Fergus looked to Lord Connor. “Does this appease you, Lord? Will this be enough for your court to remove the blood promise?”
Lord Connor looked between the three of us. I held my breath, hoping it was enough. Finally, he nodded. “I believe it does.”
If I’d thought the mood jovial before, I was wrong. The kingdom was happy with their new queen. And their new queen, it seemed, intended to start the job immediately, with plans to hold her coronation in just a week. Tonight, though, she wanted a party.
She whisked everyone inside the castle walls, then farther inside to the ballroom, where musicians were hastily setting up their instruments and harried looking staff were bringing out platters of food and drinks.
Fergus was ripped away as soon as we entered, the lords of his—Willow’s—courts wanting to hear from his mouth that he no longer wanted to be king. He told me it was merely a formality. They all knew how much he detested the role.
Indira stood off to the side, proudly watching her children. I walked over and bowed my head. “Lady.”
Her smile grew. “Your Highness. You and my son did well today.”
I gave a nod. The only reason it had worked out so well was because of Fergus’ forethought. He really was a better king than he gave himself credit for. “Thank you. For your help on the mountain today.”
Her smile grew sad. “It is lucky you have some of Aoife in you. I could often reach the edge of her consciousness the same way.”
“So, you can randomly talk in anyone’s head?”
She shook her head. “It only works when people are sleeping. I think that’s what happened with you today?”
I nodded. I wasn’t exactly sleeping, more unconscious. Or at least on the edge of it.
“Once you woke, the connection broke.”
“Useful skill to have.” Understatement of the year. The options for using it were endless.
She shrugged. “Not really. It’s almost impossible to drive the topic of conversation when I’m in someone’s dreams. With a lot of concentration, I might influence it a little—like how I told you to get yourself off the ledge. But really, what we talk about is driven by whoever I’m talking to.” She smiled. “In your case, it was Fergus.”
I looked at my feet. I had been really focused on Fergus while speaking with her. “Why didn’t you contact Fergus, or Willow, or even Mother when the King had you locked up?” Surely, she could have gotten some sort of message to one of them.
A sad smile came to her face. “I did. But they thought I was dead and that their dream was just a memory. The only time I have full control inside someone’s dreams is when they’re in such a deep sleep that they don’t recall what I’ve told them when they awaken, which makes this a pointless skill to have.” She shook her head. “Anyway, it didn’t matter that they didn’t hear my call for help. If I’d tried to escape, Aengus would have killed me. He was very clear about that—you saw how he was the night he died.”
I nodded. He had intended to kill Indira that night, but he’d killed Mother instead.
“If I remained alive, I got to see the children inside their dreams. I hoped it would stop them from forgetting me. Sometimes, a visit to their dreams was enough to remind them to come and play in my rooms. I was hidden, but I could see them.” Tears shone in her eyes and a soft smile fell onto her lips. “Though I wanted nothing but to hug them, I knew what Aengus would do if they discovered me alive. He’d have made them watch as I died at his hand. Fergus already blamed himself for me not being around. I couldn’t make it worse for him. I held onto the hope that one day Aengus would be gone, and someone would free me.” Her smile brightened. “I thank the stars every day for you and your mother.”
“Well, I’d say we’re even, because I’d have died out there on that ledge without your help.” I’d never have considered calling for Raven.
She looked at the ground, then back at me. “Bria, I should have said this sooner, but I want you to know Aoife was a wonderful woman. Everything she did was to keep you safe. Except right at the end. Then she was trying to keep me safe. I know I can never fully make things right, but I hope knowing that might go a little way to making up for her death. If she hadn’t come back for me, she might still be alive.”
My eyebrows lifted. “You think my mother’s death was your fault?”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I know it was. Why do you think I’ve been such a coward this past year and haven’t contacted you?”
I stared at her. “I thought it was me who was the coward for not speaking to you. I didn’t know what you’d say about Mother, and I didn’t think I was strong enough to hear it.”
She reached out and gripped my hand. “Bria, you are one of the strongest people I know. Aoife would be so proud. As am I.”
I smiled, my eyes filling with tears. Mother had said as much when she died, but I’d never put much stock in it. She had been dying. She’d said what she thought I needed. But Indira knew her as well as anyone. If she thought Mother would be proud of me, then I believed her. “Thank you,” I whispered. Hearing that meant more than I’d imagined it would.
Indira gave a single nod. “No. Thank you.” She squeezed my arm and drifted off amongst the guests.
I pulled myself together and searched for my friends.
Willow was surrounded by well-wishers, the smile permanently glued to her face.
And Jax was dancing. With Selina.
I smiled as I watched them, wondering whether Jax’s loyalty was to Fergus or the crown. Would he remain the head of security for Willow? Or would he go wherever Fergus went, leaving him and Selina free to continue with whatever was between them?
She saw me looking, spoke something to Jax, then came over. “What?” she grinned.
I shook my head. “Nothing.” There was a beat of silence before I said. “So, you and Jax are really a thing, huh?”
