She stood up and turned around to face him, a smile playing on her lips. He glared down at her, his expression hardening as he seethed, and she began to laugh.
"You can't kill me, Konstantin. You love me too much."
He grabbed her and whirled her around, pulling her roughly against him so her back was pressed to his chest, and he held the dagger to her throat. The lace of her dress covered her throat, forming a choker-like feature, and his blade sliced through it. He didn't kill her, but he held the dagger hard enough to draw the faintest bit of blood.
"Please, Konstantin," Mina begged, sounding frightened. "You don't need to do this. Not after all we've been through. This is the moment we've been plotting for all these years. I have the riches! We can finally run off and be free together, just like you always wanted."
"You've been plotting," he corrected her, speaking into her ear like an angry lover. "I was only ever just doing your bidding."
"Konstantin, please. Don't be like this." She softened, trying to sound as gentle as she had when she'd spoken to her rabbit. "We've shared so much, and I don't know why you've taken such a turn. But I forgive you. I still want to be with you, even after all you've done. I still love you."
"After all I've done?" Konstantin growled, and then he threw her to the floor. She sat on the white rug looking up at him, and somehow managed to have tears in her eyes. "You are an evil, ruthless bitch, Mina. Don't act like I'm the one in the wrong here."
"Look, Konstantin, I know we've had our differences, and that you haven't always approved of the way I've taken care of things," Mina said. "But I just did what needed to be done. But that doesn't mean that I didn't love you. That I don't still."
She reached out, meaning to touch his pant leg, and he stepped back from her.
"I should've killed you years ago," he said harshly. "But I was too blinded by my own foolish love, and I hate myself for the parts of it that still linger on. The parts of my heart that I gave to you that I can never get back."
"Konstantin," she pleaded with him.
He inhaled sharply through his nose, and he turned away, trying to hide the emotions on his face. It was just the slightest bit of vulnerability, but that was all Mina needed. His back was half to her, and she could see the dagger holstered in the back of his pants.
With steathy fast reflexes, she moved, grabbing the dagger before I could even shout Konstantin's name. He started to turn toward her, but it was already too late. She stabbed him in the left side, digging the dagger right into his heart.
Konstantin didn't even try to fight back. He let his other dagger fall from his hand and stumbled back until he hit the wall, then slid down and sat slumped on the floor.
SEVENTY-EIGHT
gutted
"You think you couldn't kill me because you loved me?" Mina sneered at him. "It was because you were weak. That's why I never loved you. You were always a weak, stupid boy."
I pounded on the armoire doors, and Mina turned back to look at me. She cocked her head, realizing that she wasn't alone, and picked up the dagger Konstantin had dropped on the floor. I hit the doors again, harder this time, and they flew open.
"Oh, I should've known." Mina snickered. "He brought his dumb little bitch with him too."
"You've always underestimated me," I said. "But not today."
I ran at her. She tried to stab me, and I grabbed her wrist, bending it back until she dropped the dagger. Then I punched her as hard as I could. Mina staggered back, her lip already bleeding.
"I know you always wanted to fit in, and you never could," Mina said, giving me a wide berth as we circled each other. "But I've the means for it. I've got the one thing you always needed, to be accepted--money. You let me go, and I'll give you everything you've ever wanted. Respect. Acceptance. A kingdom."
"You know, that's what Konstantin always thought you wanted," I said. "That if you had enough money, and the crown, and the throne, and the kingdom, eventually you'd be happy. But I don't think you really wanted any of it. You just wanted to destroy it all."
She smirked. "Greed is always such a great motivator, and I know it's worked for so many of those that have joined my team. But you're right. The truth is that I just wanted to take everything from those that had taken from me. I just wanted to see the Kanin obliterated from this earth."
"The only thing I want is to see you dead," I told her. "And that's something that I'm gonna have to do for myself."
She dove toward me, scratching at me with her nails, fighting the only way she knew how. I punched her again, and then I kicked her in the stomach. Mina doubled over, but she didn't go down.
