My mum looked back at me with pride. “Did you shoot him down from the air? Well done, Liora. You weren’t that good with a bow and arrow last time I saw you. You’d hardly used one.”
I blinked at her. What was even real right now? “Um, I feel you might not be taking this situation as seriously as you should be.”
She fixed her green eyes on mine. “Your father can’t die unless I kill him. And even if that happened, you could bring him back, just like he brought you back weeks ago. You have that power over each other.” She took another step closer, inspecting me carefully. “That’s why I always knew you were okay. At least until a few weeks ago, when someone killed you. Your father had to bring you back. What happened then, exactly?”
I swallowed hard. “His name was Baleros, and he was a monster.” I gestured at around me. “He’s responsible for all this. For Nyxobas taking you out of Eden. For whatever happened to Dad. A whole bunch of shit. But he’s dead now.”
“You killed him?”
I nodded. “For good this time.”
That pride shone from her face again, along with the gleaming of the gemstones in her forehead. Despite everything I’d been through, I felt as proud as she looked.
My mum knelt next to my father’s body. His wings spread out beneath him—the darkest blue, feathers shot through with strands of silver.
“But like I said,” my mum added, “you didn’t kill him.”
Something I hadn’t noticed before now caught my eye—the faintest hint of shadow magic glowed around the necklace he wore, the one with a flower encased in amber. I knelt by his side, staring at the necklace. It was so faint I could hardly see it, but it was there—a vague midnight glimmer of shadow magic. Just like Baleros had used on Barry. Baleros had used his magic to control the both of them.
“I think I found the problem.” I reached around his throat and unclasped the necklace. I lifted it into the air, the crimson flower glinting in the sunlight.
Soft footsteps sounded behind me, and I smelled Ruadan’s piney approach, felt his magic curling around me. He leaned down and plucked the necklace from my hand, then rolled it over between his fingertips. “Nyxobas charmed this.”
My mum stared at Ruadan, eyes hard as flint. “Who’s this ancient fae, exactly?”
I cleared my throat. “That’s a long story, really…. There are a lot of … really just a lot of misunderstandings over the years—”
My mum looked like she was about to go feral. “He’s too old for you.”
My mouth opened and closed, and I considered pointing out that the Horseman of Death lying before us was several thousand years older than she was.
Ruadan looked her directly in the eye. “I’m Ruadan, Prince of Emain, Grand Master of the Shadow Fae Institute. I saw you years ago when I—”
“I have an idea,” I said, interrupting this reminiscence before he got to the tried to kill your husband part. Ruadan had many beautiful qualities, but tact wasn’t his strong suit. “How about we get the arrow out of my dad’s chest, and then we can chat about all the fun memories later.”
Ruadan cocked his head, then nodded. “Yes.”
I looked down at my dad’s perfect face, the dark sweep of lashes and straight black eyebrows. Already, I could tell my mother was right. The arrow had stopped his heart, but there was still life in him. His skin still had a healthy glow.
I gripped the iron shaft, then yanked it from his chest. With his eyes still closed, he took a deep breath. Then, his eyes opened, and I leaned over him to look into them—the sapphire and gold of my memory.
A little crease formed between his dark eyebrows.
“Dad. I’m sorry I….” I swallowed hard. “Shot you out of the sky.” I bit my lip. “Although you were killing everyone, so….”
He beamed at me, drawing me close into his arms. “Bug.”
I breathed in the scent of myrrh. He wasn’t a monster—and neither was I.
Chapter 133
On top of one of the Institute’s towers, I sat on a blanket between my mum and my dad. We were drinking wine out of silver goblets, and we stared up at the spray of stars across the sky. Their bodies warmed mine, and I plucked another strawberry from the bowl before us.
“And that’s how I became the amazing sword fighter I am today.” The pride in my voice was evident.
After several hours, I’d finally finished telling them about what I’d been doing since I’d last seen them.
“A gladiator?” The rage in my father’s voice ruined the serenity of the moment. “A slave?”
