by Talia Jager
“There will never be peace.”
“If you think like that, you’re right. There won’t be. And that’s why you are not a leader. You’re a Summer faerie. I know you miss the sun on your skin, the feeling of cool grass under your feet, just as I miss a fresh snowfall and hearing the crunch of snow beneath my feet. If we get peace, we can visit and possibly make homes here. I’m not foolish. I know that’s a ways off and it’ll take time and hard work to get there. There’s been loss on both sides, and that pain doesn’t go away easily, but we have to try.”
“You’re a fool. If we help Eira, she will help us.”
“Who is we? Are there more of you who feel this way?”
The stinging in my chest grew stronger as a smirk formed on his face. “Yes. They left to meet up with Eira. I volunteered to stay behind and—”
“Kill me?”
“Yes.”
“Ah!” A scream ripped through my throat as the burning pain became too much to bear.
Isolde whipped her head around to me and then back to the Iron faerie. She clenched her hand into a fist, and water wrapped around the faerie and turned to ice. “I’ll deal with you later.”
Keir released his grasp on Sorin, and both came rushing over. “No!” Isolde yelled. “Stay back. If this is what I think it is, it’s dangerous to you as well.”
She took out a knife and cut away at the top of my dress. “Damn,” she muttered.
I looked down and saw a wound with black marks spreading outward through my veins all over the right side of my chest and shoulder. I couldn’t see any farther. “What…is…that?”
“In the years since we had been banished, we were able to become acclimated to iron and other metals. It can still kill us if we get it in our hearts, but we’re able to touch it and work with it without feeling sleepy or any other effects,” Isolde explained as she examined the arrow. “In time, we were able to make a special liquid metal that we use in our arrows. We usually save these weapons for our most important kills. The arrow itself is made out of iron, and inside the broadhead is a glass tube which contains the liquid metal. This tube breaks on contact, letting the metal enter our enemies’ bloodstream. Death occurs minutes later.”
“Death? Minutes?” Panic set in.
“I need you to focus, Rory. I can remove it, but it’s going to hurt.”
“Do…it…” I said through clenched teeth.
Isolde looked over at her fae. “Lola, Marick, Duston, I need your help. Do any of you have issues helping me?”
“No,” they answered.
“Marick, roll her onto her left side and hold her very still. Lola, go find the plants we’ll need. Duston, break off the back end of the arrow, then grab her legs and help Marick keep her from moving,” Isolde ordered.
The one she called Duston looked at me. “Take a deep breath, Your Majesty.”
When I did, he broke the end of the arrow off, causing more pain to radiate in my chest. I choked back a sob.
“Hold her as still as you can.”
Isolde pushed down on the broken end of the arrow, making the arrowhead push the rest of the way through the exit wound. I screamed in pain as she continued to push the arrow. Marick and Duston held my legs tight, so my body hardly moved.
“Good. The next part is going to hurt, but it’ll be quick.”
She stood up and flung her arm out, pulling the arrow the rest of the way from my body. Marick and Duston held on tight as I arched back in pain. When it was out, they laid me on my back. Isolde waved her arms as if she were bending water, but nothing seemed to be happening, until I felt something moving within me. Shock hit me as I realized she was bending the liquid slowly poisoning me as it coursed through my veins, pulling it from my body.
I felt the intense pain leave, and there Isolde stood with the poisonous liquid floating above her hand. She clenched her fist around it. When she opened her hand, she showed a solid metal and pocketed it.
Lola returned with a few plants. From a knapsack, she pulled a small bowl. Isolde used her bending to put a small amount of water into the bowl. Marick created a fireball in his hand, and Lola used her air bending to make the bowl hover above the flame so the water would heat up. Duston used his earth bending to pull a bunch of clay from the earth and into the bowl. Lola tossed in all of the plants she had gathered and then used the air to stir it all together. Isolde pulled some of the water out of the mixture to make sure the paste was thick.
Marick helped me sit up, and then Isolde smeared the paste over the wound on the front and back of my shoulder. Lola then placed a leaf on each side of my shoulder to keep the paste on. Duston ripped up some fabric and created a sling for my right arm.
“The wound should be all healed up by tomorrow. The blackened veins will take a few days longer. You had a poison in your body that would have killed you from the inside out, so it did some damage, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed.”
In awe, I managed to mumble, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It was the least I could do. After all, you did save me first,” she said with a small smile.
She waved over Sorin. “She’ll be fine. I got rid of it all. She will need to relax, get plenty of rest and water.”
“We’ll be sure she gets it. Thank you,” Sorin said, extending his hand.
Isolde took his hand and shook it. “You’re welcome.”
Sorin leaned down and kissed me. “Don’t do that again.”
“I’ll try not to,” I joked as he gently scooped me up in his arms.
Very seriously, he said, “I can die. You can’t. If you die, Eira gets the crown.”
“I won’t live without you.”
“You have to. Until Eira’s dead or you have a child.”
He was right. Those were the only two scenarios where Eira wouldn’t have control, the only way the kingdom would flourish, the only way my family and friends would be safe. “Have all of the royals and Isolde come to the castle.”