As I walked over to her, I picked the dagger up from the floor, and I kicked her again. Mina started promising me all the money in the world, and I grabbed her by the hair, yanking her back up.
"Please, anything. I will give you anything and everything," she tried, pleading for her life.
"I would stab you through the heart, but I don't think you have one," I said, and then I slid the dagger across her throat. I let go of her hair, and her body fell lifeless to the floor.
"I wish I had the strength to clap," Konstantin said faintly.
He was slumped low on the wall, barely breathing, and I raced over to him. I knelt beside him, and he was starting to slide to the side, so I put my arms around him and held him up. His body felt cold and heavy, and I didn't know how much time he had left.
"Why did you do that, Konstantin? Why didn't you let me help you?"
"I didn't want you getting hurt anymore. You've already been hurt so much by the things I've done. This time I just wanted to protect you." He reached up, brushing my hair back from my face before letting his hand fall back down.
"You don't need to protect me. You never did."
"I know." He smiled weakly. "Do you remember when I told you that for love, I'd kill myself again?"
I nodded. "Yeah, when you were in the dungeon. You were talking about Mina."
"I would go through every awful moment, every terrible mistake, and even this knife to the heart. I would gladly go through it all again, but not for Mina. But because it brought me here with you."
A tear slid down my cheek. "Konstantin. There were better ways you could've ended up here."
"Maybe," he admitted, and his eyes started to close. "But I just wish I'd been deserving of your love."
"You always were," I told him, and a smile started to form on his lips before his last breath came out. I held him against me, crying onto his chest and wishing more than anything that I would hear his heart beat again. But it never did.
SEVENTY-NINE
dodsfall
"Bryn?" Ridley was calling my name from the stairs. I honestly didn't know how long I had been kneeling there with Konstantin.
I blinked my eyes, feeling as if I'd just woken from a dream, and looked around at the disarray of the Queen's chambers. A few feet away from me, Mina lay dead on the rug, which was now stained red. Her rabbit Vita hopped out from underneath the bed, inspecting the situation.
"Bryn?" Ridley yelled again and pushed open the bedroom door. "Holy shit." He stepped into the room, his eyes fixed on the Queen's body, and repeated, "Holy shit. She's dead."
Then he looked over at me. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." The tears had dried on my cheeks, and I nodded. "I'm okay. Konstantin is dead."
"Yeah, I figured that." Ridley moved carefully toward me. "Are you ready to let him go?"
I looked down at the body in my arms. His skin had paled so much, and he felt like ice against me. All of the determination and life had drained from him. Everything about that body that made it so wonderfully Konstantin was gone.
I set him gently on the floor, and I held out my hand to Ridley, letting him pull me to my feet. I'd been kneeling for so long, my legs had gone numb and weak, and I had to lean on Ridley to keep from falling.
"Bryn." His arm was around my waist, and he put his other hand on my face, gently encouraging me t
o look at him. "Are you okay?"
"The kingdom is in chaos. Many of my friends and neighbors are dead. Ember is dead. Konstantin is dead. I killed the Queen." I shrugged my shoulders limply. "I honestly don't know if I'll ever be okay again."
"It will be okay," he promised me, with his fingers in my hair. "You're stronger than this, and you will be okay again."
"How can you be so sure?" I asked, looking up at him. In the darkness of his eyes, I saw the same despair that I felt, but also his perseverance pushing him on.
"Because I know you, and I know how much fight you have in you. You won't let anything keep you down for long." He ran his thumb along my cheek. "That's why I love you so much."
He leaned in, kissing me softly and sweetly on the mouth. We'd kissed more deeply before, more passionately, but this was a much different kind of kiss. This was relief and sadness and simply because we needed to. Because we were still alive, and we needed to remind ourselves that there was still so much left to live for.
"I need to go," he said softly. "I need to go tell King Mikko that the Queen is dead, so we can stop the fighting. With her and Viktor out of the way, there's no reason a truce can't be reached."
