Slowly, she tried to draw the power, feeling a slight prickling sensation in her fingertips. That couldn’t be right, could it? Why was it doing that? From all her reading and research, using magic shouldn’t hurt at all. Rather, it should make her feel more complete than before. Make things easier so to speak.
Unbelievably, the stone began to glow ever so slightly. Though not as brightly, or as evenly as when her mother had drawn the power. She wondered why that was. Maybe it was because Aledwen didn’t seem to have any magical powers of her own. Or maybe it was something completely different.
Or it could be related to the deal Fane had mentioned. She shivered. That was a concerning thought.
“Are you okay?” Drey whispered, making Aledwen curse inwardly. She hadn’t meant to make him aware of what was going on in her head.
She pushed his hands out of the way, and removed her hands from the stone, the patchy green light disappearing far quicker than it had arrived. Turning around in Drey’s arms, she looked up at him with annoyingly adoring eyes. While she was sure of the emotions she was feeling, she didn’t want to become one of those love struck women who became shells of their former selves just because there was a man around.
One day, she was going to be a Queen. And she wouldn’t be one ruled by her mate. Nor would she rule her mate. Rule Drey. That wasn’t how the relationship she’d imagined for herself had ever gone. It wasn’t how any relationship should go. But what went on behind the closed doors of others was really none of her business.
Or at least, she kept telling herself that.
“Dwen?” he prompted after she’d been silent for slightly longer than she anticipated.
“You’re the only person to ever call me that,” she replied instead of answering his concern. There was no real easy way to explain all the thoughts and feelings swirling around her head. Maybe one day she would.
“Don’t you like it?” He frowned down at her, and despite the seriousness of the moment, her gaze slipped towards his lips. Flashbacks of the night before sprang to mind.
“I do. It’s just...”
“Just?”
“I’ve been so sheltered, for so long, that it feels like no one’s ever really known me,” she admitted.
“But I do.” He sounded very sure of himself.
“Well, not yet. But you feel comfortable.” She wouldn’t lie to him. He felt right, and he felt comfortable, but they didn’t know each other yet. She was sure that would come with time though. Which was always a good thing.
“I can live with that,” he murmured, lowering his face to hers and pressing a soft kiss against her lips. Aledwen didn’t waste any more time, and slipped her arms around his neck, pressing her body into his and deepening the kiss. The connection between them was definitely real.
To her surprise, he let her have control. Though that might not be a good thing if she started stripping him off right here in the throne room. While she was pretty sure her mother was done for the day, and wouldn’t be returning, the room was still public domain, and as such anyone could walk in.
With that realisation, she pulled back, breaking the kiss, and leaving them both breathing heavily.
“I wonder if I’ll ever get used to that,” Drey whispered, brushing his fingers against his lips.
Aledwen mirrored the gesture, finding her lips slightly tender from the force at which she’d kissed him.
“Do you mind if I try on my own?” she asked, gesturing behind her at the stone. He nodded once, looking ever so slightly taken aback that she’d stopped their kiss and turned things back towards business.
“Be my guest.” He stepped back to give her a little more space, and with mounting dread, she placed her hands back on the stone and tried to draw her magic again.
This time, there was a tiny glimmer of green. No more than a spec in the grand scheme of things. But it was more than she’d had previously, and that was all that mattered. For now, anyway.
“Did you see?” she asked, excitement weaved into her tone as she looked back around at Drey.
“I did.” A look of concentration flashed over his face, and she wondered what that was about. “But it’s supposed to light up completely, right?”
“Yes,” she admitted, dejection welling up inside her again. A couple of glimmers just weren’t going to cut it. “I don’t know what to do, Drey.” She felt the tears prick in the corners of her eyes, but blinked them away. She wasn’t going to cry in front of him. Especially not over a stone of all things.
“I think I have an idea. But it’ll only work if you’ll trust me.”
“I do,” she answered instantly, not even considering whether it was the truth or not. Deep down, she knew it was, and that was enough.
“There’s another ball tonight, right?”
“You know there is. There’s one every night until the Birth.” She gave a weak smile, amused by his questioning of something he clearly knew already.
“Then I’ll be back in time for a dance. But trust me, Dwen. I’ll find you the solution you need.”
“I hope so, I’ve been looking for years, and not found one.”
He frowned at her. “Then I think my solution might actually be the right one.” He leaned down and kissed her softly, lingering for just a moment. “I’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll see you then.” She waved at him as he turned and left the throne room, leaving her alone with the stupid green stone. It’d never worked at all for her, so seeing a few specks of green was a good start, if not quite good enough for what she needed. And damned if she was going to let Drey be the only one finding a solution. Back the library it was for her.
Twelve
Another wasted day in the library. If anyone could call time in the library a waste. Being so surrounded by books wasn’t as far as Aledwen was concerned. But it also hadn’t turned up any of the answers she’d been hoping for. At least it hadn’t raised any new questions. Unlike whatever Drey was up to. That had raised a lot, and she was dying to know what he was up to.
