‘I’m glad you are pleased, Princess.’
I didn’t bother telling him to call me Marla because tonight I felt like royalty.
I flew across the night with my friends—Jack and Ameyah catching rides with members of the guard. The last of the day fell away in brilliant streaks of orange cloud behind giant puffs of grey, while all across the sky, leaves trapped with light drifted like miniature suns. On the ground and in the air, faeries gathered them up. By this time tomorrow, the light would be gone from the leaves, but tonight they would be scattered across lakes and rivers. They would decorate necks and wrists and hair. They would be taken into the trees and strung up—tiny spots of sun to welcome in the new.
I followed the guards, and eventually the Spirit Tree came into view, bursting with light in the distance as it continued to shed sun-filled leaves.
As we wove down through the branches of the surrounding trees, my eyes grew wide at the wonderful sight before me. I told my friends to go on ahead and they left to join the festival. Choosing a tree with good thick branches and smooth bark, I stretched out on one of the lower limbs, my feet waving in the air to the sounds of faery music.
The Spirit Tree was a great umbrella of shimmering light, its limbs stretching forever and branches dipping so low they almost touched the ground. From every part of it, a vague haze of golden green swirled like mist, reaching out to touch the faeries frolicking in the branches or dancing beneath them, or swaying at tables filled with fountains of wine and dishes of scrumptious things. Leif wore white and gold and sat on a jewelled throne lifted on a dais set in the curves of the tree’s great root system. He shimmered as though dressed in sunbeams, his smile as bright as his crown—which was askew and almost covering one eye. He laughed and drank and watched his faeries dance for him. Wild things, they whirled like spirits, hair flying, as though drunk with joy and pulled to their king by gravity. I was stunned to see a haze of colour around each, stretching and reaching out towards their king. Every shade of green and orange, blue, purple, yellow, red and pink, mingling with the essence of the Spirit Tree and the glimmering white which was Leif.
And while the leaves continued to shake loose and fly free, another couple arrived, a halo of colour the same as their wings appearing around them, brightening as they made their way to Leif. Through the twirling bodies I saw them step up on to the dais and kneel before their king. The male lifted his hands. In them was a dish piled high with something I couldn’t make out. Whatever it was, Leif accepted one and took a bite, then smiling, turned to speak to Haigen at his side. Haigen took the dish from the man then Leif stood and offered his hands. The couple each took one as they rose, looking up into the face of their king. Colour seeped from their fingers, hers lavender, his red, and from Leif, a stream of white, twinkling with tiny stars. All three colours wove together, reaching out to touch every faery present—their own colours stretching back to create a great swirl of rainbow. Through their king, they were all connected—actually spiritually connected.
The realisation brought a rush of emotion—a full feeling in my throat, prickles to the backs of my eyes. Leif spoke words I couldn’t hear, then swept the female into his arms, twirling her among the faeries who moved as one, creating a circle so he and the faery he danced with were at its centre.
A flash of white behind me and I was torn from the vision. King Telophy alighted beside me. ‘He is a good king, is he not?’
I sat up quickly. ‘They love him.’ Like they’d once loved the retired king.
‘And he them. There is nothing more important to him.’
‘I know.’ I watched Leif spin with the female, his faeries dancing around them and clearing a path at the same time.
‘Except perhaps you.’
I turned to him, stunned.
‘Which is why I’ve come to take back the confusion you had me place on you.’
‘Don’t,’ I said quickly.
‘Don’t?’
‘Without feeling the betrothal connection, I can love him but still get on with my life. And I am getting on with my life … I’m finally getting to know who I am.’
He leaned back against the trunk. ‘I’ve noticed … But that is only due to your decision to embrace your origins.’
It was true. After Hilary died and that conversation with my father, I’d pretty much decided to follow his advice—step into life instead of away from it. I couldn’t deny how pleased I was with how far I’d come. But what if the betrothal connection made me a slave to those feelings and unable to keep moving forward? I couldn’t risk it. ‘I’d rather just stay the way I am.’
