I stared at him, my head pounding from the new information, my mouth dry with fear. Taking my fingers to my temples and rubbing in a circular motion, I asked, “How is that even possible? My mother never would have let anyone take power away from her.”

“But their agendas aligned so perfectly. While your mother assumed she held the power, they slowly siphoned some off from her, acting on her behalf, her will. If you want to bring peace to our world, it will be an uphill battle.”

The Council, created by my mother’s mother, the last ruler of peace, was intended to be an intermediary between the queen and her subjects. A god so powerful and mighty was seen as too daunting to the people she ruled over. Therefore, my grandmother designed a group of Clydonians to see the people, hear out any issues arising, settle debates, and for whatever they deemed too big for them to solve, they took it to the queen. Before I left, I witnessed them behaving abysmally, and I assumed it was on my mother’s request. But apparently, it was the start of a downward spiral. I clenched my teeth together so hard, my jaw ached. Einar, witnessing my emotional combustion, gently placed his hands on my shoulders.

“We will figure this out. Together. I will be your guard, your main guard but not your advisor. Let’s take it slowly. Your daughter is too young to rule.”

I snorted, “A god is hard to kill though. If I insist you are to be my advisor, what are they going to do about it?”

Einar raised a brow, “Hard to kill? Then explain how you managed.”

My chest tightened, “A god against another god is a different story. And last time I checked, I’m one of very few left.” Another part of my mother’s horrific plan. Tears welled in my eyes, my vision blurring. Blinking rapidly, I raised a hand to wipe away the escaped tears falling on my cheek, but my best friend got there first.

“Come,” he said softly, “I believe my Queen is overdue for a run.”

I sniffled and nodded my head, thanking him.

~

“I want…a jump…in the pool,” I declared, panting as we finished the run and collapsed on the porch.

Einar coughed violently, sprawling on his back, before adding, “A large glass…of something cold…too.”

“Yes, and some fucking lotion for my skin,” I gasped out, crawling onto my knees. Reaching the front door, I knocked, still in a kneeling position.

“What the…” Lawrence answered and looked down at us, “do y’all need help or something?”

“Fuck!” I realized, and Lawrence’s eyes widened, “I can finally use my powers here!”

Einar groaned, unwilling to move, “Wait…until…we’re inside.”

“Yea,” I agreed, “so help inside would be lovely.”

“You got it.” Lawrence’s hand stretched to grab mine but was pushed out of the way and a gloved one grabbed me instead.

“I will help Her Majesty,” Rune’s voice rattled me, and I nearly pulled my hand away. Remembering the part I played, I offered Lawrence an apologetic stare as he stepped back. Rune lifted me off the ground while Lawrence moved to the porch to help Einar. His hand was still in mine as he escorted me back into the house, but it was dropped as I was deemed safe and sound. Standing in the foyer, unwilling to move further, I closed my eyes and held out my hands, summoning a large bottle of water and my lotion. Setting the lotion on the floor, I chugged the water first, sweat from the run dripping down my back as the condensation from the bottle ran down my front. Satiated, I handed off the water as Einar limped into the foyer and picked up the lotion from the ground. My skin burned, and I applied generous amounts of the ointment to my arms and face. Realizing I couldn’t go much further without assistance, I called for Einar who had walked away from me with my water bottle.

Rune startled me as he spoke, “If I can be of assistance to Your Highness?”

I waved him off, “No, you don’t have to worry about it. That’s below your pay.”

His presence at my back drew closer and he held out his hand, motioning for the lotion, “Your Highness’s health and well-being is exactly my pay. Besides, the star did a number on your back. The sooner the better.” I heard something drop on the floor, presumably his glove, as his bare hand touched my back with a glob of lotion. I shivered under his touch, something for which I had longed.

“Cold?” He asked, sounding slightly concerned.

“Yea,” I lied, an old habit with him, “cold.”

