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  Champion

  Book 3 of the champion series

  Copyright © 2018 Francheska Fifield

  Cover design by Lola Kyle

  Edited by Lila Lockheart

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter One

  Talon

  Elainne had taken her new mantel with elegance and kindness. She hadn't had to make an example of anyone since her run in with Viktor and the other warriors, when we had first come to the Elvin kingdom. Our takeover was complete and things had settled. The people were mostly for her now. The once noble families had been broken and set to other things; they had issues but none dared bring them up to her.

  The mages had moved in as her elite guard and stalked the palace hallways, playing with magic like it was a toy. That made most people nervous enough to discourage them from rebelling. If that failed, there was always the Kemp ready to tear your throat out for even breathing too close to her. Oh, and let's not forget the dragon willing to burn you to ash or eat you. All in all, her court was a powerhouse no one dared mess with. In the center of all the power was a queen kind enough to heal the sick and save the poor. It was her preferred method. Inspire loyalty, not fear. In her case, it worked; she had enough of her own magic to change her mind and become unstoppable. Everyone knew it. The fact that she chose the peaceful approach first had most people loving her.

  Viktor was training the mages and had become commander of the Elvin army. Avren singled out anyone with magical ability he knew to be loyal to the queen, and trained them. It made it obvious who was on our side and who wasn’t. Dragons could smell lies, and after he had eaten the first person who had lied, no one tried again. They had all seen Elainne scold him and tell him he couldn’t deal with people that way, but let's face it, no one wanted to take the chance that he might shrug off her warning.

  "Talon. You said you needed to talk to me."

  I sighed. I hated to do this. Viktor and Elainne still didn’t speak unless it was about our defenses or military training. She wouldn’t like being left alone with him.

  "You have noticed my magic acting up."

  It wasn’t a question. I knew she had. It had been unmanageable for a few days. She had caught it before it got out of hand but I couldn’t live like this forever. It would hinder more than help.

  "Is Avren singling you out at practice? I knew he was angry when you tried to help me escape before the coronation…"

  He had been peeved, but I couldn't blame him for this.

  "No. I am twenty-one in about a week."

  She looked at me, slightly confused. She put down her pen, rested her chin on her hands and stared at me, as if waiting for a story. She should know better, I didn’t say nearly as much as I thought.

  "Mages go to a sacred space to cement their power at twenty-one."

  "No one told me anything about it. You think Aldamon would have mentioned that, when I gave him a spot on the council so the mages would have everything they needed."

  He had likely been worried more about Elves and mages cohabitating.

  "I need time to journey to the sacred spot in the mountains and take the trials."

  "Of course. When do we leave?"

  "We?"

  She smiled and nodded. I wasn’t going to like this was I…?

  A few days later:

  "Talon, if you had let me use translocation to move us closer, we wouldn’t be gone so long. You cannot complain about me being away from the throne if you won't let me make the journey shorter."

  I sighed in exasperation once again. She may be queen, but she wasn’t even seventeen and right now she acted every bit like the child she was.

  "I told you to stay home."

  "You are my champion, which implies I stay with you so you can protect me."

  "You have a Kemp, use him!"

  She flinched and I instantly regretted the harsh tone. I knew what had transpired. Viktor had admitted his love for her, but ignored her feelings and forced her on this path. She had been willing to give up everything to be with him… he had chosen to lead the army.

  "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

  "I didn’t want you to go alone, Talon. Everyone knows who you are now. You could be in danger."

  Ignoring the issue at hand was not something Elainne did… unless that problem was named Viktor. The standoff between them was driving both Avren and I insane, the only thing we did agree on lately.

  "You are aware I guard you, not the other way around."

  She laughed.

  "Oh, please. If you haven't figured out the lengths I will go to protect my people, let alone those I care about, you are blind."

  I knew and it was what had me worrying constantly.

  "Was it really ok to leave Aiden in charge as your steward? He isn't strong enough to hold the throne."

  "Avren gave his blessing and promised to protect him. As did Viktor and Aldamon. By that time, the entire council offered their services. Aiden is on the council anyway, so it will basically be a majority rules situation in any case. It's just that, if Aiden knows I wouldn’t agree with what they want, he can overrule them in my name."

  Of course.

  "Besides, I tried to leave Avren in charge and he practically burnt down my room… and that was when he was hand-sized!"

  That explained how she had gotten bangs. He often hung around her neck like a living ornament. I bet she had told him to run the country in her absence and he had coughed out fire in a panic.

  "You cannot ask the world's most reclusive being to rule the world for you."

  "He was hidden from the world. Key word being was."

  I nodded. Couldn’t argue with that.

  "This way."

  She smiled and we kept walking. This trip would be the most interesting one a mage had ever taken to win full rights to his power.

