Court of Dreams (Institute of the Shadow Fae Book 4)
Page 20
“That’s right. You weren’t raised among the fae nobility,” Melusine pointed out. “So you have no idea. It starts with the music. Then there’s the twining. Then the spirits of the fallen return to pay their respects. Then there’s the dancing, eating, and more dancing for seven days, during which time everyone calls you ‘queen.’ That does not continue after the seven days, so don’t get used to it.”
I cleared my throat. “Sorry, what’s the twining?”
“Oh, well, you’ll find out soon.” She nodded at the window. “The moon is out. Time to start.”
I took a deep breath. All of a sudden, I was more nervous than I’d been before my gladiator matches. Gods, give me a sword and a mace and someone to kill and I knew exactly what I needed to do. A wedding ceremony surrounded by fae nobility—and a literal queen—had me trembling as I walked.
At the base of the Tower, I pulled open the door to the green.
Ciara and Melusine pushed past me, then ran frantically through the grass to get to their seats. I heaved a deep breath, trying to find Ruadan through the dim light. I couldn’t see him there, and I still had no real sense of what I was supposed to do.
I took one step, then another, feeling wobbly in my high heels. Frowning, I decided I needed to ditch the heels. They weren’t me. I kicked them off, hiked the dress up a bit so I could walk more freely, and just started strutting toward the center of the circle, hoping everything would work out—the confident gait of a warrior. I was meeting Ruadan there, and that was all that mattered.
As I walked, the strange fae music swelled—strings and drums that vibrated over my skin.
Everyone was watching me—my dad, my mum, Aengus, and Aenor and Cora, who were gripping each other’s arms and grinning like giddy children. Queen Macha in her gleaming crown was smoking a cigar, blowing smoke rings and glaring at me. I had not seen that one coming.
I saw Ruadan just as the moonlight hit his perfect features, and he beamed at me, radiant and perfect as the night sky. The love in his eyes was pure magic.
Apparently, we had seven days of music, eating, and dancing ahead of us, but I would make it my mission to drag Ruadan back to our room as much as I could, and to wrap myself around him. My mind whirled with visions of our future—fighting side by side, sleeping in the same bed. Maybe children. Had we talked about children? We hadn’t. Did he want children? Did I want children? I thought I did, but how would I fight demons with a giant pregnant stomach? So many questions.
But as soon as I reached him, that soothing magic whispered over my skin, and the chaos in my mind began to calm and still. Ruadan wrapped his arms around me and whispered into my ear that he loved me.
As he did, shadow magic twined around us, binding us together. Then, ropes of vines sprouted from the earth and encircled our bodies, rooting us to the earth and to each other. The plants wound firmly around us. So this was the twining, I supposed.
I had no idea what I was meant to do, so I pushed up onto my tiptoes and kissed Ruadan on the mouth. We were two broken monsters, now healed.
If I was a raging ocean wave, he was the dark quiet underneath. And we were perfect for each other.
Thank you for reading Court of Night.
This was the final book in this series, but Cora and Aenor will each have their own series.
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To read about Adonis and Ruby’s story, please check out Covert Fae.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Michael Omer for his fantastic feedback and emotional support as always.
Robin and Isabella are my amazing editors. Thanks to my advanced reader team for their help, and to C.N. Crawford’s Coven on Facebook!
Also by C.N. Crawford
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Characters from Institute of the Shadow Fae appear in other series.
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