59
Valen
Tania sent word to Lunal to let them know that the Winter Court would be allocating resources, and she told them the truth about Levina—Aphelian. She told them about the Dream. How wonderful it was—and that it was gone forever. She said she would return the tear shortly. What they do with it is up to them.
She finds me in the throne room as I’m saying goodbye to Wren. The Spring monarch is eager to return to her people, with a renewed sense of self—and purpose.
“Am I interrupting?” Tania asks.
“Tania!” Wren rushes over and throws her arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re here. I hoped I’d have a chance to say goodbye. Suveo left yesterday, and Gensted left this morning—with Zana.”
“Zana went with him?”
“She’s going to show him how to do the transfer,” I say, crossing the room. “This way he can share his magic with the Autumn Fae. Again, there’s no guarantee it will work, but since Wren was able to manifest, not being of royal blood, he’s hopeful. She made Suveo the same offer, but he turned her down.”
“She’ll be traveling to the Spring court when she’s finished with Gensted,” Wren says, smiling. “I cannot wait!”
Silence falls between us, and Wren clears her throat.
“Well, I, um, have some last-minute details to see to. Don’t be strangers.” She bounds out the door, leaving us alone in the cavernous room.
Tania wanders toward the throne. Wedged into one of the top crevices is a small, plush wolf toy. Pulling it out, she laughs. “What’s this?”
“Suria has been…redecorating. You should hear the plans she has for the rest of the estate.”
“So she’s staying?”
“Her family is gone. She was alone in Rotting Ledge… She still doesn’t remember what happened to her parents or how Aphelian got hold of her, but I promised her I’d look into it. In the meantime, I offered her a place here. She gave me an attitude, then said yes.”
“Sounds about right.”
I hesitate—just for a moment, then say, “There are some things I need to say. Things you…might not like.”
“Okay…”
Here goes… “I have to do what’s best for the Winter Fae.” Shit. Why is this so hard? “I had a long talk with my father yesterday. He pointed out that not all things are as black and white as they look.” I take her hand. After a moment, a tiny waft of steam floats from our joined palms.
“What the—”
“ I’m being punished for destroying the Dream—you’re not. We’re connected, so you still have access to my magic. So, in essence, so do I.”
“That’s impossible.” The small tuft of smoke dissipates into the air around us. “I’d be dead by now. Court magics can’t mix.”
“Not normally, no. But as you said, you’re not a normal Fae, are you? Or a normal human. I think the rules are rewriting themselves just for you.”
She stares at me. “That is the most convoluted thing you’ve ever said.”
“Would you expect anything less?”
“No. I guess not.” She takes a step back, breathing in deep. “There’s something I want to give you.”
“Oh?”
“Me.” The wall she built to dull the link shatters, and everything floods between us. Except this time, all of her flows through it. I didn’t know it at the time, but she’d fought the link from that very first day. It took time to learn enough control to block herself from me completely, but her natural defense instinct kicked in, and she’d never fully surrendered to it. Now, I get it all. The love she has for me, the passion—the occasional irritation. She shows me her hopes and fears and all the insecurities she never dared share with anyone.
After a minute, I grin. The section on my chest where the Heartbreaker is tingles. A small part of me was worried about taking this next step, fearful that she’d resist. So fucking stubborn, my Keltania… “So, what do you say, druid. Feel like watching over the Winter Fae with me?”
Without a word, I tug at the chain around her neck, then slide the band off the chain and slip it onto her finger.
Tania’s eyes widen as she looks at the ring on her finger.
“Hopefully you won’t freak about it, because this time, I mean exactly what you think I do. What’s best for the Winter Fae is me…and you.”
…
After we make the announcement, it takes several weeks to prepare. Tania agrees to a ceremony only if we combine the wedding and her coronation. She insists it’s because she doesn’t want to wear a ridiculous dress twice, but I know better. She’s still worried about the Winter Fae not accepting her.
But she shouldn’t. Sure, there are a few holdouts, but they know what she did for them. What she sacrificed. They are more than ready to accept her as their Winter Lady. As am I.
“You ready?” I ask. We’re standing on the other side of the throne room doors, guards on either side of us, waiting to enter.
She breathes deep. In and out. “It’s not like I can say no at this point…”
I smile and nod to the guards. The doors open, the music begins, and I take her hand.
The throne room is bursting with Fae. They’re lined two deep all around the room, packed into seats in the center. There’s a row in the front, off to the side. Daroose and Gensted are there, as well as Suria and Zana. She came back with Gensted and is heading to Wren’s village next in a few days.
At the front, on either side of the dais, are Kopic and Delkin. Kopic standing for me, and Delkin for Tania. Human tradition would have had him walking her down the aisle, but we opted for the Fae way. It’s her way of showing the people that she’s embraced them. That she’s one of them.
Because, well, she is.
As we reach the front, Guria smiles. It’s wide and genuine, and it’s full of pride. “We gather today to mark a momentous occasion. The claiming of Valen Frostreaver and Keltania…” She hesitates.
Tania leans in. “Just Keltania. For now…”
Guria nods. Tunne was the name Aphelian had given her. Emberbane was the name of the Autumn Fae father that had wanted her dead. Until we are joined, Tania has chosen to be nameless.
“Do you, Lord Valen of the Winter Fae, claim Keltania as yours? Do you bind yourself to her forever, forsaking all others?”
Hmm…
“Valen, I’ll kill you…”
“I do,” I say, smirking at her. You know I do.
“And do you, Keltania, promise to stand by Lord Valen’s side? To support him in times of crisis and in times of joy?” She grins. “To keep him grounded and…see that he behaves.”
“I do,” she responds with a snicker.
“And you accept his claim, staking one of your own? Accepting him as yours forever?” There’s a note of surprise in Guria’s tone. Like she’s trying to talk Tania out of it!
“I’m the only one who can keep him in line,” she says, smiling. “So yes.”
Soft laughter rolls through the room. Sure. They find her amusing, but me? They don’t get my sense of humor…
“And with this claim, you acknowledge your duty to the Fae of the Winter Lands? Will you, Keltania…promise to serve and protect them, as long as you live?”
Tania turns to the room and says, “I will.”
Guria smiles. She spreads her arms. “I present to you the Winter Lord, Valen Frostreaver, and his Winter Lady, Keltania.”
Heh. I’m still your Lord.
An even flicker of annoyance and amusement filters down the link.
“Goddess, is this what I have to look forward to?”
I turn, taking her face in my hands. Don’t blame me. You’re the one who said yes.
“Oh yeah? Well—”
I smile and press my lips to hers. We are both right where we were meant to be. At each other’s side.