Ember (3 page)

I inhaled, taking it all in, and they patiently waited for me. I guess it was show time. Swallowing back my nerves, I took one step between the two separate masses of fae. As I walked, one by one their heads bowed down. There was a whirling in the pit of my stomach that radiated down to my toes. My legs were going to give out on me. I didn’t deserve this kind of respect. Queen was a title; it wasn’t what I really was. All I could do was breathe in deep, taking one step at a time.

In that moment, I was overwhelmed by the need for my dad. I wanted his comforting face, and I wanted the pep talk I knew he would have given. This was his land. Among these faeries, I was merely an outsider. I needed him here with me. I wanted him at the end of the aisle as a tether, giving me strength to move forward. It felt so incomplete without him.

As I walked, I tried to keep my breathing steady—my head raised high. I felt like a bride walking down the aisle, but I had no groom to keep my sights on—no familiar face to keep me calm. I let my eyes touch the faces of a few fae, but they weren’t looking at me. Their eyes slanted down to the ground. Was it disrespectful to look me in the eye when they bowed? I wished they would meet my eyes so I could at least see the faces of what my future held.

Finally, there was one set of eyes that met mine. The moment our eyes locked, my heart felt warm. I knew those indigo eyes better than any. Kai’s head was bowed respectfully, but his eyes lifted just enough to gaze up at me. They remained on me as I walked forward. Slowly, but surely, the corner of his mouth turned up in his all too familiar smirk, and I could breathe easy. The smile that grew on my face lit up his eyes. I matched his gaze until I passed him and could no longer hold his gaze without looking over my shoulder. It gave me enough courage to walk the rest of the way. I did my best to block out the crowd and stopped in front of the faery who I assumed was Cavan.

He was probably thousands of years old. Though he had shoulder-length white hair and wrinkles in the crooks of his eyes, he didn’t look decrepit. His silvery blue eyes held all his age. They were kind, wise, and finally put me at ease with the spotlight shining bright on me.

“My Queen.” He smiled with a gentle bow.

“Hi,” I timidly said, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. I nodded to acknowledge him.

“Shall I begin?” he asked me quietly.

“Sure.”
Why was he asking me?

His face warmed, and he turned to address the mass of fae. “We gather here at dawn to witness the return and crowning of our true Queen of Faylinn. I believe everyone can join with me in declaring that we are truly delighted to be a part of this significant moment today.”

There was a collective quiet hum of agreement. I kept my eyes fixed on Cavan. I knew if they strayed to the enormous gathering, I just might throw up. The nausea was hovering, just waiting for an opening.

Cavan smiled sincerely down on me. “Let us begin.” I must have looked pretty shaken because he whispered, “Are you ready, Your Grace?”

I nodded once; afraid my voice would betray me.

“Very well.” He angled his body so he could face the gathering and me. His gentle gaze was fixed on me. When he spoke, his voice resonated around the meadow. Not because of force, merely by his sheer presence. When he spoke, they listened.

“Calliope Willow, do you solemnly vow to faithfully guide and direct all those who reside within this land?” He paused to let that sink in. “Will you honor and treasure the lives of the fae and unfailingly protect Faylinn against all evil for the rest of your existence?”

This was it. Once I made this vow, I would be bound to Faylinn for the rest of my life. This was my last chance to wash my hands of this world, and go back to my family and the life I knew. It would be a cowardly, selfish move, but I could do it.

I inhaled. I didn’t have it in me to deny them. This was my life now.

“Yes,” I promised. As soon as the word left my lips a wave of comfort enfolded my body, overwhelming me with peace as if to reaffirm I made the right decision.

“My Queen, would you please face your fae?” he asked me kindly.

I put one foot in front of the other and turned to the horde of expectant eyes all focused on me. I scoured their faces, trying to find the indigo or aqua eyes that could bring me familiarity, but there were just too many faces.

“As the sun rises for Faylinn this morning, so shall you rise in your glory as Queen of our land.” He placed the crown on top of my curls and I finally felt the finality of my decision. “It is my honor to present to you, Calliope Willow, Queen of Faylinn.”

As he spoke the last word, it was as if the sun was waiting for him to finish. It peaked above the land, shedding it’s light on Faylinn for the first time that day.