"Go," I told him as I stepped back from him. "Go and stop this before more people get hurt."
He nodded. "I'll be back for you."
I smiled weakly at him. "I know."
Ridley hurried out of the room, to put a stop to all the death and carnage. I picked up Vita before she hopped into any blood, and I carried her over to the window. I pushed back the sheer curtains to see what had become of my town, while absently petting the soft white fur of the rabbit.
So much of the snow had gone red with blood. Broken bodies littered the ground. Homes and buildings were smashed up in places, some destroyed entirely. Doldastam was in shambles, exactly as Mina had wanted.
But I couldn't let her win. The Kanin people wouldn't. They were stronger than this. I'd learned to be a fighter growing up here, watching people rise above their places in this world, and together, somehow, we would find the strength to put this back together.
We could not let anyone destroy us.
EIGHTY
hope
June 7, 2014
In the days that followed, the ice began to thaw. The snow that had covered the town melted away, and while it wasn't exactly a heat wave, green began sprouting up in the patches of lawn between the cottages. In a few places, pink and purple wildflowers were beginning to blossom.
The sun shone brightly above, warming the chill in the air, as everyone gathered at the town square. Many of the surrounding businesses were still in various states of repair. The sign for the bakery where Juni Skold worked still hung at a haphazard angle, but the broken panes of glass in the front window had been replaced.
The cleanup was still under way, as it would be for some time, but we were making progress. The people of Doldastam always managed to pull together when they needed to.
After Ridley had told King Mikko that Mina was dead, the King had attempted to end things immediately. The fighting still went on for longer than it needed to, but eventually Mikko was able to talk to the head of the Hogdragen, and a cease-fire was declared.
The next few days were spent hammering out a proper truce, but once a new King was decided for the Kanin, everything went smoother. The Omte still seemed reluctant to put aside their resentments, but Queen Bodil called them back to Fulatrask, so they had no choice.
While Linus Berling had been officially crowned three days ago in a private ceremony in the palace, today was meant to be his public coronation and an official celebration for the end of the war.
Since it was a celebration, the town square had been decorated accordingly. Ribbons of silver and white streamed from one building to the next, helping to disguise the damage, and large bouquets of fragrant white flowers were placed everywhere imaginable.
Folding chairs covered in white satin and accented with ribbons filled the square. Just beneath the clock tower, a large stage had been erected. Linus wanted to distance himself from Mina, who lorded over the town from the balcony, so he wanted to speak at our level.
From where I sat in the back row, I could see everyone, and the entire town had turned out. Juni Skold sat a few rows in front of me, holding the hand of her new boyfriend, and looking as radiant as ever. Bekk Vallin had decided not to return to Fulatrask, even after the Omte agreed to the truce, and she sat a few seats down from me, her arms folded over her chest.
Nearer to the front, Delilah Nylen sat with her parents, crying softly. We'd hardly spoken since Ember had died, but whenever I saw her, she looked so lost. I hoped that soon she could find the peace and strength to carry on.
King Mikko and Queen Linnea Biaelse sat in the front row, along with King Loki and Queen Wendy Staad of the Trylle and Queen Sara Elsing of the Vittra, all of them honored guests of the Kanin because of their help in the war. Queen Bodil Elak of the Omte had been invited, as a gesture of peace, but she had declined, saying that it was still too soon.
With the fighting over, Tilda had returned a few days ago, and she seemed to be doing better. Knowing that Kasper had been properly avenged seemed to ease some of her anxiety, but none of this could be easy for her. She sat beside her parents, and her mother kept gently rubbing her back.
Finn sat with Mia and their children, but his parents were noticeably absent. After what had happened here, and how they'd lost Ember, they had finally had enough. They'd left the entire troll world to start a life anew among the humans.