“Don’t you think you should rest?”
“We need to finish this.”
Shaking his head, he told Keir to make sure they met us there.
Back at the castle, he laid me on my bed. Elara was already there, and she began to look me over. Lumi and Raina came running in. “Rory! Are you okay?” Lumi asked, practically throwing herself on me.
“Yeah. Just feel drained. What about you? Were you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“Tannon?”
“He’ll be fine,” she answered.
“Good.” I let out a breath.
Lumi moved to the side, letting Raina be closer. “Rory…” She squeezed my hand. Her aura told me something was definitely wrong.
“What is it?”
“Iris. She…” Raina shook her head as tears spilled down her cheeks.
“No…” I whispered.
Sorin, Lumi, and Elara walked to the other side of the room and talked.
“They couldn’t do anything?”
“She was already gone.”
I wiped my eyes with the blanket. Looking at Sorin, I asked, “How many others?”
“Too many,” he answered.
“Am I doing the right thing, Lumi?”
“Yes, Rory. Uniting all of the faeries is the best thing, if, of course, that’s what you decide.”
“I…I don’t know what to do. These are big decisions. What if I choose the wrong one?”
Lumi put her hand on my shoulder. “Then you learn from the mistake. Have some faith in yourself. You are a great queen—”
“I’ve been queen for like a minute,” I said sarcastically.
“And look at all you’ve been able to accomplish. You’re not alone. I’ll be right by your side, as will Sorin. Together, we will make good decisions.”
Sorin crossed the room. Looking back at him, I asked, “Is everyone here?”
“Yes.”
“Show them in.”
“Are you sure? Maybe you should jus
t rest?” he suggested.
“I’m fine. I want to do this.”
I pushed thoughts of Iris out of my mind as Sorin led the royals and Isolde into the room. Isolde looked very uncomfortable. They all did really. I mean how often did the royals go into each other’s chambers?
The tension in the room was at an all-time high. King Septimus stared at Isolde and then cleared his throat. “We’re here to talk. Let’s do that. Sorin? Aurora?”
Swallowing hard, I said, “We all know what happened. No need to go over it again. Let’s fix it. Let’s officially call a truce. No more attacks on either side.”
“So we hold a hearing?” King Newland asked.
“Who would we try?” Queen Bluma questioned. “All of the faeries who tried to overthrow the royals have passed on.”
“That is a good point,” Sorin said. “How do we conduct a trial when the guilty parties are dead?”
“Now hang on.” Isolde stomped her foot. “You’re assuming our ancestors were trying to overthrow the royals, and that’s where you’re wrong. Nobody listened to us back then. I’ll be damned if nobody listens again.”
Sorin shifted his feet. “We’d love to hear what you have to say.”
King Septimus added, “As long as you can do it calmly.”
After sliding him an annoyed glance, Isolde started, “Many years ago, a group of faeries from different Seasons met secretly. They believed the Seasons shouldn’t be separated, that we should all live together in harmony. They came together in front of the royals and proposed this. The royals saw it as a power play. They felt as if the group was a threat and, therefore, had them banished for trying to overthrow them when all they did was make a suggestion.”
There was a dead silence around the table.
“Seriously?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said, sitting back. “They jumped to conclusions.”
Sorin took my hand. I knew he was thinking about the falls, our friends, and how that could have easily been us. It was us. We had been banished for having those thoughts as well.
“I had no idea. The story always told of a group of faeries who tried to overthrow the royals all at once and were banished for it,” King Newland said in a soft voice.
“So we just let them come back?” Queen Crisanta blurted.
“They’re not the guilty ones. And even if they were, it doesn’t sound as if they did something that warranted being banished.” I faced Isolde and asked, “Would coming back to the Seasons even be something you’d want to do?”
Isolde met my gaze confidently. “We are a mixture of many different Seasons, and splitting up would be unthinkable.”
“Do you like where you live now?” Sorin asked. “What would you like to see happen?”
“The outer lands are not pleasant; however, I don’t think my fae would want to split up. Maybe we could find a place in the neutral land to live? And have access to the Seasons, be able to come and go, visit, trade, work, and have our young go to school. And maybe, later on, if some of us want to come back to the Seasons to live, we could.”
When nobody else spoke, Lumi said, “Okay, how do the rest of you feel about that?”
“I’m okay with that,” I said.
“Me too,” Sorin replied. “I do have one request though. I’d like all iron to stay outside of the Seasons.”
The Autumn and Spring royals murmured an agreement.
“I can agree to that,” Isolde assured. “What will you do if someone breaks this new truce?”
“We will hold them responsible,” Sorin answered.
“Isolde, I give you my word that the attacks will stop. Nobody will come looking for you. Nobody will stop you from entering the Seasons,” I said.
“Very well. We will agree to the terms.”
“We should make an announcement,” Sorin recommended. “Call a truce publicly.”
“Queen Aurora should do that,” King Newland said, looking at me.
“She should, but she’s not in any shape to get up yet. Maybe in a few hours,” Isolde said. “However, my fae will need to know what’s going on. I suggest we make that announcement, and then she can say something later on.”
“Is that okay with you?” Sorin asked me.