“It wasn’t that bad,” I lied. “I made a good friend. Ciara. And then I got out.” I left out the iron box and the sweets. I was done with that part of my life, now, and there was no need to keep reliving it.
A few clouds began gathering on the horizon, covering the moon.
“I want to raise Baleros from the dead and kill him again,” said my dad.
“Can you do that?” I asked.
“No,” he admitted.
“Tell me again why we’re not supposed to kill Ruadan,” said my mum. “He came into Eden to kill us. He took you away from us.”
I heaved a sigh. “I already told you. He didn’t take me away. I ran through the portal because I thought Dad had killed everyone, since you’d never before told me he was an angel. And Ruadan didn’t know what he was getting into, either, when he came to Eden. He thought he was coming for an angel, and that was it. Not the Horseman. And moreover, I love him, and he loves me.”
Silence fell, broken only by the sound of the wind rushing over the parapet.
“I feel safe with him,” I added.
We could have argued, I supposed, about whose fault it was that the worlds closed at all—was it the Institute’s? Was it my father’s? Instead, they let my last words hang in the air for another minute.
My mum watched me pull another strawberry from the bowl. “Since when did you start easting strawberries?”
I took a bite. “What?”
“You don’t eat strawberries,” my father added. “You hardly eat any fruit.”
“Or meat,” my mum added.
“Just bread and butter,” said my dad. “If you weren’t immortal, I’d worry about your health.”
“And milk,” my mum added. “You always need milk at night at three in the morning.”
It was quickly becoming clear that their image of me would be stuck in the distant past, at least for a while. I might look completely different, but in their minds, I was still a child. I was still young enough to wake them up at night with nightmares.
And for just a few minutes, I liked it that way.
There was still time for them to get used to me—the adult me, the one who could take care of herself. We were immortals, and we’d get around to it. But for this night, I was just their daughter again.
They’d have to return to their own world at some point, but with Ruadan at my side, I’d be able to see them whenever I wanted. I’d have my family back.
I lay alone in the bed I shared with Ruadan, wrapped in our silky sheets. Three months had passed since I’d found my parents again, since I’d pulled the death magic off Ruadan and the Knights.
Three months of pure bliss.
Through his magic, Ruadan had lured me into sleeping in an actual bed, like a civilized person.
Outside, the setting sun cast ginger rays over periwinkle clouds. Night would fall over the Institute’s ancient riverside towers soon.
I closed my eyes, thinking of the moment I’d brought him back from the dead.
The truth was, caring for other people could make you vulnerable, but it could make you strong, too—like the mums who suddenly develop the strength of a superhero to lift a car off their toddlers. My love for Ruadan had turned me into someone who could heal, not just kill.
A knock sounded on the door, and I wrapped a bed sheet around myself. Then, I crossed to the door.
I pulled it open to find Ruadan there. He was dres
sed in his finest black clothes, and they fitted beautifully over his powerful body. Light from the setting sun washed him in hues of gold.
He held out a flowered wreath to me.
“What’s this?”
“Moonflowers for the night realm, columbines for faithfulness, myrtle for love, and yew leaves for death. I couldn’t ignore the monstrous side that I love.”
I took it from him, smiling. Something ivory flashed in the wreath. My nose wrinkled. “Did you put bones in this?”
“Bits of tusk from an Emain boar.”
“Right. And what is that about?”
He frowned. “They’re just large feral pigs, basically.”
I blinked at him, and it took me a moment to remember that Ruadan had an extremely dry and extremely strange sense of humor sometimes.
Then, a smile danced over his lips. “They represent your ferocity and mine.”
So he thought of me a bit like a feral pig. Ruadan was not the best with tact, but I loved him anyway. “Well, it’s strange and perfect.”
His gaze swept over me. “You’re not dressed.”
“It’s a good thing I’m not. It’s bad luck to see a bride in her dress before the wedding. How much time do we have?”
“The sun will set in about twenty minutes.”
“Best leave me to get dressed, then. I’ll meet you outside, when I’m making you my husband.”
Of course, only a moonlight wedding would do for the Shadow Fae.
