Chapter 24
LEON
Zilas, Fae King of Kalvorn
Firstborn royal heir of Kalvorn Throne
Descendant of the fae-born
Queen Inara and Prince Kalden Fasaile
Ihave one chance to try to earn their trust back.
One chance for them to believe I was never in their midst with malicious intentions.
“I left my kingdom long ago to steal back the crown, but it is not what I want anymore. I only wish to be with Izadella. To explain to her that I am Inara’s descendant.
Grayden’s bloodline is a false one. Queen Inara fell in love and had an affair with King Drystan’s brother, Kalden.
They had a half-fae child together, Princess Arelia, the missing princess, but she was never lost. When Drystan killed his wife, Kalden took their daughter and ran to what is now Kalvorn.
Princess Arelia is who should have inherited the crown, but Drystan had it and passed it to the son he had with his wife after he murdered Inara.
Grayden’s line never should have had the crown. They stole it from my line.”
“Do you have proof of this?” Alachite says. “Your words mean little to us now.”
I turn to Nueena. “Did you or Nyvenah give me access to the garden? Before it burned, when we were growing what we needed for the elixir? The first time Izadella grew strawberries, you found us in each other’s arms.”
Nueena and Tavien glance at each other but do not speak their confirmation, so I continue, “That garden once belonged to Alvina, Zarella, and Inara, a place where their descendants would always be welcome. You never granted me access because I never needed it, much like I suspect Izadella never needed it either. It is our birthright.”
“Who sits on your throne now if you are here?” Tavien asks.
“My younger brother.”
Nueena says, “I wish you had trusted us with this information earlier. We could have been allies from the start. With your lies, you risk two wars. Honesty now will not help you.”
Guilt has been a constant companion this entire time, and now it sinks its claws deeper into me.
“I know, but everything got carried away in the forest the night she was forced to wear the crown. One moment I had the crown within my grasp but—” I swallow hard.
There is too much to tell. “She showed up and she somehow managed to get the crown before me. I couldn’t leave her after that moment.
I had hoped she would trust me enough that I could reveal everything to her in time.
It devastated me but I was prepared to never be with Izadella after Jedrick and I snuck out of Adreania.
I thought she was happy with her fictional husband and children and that would’ve been enough.
I knew she was meant to be mine even when I thought she was mortal, but I had a duty to my kingdom to return what was taken from us.
Yes, I wanted the crown, of course. I tried for a hundred years to get it, but I do not want it now.
It can only be removed in—” I can’t finish the sentence.
“Why didn’t you tell her who you were?” Nueena demands.
“I was going to. I wanted to every day I’ve been here.
I longed to be honest, but you have to understand that at the beginning, everything I knew about Izadella was a lie.
While I was—and continue to be—enamored with Izadella, the feelings I had for her didn’t erase wisdom.
I didn’t know if she was loyal to Adreania when I found her, and I’m not in the business of sharing my deepest secrets with a stranger, no matter how beautiful.
I spent two years pining after someone I thought, for multiple reasons, I could never be with.
So, I just treasured our few hours together in the same room for the past two years.
I constantly had jewelry commissioned I neither wanted nor needed just for a reason to talk to her. ” I sigh deeply.
I’ve only slept for a few hours in the past two days, and bone-deep weariness is settling in.
The crack in my chest spreads under my shirt.
I take a seat, everyone staring down at me.
“I wasn’t the only one who saw all her beauty and talent.
She didn’t go unnoticed by Grayden. He was quite open about all the things he planned on doing.
Invading Kalvorn, instituting mandatory service in his armies.
He always wanted Izadella. It didn’t matter if she was married.
He doesn’t like not getting what he wants, and if her imaginary family had been real, they’d already be dead.
I would have killed him myself, but he is never without his guards.
“I thought maybe once I was king again and we were both safely in Kalvorn, we could start a true friendship. She and her family would be safe, and I would have the crown. Honestly, I hoped her husband was old or sick, and maybe something could happen in the future. Selfish of me, I know. Then Izadella got the crown, and I didn’t know if she would go running back to Adreania, but it turns out, nothing was real.
She was a descendant of the Forger, who made the ring I used to deceive everyone. ”
“Where did you get the glamour ring?” Nueena asks.
Her face is unreadable, but I hope she can hear the sincerity with which I share my story.
“From my mother. It’s been passed down through my family. Fae and mortals live side by side in Kalvorn, so it never needed to be used.”