Unfortunately, he was yet to return. Or if he had, then he hadn’t made himself known to her. Which was disappointing to say the least.
And so, she found herself crammed into another awful gown. Though this one was slightly less terrible than the pink monstrosity of a few nights back. Maybe she could get Drey to rip through this one too. Eventually, there’d be no awful gowns left, and she’d be able to wear what she wanted.
Aledwen snorted. Like that was going to happen before she became Queen herself. If there was one thing no one messed with, it was the current Fae Queen of Spring. Or the previous Summer Queen come to think of it. Though the woman hadn’t been the same since she’d tried to steal the powers of winter and been defeated. The new Queen, Rose, was a much better fit for the prosperity of all four fae courts.
The ballroom was teaming with people, as was to be expected. Even the Spring Fae living in the human world came back for the celebrations leading up to the Birth. There was something about it that seemed to infect everyone with a kind of party spirit. Which would have been fine, if Aledwen had been able to enjoy it. This year was better as she could at least attend, but previous years had been a complete waste of her time.
“May I have this dance?”
“Fane?” she asked, spinning around so she was facing him. She hadn’t meant to seem surprised, but after he’d left earlier, she didn’t expect him to be back so soon. She also hadn’t been expecting the butterflies that’d taken up residence in her stomach. What was all that about?
“Dance?” he asked again, holding out his hand.
Aledwen took it and he drew her into a hold, leading her through the simple waltz playing with a practiced ease.
“What did you find out?” she whispered after taking a few moments to truly enjoy the moment. She liked to dance, and she didn’t often get the opportunity to do it.
“Not much. It’s as I suspected. One of your mother’s earlier deals signed away your magic.”
Aledwen swallowed loudly. “But why?”
“She did it before you were born. My guess is either she didn’t read what she was signing away, or she didn’t think she was ever going to have a child.”
“Seems like a stupid risk to take,” Aledwen muttered, trying to ignore the stab of hurt lodging itself in her heart.
“Very much so. There’s no explanation of it.”
“But why would your High Lord even want a fae princess’ powers? They should be useless to him.”
“They are. But I think it’s a long run game for him. There’s a clause in the treaty that says marrying or mating with an elf will return the powers.”
“So basically, he was using the treaty to force a marriage alliance. But what does he have to gain from that?” She really was struggling to work it out. There wasn’t a history of either friendship or animosity between their peoples, so it made no sense for this to be coming up now.
“It sounds like it. And I really wish I knew. Maybe he was hoping for a weak princess he could mold to do his bidding? You’re not exactly magically weak.”
“I think you’ll find I’m magically nothing,” she pointed out.
“Yes, but if your mother hadn’t signed the treaty, you would be.”
“What can I do about it?” She hoped he had some kind of answer. And that it would help if she mixed it with the odd magic bursts in the throne room earlier. So far, no one had really cottoned on that she had none. Or maybe no one mentioned it because they thought it was weak, and she’d be funny about them commenting on it.
No matter the reason, it wasn’t widely publicised that she had no powers.
“Short of finding an elf to mate or marry, I doubt there is anything.”
An uneasy look crossed Fane’s face, and he looked away quickly. Suspicious, but she’d let him have it for now. Especially as he’d been helpful in other ways already.
“What did my mother get from the treaty in return?” she asked instead of prodding more. Treaty seemed like too nice a word for something so restrictive, but Aledwen let that one slide. Here and now wasn’t the right time to bring it up.
“Aledwen.” Her mother’s voice cut through the conversation. Speak of the devil, and she will come. Always seemed to be the way. Fane looked at her before shrugging and letting her go, slipping back into the crowds without anyone really noticing. Aledwen wished she could do the same. Anything to avoid whatever talk her mother was about to give her.
“Your majesty,” she said formally, curtsying politely.
“You were talking to the elf.” The look of disdain on her face made her feelings plain. Aledwen chose to ignore that.
“Yes, we had an interesting discussion about the treaty he’s presenting,” she responded, watching her mother’s face closely to see how she reacted. Unfortunately, she stayed as passive as ever. Aledwen just had to hope the expression wasn’t one she’d inherit.
“How so?”
“Part of it involved a marriage.”
“Good, good. So I’m signing it tonight?”
“No!” The word slipped out before she could stop it, but even so, she couldn’t regret using such a strong tone.
“Excuse me?” The Queen blinked a few times, trying to make sense of what she was hearing.
“You can’t sign it.”
“Why ever not?”
“It gives me away and forces me to marry,” Aledwen said, just about as calmly as she could manage, but probably not managing.
“It does what?” She was surprised to hear Drey’s voice, but not the cool, controlled anger in his voice. That was very much expected. And very much welcomed. Saying no to her mother alone was becoming nerve wracking, Drey would give her the extra confidence to carry it on.
Not that she turned around to look at him. She didn’t really need to, she could sense his presence near her, further convincing her that there was something between them.
