Page 32

The air escaped my lungs. I had to be in Elizy to protect my people.

But I also had to be here with Fletcher.

My mouth dropped open as I gaped at him.

I wanted to take his words and spit them back at him.

I didn’t want to know that my betrothal to someone else meant the end of the enchantments for my people.

I couldn’t know this, or else my heart would tear in two.

I pushed his words to the side. I would not let this be my reality.

I fell to my knees in front of him where he was already kneeling. “No, Fletcher. I don’t care. I will not marry anyone but you. I will fix this.” His arms squeezed me tighter as he leaned his head on top of mine. “I will get your magic back. And I will continue the bloodline with you and only you.”

He leaned forward slightly, placing more of his weight on me, so I clung to him tighter. “Your parents will never tell you how to give me my magic back. Because then they can’t keep me out of Elizy.”

I pushed away from him, my eyes latching onto his darkening ones. “Watch me succeed.”

His lips lay tenderly on my forehead, then he whispered, “Your faith gives me hope.” His head tilted down, his lips nearing mine. Gently, he parted his lips, kissing me slowly and cupping my cheeks in his hands. “I love you so much, Ripley.”

“I love you too,” I whispered back, finishing my sentence with a long, sensual kiss that deepened with every passing second. His hands gleamed aqua as his wind swept us up and brought us together in Aldris’s bed.

I stood before the barrier alone as the sun cracked over the horizon.

I took a deep breath, telling myself to not let this place change my view of Fletcher.

This was it. With an unwavering determination to remain strong for both Fletcher and myself, I stepped foot through the barrier.

I was instantly coated in multifaceted light, every part of my skin.

Covered in some sort of cool liquid that simultaneously was wetting and drying me.

When I was fully on the other side, a boom was unleashed as the barrier flashed and colors spiraled up the walls, dancing like Elizy was welcoming me home.

My body filled with a swirling joy I couldn’t contain.

I felt it in the grass that lay beneath my feet, in the gentle breeze that caressed my cheek, in the sun that warmed my skin, and in the soft hum of my people talking in the distance.

Even my magic knew I was home. It ebbed and flowed through my blood, gracing my soul with triumphant relief.

A single, deep breath was all the time I had before the king and queen materialized with beaming smiles on their faces. “Ripley!” the queen squealed.

Their arms tangled around me like snakes that I wanted off my skin. Sandwiched between the two of them, I elbowed the king and pushed away the queen, wiggling my way out and stepping back.

The queen blinked but kept her smile plastered on her face. “You’ve chosen wisely. We will take such good care of you here in Elizy.”

I clenched my teeth at the audacity of her assumption. “I have chosen Fletcher, not you, or this kingdom.”

The soft angles of her face turned harsh, thin brows pulling down like they were on a string. The king looked to his wife and rested a hand on her shoulder as if encouraging her to remain calm.

“I’m merely here to learn how to get his magic back.”

“Oh, Ripley,” the queen began, a bite to her words, “after what he’s done, you’ve earned the right to keep his magic.”

A growl built in my chest, catching in my throat.

Someone who had been this absent in my life had no right to tell me what I could and couldn’t do.

I had earned the right to make my own decisions.

“I am prepared to bargain with you.” I took a deep breath, ready to win this fight. “Fletcher’s magic for mine.”