Heir of Broken Kingdom (HOBF Book 2)

by Mads Rafferty

The fear of my body turning back into a human’s vanished the moment Knox watched my memory of the night Easton was taken from me. Witnessing golden magic explode from within me before I ever entered the Fae lands. No longer do I have to worry about losing my strength and magic. However, I may just get myself killed because of it.

“We have to tell them everything,” I say softly, changing the topic. “I can’t ask for their help without doing so. It’s unfair to make them walk into the situation blind.”

It’s also unfair that the Fae and human races don’t know their days are numbered and that they should cherish every breath they take.

“Bond or not, Delilah, I would choose to go anywhere with you. I couldn’t imagine a day that goes by where I don’t see your eyes.” Knox rests his forehand against mine, his warm breath brushing across my lips. “Wherever you go, whatever you must face, know that I’ll be right beside you. You don’t have to tackle life alone anymore, Delilah. I will always be there for you, and we will face whatever life decides to throw at us together, as one.”

“Emmalyn was never in charge.” Undulated agony rips through my body, along with horrendous thoughts crafted from Knox’s fear. I failed. I was wrong again. I wasn't good enough to save my people. It’s never enough. Nothing I ever do is enough. My people are doomed if I remain their king.

“They’re sending us to the human lands,” he tells his court. Axel’s steely forest-green eyes fly to mine as shock mares his features. Understanding passes between the two of us before he straightens, preparing for the fight ahead. If anyone knows the weight of Knox’s words, it’s Axel. The one who suffered from his mother's cruel hands, similar to how my father treated me. I knew it when I first met him, my body instinctively recognizing a kindred spirit when it saw one.

Axel has been and will always be Ace’s protector, taking the punches of not only life but of his mother’s fists.

“We’re going to do something far greater.” I look to Knox’s court, my friends…my newfound family. And ask them what I never could ask of Easton. “We’re going to overthrow the king and make him live out his days in misery.”

Hazel’s copper-red hair sways as she shakes her head. “I don’t care what we encounter in the human lands, I’m not letting you face this alone, Delilah.” “Neither will I.” Ace steps forward, resting his hand on Hazel’s lower back. A cocky glint enters Harlow’s eyes. “If he despised magic before, just wait until he meets us.”

“If you ever speak of my mate with such disrespect again, I will have no qualms about you losing your tongue.”

I don’t miss the irony of the premonition confirming my worst fear of being lost forever. Knox cradles my face in his hands, forcing our eyes to connect. “I won’t let you get swept away. I meant it when I said as one,” he whispers. “I won’t let it happen…I refuse to let you disappear.”

“You’d have to be a fool to watch that premonition and not be. But I’ll find a way to come back to you. I always will.” He says the last part with such conviction it almost provides my heart with a false sense of hope.

“I’ll make a deal with you,” he says softly. “If we’re unable to stop it, stop them, I’ll come with you. I’ll float with you through the depthless pit of the universe. For eternity, for however long it consumes us. We’ll go together, as one.”

“I will go to the end of the world for you, Angel. Don’t rob me of what I want. I’m not requesting, I’m vowing to follow you to the end of the universe.”

“Don’t apologize for your fear. You have every right to feel it. Just know that I’ll be here to remind you every step of the way who you truly are and what you’re capable of.”

“You must be strong as you face this, but on the days where you cannot find the courage, I’ll be strong for the both of us.”

But the premonition made one truth as clear as water: Fae may be immortal, they may live for thousands of years and they may be one of the strongest creatures to roam the Fae lands, but they are not indestructible. They bleed and feel pain just as much as any human.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” He clicks his tongue. “Never thought I’d see the day. How sorrowful, to have such potential only to wash up as this filth on our border.” “What is it, Jared?” the one at my back asks. Jared. I mark the name like a promise.

“He’s created orphans who must rely upon him. Codependent. There’s no one more loyal than a child who needs you.”

But deep in my heart, I know those are naïve feelings. The king is a fisherman with his hook lodged in my heart, and he has the power to reel me in whenever he pleases.

But it isn’t me the soldiers should fear, nor is it Ace or Hazel. It’s the Fae’s leaping from the rooftop behind them.

Nolan cuts a path from whatever rooftop he jumped from. With the two swords in his hands, he cuts the king’s soldiers in half with an ease that makes me rethink the continuous verbal jabs we throw at one another.

All I have ever heard from the Fae is bickering and disagreements, and yet when it comes down to it, Nolan is always right beside his king, guarding him with his life.

explode with power. Unending, world shattering power. Golden light erupts, pouring from me in every direction. Moving faster than light itself, it spreads not only across Sector One but all of Aloriah, across untraveled seas and unmarked lands. Across the world. My pure light shatters the flimsy wards placed over these lands.

Reaching my hand out, I send a tendril of golden magic for the mother whose wail spoke to my soul—to my power. The one that shattered the restraints on my magic and gave me the ability to break Aloriah’s wards.

Devastation doesn’t begin to express the suffering my people have been forced to endure day in and day out. To now turn around and be executed, sentenced to death for simply existing, is an abomination.

Bile churns in my stomach. Where does a man set forth a plan to turn children into orphans so he can create soldiers indebted to him for his own game? And who does he plan to fight against with this army?

“You were never meant to save her, Axel. Someone who toys with a child like that…she knew how many pills to take to end her life. Her choice should not lie on your conscious.”

