Every inch we moved forward became more and more painful. I cried out but kept my eyes closed until I felt sure we’d made it safely. Finally, with my muscles on fire and pain searing through every nerve ending in my body, we landed on the floor of the elven hall.
Gasping, I released my hands from the encircled group. My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the cold marble tiles. The golden sun motif spiraled in my vision. My father knelt beside me.
“Olive,” he said gently.
I focused, letting my breathing bring me back. The pain relented a tiny bit. My father took my hand and helped me stand.
As I took in my surroundings, I saw that we’d all arrived safely. It was a miracle that we’d made it. If we hadn’t been so close to the source of the tree’s pure magic, I knew a journey like that would have been impossible.
Princess Euralysia’s hoarse scream came from the center dais. Jumping to my feet again, I elbowed my way through the crowd and stopped, stunned, when I found the dais.
The high lord’s throne sat atop the raised platform, and the body of the high lord rested upon the chair. A goblin blade protruded from his chest.
Geth stood over the high lord, his murderous eyes aflame with a sadistic, hate-filled satisfaction. Several of his men, armed with basita guns, stood around him. The corpses of dead elven guards were piled along the back wall.
My heart fell.
This was what Geth had wanted all along. The ultimate revenge on the elves—the death of their most beloved leader.
Destroying the magic had only been a means to an end. The princess had been right—he’d never wanted the magic to stay dormant. He’d only needed it gone long enough to fulfill his purposes—the death of the king.
But as I looked at Geth, I saw something in his face that I hadn’t noticed before. Surprise. I don’t think he’d expected us to ever return. Perhaps he’d hoped we would all die out on the lost isles, or be eaten by the dragons. For us to arrive now must have alarmed him.
Princess Euralysia faced the Caxon’s leader. Magic sparkled around her, growing in intensity until I had to shield my eyes.
“What have you done?” she screamed.
Geth balled his fists, though I saw fear in his eyes. “Kill her,” he said to his men.
They rushed her, but as soon they touched her magic, they exploded into ash. Their basita weapons fell with a clatter onto the floor. The smoky forms of their bodies got sucked into her magical aura.
Geth’s eyes widened as she moved toward him.
Out of the crowd, Heidel appeared. She unsheathed her goblin blade as she moved forward to stand in front of Geth, shielding him from the princess.
“Stop!” she shouted. “Don’t harm him.”
It was then that I noticed Kull move from the room’s shadows to face his sister. I’d never seen his eyes so dark, as if his soul had died along with his father.
“Heidel,” he said, his voice quiet, though it seemed to boom around the room. The air grew quiet as Kull faced his sister.
Heidel stood with her blade between them, a wedge that would forever divide. “I’m sorry, Brother,” she said with tears misting her eyes, “but… but I love him. I can’t let the princess kill him.”
“You love him?”
“I have sworn an oath to him that I cannot break. I have been aiding him from the beginning. It was me that entered the goblin’s fortress and planted the potion he gave to me.”
“Heidel, why?”
“Because I love him. More than you,” her voice trembled as she spoke. A sob escaped her throat as she attempted to stand tall, “and more than… more than father.” Her trembling hands released the blade as it fell with a clatter to the floor. Tears sparkled in her eyes. “Oh gods, what have I done? Kull, I never meant for it to end like this.”
She stumbled, and Kull caught his sister under her arms. He helped her sit on the dais’s steps, and then he turned to face Geth.
“You,” Kull said, “will pay dearly for your crimes.” He moved forward with his sword drawn, but as he did, the princess stepped in front of him.
“Let me,” she said.
“You, princess?” Geth said. “Will you kill me the way you slaughtered my people? Will you murder me here, in front of everyone, so they may know what your people have done to mine—?”
“Silence!”
Magic enveloped the goblin-man. The magic ripped at his skin, causing small cuts to form, until it completely engulfed him.
“No!” His scream echoed, shaking the pillars as the magic engulfed him. His body, like the body of his followers, turned to dust and got sucked into the magic spiraling around the princess.
The princess lifted her arms. Her eyes glowed bright white. Chills prickled my neck as I stared in horror at the enchantress. Her lips parted as she uttered a spell.
“I, Protecterate Unum Gravidorum, fulfill my duty and call upon the powers vested in my holy title. Let it be known, far and wide, that every person carrying the name goblin on this planet shall die, and all shall die at this very moment of my utterance.”
Thunder resounded, causing the room to shudder and the glass overhead to crack. A vortex of bright blue magic spiraled around her. With her upraised arms, the magic shot upward and out through the ceiling. As it did so, the wispy forms of the goblin men went with it. Their ghostly cries echoed in the thunderous rush of magic.
Geth’s voice cried out the loudest. I almost felt sorry for him. From the beginning, his intentions had been to relieve the suffering of his people. But he had let his hatred for the elves cloud his vision, and his greed for revenge
