Page 38

Six months later

I snuggled closer to Aedan on a settee in the private library and finished reading his father’s thoughts on the rose tree.

When a fae passes out of this life, the event releases an enormous amount of magical energy. My mother channeled that energy into a rose plant she had once gifted me. I had cared for that plant for years, but her last act opened a channel so that the strength and power she poured into the rose could strengthen and protect me. Someday, I will pass that bond on to my son. My mother’s legacy will reach her children for eternity.

Aedan squeezed the arm around my shoulders. “It makes so much sense. When you healed the rose tree, your magic felt so similar to the strength I feel from it all the time. Knowing both powers are fae… just makes sense.” I snuggled closer to him. Healing the rose tree had been a privilege, and knowing how the tree was tied to his family made it even more special .

An urgent pounding on the door interrupted us. I raised a brow. “I wouldn’t have thought we could hear someone in the main library from here.”

Aedan chuckled. “Most people wouldn’t even know to try.”

I wrapped an arm around his waist. “So you’re saying it’s your mischievous cousin, and we should ignore him?”

Aedan pulled me up as he rose to his feet. “Nothing good ever came from ignoring Robin.” He offered me a hand, and I interlaced my fingers with his. A warmth spread up my arm as our palms connected. I planned to enjoy that little thrill every day for centuries.

He led me out of the private room. “I still can’t believe he took over a human kingdom. I mean, I shouldn’t be surprised, but that’s a lot, even for him.”

I laughed. “That’s not exactly how they told the story.”

When Aedan opened the door to the library, we found Robin leaning casually on the wall three feet away, as if he hadn’t just tried knocking down the wall to summon us. He straightened up with a smirk. “It’s about time. You invited a group of royals from across the entire continent to meet two hours after sunrise, and you thought you’d spend the entire time hidden away kissing?”

Aedan let go of my hand and cupped my face instead. “Callista,” he said, turning away from his cousin. “Robin thinks we’ve been kissing all morning. He hates to be wrong, so I think we should make him correct.”

I ruined the kiss because I couldn’t keep a straight face, but it was still enough to get a nice gagging reaction out of Robin. Aedan straightened with a smirk, and I shook my head. “You didn’t warn me that you two grow more immature the more time you spend with each other. ”

Robin rolled his eyes and nudged my shoulder. “Are you sure you want to marry my cousin? I know he has some impressive powers, but his sense of humor is dreadful.”

I looped my arm through Aedan’s. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

Two hours later Aedan and I stood in front of a massive round table, facing the door of a spacious meeting room. Behind us, Robin and his human wife Marian stood behind two chairs at the table.

Koan stepped into the room, followed by a tall, muscular man and a slender, beautiful elf with stunning white hair. Koan had volunteered to be their guide while they visited. “Prince Nolan and Princess Soleil, may I introduce the High King of Hemlit Aedan Vander Ignim and his lovely bride Callista.”

We all bowed and curtsied and barely had time to gesture to the table when a streak of lighting split the air near the door and coalesced into a portal that showed a throne room behind another king and queen. A tall, broad-shouldered elf stepped through, looked around, and then turned back to offer a hand to a beautiful human woman close to my size.

Once they both stood on our floor, the portal closed and they walked, hand in hand, up to us.

Aedan bowed. “Altair. Ella. Thank you for coming.”

The other king—Altair—bowed also and introduced his queen, Ella. As they joined the others behind us at the table, Ella and Marian hugged while Robin and Altair gripped arms. “Nice to see you’re still traveling in style,” Robin smirked

Altair patted his shoulder. “Nice to see you’re still jealous of my portals.”

A few seconds later another streak of lightning ripped through the air and opened a portal to another throne room with another king and queen. This one was wider, and the couple stepped through together and strode up to us. Though they looked eternally youthful, they held an air of maturity none of the others had. Aedan had already told me they were hundreds of years older than everyone else.

“King Aedan,” the king greeted us, “thank you for the invitation.” He nodded at me and glanced at the others. “This is a historic moment.”

“Indeed, King Amias and Queen Caryse, thank you for coming.”

They took the time to greet each of the other couples as they walked around the table. They joked about something with Soleil and Nolan, but they stopped the longest at Altair and Ella. Instead of bows, they exchanged hugs.

“Your portal is stronger every time I see it,” Altair said.

“I think of you every time I do it,” Caryse answered. “I’m so glad you showed me how to make them.”

Robin leaned closer. “You showed Caryse, but not me? I’m hurt.”

Altair rolled his eyes. “I’ll show you when you show me how to change the tides.”

Robin laughed heartily, and the atmosphere relaxed into an almost familiar feeling. We’d hoped it would—Caryse and Altair were siblings, Altair, Robin, and Aedan had known each other for decades, and Nolan and Soleil were on extremely close terms with Marian and Robin. I’d memorized everything we’d learned about all the royal families.

The years of Aedan’s curse had seen far more connections form across the kingdoms than he’d expected, but this final step—of bringing everyone together at the same time—had not been attempted until now.

We were only missing one couple, and it was the couple Aedan had been most anxious about coming. Of all the kingdoms, only Briskold had a reputation for a more ruthless monarchy than Hemlit. Terrarinmarin had come close for a while, but apparently Altair and Ella’s overthrow of his mother—while Sirun was isolated under a magic barrier—had become legendary. But Robin assured us that Aneira’s rule, while marked with the same magic as her parents, was significantly different.