‘Leif loves you.’
‘He’s King—he loves all his subjects.’
‘And is your love for him only as a subject to her king?’
I watched Leif pass the faery back to her betrothed and fly up to the dais, another couple already kneeling before him. The man lifted a blown glass decanter to him. Leif drank what remained in his goblet and allowed the faery to refill it. ‘Not only that,’ I said softly.
‘So you know I speak of a different love.’
I thought of the commitment Leif had made to Haigen at Lysander’s allegiance ceremony. And of the way, until recently, I’d spent so little time with him. Since waking from his coma, he’d left me to get on with my life. Then again, there was that walk in the forest the other day.
‘Are you sure about that?’ I asked finally.
‘As sure as anyone can be about the feelings of another.’
My hope dissolved. King Telophy had spent a lot of time mending bridges, but Leif wouldn’t confide his most private feelings to him. ‘What about Haigen? You were there when they made a commitment to each other.’
‘Perhaps it was wrong of me to speak of this with you.’ He made to get up.
‘Aren’t you going to stay?’
‘Leif doesn’t know his mother and I are back and this night is for him, not me.’ He smiled as he added, ‘But it is for you. Go join your king. It will make him happy to see you. This I know.’ He shocked me by leaning down and pressing a kiss to my hair. ‘And it will make me happy to know you are both so.’
I sensed something vulnerable in him, despairing even, and his words sounded too much like goodbye. Suddenly I felt an overwhelming sense of fear. An old suspicion flooded my mind, and as he stood and released his wings, I clambered to my feet and grabbed his hand. We swayed on the branch, his wings snapping into action to stop us falling.
‘You are going to Dark Faera,’ I accused when he’d righted us. ‘Does Leif know? What about Atara?’
‘I told you not to speak of it.’
His tone was filled with the old King Telophy fire, but I didn’t care. ‘Rual is cunning. If you lose the gamble …’ I glanced at Leif. He needed to know.
King Telophy must have read my mind because he caught my arm. ‘Any mention of this to my wife or son will cause nothing but trouble and heartache.’
‘Don’t you think it would cause trouble and heartache if you lost your soul to the Dark King?’
He closed his eyes and took a few slow breaths. When he opened them, his voice was level again. ‘Have some faith in me, Marla. I am still a king. Now give me your vow you will not mention these … suspicions to either Leif or Atara.’
But I knew they were more than suspicions. ‘Leif is my king.’
His eyebrows crashed together. ‘Even if what you say is true, would you be responsible for your king following another into danger?’ He didn’t wait for a response. ‘Your vow.’
I was of Leif’s Most High. How could I keep something so enormous from him? But how could I tell him? King Telophy was right—Leif would follow—he’d done it for me, he’d do it for the father he’d just found a brand new love and respect for. ‘I can’t give you that vow, not without more information.’
He watched me through narrow eyes. I could almost hear the workings of his brain. ‘Give me your word you will tell him nothing tonight. You would only d
estroy this time for him. Tomorrow we will continue our discussion and you can decide what to do then.’
‘Okay, fine, you have my word.’
Just before he flew away, he said, ‘Enjoy your night with Leif.’
I went straight to Jack and Ameyah, and picked up a berry drowned in syrupy wine from the table beside them—a burst of tangy sweetness in my mouth. Ameyah looked flushed and misty-eyed and I wondered how many times she’d filled her goblet. Jack handed me a drink. It tasted of honey and lelia blossom, and by halfway through, my head was turning to warm fuzz, thoughts of King Telophy and Dark Faera drifting away.
While watching Lysander and Claudette dancing, I glimpsed Leif through the crowd, laughing and spinning a faery away from him. She twirled at the end of his arm, her head thrown back and long hair flying. Leif passed her back to her betrothed and they both spun away as he returned to his throne, Nian filling his hand with a goblet.
‘He captivates you.’ Ameyah leaned towards me, her long golden curls taking a swim in my wine. ‘Why not go to him?’