Rather than clapping or cheering, every knee bent until all I saw was the top of thousands of heads. I remained still, taking in the reverent moment. Though I felt completely inadequate, my new title felt official. I
was
Queen of Faylinn.

“Your Majesty,” Cavan prompted. “May I escort you down?”

Cavan held his arm out to me with his kind, silver eyes soaking up any anxiety I had left. I secured my hand in the crook of his elbow, and we descended down the aisle of lowered bodies. As I passed, one by one they straightened, respect present in their eyes. I had the irrational urge to burst into tears. To say I was overwhelmed would be the understatement of the century.

Once we reached the back of the crowd, Evan stood stoically with his arms at his sides. He greeted me with a nod. As if on cue, music began to play, and the fae cheered and burst into a dance.

• • •

Evan insisted on staying by my side for the remainder of the day. Though it made me nervous to have someone watching my every move, I felt better knowing I wasn’t completely alone. He did his best to remain hidden at least, giving the appearance that I was by myself unless he was bringing me something to eat. Half of the time I didn’t even know what I was eating, which should have worried me, but it tasted so good I didn’t even care.

Fae gradually began to approach me, humbly bowing and introducing themselves as well as which colony they came from. I wasn’t sure if it was their true colony or the one Favner assigned them to. I had yet to meet any Nesters, so it was possible they had slowly begun to fall back into their old ways, as they should have.

“My Queen,” a melodic voice sounded behind me. I turned to a woman with her head bowed. “I’m Lorelle.” When she lifted her head, black curly hair hung loosely around her striking face. I knew her face. Not only because I had seen her when I arrived yesterday, but also because her children looked identical to her. “My true colony is among the Sowers.”

“You must be Allura and Kai’s mom.”

“I am.” There was surprise underlined with pride in her voice.

My memory flashed back to the clearing. Kai hovering over Favner, determination set on his face. Allura’s battered face staring unafraid into his cruel eyes as Favner towered over her.

“They are really brave faeries. You must be proud of them.”

“Thank you, Your Highness. I am.” She smiled humbly.

I was about to correct her when a small voice spoke from behind her.

“Momma,” she said. A short, bronze-haired girl peeked around Lorelle’s leg and repeated. “Momma—” When she saw me she smiled shyly and slid back behind Lorelle, only the slits of her vivid lavender eyes visible.

“My Queen, this is Violet.” She lowered her voice. “Violet, show our new Queen some respect.”

I batted my hand down. “Oh, she’s perfectly fine.” I bent down to her level. “Hi, Violet. It’s very nice to meet you.”

Violet emerged to stand by her mom’s side. Her head rested just below Lorelle’s hip. “You too, Your Majesty.”

I remembered the tremble in Allura’s voice before Favner knocked her unconscious.
I’m so sorry. He was going to hurt Violet.

The reality of it all pierced my heart. They nearly lost their little sister because of me. This innocent girl’s life was threatened because of me.

“Call me Calliope.” Her little purple eyes widened. “I’d feel better if you called me Calliope,” I assured her.

Her face brightened when she smiled. “Yes, Calliope.” She slightly bowed her head to me.

“Violet, don’t pretend like you’re shy. We all know very well that you’re putting on an act.” Allura included herself in our circle.

Her face was completely healed. Her smooth olive skin pieced flawlessly together once again. I stood back up. “Hi, Allura.”

“Hey, Queeny.”

“Allura,” Lorelle scolded.

“What?” Allura’s golden eyes flickered innocently to Lorelle. “I’ve heard through the grapevine she hates the royal formalities. I’m only respecting her wishes.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that she deserves your respect,” Lorelle rebuked, but she didn’t pack her remark with a bite. “At least wait until she asks you to call her otherwise. I know I’ve taught you better than that.”

Allura shrugged, tossing her dreads behind her shoulder. “Have you seen Kai? I haven’t seen him since the Dawning.”

We all shook our heads. It definitely hadn’t slipped my mind that I hadn’t seen him since our eyes met as I walked down the aisle.

“He’s made himself pretty scarce over that last few weeks. He rarely tells me where he’s going anymore,” Lorelle commented.

