Chapter 71

After the defeat of the king, the group gathered near the front of the castle. With the king soundly defeated, all of the villagers were cheering, throwing their hats into the air, and celebrating.

"We're not done yet," called Alicia, but she could not help but feel a surge of optimism. It had seemed so bleak before, so helpless, that now they were so close to defeating the queen once and for all. She felt an upwelling of hope, and she wished Zachary were here to see it all. He had remained with Maria in Christine's house, tending to her wounds, but surely they could hear the victory screams. To stop the people in their makeshift army from celebrating would seem almost cruel.

But Alicia was a pragmatist above all else. She believed in celebrating when a task was really and truly completed, and at that moment, they were only halfway done. They still needed to rescue Elaine, stop the ritual, and defeat the queen. There was still so much that could go wrong.