“There’s a treaty that if signed, will force me to marry the elvish High Lord,” she explained calmly, and could have sworn she heard crackling behind her. Maybe Drey was even sparking. That wouldn’t be good. She was wearing a lot of flammable material, as were many of the other fae in the room.
In fact, calming him down should become her first priority. Ignoring her mother, she turned and almost took a step back when she realised Drey wasn’t alone. Not that it was a bad surprise. Quite the opposite. The auburn haired twins stood to either side of him had her heart leaping and anticipation building.
And not just because they were looking so angry on her behalf.
Aledwen could feel the stares of the nearby fae on her as she closed the small gap between them. She touched her hand to Drey’s chest, while holding her other out to Cyprus on the other side. He took it eagerly, and she instantly regretted not having three hands for all three of the men.
She looked up into Drey’s dark eyes, finding them boring into her with a possessive intensity. He was going to have to deal with that possessive side at some point. She wasn’t the kind of woman that would bow down to it. Not by a long shot, and it was better he understood that now, and not a lot later.
“It’s not being signed.”
“I need that treaty,” her mother interrupted sharply. “I can’t not sign.”
“Dwen is not signing any treaty,” Brandon growled, stepping between Aledwen’s turned back and her mother, as if to protect her from something undefined.
“Who are you?” Her mother was getting shrill now, and something began to tick away at the back of Aledwen’s mind. They were in public, and this wasn’t the best way to be representing themselves to their people. Not by a long shot.
“It doesn’t matter who he is,” she answered in Brandon’s stead. “But if we’re going to have this conversation, can we withdraw to the consultation room.”
“Good idea,” Drey replied, his voice already sounding softer as he looked at her. She smiled at him, a secret one that was just for them. And maybe for Brandon and Cyprus too. She’d probably have to have a conversation about that with them at some point. Wouldn’t that be fun.
Well actually, it might be. The twins had come with Drey to the ball after all.
“Fine.”
She felt, rather than saw, her mother storm off, but was distracted by Cyprus tapping a single finger on her arm. She nodded at him, fairly certain he was asking for a moment alone.
“We’ll catch up,” she told Drey, knowing she didn’t need to tell Brandon at all. He knew his brother, and she imagined he already knew about what was going to happen now.
Once they’d left, Cyprus did the only thing she hadn’t expected him to, and pulled her into his arms to join the softly swaying couples all over the dance floor. The song playing wasn’t one with proper steps, which was probably a good thing given how pent up she was.
“You’re probably wondering why we’re here,” Cyprus said, taking her aback. Okay, there were two things she hadn’t expected him to do.
“Just a little,” she replied, trying her best not to blurt out a question about him talking.
“I can see the question in your eyes, Aledwen.”
“You used my full name.” Because that was a great response. So eloquent and informative.
“Someone has to. Everyone else seems to have forgotten it.”
Aledwen laughed. She hadn’t thought about it like that. “Now you mention it...”
“I can call you Dwen if you’d prefer...” He was quick to counteract with the statement.
“Only if you want to, I don’t mind.” And she was just honoured that he was talking to her at all. She’d had no problem believing what Brandon had said about him only ever talking to Arabella.
“I like Aledwen, it makes us different.”
“You don’t want to be like your brother?” That surprised her. They seemed so together in just about everything they’d done so far, that it surprised her to find out they wanted to be different. She chastised herself for that on
e. Of course they were different. Just because they were identical didn’t mean they were the same person.
“Most of the time. But I don’t want our relationship with you to just be as one item. We’d be three people in it.”
“Four, if you count Drey,” Aledwen added, before instantly wanting to recall the words. Why on Earth had she said that? She might be feeling the same sense of trust and connection to the twins as she did to Drey, but that didn’t mean they felt one to her. She shouldn’t just assume that would be the case.
Cyprus chuckled softly. “I see you get where this is going.”
“You want me to be in a relationship with all of you?”
“If you didn’t, you’d already be running away right now.”
“I guess so.”
“When you think about being with us all, how does it feel?” he asked gently.
“They’ve elected you to have this conversation with me, haven’t they?”
Cyprus smiled at her, a smile that told her she was spot on in her assessment.
“They figured I was least threatening.”
“And the fact you wanted to talk to me at all convinced Brandon?” she teased.
“Yes. Though our parents are going to take a lot more convincing when the time comes. They weren’t pleased that Ari mated with a bear, so I’m not sure how they’ll react to you being with both of us.”
“I guess that’s not really their choice though.”
“That’s not a no to all of us, Aledwen.”
“You’re right, it’s not.”
He broke the conversation by spinning her under his arm, and she twirled, loving the way her skirts moved, even if the dress itself was horrible.
“If you’re comfortable with it, then the three of us have your back.”
“Three...” she whispered. Something about that number seemed off, and her eyes scanned the room, searching for something, or someone, but she wasn’t sure what.
“Or more?” Cyprus prompted, making Aledwen laugh.
“Up until a few days ago, I had no love life to speak of at all, now I have more than one woman should dream of.”
Chasing Aledwen: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Novel (Fated Seasons: Spring Book 1) Page 8