“Yes. The sooner this ends, the better.”
“We’ll go have the fae gather,” King Newland said.
Everyone shuffled out of the room except Sorin. He sat down on the edge of the bed. “We did it, love. We united everyone.”
I smiled at him. “We sure did.”
“Why aren’t you full of joy then?” he asked.
Sighing, I said, “Eira.”
“We’ll find her, and when we do, we’ll do a better job at keeping her locked up.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah. I’m still shaken up, I suppose. The pain was intense earlier, and I thought I was going to die.”
“You didn’t look good. It scared me. Do you know how crazy in love I am with you? I can’t lose you again. You’re my whole world, my always, and I need you to be here with me. I’m going to send Elara in to stay with you while we make the announcement.”
I yawned. “Okay.”
Sorin placed a kiss on my cheek, and then he ran his hand up and down my good arm.
My eyes fluttered closed, and seconds later I drifted to sleep.
Chapter Forty-Four
Sorin
A few minutes later, I walked outside with Isolde and the other royals. Once everyone was quiet, we announced the truce. Just as I expected, there was opposition.
“They killed our families, our friends!”
“And we killed theirs,” I responded. “No one is innocent here. We all have to take responsibility and learn how to forgive. This is a new way of doing things. I don’t expect you all to love them, but I do expect you to treat them with respect.”
“They killed your parents!”
Swallowing hard, I said, “Our parents died in a battle, a battle that shouldn’t have happened. We can’t do anything about it now. So, please, let’s move on. Let’s right this wrong. Bring something good from something so horrible,” I pleaded.
A few of the fae walked away, and we let them. We were moving on and if others didn’t like that, that was fine, as long as they stayed out of the way. I did worry that they’d join Eira’s little group, but there wasn’t any way I could stop them.
“Where’s our queen?” a Winter faerie asked.
“She’s fine. She’s healing from a wound.”
“When can we see her?”
“As soon as she’s able. I promise you she’s okay. Thanks to Isolde and a few of the Iron Fae, she’ll be back on her feet in no time.” With Aurora’s stubbornness, I was sure she would be.
After going inside, I checked on Aurora. She was resting, and Elara shooed me away. I wandered around and ended up sitting in the great hall thinking about our future. I wanted Aurora to be my wife. Was it too soon to propose to her? Would she think I was crazy? How should I do it?
“Hey.” Dune walked in. “What are you thinking about?”
Meeting Dune’s gaze, I answered, “Proposing to Aurora.”
“Really?” He grinned.
“Yeah. Is it too soon?”
“No,” he replied with a laugh. “You’re past the age. You should have been married to someone by now.”
“That is true. You don’t think she’ll think I’m rushing?”
“Have you seen the way that girl looks at you? Pretty sure she thinks you walk on water.” He looked up as if he was picturing that. “Can you do that?”
Laughing, I said, “I’ve never tried.”
“She loves you, Sorin, and you love her, so I say go for it.”
Grinning from ear to ear, I said, “Any idea where the crown jewels are?”
“Follow me.” Dune led me up to our parents’ room. I hadn’t gone inside since I had gotten home. It just didn’t feel right. He
opened the door and entered. When he realized I hadn’t followed, he said, “It was weird the first time I came in too, but there’s no reason to stay out. They’re gone, Sorin, and they’d want you to find a ring for the girl you love.”
“I’m not so sure Mother would approve.”
“Maybe not, but there are other rings in there to choose from.”
Pressing my lips together, I nodded and entered the room. Dune led me to their fireplace. He created a small fireball and tossed it in. Then he moved a large stone. Behind it was a wooden box. Carefully removing the box from its home, he placed it on a nearby table.
We sat and went through each piece of jewelry until I found the one—an aquamarine emerald-cut diamond ring. There was a matching wedding band with alternating diamonds and aquamarines. “These are perfect.” I took both rings. I’d keep the other in my room until we married—if she said yes.
I walked into her room and saw her sitting up in bed. My heart leapt. When her eyes rested on me, her face lit up, and she smiled. Her arm was still in a sling, and although her veins were still blackened, the black had faded.
The room was full of faeries smiling, laughing, and telling stories. Everyone was getting along, and Aurora had done that. Sure, I had helped, but she had brought all of these faeries together. She had done something nobody had ever done. These faeries were more than existing together, they were enjoying each other. Feeling incredibly proud and full of love, I knew the timing was right.
I reached into my pocket and gathered the ring in my hand. Then I crossed the room and sat on her bed. In front of all the royals, Isolde, Lumi, Dune, Keir, Raina, and Kailani, I said, “Almost losing you again made me realize how short life is even when it’s as long as ours. I don’t want to wait any longer. Aurora, queen of the Winter Fae, will you marry me?”
Gasps circled around the room, but my eyes never left hers. She smiled and whispered, “Yes.”
I slipped the ring on her finger and scooted close to her so she wouldn’t have to move. Then I leaned in and kissed her softly. Forgetting everyone else was in the room, I kissed her long and sweet, until Dune cleared his throat. “Will you be done soon so we can congratulate you or are you going to kiss her forever?”