“What was your plan after that?”
“I had hoped Izadella felt the same way about me, even though I was lying, as she was. That one day I would reveal myself to her and she would wish to be my queen. I had the royal birthright, and she had the crown. It felt like destiny.”
Nueena lets out a little laugh. “Ruling is not something Della desires.”
I nod. “Yes, so I have learned. She has the crown three kingdoms seek and she doesn’t even want it.
Della refused to come back to Kalvorn with me, and short of kidnapping, I couldn’t—wouldn't—do anything but make sure she was safe, so I convinced her to let me stay with her. I had no idea where she was going but wherever she went, so would I. Ellova is more myth than fact, and with the crown out of Adreania, I could’ve gone home empty-handed, but it wasn’t all in vain.
Grayden didn't have the crown; it was in the hands of Alvina’s bloodline.
For a moment I considered heading back to take my place as king, but I would be an awful protector of my kingdom if I didn’t at least see what Ellova was.
My kingdom is only a mountain range away from you and I needed to know if you were a threat, if I needed to prepare for war from both sides or inquire about possible alliances. ”
“That I can understand,” Nyvenah says slowly.
I smile gratefully at her. “I know I’ve hurt Izadella and probably all of you, but the people at the gate are not your enemies.
Grayden’s wife has led a rebellion, and she knows who I am.
I got out a letter letting her know where I was and why I didn’t meet with her like we planned.
I told her not to come here, though. Her instructions were to take everyone loyal to her—or at least hostile to Grayden—and head to Kalvorn. ”
“So, you need to go back?” Alachite asks skeptically.
“I do. I have a lot waiting for me, but I was hoping…”
Nueena crooks an eyebrow. “Hoping for what?”
“That Izadella would want to return with me.”
She laughs at me. “And what? Be your queen? You get the crown no matter what?”
“I don't want her because she has the crown, Nueena. I care about her. I’m in love with her. I know she is my soulbonded mate. When she thought I was human, she still chose to be with me. Now we can share a fae lifetime together. Kalvorn does not have a Zemra temple, but I know the legends we were told, what Izadella has explained. I know the Zemra magic extends fae lifespans so they are tied together with their mates. She is my Zemra; I know it. I can feel it every breath she takes near me. Nueena, neither of us will have to bury her. We will never have to grieve a half-human life. We would both get her for centuries longer.”
Nueena’s eyes are glossy. “That's for her to decide, not you. You aren’t soulbonded yet, and you will be fortunate if she even speaks to you after your deception.”
Her words widen the ache of agony within me. “Please let me see her. I need her to understand.” Even if there is no physical wound, the pain of all this feels like I am bleeding out before them like the night I was attacked.
Nueena shakes her head. “She said she never wants to see you again, and I’m going to honor that choice ’til she tells me otherwise.
As of right now, I can only take your word that you mean no harm to my realm.
Either I can throw you into the dungeon for your clandestine infiltration, or you can leave Ellova and never return here. ”
Could Izadella truly live without me in ways I can never live without her?
“Don’t make me leave her. I will return to Kalvorn. They are about to go to war, but she has to know I never meant for it to turn out like this.” It’s a broken plea. The doors open and hope rises that Izadella has returned, ready to trust me, but I’m a fool for even thinking it.
Viella runs in, tears streaming down her cheeks as she nearly trips over herself, Lillian at her heels.
“What’s wrong?” Nueena reaches for Viella.
“Della,” Viella chokes out, pressing her hand to her chest. She opens her mouth to speak but sees me and snaps it shut.
“What’s wrong?” Panic roars in my chest. “Is Izadella hurt? Does she need me?”
Viella sneers at me. “You don’t get to know anything else about her.”
Her words cut deep. I know she is only being a good friend, but desperation to know what is wrong, feels like an execution.
I should tell them all what I am experiencing, that causing Izadella such pain has broken me irrecoverably. That I need to see her one last time before my enervation death. But I cannot be sure how they will use such vulnerable information.
“You deserve the dungeon, but I think it’s time you leave,” Nueena says, taking Viella’s hand, and heading towards the doors but turns to me.
“If you believe you have found an ally here, you are sorely mistaken. Whatever war Kalvorn finds itself in has nothing to do with us. New wards and glamour will be added to ensure you stay out. If you attempt to return, it will have deadly consequences, and your kingdom will be an enemy of Ellova.”