  Elainne

  I followed Talon. I really hoped he knew where we were going. He had insisted on going by foot, which was slow. I felt like a snail. I could teleport us both much closer, across kingdoms, without feeling the drain now. I had been working with Avren on controlling my magic so it wouldn’t drain me so badly. The channeling process was exhausting to learn. Well worth it though.

  "Talon, are we going to the same mountain I found you on? It seems like we are going close, but not quite in the right direction."

  "It’s the neighboring mountain."

  "I see." I still hadn't the faintest idea what to expect. I could only hope it wouldn’t end up causing as many issues as my trip to the orb cave. That just wouldn’t sit well with me. I was already annoyed that I was queen of the elves; I really didn’t want to deal with any other magical shenanigans.

  A quick stop, in and out.

  Talon

  Even without hearing her thoughts, I knew she was thinking that the last time she had a quest everything had gone upside down and had left her queen of a country, full of almost immortals, who hated her. I couldn’t do much to make her feel better about it. However, I might be able to make this more like a holiday than a quest and cheer her up a bit.

  "So, once we get up here we should find a small rundown temple…"

  "How rundown? We shouldn’t let it fall if it's important. I can fix it up, if need be."

  She used magic to do most things now. Not because she preferred it, but because she had so much to do and so little time to do it. She knew the backlash would drain her after so many hours, but she accepted it. As long as she could solve issues for her people quickly, she was willing to take the hit.

  Her status as quee
n was tenuous, at best. The elves had started to accept that she was the best possible ruler they could have, and were becoming happy with her rule. Really, most just needed to get past her being half-human. Once they had they had taken a look at what she was doing, and judging her on that, no one could hate what she did for the people. It was everything.

  "We shall see. I am not sure magic can interfere with it."

  "Hmm…"

  She said nothing else, just followed behind me silently, keeping track of our path and any signs of a threat, be it human or animal. She had trouble realizing, as queen, we were to guard and care for her, not the other way around. It was what made her so annoying to guard, but ultimately what made her the best kind of queen. No one deserved more loyalty and care than someone who put everyone before themselves.

  Chapter Two

  Talon

  I woke slowly, feeling no danger around me. Elainne still snored silently. What had woken me? It was not quite dawn and we had been walking for days. We were finally so exhausted that we had decided to hunker down for the entire night. Only a couple hours of sleep off and on throughout a twenty-four hour period made for a very cranky queen, and her extremely cranky guardian mage.

  I never realized how much of a grump I was without proper sleep. It was better, for both of us, when busy. We didn’t have time for grumpiness. But when walking along, doing nothing else but staring at the same scenery for hours, lack of sleep made you spiteful; me more so than our young queen, but who was keeping track?

  Looking up, I saw the swirl of silver. Magic. Someone, Avren if the silver was any indication, was looking for us. A message. Likely some emergency, saying we needed to return right away. Elainne could, but I had to do this before I exploded from my own power.

  "Elainne, I think that is for you."

  She was instantly alert and following my line of vision. She scowled and stood, walking a few feet from me before kneeling down to accept the message. I turned slightly but kept my eyes on our surroundings. This was painful and I hated watching it, but I still needed to keep her safe.

  She didn’t scream anymore, but I saw the tears fall as the message entered and temporarily overtook her brain. This was a barbaric way to communicate, but it was the quickest and safest. I still didn’t like it.

  "Come Talon, we should move out."

  She said nothing about the message or its contents, but shouldered her pack and moved along the way we had been heading. It wasn’t bad enough for her to go back, that, or she was avoiding going back even if it was dire. I wouldn’t push… for now.

  Elainne

  Avren had sent me a message saying my uncle had died. He had only been my uncle by marriage, but he was still family; not close, after all, he had hated me as well, but I wasn’t him. I wouldn’t hate him for his prejudice. People like that were to be pitied, because they were not smart enough to see that we all had so much to learn from one another.

  I knew what this meant for my aunt's kingdom. Unrest, civil unrest. There was no longer an heir. My uncle, the rightful ruler, was dead. As she was married into the royal line, my aunt was not a viable choice for the throne. She could try, but she wasn’t. She was too strong to let go though. My entire family was like that.

  My father had refused to be a patsy ruler and left to go 'visit' my aunt. He had yet to return. I was sad that he couldn’t understand what I was doing for his kingdom, but I understood his pride would not allow him to stay. I was also relieved that he was no longer in danger from Avren and Viktor.

  Now my aunt would face civil war. She would have her supporters, who had known her influence on my uncle and her capabilities as a ruler. The others wouldn’t want an Elvin queen and would demand a new human ruler be chosen. I couldn’t imagine the next few years would be easy for the kingdom.

  I wondered if Viktor knew and worried for his family, or if he had written them off entirely. I hoped he would invite them to stay with us. No matter his father's crimes against their family, his half-sister didn’t deserve to suffer for it.

  Talon

  "You will have to tell me what the message said eventually, so I am not worried you are skipping out on important duties."

  She smiled sadly at me.