I put my goblet on the table. ‘He seems pretty busy.’
‘There is an opportunity.’ I followed her gaze. Leif was taking a long drink.
‘And as if he wouldn’t make time for you anyway,’ Jack said, stumbling when he tried to nudge me and missed.
I laughed. ‘Are you two matchmaking? Because if you are, you’re forgetting someone.’
‘I see no one with him,’ Ameyah said, her eyes glistening. ‘And he asked about you when we arrived.’
I was instantly alert. ‘What did he say?’
‘He wondered why you were not with us.’
‘We told him you were piling on the make-up for him,’ Jack said, plucking something from his wine—probably one of Ameyah’s hairs. No, a twig. He flicked it away.
‘You did not tell him that.’
‘Go on,’ Jack said, his elbow connecting this time. ‘He’s looking around, see? For you—obviously.’
‘Or Haigen.’
Jack rolled his eyes. ‘Don’t be dim.’
I admitted defeat and went to my betrothed. I knew the moment he saw me because of the change in my heart rate. His face broke into a smile as his eyes found mine, warming me from my toes to the top of my head. He jumped down from the dais and met me halfway. ‘You came,’ he said, his breath heavy and sweet with wine.
‘I said I would.’ I leaned back against the great trunk of the Spirit Tree.
He touched my shoulder, his eyes trailing after his fingers as they traced the painted leaves over my shoulder, across my collarbone and down over my heart. I held my breath, my heart thumping against my ribs as the shivers travelled with his fingertips. Whisper soft, he traced his insignia. ‘My mark looks hot on you.’
I laughed. ‘What did you say?’
He grinned and blinked slowly as he ran his hand back through his hair, knocking off his crown. Nian, appearing from nowhere, picked it up and placed it back. Leif slung an arm around his shoulder, swaying slightly. ‘You’ve always looked after me, Nian.’
‘Majesty—’
‘Like a father. Better than a father. Always making sure all is well.’ I had to bite my lip to stop myself laughing when he lifted his arm and clapped a big hand on Nian’s shoulder, almost knocking him off balance.
Nian extricated himself carefully and suggested Leif return to the throne.
‘No,’ Leif said, narrowing his eyes a little to focus on the leader of his Most High. And then in a stage whisper, ‘I have something important to discuss with Marla.’
‘But, Majesty.’
‘I’ll be there soon,’ Leif said, flicking his hand in a be gone kind of way. ‘Go have a drink. Enjoy yourself—dance.’
A giggle escaped me and Nian shot a disapproving look my way before leaving us. Leif placed a hand against the trunk alongside my head. He leaned in, the muscles in his arm tensing. When he spoke, his voice was soft and drowsy. ‘You’re wearing the skirt I chose for you.’ He picked up the top layer and watched it slip across his fingers as it fell. ‘It looks well on you.’
I tucked my hands behind my back, my skin full of trembles. ‘You call that important?’
He looked up and grinned. ‘You said you never would.’
‘I changed my mind.’ It came out as a whisper. I cleared my throat. ‘I am a faery after all.’
His grin widened impossibly. ‘Come dance with me, faery.’
I smiled and pulled a hand out from behind me. He wove his fingers through mine and lifted our joined hands as his free arm came around my waist and pulled me against his hard body. I was coming home and going to heaven all at once. I closed my eyes without meaning to, sighed a long sigh that may have come out as a moan. I heard him laugh as he twirled me away. My eyes snapped open. His face was flushed and smiling, and golden leaves glittered like small suns above him as the music rose and fell, faeries whirling around us—blurs of colour whipping past. I thought I might faint.
Eventually the music slowed, our dance with it. Leif’s arms holding me, his eyes half-closed and a vague smile on his lips. Beyond him I saw a golden leaf shake free from a branch. I watched it flutter our way, surprised it hadn’t gone up into the sky like the others. I pulled back, my heart beating fast as it tumbled over Leif’s shoulder and wedged itself between my chest and his.