She nodded. “Before you ask, Willow knows. She doesn’t care.”
Jax was watching Selina from the other side of the room. “I don’t think it would matter. Jax hasn’t been able to take his eyes off you all evening.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Why would I be mad?”
She shrugged. “Well, it’s not very professional, is it? If I were more focused on my job, I would have told him I didn’t have time for a relationship.” She glanced his way, then turned and grinned at me. “But he is just too gorgeous to deny.”
“Do you feel you haven’t been doing your job properly?” I didn’t. In fact, I didn’t know what I would do without her.
She shook her head.
“Do you want to stop working for me?” I hadn’t considered that she might. I’d only thought about Jax.
She shook her head. “No! I love my job. And I promise my relationship won’t cause problems…”
I gripped her hands. “Don’t worry about it. I trust Jax. I trust you. And I couldn’t do without out you.” I pulled her into a hug. “I love you, Selina.”
“I love you, too, Bria.”
“Now get back to him before he walks over here and carries you back onto the dancefloor over his shoulder.”
She giggled, then dropped into a deep curtsey. “Thank you, Queen Briony.”
I grinned. “You are welcome.”
She ran across the room, dodging dancers to get to Jax.
“They make a good couple, right?” Fergus stood beside me, his voice like honey.
I turned to him with a smile. “How long have you known?”
As we watched, Jax linked his fingers through Selina’s hand and pulled her toward the dance floor. “About five minutes. You?”
“A little longer than that, but not by much.”
He nodded, his face turning serious. “Would you want to … leave? There’s something I want to show you.”
I nodded, and he held his hand out. I linked my fingers through his. He led me from the ballroom and through the corrido
rs of the castle. His pace was modest but purposeful, and he refused to tell me where we were going. My heart beat wildly. I’d never had much alone time with Fergus, and I was excited to have some now.
It didn’t matter that he hadn’t told me where we were going. I knew the place as soon as I saw it. “You’ve brought me to the place we first killed Rhiannon?” The butterflies in my stomach disappeared. I’d expected somewhere a little more … romantic. I certainly didn’t want to dwell on that woman any longer.
Fergus pursed his lips. “Yes. But that’s not what this is anymore.” He looked at the ground like he was embarrassed. “I made it for you.”
My heart skipped a beat. “For me?” But he never expected me to come to this castle again.
“Okay, maybe I made it for me. To remember you.” He pulled me through the entrance and across the cobbled courtyard to the plaque Jax had shown me a few nights ago.
For those who sacrifice themselves to protect others
We will always remember
I shook my head, confused. “I thought … didn’t you make this for everyone who died that night?” That’s what Jax had said.
His shrug was dismissive. “I could hardly tell everyone I was making this place so I would feel closer to you, could I?”
My breath caught at his confession. “You missed me?” I thought it was only me who missed him.
“Of course. I know what it took to walk away, Bria. To leave your friends and go to a kingdom where the previous ruler was hated. You are stronger than I’ll ever be.” He gave a sad smile.
It wasn’t as hard as he thought. Surely he understood that. “There was nothing left here for me. Without our bond—”
“Our bond was never removed.”
My mouth dropped open. “But Maxim…”
He shook his head, dropping my hand and walking over to one of the four trees planted beside each door in the courtyard. He spoke without turning around. “Maxim tried, and the day he did it, I thought it had worked. It certainly seemed to have worked for you. You couldn’t wait to be gone from Unseelie.” His shoulders rose, then fell. “But I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” He shook his head again. “I hoped to see you around the meeting table, especially when we signed the agreement to bring music back to Faery, but you always sent Selina. And whenever I asked Jax about you, he told me how happy you seemed.”
I lifted my eyebrows. Jax had said recently that he knew I’d been unhappy without Fergus in my life.
He turned to face me, a smile that didn’t reach his eyes settling on his lips. “I now know that Jax was lying in the hope I’d move on with my life. But it didn’t matter how hard I tried to throw myself into life without you, your memory was always half a step behind me. I questioned Maxim, and he admitted that he’d done all he could, but it was a difficult spell and if I felt no different, the bond was likely still there.”
I nodded slowly, letting that sink in. No wonder I’d missed him so much. No wonder it had felt like half of me was missing. “When did you find out?”
“About the time the council enacted the Declaration. That was when I started looking for other options hoping one day, perhaps once we were older, there might be a way for us to be together again.”
Luckily, he’d had the forethought. And the ability to talk his council into agreeing to the changes. “That’s when you created a path for Willow to become queen.”
He nodded. “She knew nothing about it. But after I spoke with you in my office the day I discovered you were here at the castle, I told her what I was planning.” His smile reached his eyes. “She was happy, especially knowing it might bring the two of us back together.”
I’d seen him tell her. Down in the gardens when she’d squealed and hugged him. “Thank goodness you were thinking straight.” It was the only reason he wasn’t dead right now. Yet, he still seemed so serious.
He picked a leaf from the tree beside him, scrunching it in his fingers. “There’s one more thing.”