It can’t be. Ignoring the court’s protests, I stand on wobbly legs, my knees threatening to buckle with every step I take. Knox and Aurora don’t try to hold me back. They feel the recognition within my heart and the emotions flooding the chambers. Leaves rustle beneath my boots, making the person lift their head to mine. Their mouth drops open. Shock twists their features. I hear the inhale of air that gets lodged in their throat. My body freezes, only for a moment—for a second—and then I’m running. A whimper tumbles from my lips as I throw myself into their awaiting arms. They sigh in relief. “Delilah.” “Annie,” I croak.

His strong jawline softens as I smile up at him. My voice is husky as I say, “Annie, this is Knox Holloway, King of Azalea and the Essence Court.” Annie stumbles over her words before bowing deeply. “Your Majesty, it’s an honor.”

“There’s no need for that, Annie. If anything, I should be bowing to you, the woman who raised Delilah.” Knox dips his head. “You did an impeccable job.”

Ace is last and perhaps that was his own doing because no one misses the way grief consumes Annie, crumbling her features as he steps forward. Easton’s doppelgänger. The twins may be identical but the tattoos, long black hair, and the way Axel carries himself differentiates himself from Ace, making the comparison between him and Easton astronomical. Annie doesn’t move as tears roll freely down her cheeks, seeming to forget the rest of their presence. Her lips wobble with a strained smile. Easton was like a son to her; she would have felt the grief just as deeply as I had…perhaps more so. How would it feel to raise a child, only to outlive them and watch them die?

My brows furrow, panic settling in. “Where is he?” Knox steps in, partially blocking me from Annie. “Perhaps that’s enough information for one day,” he says as if picking up on something I cannot see. I move around him. “No! I want to know where he is.” I march toward Annie. “Where was he laid to rest?” I need to have my goodbye. Annie’s eyes flutter closed. I expect tears, but when she opens them again, I’m shocked to find they’re full of hatred—malevolence. “He wasn’t.” I blink. “Of course he was. Perhaps his father took⁠—” “Your father keeps his head as a trophy. A warning to all in the palace and capital of what is done to traitors.” Disgust and hatred fill her voice. “He has him poised on a spike next to his throne.”

I scream, the sound a vicious melody in the air as I kick and rage against the invisible shield, but it never buckles. He kept his head as a trophy. He kept his head as a trophy. He kept his head as a trophy. Golden flames consume me.

Have we all just forgotten about the death sentence hanging over our heads?” Axel’s jaw tenses before he retorts, “No, we are following the mermaid's wishes, who unlike you, Nolan, do possess the ability to see.” “Clearly not well,” Nolan mutters, throwing his arms up in exasperation. “I don’t see any demons, do you?”

Annie looks just as perplexed to be riding Henry as I was to see her on him. I wish these moments weren’t so painful. That the things that used to be so mundane and normal hadn’t turned into an act of grief-stricken responses.

We are not each other’s weakness; we are each other's strength.

Annie turns to face us. Her features twinkle with amusement as she says, “This is Ordelia, commander of the king’s Sector Four army, and the leader of the rebellion.”

I don’t know what’s worse—believing he was loyal to a sadistic king like all the others, or knowing he was part of the rebellion and watched the king beat an innocent little girl every day and did nothing to stop it.

“How many children has he stolen?” Hazel asks quietly. My heart stops beating. Hazel would feel the rage of a mother at the news. She knows how it feels to have a child ripped away, stolen from you.

“The fact that they will never take accountability, or that you’ll never hear them apologize. Because you know, deep down, they’re not truly sorry.”

He laughs but it holds no humor. “I certainly have. I think what’s cruel is how your own mind works against you, torturing you with memories you want to forget and the hurt that nearly destroyed you.”

“Because then I will never forget, and if you never forget, you will never allow them or anyone to do that to you again.” I shrug. “I can’t control the memories, so I may as well learn from them.” “What? To never trust a soul? Because if you can’t trust the person who is meant to love you unconditionally, then who can you trust?”

Do I miss being human? Do I miss how long it took to heal after the king pummeled me within an inch of my life? No. Do I miss the way I felt weak against him regardless of how many hours I spent training? No.

“You are not ugly. Your scars are not ugly.” He takes my hand in his and squeezes. “You are strong. Let your scars be a reminder of that, of all you have overcome. Let them remind you in your darkest of days that this is not the end. That you will make it out the other side, with a new scar that proves your journey and bravery.”

“Yes, it was.” His words are breathless as he moves closer. “Delilah, your magic is growing every day because you’re coming into your power. This is nowhere near the extent of your full magic—it’s…phenomenal. I’ve never met anyone with such power.” My eyes widen as the most powerful Fae in all the courts whispers this to me. As if his magic pales in comparison.

“Would you like some water, Delilah?” “No, but perhaps offer some to Knox. He’s beginning to drool.”

“They may have marked me, but their wicked hearts stopped beating that night. And I cherish the scar for what it is, a reminder of my strength and ability to make a change in this horrid world.”

Her words pierce my heart, my soul, and my scars. Because maybe I’m not tarnished and damaged. Maybe I’m not a victim at all. Perhaps I’m a survivor.

The soldiers study us inquisitively. Perhaps they are finally realizing that a leader does not have to equate to pain, death, and fear, but they can display love, friendship, loyalty, and trust. A brave young soldier joins in, the first to crack a smile