Page 61 of If the Shoe Fits (Rainbow Tales #2)

Much later that night, Xander lay between his intended husbands, happier than he thought he could ever be.

One man had helped him rise from the ashes, and the other had taught him how to fly.

They were both so dear to him. Holding them made him realize that nothing has to be the way anyone says it should be.

To be happy, you had to find the path that led to your type of happiness, and you had to choose who walked that path with you. If you were lucky, they chose you back.

Xander sighed, kissed each man on his forehead, and slipped away from them. They were fast asleep, but his mind raced. He had to get out into the night. Breathe deeply. Feel the magic that had given him everything he didn't know he wanted.

After pulling on a tunic, pants, and his boots, Xander left his apartments and strolled through the dark castle. With the courtiers and servants abed, it was so peaceful. Just what he needed.

“Xander?”

He turned to see his grandfather standing there. “You couldn't sleep either?”

“No. I was in our royal gardens and saw you come down the corridor.” He waved back toward the arches that opened onto the royal family's private garden. “Would you join me for a few minutes? We still need to have that talk.”

“I completely forgot.” Xander grimaced. “Yes, of course. ”

He followed the Shining One King into the garden, expecting to get lost in the dark. But lights hung among the plants, turning the shadows into welcoming islands. The King sat down on a polished wooden bench in one of those nooks.

Xander joined him. “I'm listening.”

The King smiled. “You are so like your mother.”

“That's surprising since I only had her for ten years.”

“Could you put down your verbal weapons for now, Xander? Just until you've heard me out?”

“Very well.”

“The magic of this realm has a symbiotic relationship with the ruling family.”

“What does that mean?”

“Be still, child. Listen .”

“Sorry,” Xander muttered.

The King sighed. “No, I apologize. It's been a long time since anyone challenged me as you do. Even your mother stopped long ago. Although she was damn good at it when she first returned from the mortal realm.” He paused, his brow lifting. “No taunts? Good.” He sighed. “I have watched over you.”

“You?”

“Yes. And yes, I saw the way you were treated.”

Fury rolled through Xander.

“I told your mother that you were well. She was too heartbroken to look upon you herself.”

“You let me suffer and withheld it from her? ”

“Yes.”

“Why?!”

“Because she would have left if she had known. She would have gone to you. And she would have stayed there to raise you because you were not allowed to enter this realm.”

“You selfish bastard,” Xander whispered. “A few years. What did it matter to you? She could have returned after I inherited the title.”

“We would have all been dead by then.”

“What?” Xander whispered.

“Even knowing that, your mother would have abandoned us. That's how great her love is for you. She would have let our realm die to save you a few beatings.”

“A few beatings? I was—”

“Yes, a few beatings!” The King shot to his feet. “Listen, child! Hear what I'm saying. Our realm would have died—withered away. But you still think you are more important. Your childhood.” He rolled his eyes. “Royalty doesn't get a childhood.”

“What do you mean the realm would have died?”

“Our family is tied to the magic. We are conduits for it. Long ago, the first Shining One King was crowned, chosen by Source. He made a pact with this realm—that he would defend and sustain it. But he was not enough. He started to weaken until he took a bride, and they produced a son. Through the blood, the magic claimed another conduit. It lessened the strain on the first king, and he regained his vitality.”

“I don't understand what you mean by 'conduit.'”

“To infuse our realm, Source needs a door. Just as you must open a door to the mortal realm. It doesn't exist here. It flows here from the celestial realm. We are the door.”

“We are the door?”

“Yes, our blood. The pact continues through us and our line. When your mother fell in love with a mortal, I let her go. I thought I could endure the strain until the mortal died. But, just like the first king, I weakened. I waited as long as I could before I sent for her. Had I known the realm would accept you—that your human blood would strengthen us, not weaken us—I would have urged her to bring you with her. But the law is the law. Even I must obey it.”

“Wait. I strengthen you with my humanity?”

“Yes, child.” The King laid his hand on Xander's shoulder.

“When I was given an excuse to allow you entry, I was overjoyed.

As I said, I knew of your situation, and I burned with hatred for those awful people.

But I couldn't help you. To do so would be to reveal to your mother what was happening. At last, you called upon her, and she discovered it for herself.” He sighed.

“Oh, how we fought. But you were grown by then.

You didn't need her to raise you, only guide you. So she agreed to send her dearest friend in her stead to be your mentor.”

“Nevan is my mother's friend?”

“Yes.” The King grimaced. “He longs to be more, but she still pines for your father.” He waved his hand. “She will move on someday.”

“So, you allowed me entry because I was dying, and then you found out that Source liked me?”

“It's not about like.” The King blinked.

“Well, not entirely. It does like you. But it's not a person.

It doesn't form attachments like you and I.

It's a part of nature. It needs . . . diversity.

When blood is too pure, you get monsters.

Siblings breeding, that sort of thing. It produces terrible mutations.

Magic is the same. Do you understand? Our blood is powerful, but the touch of mortality inside you tempered that power as fire and water temper steel.

It made you something better than us. You astonished us at how quickly you learned magic, even in the other realm.

It sought you through your blood. And it saw the merging of races in you.

You were just what it needed. What we needed all along.