  "I am not needed yet. For now, my aunt will have to grieve and petition to keep her place. Until it is decided if she will take over or not, I can do nothing."

  So her uncle had died. I disagreed with her assessment. The people knew of the improvements in the Elvin kingdom under her rule. No doubt Avren and Viktor hoped she would return so they could stage a takeover while she grieved with her aunt. She wasn’t returning though. She wasn’t looking to expand her empire, but I didn’t think they would hold off forever.

  They would find a way the same as they had done before. Avren and Viktor were determined she would become an empress with an empire that covered all the known kingdoms. Likely, some of the unknown as well.

  "You don’t want to be with her while she grieves?"

  "No. If I am… after hearing how I took my father's kingdom… well, I am afraid she would not welcome my sympathy."

  So she knew it as well. She knew why they wanted her return. I felt bad for her and her forced situation. I agreed she was the best to rule, but free will should apply to everyone, including her. It shouldn’t be bestowed on some and skipped over for others. If it was, it was not truly free will.

  I walked over and put my arm around her shoulder. She was so much shorter than me, it was easy.

  "Well, for now we are on an adventure! Let's have some fun and make some mischief."

  She smiled and skipped ahead, laughing. Sometimes I wanted to let her be the girl she was instead of the queen she had to be.

  "All right, Talon. I will race you to the top of the bluff there."

  I knew she had her Elvin abilities, but I used magic to speed my way. So, I naively agreed, thinking I could easily outpace her. I was so very, very wrong. At the top we were both panting holding our knees so we didn’t fall over.

  "You… cheated…"

  The breathlessness prevented full sentences. She smiled and took a deep breath, ending her wheezing. Definitely cheated.

  "You forget I have been trained to be an Elvin warrior since birth. Also, I train with Avren and Viktor. I knew the second you tugged even the slightest on your magic. So, I summoned some of my own. Not much though. If I flew it would have been really cheating."

  She gave me the cheekiest answer one could give. I had to wonder if she really could use magic to fly now. That would be amazing. I always wanted to be able to fly as a kid. Maybe she could teach me.

  "Let's go, Talon. We have an adventure to embark upon."

  "We already embarked."

  She smiled and her eyes twinkled. Oh no, I was in trouble.

  "But it hasn’t been fun. Now it's going to be."

  She closed her eyes, did some swift hand gestures I didn’t recognize, muttered some words I didn’t think should actually be able to come from human vocal cords, and when she opened her eyes she threw her hands up, and up she went. She lifted into the air, smiling down at me. Holy cow, she really could fly! Her eyes were blue and white, swirling like the clouds in the sky.

  "That is most definitely cheating!"

  Avren, being her familiar, had given her access to magic that had died out with the ancient races. She and Avren alone had access to them.

  She smiled and waved a hand. I lifted into the air, tethered to her by a cord of cloud. I moved around, waving my arms and legs, moving around in the air like a baby bird on its first flight. She laughed and let me. When I reached ten feet from her I reeled back until I was only a couple feet from her. The wind holding us up was warm so I didn’t feel the cold of the mountains. I tried diving and the same thing happened. Up I went, back to her side. Still, even if she was in charge, this was the coolest thing I had ever experienced.

  "Don't tell anyone I can do this."

  Her voice was slightly deeper than normal and
had a slight echo. She had summoned some kind of air sprite to share her body with her. That was not something to be taken lightly and yet she acted as if it were completely normal. What were she and Avren doing while off alone studying? What was he teaching her?

  "Sure."

  She started to smile but then froze. Quickly I was thrust as close to her as possible, and the wind around us turned dark. The wind turned to full blown clouds and I could hear crackling in them. Was lightning really going to shoot out?

  "I mean you no harm."

  The voice was small and weak sounding, but I figured Elainne's reaction the new presence, which I still couldn’t see, meant it was more than it sounded. Elainne pulled back on the magic a bit but I could still feel a storm brewing.

  "Show yourself and prove it."

  Elainne's voice was even harsher now. I tried to move in front of her, but the magic held me in a protective tornado. Blocking me from whatever lurked outside.

  "No one has seen our kind for a long time. No one has sensed us even if we were right on top of them. You must be special indeed. In fact, I know you to be, because a dragon is tied to you… and by choice."

  That shocked us both. I felt the lurch in the protective spell around me. I was able to push my way out, and when I did, I was glad it was Elainne controlling the magic that was holding me in the air. I would have dropped the spell had I been in charge.

  In front of our eyes the air shimmered and seemed to almost part, showing little miniature beings with wings. They varied in hues of white, blue and yellow. The wings were all bright and shining. Almost like they were made of sunshine. I couldn’t believe it. Were these really fairies? I had heard tales, everyone had heard of the legendary creatures. Dragons, dwarves, fairies, and more.

  Elainne put us on the ground and dismissed the wind spirit. The fairies followed us down and floated, eye level with Elainne. She was the more interesting of us, to be sure.