I glanced at the dress hanging on the wall. My mum had made it, of course. Dresses were more her thing than mine. It was the thinnest of materials, ephemeral and gorgeous, with tiny flecks of glittering, pale blue gems, just like the ones in her forehead.
I pulled it on and inched it down over my hips. The silky material fitted me perfectly—tight around the hips, but with enough room that I could move my legs—and the lace sleeves showed off my strong arms. My mum had done well. Even the high-heeled shoes matched the dress perfectly, though I could hardly walk in them.
I lifted the crown of flowers to my head, then turned to look at myself in the mirror. I smiled. No one did glamour like my mum, and I looked perfect. I couldn’t wait to see the look on Ruadan’s face, although I knew he liked me well enough in tattered, bloodied clothes anyway.
A last ray of amber light caught my eyes before the sun slipped behind the horizon completely.
“I … a darkness. Dick.” A deep voice turned my head. Demented Mike stood in the door holding a flower out to me—a red anemone, just like the ones that grew on the riverbank in Eden. “For you.” He smiled. “Happy.”
I crossed to him and plucked it from his hand, smiling. “Thanks, Mike. We need to get you some more of that magic tea.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned, sauntering down the hallway, whistling. It was weirdly good to see him again, even if we still needed to work on his language skills.
I turned back to the mirror and threaded the red flower into my crown. It was only another moment before more footsteps sounded down the hall and Melusine poked her head in the door.
Then, just beside her, Ciara’s freckled face, grinning.
“You guys can come in,” I said. “For a minute.” I peered out the window at the chairs arranged on the Tower Green in two rows of semicircles. Guests were already starting to arrive and fill them, their jewels gleaming in the twilight.
Ciara lay on my bed. She wore a pink dress with puffy sleeves and sequins, and I had no idea where she had found it, but it looked several decades old and distinctly human. She propped herself up on her elbows, staring at me dreamily. “You look beauuuuutiful. I could just light you on fire. Grrrrrrr, why does beauty make me feel aggressive?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Please don’t light me on fire.” Ruadan was letting her live here at the Institute with us—and so far, a little fire magic had come in handy among the Shadow Fae.
Melusine held a long bit of gossamer fabric in her hands. “I see a wedding dress, I think the wedding is about to start. I put two and two together. But you need your veil.”
“I’m glad I have you here, then,” I said.
I faced the window while Melusine pinned the veil to my floral crown. “What’s this made out of?” I asked.
“Spider silk, woven by the dungeon spiders.”
“I did not know we had dungeon spiders.” I still had so much to learn about this ancient fortress….
I stared through the aged glass panes at Ruadan, who drank from a silver cup. For once, he was the one who seemed to be fortifying himself with alcohol instead of me.
My parents were out there—standing as far as they could from Ruadan’s mother, Queen Macha. Gods, she still scared the shite out of me. My mother-in-law for the rest of eternity, a woman who fed off the violent subjugation of her enemies.
Well, maybe we could just avoid her.
It was at this point I realized that I had no idea how this wedding ceremony was going to work. I assumed I’d just walk down an aisle with flowers or something, but the chairs in semicircles were throwing me off. “What exactly is going to happen at this wedding, Melusine?” If anyone would know the details, it would be Melusine.
“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 ou
r 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.
Thanks so much for reading our books.
We have a number of series set in the Demons of Fire and Night World, including Vampire’s Mage and Shadows and Flame. If you want to be introduced to some of the other characters in our series, you can download our free stories here.
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/ge0bq4cyhg
Thank you for reading Court of Dreams.
The next books in the series continue on with prequel books that tell the story of Adonis and Ruby, and of the apocalypse that started it all.
Also, check out our webpage for the full listing of books www.cncrawford.com
Also, please join our super fun Facebook group!
Acknowledgments
Thanks to my supportive family, and to Michael Omer for his fantastic feedback and help managing my many author crises. Thanks to Nick for his insight and help crafting the book.
Robin Marcus and Isabella Pickering are my fabulous editors. Thanks to my advanced reader team for their help, and to C.N. Crawford’s Coven on Facebook!
Institute of the Shadow Fae Box Set Page 76