Chapter 13
Iwake hours later, the sky still dark. A cool breeze shifts the curtains and sends them fluttering around the stone window frame.
Leon’s even breaths let me know I do not disturb his slumber as I toss and turn in the silk sheets for some time after.
Did thoughts of me torment him when he was in Adreania like they did to me before I fell asleep for the past few years?
Dreams filled with moments we thought we could never have, and yet he is here.
With his body pressed to mine, the room feels like home in a way it has never felt in the lifetime I’ve lived here.
Dawn finally arrives and I surrender to my scarcity of sleep.
I leave the warmth of my bed, wrap a pale-yellow robe around myself, and walk over the magically heated marble floor.
If I rouse Leon with the movement, he doesn’t give any indication.
I soundlessly cross the library into the shared living area and press my ear to Nueena’s door.
When only silence greets me, I push open the door a few inches and peer through the crack for a moment into the quiet room.
I walk through the space, past their private sitting room, and make my way to the low bed, pulling back a corner of the thick blanket and slipping under it.
The bed shifts and Nueena rolls, blinking sleep from her eyes to face me, her night dress the color of marigolds.
“Good morning, sleepy Keeper of the Realm,” I whisper, a note of song in my voice. “I do believe you have a coronation ball to rise for, and a full day of festivities awaits to celebrate you!”
She laughs, stretching her long arms above her silk-wrapped head. “I thought I would be more nervous, with all the court guardians here for tonight’s celebrations and vows, but no, nothing but peace. Maybe the nerves will come on the coronation day.”
“Or maybe,” Tavien adds from behind her in a voice still sheathed in sleep, “there are no nerves because there is nothing to be nervous about.”
“You know, your Zemra may have a point there.” I give her a knowing smile.
Nueena just rolls her eyes, but they sparkle with joy in the sunbeams that greet her on this beautiful day, bathing the room in pink and yellow light. “Trouble sleeping?” She finds my hand above the blanket, squeezing our fingers together.
I nod on the pillow we share. “Headache and I had a giddy visitor in the night.”
“Ah, as did I.”
We giggle quietly like we did when we were kids hiding in a library fort made of Nyvenah’s finest silk sheets.
“After all they have gone through, I have no doubt the gates will open for them.” I look up to a portrait Nueena and Tavien have hanging on one of their bedroom walls, arms around each other. Their Zemra stones glow even in the oil paint.
Nueena nods. “They are incredibly different yet work exceedingly well together. You can just tell it’s meant to be.”
When we see them tonight, they will have their stones glowing bright on the dance floor.
A knock on the door reveals the beauty attendants who will start the long process to prepare Nueena for tonight, and we all must rise.
Tavien informs me he will keep Leon busy while I’m with Nueena.
He claims they have to pick up something for tonight, giving me a sly smile as he kisses his Zemra goodbye.
Nueena and I spend the day in her quarters.
After her rosewater bath, she is anointed in oils, and royal braiders sit on large pillows around her, weaving together several strands of her tight curls with long delicate gold strands that glitter in the sunlight.
Her sisters and Nyvenah join us, their hair styled with elaborate braids and intricate twists for tonight. Our day is filled with laughter, stories and a few tears from her mother.
As evening approaches, I leave and slip into my own dress, eager for whatever the night brings.
Ireturn to my room to start the last of tonight’s final touches for myself. I stay in my robes as I pull locks of hair into a loose braid to hide the crown, securing it with emerald-tipped pins, the rest falling in soft ringlets.
Leon is in the bathing room, the water rushing behind the closed door.
The small, planted tree in the corner of my room hosts my jewelry and I stare at the necklaces I have to choose from.
I crafted them all. Some are delicate with small diamonds or dazzling precious stones, and others are extravagant with woven gold and gems the size of acorns that wrap dramatically around my neck.
None of them fit the way the one I intended to make for tonight would have, though.
My throat tightens with grief that I lost my jewelsmith magic before I had a chance to make my emerald necklace.
It may be foolish to mourn the loss of jewelry, but I had selected the perfect gems, the exact shade of my gown.
It had taken months at the Court of Gems’ private markets to find the perfect ones.
The sketch of the design now lies abandoned at my cottage. Useless without my powers.
The front door to the wing opens and Hiliyah calls out to me. “Della, I have something for you.”
I meet her in the main living space. Her smile is bright, radiating her beauty, and she thrusts a small, flat silk case into my arms.
“What is it? I already have my dress,” I ask, confused.
Hiliyah giggles, her dark curls dancing around her. “No, no. This is for Leon but only if you wish him to share shades with you.’’
Sharing shades.
A fae claiming.
I carefully open the silks and find a masculine shirt cut from the lustrous green material of my gown.
“Oh, Hiliyah.” My fingers float over the fabric. I am truly touched she would do this for me.
“Back at the shop, I know you told me you did not want—”
Her words are cut short as I throw my arms around her and she returns the embrace.
“Thank you,” I whisper into the curve of her neck.
“There’s a plainer option in there as well in case you change your mind,” she whispers back. “Leon is a lucky mortal, even if it’s just for tonight.”
I’m the lucky one.
Leon calls my name and Hiliyah winks at me before slipping back out the front door.
Leon makes his way over to me, freshly bathed, his gray strands a stark difference to the black of his damp hair. He is also shirtless and wearing shined black leather breeches with knee-high laced boots that have small green leaves embroidered on the top cuff.
My heart skips several beats at the sight of him.
His laced-up breeches hang low on his hips, revealing his lean waist that tapers down to the vee of skin above the fabric, his taut stomach muscles on display, inviting me to trace them with my tongue.
I’m staring too long at his tempting waistband, and when I snap my eyes up, he is giving me a devious half grin, as if knowing my lascivious thoughts.
His green eyes flare with an equally hungry expression as I approach him.
Leon’s slow gaze descends my body, the long panels of the yellow robe exposing my bare thighs as I walk barefoot to him.
The robe is loosely tied too, putting the curve of my breasts on display.
His eyes go out of focus for a moment but quickly return to my face, a hint of pink to his cheeks.
I step into his arms and stand on my tiptoes to give him a quick kiss. “Good evening.”
“Hello. How was your day with Nueena?”
“It was wonderful. We need to get ready for tonight. We will be leaving soon.”
“Is Tavien coming back? He left some clothes out in the library for tonight, but I seem to be missing a shirt.” Leon waves a hand over his bare chest.
I do try to not look at his body anymore, but my eyes keep drifting down, so I turn it into an unconvincing nod. “Um, yes, I have it. Come over to the couch.” The silk case holding his shirts is tucked under my arm.
We sit down, side by side, my bare thigh gently brushing his leg as I nervously cross and uncross my legs, torn between the desire to touch him and the rising urge to flee the room.
It may just be fabric, but the intimacy of what it means, what it declares to the world, twists my heart. I never thought I would share shades with anyone, never could have dreamt it would be with the mortal who stole my heart in a crowded ballroom.
But I fear this is just another part of me he will hold forever.
No one else will ever stand in Leon’s place. No one could make me feel the way he does.
I will never share shades again after this night.