Chapter 44 #2
Leon and I break apart, collapsing against each other through the waves of our overwhelming orgasm. His hips sweep upward to extend my pleasure and it has me moaning all over again, gasping and clinging to him.
While I try to catch my breath, he presses featherlight kisses to my shoulders, his satisfaction and gratitude gracing me.
His emotions are calmer now, his breaths labored in the aftermath of his release, and we stay close together on the throne.
My arms are wrapped around his neck, and I kiss him softly on his lips and cheeks, neck and shoulders.
I let my everlasting love for him flow. His eyes close and a tear slips out that I brush away.
Each press of my lips erases a little of his shame and guilt, freeing us both of the torment of his soul.
“Do you trust me?” I whisper into his lips.
It takes him a moment to open his glassy eyes, and he slowly nods, expecting what I’m about to say.
“We must return to Ellova soon. I will not miss Nueena’s coronation, and I need to see my family. No one will try to take me, I promise.”
“We will find clothing here to change into and return.”
Satisfied he will not attempt to take me anywhere else, I touch the golden throne. My magic swirls out of me and into the metal, releasing Leon’s arms and returning the carved armrest as if it had never shifted its shape.
Being able to freely use my magic again has brought its own type of renewal to my soul.
His forearms are deep red from the friction, but before I can feel guilt over my magic, he rubs each arm once, his healing magic erasing it.
I wish to kiss him but before I can rise on my toes, his lips are passionately on mine, sensing that desire within me.
It is intimacy I could have never imagined.
When we finally break apart, he intertwines our hands, and we leave the throne room.
The windows we pass reveal glittering stars fading into dusk.
“The temple’s doors only open at dawn. How can it be night again?” I ask him, guards in the hallways bowing to Leon.
“Best not to question the magical love temple.” That earns him a giggle, and he adds, “The hours seemed endless when I thought you wouldn’t awaken but you did sleep for most of the day.”
Once we reach his room, I immediately explore, eager to know everything about his past. It is a beautiful space, yet an emptiness has a hold here.
Plenty of books, maps on the walls, drawings of plants and animals, family portraits, and a few wooden toys, aged with time.
Proof a young Leon lived here, but now it’s more of a museum than a home.
My heart aches for his young self, thrust into a duty he couldn’t escape. He senses my pain for him and attempts to soothe it through the bond.
Now that he is free, I wish for him to truly live for himself, free of the weight of expectations. What type of life does he want?
He quickly changes into clothing worthy of royalty. The dark green vest is delicately decorated with golden swirls over a fitted tunic. Emeralds dot the ends of his collar with a gold chain that hangs over his chest.
Handsome and all mine.
Lust builds in us, and I am about to pull him down to the bed, but we are interrupted by a strong knock at the door.
“Leon, are you there?”
A different type of excitement blooms in my chest as Leon’s eyes light up.
“It's Callen, well, Zilas now, as he will remain as king,” he says to me before calling to his brother, “One moment! Do you mind getting Estelle and we shall meet you at our library? Please have some attendants bring food as well, whatever is ready.”
“Of course. We will see you in a few minutes.” His brother’s voice fades away.
Leon glances down at my silk Zemra robe. “We need to find you something else to wear.” My torn wedding dress is forgotten on the floor of the temple, not that I wish to ever see it again.
He opens the wardrobe and pulls out a black tunic and a belt.
I roll up the sleeves and belt the shirt. With the top of the robe hidden, it appears that I am wearing a skirt of some kind. He pulls out a light traveling cloak towards the back and secures the brass clasps at my neck.
He leans down for a quick kiss, and I savor it.
“Ready to meet your new family?”
“Oh, yes!”
The small royal library has a round table in the middle, set for five. Princess Erenia, Callen, and a beautiful pregnant fae woman stand at our arrival.
I give them a polite curtsy, which only amuses them, Erenia stepping forward to hug me.
“I’m glad to see you are all right,” she says.
Her icy blue eyes still hold deep sadness, but her smile is genuine. She steps back, allowing Leon to stand next to me, his arm draped around my waist.
His pride is luminous and overwhelming in our bond.
“This is Izadella, my Zemra. My love, this is my brother, Callen, and his mate, Estelle.”
“Zemras?” Estelle whispers, her eyes wide on our glowing stones. “So, the myths are true? The Zemra temple still exists?” Her words are so full of longing.
I smile softly at my new sister, understanding that feeling. “Yes, it is hidden in Ellova. We have laws surrounding it, but when I return home, I will let the temple guides and Guardians know another fae kingdom deserves access to it, too.”
Estelle and Callen exchange a look so full of love and hope my chest bursts with pride.
It's beautiful that Leon and his brother have found such transcendent love in the midst of uncertainty.
Tyrant kings, impending wars, crowns set to destroy, and years apart, separated as children.
Yet, they stand here, finally reunited with the loves of their lives by their sides in the castle they were born in.
How generous fate has been.
Leon guides me to the table, our hunger gnawing at us. “I need to ensure Izadella eats something. Please join us.”
I give him a tired but grateful smile. The urge to feed me and pull me back into his bed tugs at him but he knows I must eat. He can sense that beneath my rising hunger is apprehension at being so far from home, missing my friends and family.
