Chapter 26 Ash
Ash
“This is all very touching,” the silver-haired vampire said from his throne. “But it does little to help the situation at hand.”
I pulled away from Silver reluctantly, realizing that despite our reunion, we were still standing in the chambers of the Elder Council. And the king of the Twilight Realm was probably on the warpath.
“Unfortunately, he is correct,” Confiance nodded, looking between me and Silver.
“King Erestolal was furious and willing to sacrifice the sanity of his own child to sever the bond. Now that the prince has escaped, I have no doubt he’ll be knocking on our door demanding that we keep the terms of our original deal or face the consequences. ”
I looked up at Silver. “What do we do? You know him better than anyone.”
Silver thought for a long moment, emotions flitting over the bond between us.
I tried to make sense of them, but there was too much at once and so much more that I didn’t have any context for.
Finally, Silver leaned down and kissed my forehead before turning back to the Elder Council, his head held high.
“My father has fooled you all,” he said simply. “He’s fooled you into thinking he has far more power than he actually has.”
The Council exchanged glances, a look of confusion on all of their faces.
“What do you mean?” a female with a voice as cold as ice said. She pulled her hood back, revealing turquoise dragon-like scales covering her face and neck, twin horns curling around her pointed ears. “Do you dare imply that the Elder Council is failing at its duties?”
“Not at all,” Silver replied, his voice calm and measured. “Only that my father has restricted information from the Twilight Realm for so long that he’s been able to rewrite its story. And that story is not complete.”
I felt Silver’s hand tighten around mine as the dragon-scaled Elder leaned forward on her throne, her eyes narrowing with interest.
“Explain yourself, Prince Erestolal,” she commanded.
Silver took a breath, and I felt his determination pulse through our bond. “My father has led you to believe that the Twilight Realm is strong, unified, and capable of severing all ties with the mortal realm without consequence. But the truth is far different.”
“Silver,” I whispered, tugging on his hand.
He glanced down at me, and I saw something fierce and protective in those silver eyes. “It’s okay. They need to know the truth. Everybody does.” He turned back to the Council. “The Twilight Realm is dying.”
The words hung in the air like a death sentence. Several Council members shifted in their seats, and I felt the magical pressure in the room intensify.
“That’s quite an accusation,” the vampire said, his tone sharp.
“It’s not an accusation. It’s a fact.” Silver’s voice didn’t waver. “My father gave himself away as I was escaping. It turns out all the lessons I’ve been learning about for years weren’t just to prepare me for possible issues I might face as king, but to prepare me for the reality of my realm.”
The dragon elder nodded. “Continue.”
“Our crops have been failing for decades. The magical wells that sustain our people are running dry. The barriers between our realm and others grow weaker every year, requiring more and more energy to maintain.” He paused, and I felt a wave of grief roll through him.
“My father arranged my marriage not just for political alliance, but because the bride’s family controls the last remaining fertile lands in the realm.
Without that union, our people will starve within a generation. ”
I stared up at him, seeing the weight he’d been carrying all this time. No wonder he’d been so torn. It wasn’t just about duty or disappointing his father… it was about the survival of his entire people.
“If what you say is true,” Confiance said carefully, “then why would your father threaten to seal the realm? That would only accelerate its decline.”
“Because he’s desperate,” Silver replied, and I heard the pain in his voice.
“He’s been watching our realm slowly die for centuries, and he’s terrified.
The threats, the posturing—it’s all a bluff.
He can’t afford to seal the realm. We need trade with the mortal world, need the resources and magic that flow between realms. Cutting ourselves off would be suicide, but my father is too proud to admit that.
He wants to protect his people, but he doesn’t realize that it’s his actions that are killing them.
He’s clinging to a possibility that no longer exists. ”
“You’re asking us to call your father’s bluff,” the ember-eyed witch said. “That’s a dangerous gamble, Prince Erestolal.”
“I know.” Silver’s hand trembled slightly in mine, but his voice stayed steady. “But I also know my father. He loves our people more than anything—more than his pride, more than tradition, more than me. If you can give him a real solution to the problems his people face, then he will listen.”
I felt my heart clench at those words. Silver was betting everything on his father’s love for his people. But what if he was wrong? The only thing I knew about that king was that he was determined and stubborn and terrifying. I didn’t know him to be a thoughtful or caring man. I hoped I was wrong.
“There has to be a way the Elder Council can help the Twilight Realm,” I added, showing support to my mate. “Surely a realm in desperate need is a worthy cause for you to rally behind.”
“A worthy cause, perhaps,” the vampire said, his fingers steepling beneath his chin. “But the Elder Council does not simply distribute aid. There would need to be... negotiations. Agreements. The Twilight Realm would need to open itself to Council oversight.”
I felt Silver tense beside me. I knew what that meant for his father—admitting weakness, allowing outsiders into his carefully controlled realm. It would be a humiliation.
“My father would never agree to that,” Silver said quietly. “Not while he thinks he still has options.”