Leif picked it up and twirled it in his fingers. ‘Do you know what this means?’
If a leaf from the Spirit Tree falls by chance on the married-to-be, they will be especially blessed. But Leif and I weren’t among the married-to-be. ‘I know what it can mean.’
‘Hmmm.’ He tucked it into my hair, then wound his arm around me again.
‘You said you’d tell me something tonight,’ I murmured.
‘Ah, you want to know about the Celebration of New Life.’
I nodded.
‘Look at the Spirit Tree.’
My eyes travelled over the broad trunk and sprawling branches, the canopy thinning as the light-filled leaves continued to be whisked away on the breeze.
‘The tree provides both protection and nurturing. It is complete.’
‘Okay,’ I said, wondering where this was going.
He leaned down, his lips touching my ear. I closed my eyes, catching a whiff of fruity breath as he murmured, ‘But a king provides protection alone. He is not complete—not without his queen.’
‘Does that mean a queen is not complete without her king?’
He shrugged. ‘Only a queen could answer that … so, what say you, Marla?’
‘Me?’ I laughed but it sounded like I was choking. ‘How should I know?’
He gave no answer, only continued his explanation. ‘The Celebration of New Life is about the connection between all life. The Spirit Tree represents all that which springs from the ground, and the King and Queen that which makes a home within it.’
‘Flora and Fauna.’
‘With the Great Spirit at the centre—creator and driver of all.’ He pushed a strand of hair back from my face. ‘So, when I have my queen, she will be as much a part of the celebration as I.’
I was lost in the wonder of it all and we danced in silence for a while, Leif pulling me closer. Eventually, voice dreamy, he said, ‘This feels nice, does it not? My skin against yours, yours against mine. There’s something right about it, something complete.’
I blushed and muttered. ‘Haigen mightn’t like it.’ I glanced up to the dais to see she was no longer there.
‘Why should she care?’
‘You two are getting married … aren’t you?’
‘I’m too young for marriage—you told me so yourself, remember?’ He grinned. ‘But don’t worry, when I’m to be married, you will be the first to know.’
Then he spun me into the crowd, losing us both to the celebration until Nian came to claim him—though I noticed the leader of the Most High stood well back from his king as he pointed out a group of newly arrived couples waiting for their royal
blessing.
My head whirled from too much wine as I tumbled into bed. Unable to sleep with wanting Leif, I lay awake fantasising about having him—that and reliving every magical moment of the night. Which led me to this: had Leif been suggesting he and Haigen were planning to wait? Or had he meant they were no longer to be married at all? And if not, why not? I picked up the leaf full of light my betrothed had tucked into my hair. He had been flirting with me, there was no question about that. And King Telophy had urged me to go be with his son. Thoughts of my former king started me worrying about him. I was ninety-five percent sure he was planning on going to Dark Faera. I’d learn the details soon enough so I tucked the Spirit Tree’s gift between the pages of my book and rolled on to my side, soon drifting off to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-six
Gentle pressure on my shoulder and the sound of someone clearing their throat pulled me from sleep. ‘King Telophy wishes to see you,’ Seraya told me as I sat up and rubbed my eyes, blinking in the bright sunlight streaming into my room. ‘He waits below in the garden.’
I went to my balcony and peered over the edge. He was looking up and sent a wave my way. I waved back and called out I’d just be a second before darting back inside and exchanging my pyjamas for a dress.
‘Late night?’ he said when I’d flown down to him.
‘Just a bit,’ I said, holding up a finger and thumb.
‘There was dancing I heard, and wine.’ He fluttered his fingers. ‘And falling leaves with minds of their own.’
I grinned. ‘Leif told you.’
‘He enjoyed it very well.’
‘So did I.’
King Telophy smiled. ‘I am pleased … But now, as much as I wanted to spare you, I am here as promised, so come.’ He gestured to a little bench half buried in ferns and flowers.
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