Your mother helped. She kept me from succumbing to weakness.

She took on half the burden. But when you arrived, I felt the blast of it through me.

Relief. I don't know how else to explain it. It’s as if I'm a pipe with water flowing through me.”

“Ah, plumbing.”

“Yes.” The King laughed. “You don't have that in your realm.”

“Not like here.”

“Well, think of the magic as water and our family as pipes. One pipe trying to funnel a sea will eventually burst under the pressure. But if you divide the water into several pipes, the pressure is divided as well. And you are a very special pipe, Xander. A stronger, wider pipe. A . . . oh, dear me, this analogy is getting ridiculous.”

Xander burst out laughing. “I think I know what you're saying, Grandfather. I felt it too. Source responds to me. I even thought it had given me my betrothed because I wished for them both. But Zane assured me that it doesn't work like that.”

“Yes and no.”

Xander went still. “What?”

“Wishes made by a Shining One Royal come close to being spells. We must be careful of what we wish for. So, yes, it's possible for you to cast a spell without meaning to. However, magic cannot touch a heart. If they love you, which I'm sure they do, that emotion is their own.”

“Oh, thank goodness.”

“However.”

Xander glared at his grandfather. “Another however?”

The King laughed and continued, “However, the magic is still fresh within you, eager to please its new, strongest conduit. It may have done everything within its power to fulfill your wish.”

“Like what?”

“I believe it put things into place for you. Perhaps it eased the anxiety and combativeness between your lovers. It certainly led your prince to his conclusions and his decision about allowing you a second husband.”

“Oh, fuck,” Xander whispered.

“It didn't deceive, Grandson. Source never does that.” The King laid his hand on Xander's. “It led. Guided, if you will. And you are happy, are you not?”

“Yes, I'm happy.”

“That's what it wants. Because if you're happy here, you'll stay. You see? Just as with nature, everything has a purpose.”

“Grandfather, what would have happened if the magic burst its pipes?”

“You mean if I had died while your mother was in the mortal realm?”

“Yes.”

“This realm would have lost magic. The Shining Ones are part magic, Xander. It sustains us. It gives us power but also immortality. Without it, we would be as humans. And so, if it left, those who were older than a human lifespan would have instantly died. Much of our world would die with us. Even your mother, in the human realm, would have crumbled to dust. Then, despite everything she would have sacrificed for you, you still would have ended up alone.”

“Oh,” Xander whispered.

“I just need you to understand how much it hurt me to leave you there. I bled for you every day, my dear grandson. You are the child of my beloved only child. I love you. I have always loved you. It never mattered to me that you were part human.”

“Then change the laws.”

“Xander, I did not make that law about humans in this realm.

That was Source. Don't you see? It spreads and seeps.

Any human living here would eventually turn into a shining one.

But only if the magic accepts them. If it doesn't, that human would die. The magic would feed on their mortality as the forest feeds on dead plants. It is why you are such a strong conduit for Source. Do you see?”

“Wait. Wait!” Xander shot to his feet. “You said that Leo would remain mortal.”

The King grinned. “No, your mother did. And she was compelled to speak by Source.”

“By Source? Why would Source do that?”

“Think, Grandson.”

“To push Leo into sharing me?”

“Yes, I believe so. I think it also knew that a union between our realms would be beneficial.

I'm only assuming, but, as I said, I think Source manipulated the situation to get you what you wished for. Your mother only assisted it.” He chuckled.

“She was very confused afterward. And I, well, I knew better than to interrupt when Source is at work.”

At first, Xander was furious. But then he remembered what his grandfather had said about Source being a part of nature.

It wasn't a person. It didn't think in terms of what was a betrayal or what was helpful.

Xander had made a wish, and Source had responded.

If anything, it was Xander's fault that his mother had lied to him.

Then Xander realized that Leo would never die. He would become a shining one. Xander would never lose him. Because the magic had accepted him. And that put everything into a different perspective, didn't it?

“I understand,” Xander said.

“You do?”

They were both standing now. So it was easy enough for Xander to step forward and hug his grandfather.

“I love you, Grandfather. I'm still a little upset with you, but I love you. And I understand why you did what you did. I even believe that you made the right decision.” He stepped back.

“I'm learning that a ruler has to do what's best for his people as a whole, and sometimes that will hurt a single individual.”

“We make the hard choices, and we bear the brunt of Source's flow.” The King kissed Xander's cheek.

“But it blesses us the most, too, Grandson. Go to your lovers and rejoice in that gift. Tell them the good news. Go on.” He pushed Xander toward the path.

“And be careful what you wish for in the future.”

Xander grinned, his heart even lighter than it was before, and rushed away. In seconds, he was back in his bedroom, staring down at two beautiful sleeping men. One would soon become like the other, but Leo would always be Leo, no matter what Source changed in him. And he would always be Xander's.

A glint caught Xander's eye, and he turned to see a pair of crystal shoes set upon a nearby table.

Had Source been planning all of this from the very beginning?

Had it known before Xander even met Zane that he would fall in love with two men?

Was it fate? Or was it shining one magic? Did it even fucking matter?

If the magic shoe fits, wear it.

Xander winked at the crystal shoes and went to tell his lovers that their fairy tale would never end. And it was only just beginning.