Several sets of fast-moving boot steps echoed down the corridor toward us. A striking couple strode through the door as Mylo stepped to the side. The queen had the same brilliant white hair as Soleil, but she carried herself like she owned the world. By herself, she gave the impression of might and power, but the king next to her was so physically imposing that I couldn’t help noticing that the queen was much smaller than him.

She nodded at Aedan and I. “I hope I’m not late. I’d hate to upset your plans.” Somehow, I felt like she didn’t really mind if our plans were slightly delayed.

“Queen Aneira and King Kendrick, we’re glad you’re here,” Aedan said, stepping around their slight tardiness. “This will be a very brief meeting. We’re hoping everyone has time to visit more informally throughout the day.” He bowed, so I curtsied, and Kendrick and Aneira mirrored our gestures.

All the other couples still stood behind their chairs. Kendrick moved behind one of the last two free spots while Aneira went to hug Soleil. They whispered something before Aneira moved to the last empty chair next to her husband.

Aedan spread his arms in a large welcoming gesture. “Thank you for coming. Please, sit down.”

After everyone sat, he reached under the table and took my hand. I noticed every other couple had their hands conspicuously under the table as well. It almost made me laugh.

Dining staff silently slipped in glasses of water and raspberry lemonade for each couple as Aedan began his speech. “As you all know, Hemlit has had a policy of isolation and secrecy for Sirun for more than a century. This began because my parents were afraid of people in the other kingdoms discovering that our royalty has included a history with several fae individuals, and they feared you might use that to find weaknesses and exploit our people.”

He smiled at me. “Today, that history is about to expand to include a bit of humanity as well.”

I squeezed his hand, and he turned back to everyone else. “I am not afraid of our truth. I believe these differences are strengths, not weaknesses. They have made our lives richer and more beautiful. They are to be celebrated, not feared.”

He made eye-contact with all ten rulers from the other kingdoms and took a deep breath. “Effective immediately, you and your people are welcome in Hemlit. I would like to encourage a culture of peaceful exploration and exchange and collaboration.”

Most of the others nodded slowly, appearing to appreciate the thought and consider how to respond. Before the thoughtful silence could turn uncomfortable, Amias lifted his glass of pink lemonade. “Floren supports you and extends a similar invitation.” He glanced around the table. “This has the potential to begin the greatest era of peace and cooperation in more than a thousand years.”

Marian raised her glass. “Moorehead agrees. If you’d suggested such a thing ten years ago, I’d have told you it wasn’t possible.” She turned to Robin, who smiled at her. “Today, I’m thrilled to be part of it.”

Nolan raised his glass. “Fazendas is honored to agree and reciprocate as well.”

Altair raised his glass and nodded his head. Ella grinned. “That’s his way of joining.”

Robin chuckled. “Thanks for the interpretation, Ella.”

Aneira raised her glass. “Crossing The Shield is not for the faint of heart. If any of you survive, Briskold welcomes you.”

Kendrick laughed. “That’s an open invitation from us.”

Everyone lifted their glasses a little higher, and then took a drink. I rushed through my sip to watch their reactions. Half of them smiled at the mixture of sweet and tart. Altair, Caryse, and Aneira’s eyes widened, but they each took another sip to cover their surprise.

Robin coughed and pulled his cup back to stare at it. “Aedan. What in the name of hospitality is this?”

Everyone around the table erupted into chuckles. Ella grinned. “I thought it was a delightful variation on a drink I haven’t had in years.”

Nolan lifted his glass higher. “A human favorite mixed with a bit of elf?”

Kendrick smirked. “Some of you were clearly raised on a narrow, royal palate. I’ve never had it before, but I’d love to get more.” Someone from the shadows rushed forward and refilled his glass.

I leaned forward. “I grew up taking care of a small lemon orchard, and my father—a human—introduced us to lemonade. When raspberries came into season this summer, our cook here—a native elf of Sirun—came up with the brilliant idea of adding them to the lemonade.” I glanced at Aedan. “We thought it would be an appropriate way to begin an era of learning more about each other.”

Robin took another drink. “It’s good, but next time warn us.”

Aedan raised a brow as the kitchen staff descended with platters of pastries, fruits, and breakfast meats. “I did not realize you’d grown so fragile as to require a warning for every new food item.”

Marian laughed. “He’s fine. He just hates to admit to actually being surprised. This—” She spread her hand at the food being delivered. “Looks amazing.”

Aedan smiled. “We asked our cook to find foods that would be both new and familiar to each of you. We hope you enjoy it.”

After everyone dished up a plate and began eating, Aedan set his fork down. “I have another topic I would like to discuss while we eat.” He glanced at me, and I squeezed his knee. He was excited about this idea, but he had confessed he was nervous about how the others would receive it.

But we had both agreed to not let our fears stop our good ideas.

Robin smeared a blueberry jelly across a piece of bread. “Well, go on then.”

“I would like to propose that we come up with a name to represent all six kingdoms as a group. So we can say things like, ‘All six kingdoms have agreed on…’ whatever topics may come up in the future. Or so we can invite everyone with one name. Something to suggest a loose collaboration instead of a nervous independence.”

More heads nodded as everyone continued eating.

“I like the idea,” Robin said, “but The Association of United Kingdoms makes me want to gag. And none of our people would agree—we’ve been working on getting people to treat elves and humans as equals for years, and we still have a long way to go.”

Marian rolled her eyes. “Just because you can’t think of a name that doesn’t sound like a cover for an invasion doesn’t mean nobody else here will.”

Robin kissed her cheek. “The Association of United Kingdoms does not sound like a cover for an invasion. It sounds like a name a group of old women came up with for their knitting circle to make it sound more exciting.”