“Thank you,” I say, heart in my throat.
We go to Emory’s room, but he’s not there. I rush as we go to Princess’s room, and there I find Drake and Emory sitting on each side of the big bed. Princess is in the center, surrounded by blankets, a nest of sorts that Adam had created for him. Emory was bruised on every inch of his body, wearing nothing but boxers. The largest of his cuts had been stitched and were healing, but not well.
I ran to him, and gently pulled him into my arms.
“It’s okay,” he said, his voice gruff. “I’m okay, but Princess isn’t.”
I nod, pressing a light kiss to his cheek, then his lips. Our eyes meet, and mine fill with tears. This moment is so damn bitter sweet. Emory will live, but Princess wouldn’t.
Adam lays down on the bed beside Princess and strokes his fur. It’s not fluffy any longer. It looks almost damp, and his body seems small and fragile.
I want to be with my girl. Princess’s voice seems weak and disoriented. Please, take me to my girl.
My stomach clenches, and I look at Cole and Drake. Does Princess not remember that his girl died? Adam didn’t understand. He’d want to do this for our tiny hero, but it was the only thing we couldn’t give him.
“Okay,” Adam whispers, petting him again. “We’ll take you to her, so you two can be together forever.”
“Adam,” I whisper, and his golden eyes meet mine, blurred with tears. “You know she’s not… you know the cancer…”
“I know,” he said, “but they can still be together.”
Cole is stiff beside me. “Excuse me.”
He leaves, and it hurts in a strange way to watch him walk away. This man had stood tirelessly at my side through the battle and through the days afterwards. I’d come to rely on his presence. And now? Now that we needed him in a different way, he was leaving?
Fuck. I didn’t expect that.
“How do we get him to his girl?” Drake asks.
Adam looks at each of us slowly. “Just trust me. Okay?”
It hurts to imagine. To imagine whatever Adam thought could bring this cat and the little girl he loved back together. But Adam had never steered us wrong, so I nod.
“One more roadtrip,” Adam whispers to Princess. “And you can finally rest.”
I start to sob, and Emory holds me close, while Drake lies down beside Adam and wraps his arms around him, and lightly around the cat in the bed who had given everything to save us all.
Which, of course, only makes me cry harder.