“Then we’re back where we started,” the dragon-scaled Elder said, her voice tinged with frustration. “Your father demands the severance, threatens isolation if we refuse, and you ask us to call a bluff that could result in the deaths of thousands.”
The weight of her words settled over me like a shroud. This wasn’t just about me and Silver anymore. It never really had been. Entire realms hung in the balance, and I was just a cursed shadow witch caught in the middle of it all.
“There is another option,” Confiance said suddenly. All eyes turned to her. “One that might satisfy all parties involved.”
I felt hope flare in my chest, even as Silver’s grip on my hand tightened almost painfully.
“What option?” I asked, not caring that I was interrupting an Elder.
Confiance’s green eyes met mine, and I saw something calculating in their depths. “What if the mate bond wasn’t the problem? What if it was the solution?”
“Explain,” the vampire commanded.
“Shadow walkers are exceedingly rare,” Confiance said, rising from her position beside us to address the full Council.
“They can move between realms freely, unhindered by barriers or wards. Mr. Vale has already proven he can breach even the strongest protections, including Widdershins’ defenses and, I suspect, the Twilight Realm’s barriers as well. ”
I felt my stomach drop. Where was she going with this?
“The Twilight Realm’s greatest weakness is its isolation,” she continued. “The barriers that protect it also trap it, requiring enormous amounts of energy to maintain.”
“Where are you going with this, Confiance?” the dragon elder asked. “Out with it.”
Confiance turned to me. “Mr. Vale, if willing, could be a much more beneficial mate than any political alliance the Twilight Realm could produce.” She paused, her eyes glimmering. “He could serve as an ambassador to the other realms and the Elder Council.”
I felt my jaw go slack as her words sank in. An ambassador? Me? The cursed shadow witch from a shunned family who could barely control his magic a few months ago?
“You can’t be serious,” I said, my voice coming out strangled.
“I’m quite serious.” Confiance’s expression remained calm, almost serene.
“The Twilight Realm needs resources, trade agreements, and magical support that only cross-realm cooperation can provide. But King Erestolal’s isolationist policies have made such cooperation nearly impossible.
An ambassador who could move freely between realms, who was bound by mate bond to the royal heir, would be the perfect bridge. ”
“But I’m nobody,” I protested, even as Silver’s hand squeezed mine supportively. “My family name is tainted. We have no standing, no influence. Why would anyone listen to me?”
“Because you would speak with the authority of the Twilight Realm’s crown,” the vampire Elder said, leaning forward with sudden interest. “And because your unique abilities make you invaluable. A shadow walker who could facilitate trade, carry messages, negotiate treaties without the need for expensive portal magic or dangerous border crossings and with undying loyalty to the crown...”
“It would solve multiple problems simultaneously,” the ember-eyed witch added.
“The Twilight Realm would gain the support it needs without having to submit to Council oversight. King Erestolal could save face by claiming the arrangement was his idea all along. And the mate bond would become an asset rather than a liability. And, if it helps feed the people, I doubt an uprising would occur should the arranged marriage be cancelled. People would much rather eat than form political alliances.”
I looked up at Silver, searching his face for some sign of what he thought. Through our bond, I felt a complex tangle of emotions—hope, fear, excitement, and something that felt like pride.
“What do you think?” I whispered.
Silver’s silver eyes met mine, and a slow smile spread across his face. “I think you’d be amazing at it. You’re clever, compassionate, and you actually care about people. Those are exactly the qualities a good Ambassador needs.”
“But what about your father?” I asked. “He’ll never agree to this. He wanted me dead or gone.”
“He wanted the problem solved,” Silver corrected gently. “And this solves it. The mate bond stays intact, I get to keep you, and the Twilight Realm gets the help it desperately needs. It’s not the solution he wanted, but it’s the solution that works.”
“Assuming he agrees,” the dragon-scaled Elder said, her tone skeptical. “King Erestolal is not known for his flexibility.”
“Then we’ll have to convince him,” Silver said, his voice taking on a commanding quality I’d never heard before. For the first time, I could see the prince—no, the future king—he was meant to become. “And we’ll do it together.”
Before anyone could respond, a surge of magic rippled through the chamber. The air crackled with electricity, and I felt my shadows respond instinctively, coiling protectively around my legs. Several Elders rose from their thrones, magical energy gathering around them in defensive patterns.
A portal tore open at the far end of the chamber, purple and silver light spilling across the marble floor. Through it stepped King Erestolal, flanked by at least a dozen royal guards. His silver crown gleamed with barely contained power, and his expression was one of pure fury.
My heart hammered in my chest. I’d never actually seen Silver’s father up close before, but the resemblance was unmistakable—the same sharp features, the same purple skin, the same silver eyes that currently blazed with fury.
Except where Silver’s gaze held warmth and compassion, his father’s held only cold determination.
“Silver,” the king’s voice boomed through the chamber, making me flinch. “Step away from that witch. Now.”
I felt Silver’s hand tighten around mine, his body shifting slightly to put himself between me and his father. Through our bond, I felt his fierce determination to protect me that made my chest ache.
“No,” Silver said simply, his voice carrying despite its quietness. “I won’t.”