We must return soon if he is to truly soothe that ache for me.
His own concern at returning is there, too. He believes me when I say we will be spared any punishment for our unbidden journey to the Zemra temple, but he fears he may have made the situation worse by taking me. I know my family will understand.
“Erenia, when do you set sail?” Leon asks.
“Tomorrow, if the weather allows. Lyrora has sent a ship with all of my belongings. A few Adreanians who wish to start a new life in Versairen will be joining me. There is much my father is unaware of, but I will ensure a continued alliance with Lyrora and now Kalvorn.”
Callen raises his glass in her direction.
“Thank you for the coin bag that last night I saw you. That was very generous.” I say, when she thought I was just a mortal in need of funds to escape with my family at the last bazaar.
“It was entirely selfish.” Erenia’s smile is sly. “I hoped it was enough for you to get wherever Leon was going so he would have something else to patter on about besides his obsession with the pretty jewelry maker.”
I giggle at that. It seems both of our friends are astoundingly good at embarrassing us.
“Well, it all worked out in the end. I hope your arrival home and reunion is everything you wish it to be.”
Her shoulders relax and she nods, glancing down at her plate. Something unspoken passes between them, brotherly affection and hope for her. Whatever or whoever is waiting for her in Versairen, I hope it brings her peace.
“How did you know you had healing magic?” I ask Leon, sensing Erenia wishes to be alone in her thoughts. He is devouring roasted fish in a creamy sauce and seasoned vegetables, so Callen speaks first.
“I broke my arm when we were dewlings. Everyone was making such a fuss over me, and little Leon asked with all sorts of annoyance, why don’t they just heal him? We all stared at him, so he threw down his toys, walked over, and healed my arm.”
Leon smiles at the memory. “At first it was only small animals, and I never mentioned it to anyone because I thought we all possessed the same magic. My mother was delighted at my power, and when I decided at ten, I wanted to be a healer, it gave her an idea. My mother still had Inara’s ring, passed down from generations.
So, she snuck it out of the family trove one night to test it.
Without the ring when she touched the iron wall, it burned, but with the ring turning her mortal she could touch the wall without pain.
If it was the only way to be with the king at the moment of his death, someone needed to pose as a royal healer.
So, she tested the ring on me, and it turned my body mortal with some kind of glamour, but my healing power remained. You know the rest.”
“I’m sorry you have lost a family heirloom.” It was probably the only thing they have of their ancestor.
Callen waves his hand. “I just wanted Leon back. That crown seems to have brought more pain than power.”
Truly.
His family asks me plenty of questions between bites, and I share openly with them about myself but any answers about Ellova are vague. Only that it exists and the joys of living there.
Estelle and Callen tell us how they fell in love nearly a decade ago.
How he knew she was meant to be his mate from the moment he saw her, but she was engaged to Zilas.
He hid the fact he was pretending to be his brother for as long as he could but almost lost her in the lie and was finally honest with her. They had their first child soon after.
Towards the end of our short meal, I have one question left. “How did Kalvorn come to be?”
Callen kindly explains their history. “The day Inara died, Kalden wasn’t there to protect her, and it devastated him.
He couldn’t allow his daughter to grow up in that court and was able to get her out.
For a while, Drystan thought the princess had been kidnapped, but he would never have let her inherit the throne anyway, so he didn’t search for her.
Kalden kept Inara’s glamour ring that the Forger had made for her.
He gathered all his soldiers and told them that their king had murdered Inara, who had transformed the kingdom with bounty and goodness. ”
Leon continues the story for his brother.
“Unwilling to stay in Adreania, he offered them a choice: stay and serve Drystan or leave with their families to form a new kingdom. Those loyal to him chose to leave, and in the dead of night they packed up everything they needed so they could start new somewhere else. Kalvorn. Prince Kalden of Adreania became King Kalden of Kalvorn, and he raised his daughter there. The young Princess Arelia eventually became queen and accepted many fae who had been locked out of Ellova when they left at the end of the war with the mortals, when the glamour and the Divide went up. They needed a magical sanctuary and Kalvorn was their haven.”
“So, mortals and fae are able to live together here?” I ask hopefully, thinking of Cyanna. We could visit each other without fear.
Leon smiles at my hope. “Yes, the Airvell River runs through Kalvorn, too, and the mortals there found out that by drinking the water, they lived longer and were protected from the ill effects of magic. The waters also imbued the land with magic for the fae to be comfortable. We live in harmony.”
Joy shoots through me. Cyanna will have a beautiful life here. “I can see why you were so desperate to bring me here when you thought I was mortal,” I tease Leon.
“Mortal or fae, I just needed you near,” he says softly.
We stare lovingly at each other ’til Callen coughs, reminding us we are not alone, and we laugh at that.
Once the meal is complete, we say our goodbyes with promises to return.
Leon and Erenia speak in hushed voices for a few minutes, and she tearfully hugs him goodbye.
“She has someone waiting for her at home,” he explains as we walk down the hall alone. “Her time in Adreania was horrible, but I have a feeling a great life is ahead of her now.”
Hope drifts in the bond. Goodness is ahead for all of us.