“My apologies, Your Highness.” I bit down on my lip so hard, almost drawing blood, wishing to ask him again to stop calling me that. Wanting to slip back into the way it used to be. Resisting the urge to beg once more, I said, “How are the other guards faring? I imagine the lodging isn’t ideal. And gods know the food doesn’t hold a candle to back home.” His hand paused at my back, but I continued, “But is there anything you all need?” His silence hung in the air around us, so I slipped into my old rambling habit, “We won’t be here for much longer anyway. I promise. I mean, my daughter is arriving with my cousins soon, and I do need to prepare her before we make the trip home. And apparently I need to take her to Disney World too. But, I don’t know, maybe she’ll forgive me for not taking her to Disney if I tell her about Clydonia. What kid finds out she’s from a different planet and still wants to go to Disney? Especially with the powers…oh gods, that’ll take some explaining.” His hand on my shoulder paused my incessant digressive monologue. I turned to face him, his expression hidden behind the mask of the guards.

His voice was low as he admitted, “I forgot…I forgot how different you are.” My heart stumbled then galloped, its beat audibly pounding out of my chest.

I pursed my lips, “Like a good different? Or–or a bad different?”

“Why…” His question was interrupted by screams from somewhere, and I was immediately thrown behind him as he drew his sword and charged ahead. The other guards descended down the stairs in a swarm. My heart sank into my stomach, and I called the ancient power coursing through my veins to life, throwing out my hands, freezing the moment in time. Slipping past the stilled men, I ran through the hall and dining room searching for the source of the sound. Stumbling outside and cursing in my native tongue as my skin burned under the oppressive rays, I looked wildly around the empty backyard.

All the breath whooshed out of my body as I noticed fresh scorch marks on the ground. With a flick of my hand, time resumed and inside, I heard someone bellow, “MY QUEEN!” I opened my mouth to respond but no sound came out. The voice came closer, more urgent and panicked as he yelled, “BIRGITTA!” And my retinue, led by Rune, found me, hands on my knees, struggling to breath.

He stood in front of me, searching my face for the source of my pain. “Birgitta,” he uttered my name, breaking my heart, “what happened? What’s wrong?” I only pointed to the scorched Earth and he cursed.

“How?” I managed. Rune commanded the guards to retreat inside and he slipped a gloved hand under my elbow, ushering me to the shade. Guiding me to the chaise lounge, he sat me down and kneeled at my side.

“Your mother granted the council limited powers to act on her behalf. But we never knew…we never knew it was this…” As he explained, tears rushed down my face, the harsh reality slamming into me, as I interrupted him and acknowledged, “They took them…my friends. Einar…” I choked out.

A groan sounded from a bush on the other side of the pool, and I shot up from the lounge, barely noticing Rune falling onto his back from my speed. He caught up to me though as we hurtled for the bush, and my heart leapt into my throat seeing my best friend lying behind it, holding his stomach, blue blood staining the grass beneath him. I swallowed down the bile and knelt next to him, thrusting my hand against the wound.

“Einar,” I whimpered, blinking away the tears, “please, please stay with me.” His eyes were shut, but he groaned again. Rune placed a hand on my shoulder, urging me, “Use your powers.”

I ignored him, shaking my head to forget the last time I tried, “Give me something to stop the bleeding.” The command in my voice staggered under my bleating panic. He thrust fabric into my hand, and I applied pressure. “Come on, Einar, stay with me.”

“Your…Birgitta,” Rune slipped out of formality, “you have to try. It is different.”

“Yes,” I snapped, not removing my eyes from the wound gaping open in Einar’s stomach, “I am much more out of practice than I was back then.”He sighed, “It is different because you have inherited the ruler’s powers. Try.” A fluttering of Einar’s eyelids sparked an infinitesimal amount of hope in me. Her powers were something I wished to never access since it caused such toxicity during her reign. Einar, I focused on the purpose of my powers, the good they would do. Hovering my hands over his wound, I closed my eyes, calling the ancient power to life. I’d never seen my mother do this and had only heard stories of my grandmother’s healing. But the ability existed. I summoned my will, how I usually froze time or manifested objects, it operated on my desire. Einar, I spoke to the humming force of my ancestors, those who created everything in their image. Heal Einar, I guided and drove the energy of my mind to the forefront, focusing with intensity. My hands heated and a gasp escaped from Rune as the tendrils floated free. I reluctantly opened my eyes and witnessed my strength as those tendrils slowly stitched the wound back together and the blue blood leached away from the ground into Einar’s body once more. His eyes flew open and he gasped for a breath, attempting to sit up, but I held him down on the ground with one hand. Panicked, he grabbed my arm and wheezed out, “They took them all. And they’re not coming back.”