“I would have thought that since Calliope’s here things would have changed,” Allura grumbled. “He’s even more invisible now than before.” She turned to me. “I don’t blame you, though. I think he’s just exploring his new found freedom.”

“No offence taken.”

Someone cleared his throat, and I turned to see Declan. “My Queen, I wanted to introduce you to my brother.” He gestured to a giant at his side.

“This is Desmond, one of the most talented Craftsmen I know. He helped me build my little hut.” Declan knocked his head back in the direction of his home.

My eyes lifted up and up some more until they met Desmond’s turquoise eyes. He stood about six-foot-five. “Hi, Desmond. It’s nice to meet you.”

He bowed forward, taking one of my hands in his. “Your Majesty, it’s comforting to know we finally have a part of your family back in Faylinn.”

“Thank you.” I smiled. “I really appreciate you saying that.”

Another figure stepped forward. It’s a wonder I even saw her at all next to Desmond. She was a little taller than I was, but next to Declan’s brother, everyone looked miniature.

Desmond curled his arm around her shoulders. They didn’t look more than twenty-five. “This is Cora, my … well … we’ve been waiting a long time for this to be a possibility. That is …” My eyes shifted back and forth as I tried to understand where he was going with this. “With your permission, we would like to be the first to bond.”

Her coral eyes shimmered when she smiled at me with the most genuine hope spreading across her face I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Yes. Yes, absolutely.” I nodded fervently. “You don’t need my permission. Of course you can bond.”

“Actually, Calliope,” Declan interjected softly, stepping to my side. “They
do
need your approval before they can move forward.”

“What? Why?” I muttered to him.

“It’s a custom. We can talk more about it later,” he whispered back. He moved closer to my ear and said even more quietly, “Just say, ‘you have my blessing.’”

“You have my blessing,” I repeated robotically. Wasn’t that the father’s line? What position was I even in to tell them their business. Okay. So I was Queen, but they didn’t even know me.

“Thank you, Your Grace.” Cora breathed in relief. I could see tears glazing over her eyes. “Thank you so much.”

Desmond swept Cora off her feet and into his arms. They twirled and kissed, and I’d never seen such happiness in my entire life.

“Would you like to celebrate with me?” Declan leaned down to my ear again.

I raised my eyebrow, making the question apparent with my eyes.
What exactly did he mean by
celebrate
?

“Come dance with me.”

I have never been one for dancing, but could I really turn down such an offer at my own Dawning? “Okay.”

When I turned back to excuse myself, Allura had disappeared, leaving only Lorelle and Violet waiting patiently. My eyes grazed the area, but Allura was nowhere to be seen. She was more like Kai than I had anticipated.

“It was good to meet both of you.” I smiled as warmly as I could. I wanted to show just how meaningful this meeting was to me.

“Lorelle. Violet.” Declan nodded his head courteously.

“Declan,” she replied. “Enjoy your evening, Your Highness.” Lorelle smiled gently and led Violet away.

“It’s time you let loose and celebrate a little,” he murmured in my ear and snatched my hand, pulling me into the group of fae dancing in the meadow. We swayed awkwardly at first while I tried to loosen up as he instructed. I’d only ever really danced with Cameron. And that was at lame school dances. The dancing at those dances was completely different from the dancing here. Declan smiled as he watched me try to find a rhythm. The beat of the music began to pulse inside of me, taking control before I had the chance to feel self-conscious of his scrutiny or anyone else’s.

“You should know … Desmond and Cora have been waiting to bond since before Favner.”

I nearly stopped dancing, but the music wouldn’t let me. “Are you serious?”

“They had a date set, but Favner had taken over right before they could and destroyed any chance of them sharing a life together. They didn’t think this day would ever come.”

I wanted to cry. Even after all this time, they hadn’t given up on one another. “How could they stand it? How could they stand to be apart?”

“They met in secret as lots of fae did. But each meeting was limited and infrequent from the fear of being caught and put to death looming over them.”

“I can’t … that makes my heart hurt to think that they had to go through that for all of those years. No one will ever have to worry about that again.”

Declan lightly chuckled. “You don’t have to be sad about it now. You just gave Desmond and Cora everything. They can be together now because of you.”