My parents felt much the same way, and they had taken up residence in Storvatten. Marksinna Lisbet Ahlstrom once told me that she'd do anything to thank me for saving her granddaughter, and I'd asked her to repay the debt by welcoming my mom back with open arms.
So she had, and after years of hating Storvatten, my mom seemed to be actually enjoying her return. She said it was all so much different than when she was a girl, more relaxed, and she was happy to reconnect with old friends and family.
Meanwhile, my dad was working with their Chancellor to help get the Skojare where they needed to be. Mikko and Linnea had been working very hard to improve things in Storvatten, and it looked like they might finally be on the right path.
With Linus taking the stage now, the tall platinum crown upon his head, I hoped I could say the same thing about Doldastam. Linus was less experienced than most of the townspeople would've liked, but his bloodline was the closest to Evert Strinne, so he was next in line.
As he walked across the stage, the crowd erupted in applause. No matter what differences had existed before, everyone here was ready for a change, for someone new to lead us to a better place, and their excitement came from the belief that Linus would be that leader.
I was optimistic because of his kindness and genuine empathy for the people. I wondered if growing up outside of the cold walls of Doldastam, unlike Evert and so many of our past Kings, had made him more compassionate, and I believed that with the right advisers and tutelage, he could stay that way.
Behind Linus in lavish chairs on the stage, his parents were seated along with the head of the Hogdragen, and nearby was a large rectangle beneath a satin sheet. I had been asked to join him--and to wear onstage, I'd even been given a new crisp white suit with silver embellishments, including the platinum rabbit, our highest military honor. I'd elected to wear the suit, but declined the stage.
As one of his first acts as King, Linus had appointed me as his personal guard, and I'd accepted because I thought I could help steer the kingdom in the right direction and I could protect the King from corruption.
But I no longer craved the honor that went along with it. I didn't need or deserve the accolades. I just wanted to serve my kingdom.
He wanted to pull me onstage today to exalt me as a hero, but that wasn't something I could accept. I wasn't a hero, and in so many ways I still felt like I'd failed. Like I should've done more to protect the people. Nobody should've had
to die.
"Thank you all for coming here today," King Linus said, speaking loudly so his voice would carry over the crowd. "We've all been through a great deal, and I know how hard it was for some of you to come out. So many of you have lost so much, and are in no mood to celebrate."
Delilah began to sniffle at that, and her father put his arm around her, pulling her close to him, and throughout the crowd I could hear others sobbing faintly.
"That's why today isn't about honoring me as your King." Linus stepped over to the side toward the sheet-covered rectangle. "It's about honoring those you've lost, everyone who laid down their life defending this kingdom so that we can all be here celebrating our freedom today."
He pulled back the sheet, revealing a white marble stone ten feet high and five feet wide, in large black letters listing all the names of the people who had been killed. At the top was Evert Strinne, since he had been one of Mina's first victims, but there were many names below his.
Kasper Abbott, Ember Holmes, Simon Bohlin, and the names of so many others I had seen nearly every day in this town. So many lives that could never be replaced, voids that would never be filled.
Near the bottom, in letters just as bold and dark as everyone else's, was Konstantin Black.
A lump formed painfully in my throat. I'd been so afraid that nobody would know that Konstantin had died to protect the kingdom, or be aware of all the things he'd done to aid in this battle. I had been terrified that I would be the only one who mourned him.
But now everybody would know. For generations, people would see his name, and know that he'd died a true Kanin hero.
Linus continued his speech, telling Doldastam how he planned to honor the dead by giving the kingdom new life, but I'd heard all I needed to. I got up quietly and snuck away from the crowd, walking out of the town square.
I hadn't made it very far when I heard Ridley's footsteps behind me. The cobblestone streets were empty, since everyone was at the celebration, and I turned to face him.
His chestnut hair was slightly disheveled, and he brushed it back from his forehead. He'd left the top buttons of his shirt undone, the way I liked it, but his rabbit amulet was still missing. As soon as the fighting ended, he'd stepped down from his position as Overste and Rektor.