I drew in a deep breath, unease filling my chest. “What is it?”
“I knew every time you were watching me through the black glass. I could feel it, like a tingle on the back of my neck. The first few times, I didn’t realize what it was, but once Jax told me you’d seen someone attempt to poison me, it made sense.” He looked at his feet. “I was angry that you had walked away and wanted no contact but still wanted to keep an eye on me.” He drew in a breath. “So I may have made a spell that showed you false images. On the glass.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“False images?” I breathed. I wondered if I should understand what he meant, but my mind was still catching up.
He nodded. “I wanted you to be as jealous of my life as I was of yours and the way you’d moved on. So, each time I felt that tingle on my neck that you were watching, I showed you the best moments of my life; the two of us dancing in the clouds, us walking along the beach at Lanwick Island.” He looked at the ground. “Sorry. It was petty of me.”
That was why the images on the glass were taking so long to appear. I hadn’t considered he might have known I was watching, but in his situation, I’d likely have done the same thing. “You mean you didn’t take anyone else on those dates?” That probably shouldn’t be my first concern. I should probably be worried about him lying to me or something. Yet, it was all I cared about. Those times with him had been special. I would never have wanted to do those same things with anyone else. Perhaps he hadn’t either.
He shook his head. “Those were our times. Like I said, my best memories.”
I walked over to where he stood and gave his arm a gentle punch. “I was so mad at you for doing those things with someone else.”
He tried not to smile. “Good. That was the affect I was after.”
I punched him softly again. “Lucky I like you.”
He grinned, staring at me through his lashes. “You’re not mad at me?”
I tilted my head. “Well, that depends.”
Fergus licked his lips. “On what?”
“On what happens next. With us.” We might be free to love each other again, but what if he’d really fallen for someone during the Declaration?
“There’s no one else. If that’s what you’re asking.” He glanced at the ground, shuffling his feet. “And I’m happy with how things have worked out today. I never wanted to be king. I could have done it with you by my side, but I don’t believe I would ever have enjoyed it. And that was never an option for us, anyway. Only, now I wonder, could you love someone who is too much of a loser to do the only job he was born to do?”
I lifted my eyebrows. That was not the question I’d expected, but if we were being honest, I had one of my own. “Can you love someone who walked away from you rather than staying and searching for another solution?”
He leaned closer, his eyes on my lips. “I never stopped.”
“Me, neither,” I whispered. Then I did what I’d wanted to do since I saw him sitting on the stage earlier today. I reached up, put my hands on his face, and brought his lips to mine. His hands slid around my back, and he pulled me closer. He drew in a deep breath, making mine catch. My lips parted and our tongues touched, lips moving in time with each other. I had never dared to dream that I might get to feel this again, let alone feel it with Fergus.
He pulled away sometime later, his breathing ragged. “I thought you wouldn’t want this.”
“This is all I’ve ever wanted. Since the first time you took me to Lanwick Island, we were just never in the right place to admit it.”
“I’m so glad we’re past all that.” He linked his fingers with mine and led me away from his memorial and up to his rooms.
EPILOGUE
I looked over at Fergus sitting on the throne beside me. Dressed in a black shirt and tie, with his shirtsleeves rolled up over his forearms, my gaze lingered on him longer than appropriate. Even weeks after he’d abdicated, I still couldn’t believe he was here in S
eelie with me.
Stepping aside from his birthright had been the right decision for Fergus. The dark circles beneath his eyes were gone and his step was lighter. He’d already put on a little weight, and his smile was never far from his lips. It seemed to have done wonders for Willow, too. She no longer seemed so lost. She now had a purpose. Fergus had lost some of the strength in his magic when he abdicated to Willow, and she was now more powerful than him. But the loss in his magic also seemed to make him happier.
I blew out a frustrated breath, adjusting my gold dress with the wide petticoats over my legs. “Is it my imagination, or does it seem like every day I hold court, there are more fae here, more problems to deal with than the week before?”
Fergus grinned. “Oh, the problems of being queen.”
I batted his arm. “Just because you don’t have to deal with it any longer.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?” He shrugged. “They just want someone to listen to them. That’s all.”
I let out a breath. “I know. It’s just…” I couldn’t even voice my thoughts. I wanted a reprieve from court because I wanted to spend time with him. It was so … un-queen-like. “Don’t worry.”
His eyes rolled over me, then he got to his feet, walking the length of the room along the strip of silver carpet that led to the door.
“Where are you going?”
“Outside. You just … keep doing what you do.” He slipped out the door, shutting it softly behind him.
I glanced at Selina. She shrugged, following Fergus to the door. She stood on tiptoes and looked through the window before turning back and shaking her head. “He’s talking to the fae waiting in line. Do we … continue without him?”
I nodded. Today was already dragging. I would not let it last any longer by waiting until he’d done whatever he was doing.
Fae came and left. I shook hands and settled dispute after dispute, and it was a surprise when Selina said, “That’s the last one.”
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