Chapter 35
“This is James.” Kieran introduces me to the owner of the lovely café we always seem to end up at, Cassiopeia. I have seen him many times, but never once did it cross my mind that this male was once a man. “He’s been living here for over eighty years.”
Eighty?
“Milady,” James says, bowing his head with respect.
“Please,” I quickly say. “I’m not a lady.”
He furrows his brows. “But you are Lord Kieran’s mate.”
“I’m not a lord.” Kieran exhales. “But yes, she’s my mate.”
Lord. Prince. King. It’s fascinating how people keep calling him these titles, even when he insists on just being “Kieran.”
“Forgive me. I thought—”
“It’s fine, James,” I cut in softly. There’s no need for formality here. “You’ve been here for eighty years?”
“Yes.” He nods politely. “In human years, it would be much less, but I don’t think anyone in my past life remembers me now.”
Aurora said a month here is only four or five days in the human world. That means …
“It’s been thirteen human years,” Kieran says, probably sensing me struggling to do mad maths in my head.
Wow.
I could be pregnant, give birth, raise a whole baby—and barely a year would pass for my family.
Think of how awkward the conversation would go, if I visited my parents with a toddler.
I wonder if his family is still looking for him. Some parents never stop searching for a missing child, even decades later. Loved ones rarely let go … especially when there’s no closure.
“Why?” I clear my throat, keeping my tone neutral. I’m merely trying to understand, not to judge anyone. “Why did you stay?”
“Honestly? I was tired of how fragile I was as a human,” he says, as if it wasn’t even a big, life-changing decision.
Or perhaps it’s just been too long ago that he doesn’t fully remember what the weight felt like.
“As a Fae, wounds heal faster. I’m much stronger.
Rarely ever get sick. I’m going to live forever—and I have magic. ”
And … I can see why that would be tempting.
“Forgive me if this sounds like an interview. You don’t have to answer if you don’t feel comfortable,” I say quietly. “But … what about your family?”
Kieran glances at me, before leaning in to whisper, “I’ll give you both a minute.”
He steps outside without waiting for a response. And I know why he’s doing it—James won’t feel entirely at ease answering personal questions with the King of the Fallen hovering in the corner.
“I don’t have anyone,” James replies at last. He looks no older than forty, even though he’s been here for eighty Fae years.
I wonder if he stopped aging the moment he was turned.
“All I had was debt. I gambled everything away. My wife left. My son wanted nothing to do with me. I came here to wish for a fortune to pay it all off—but I knew, deep down, I’d have gone back to gambling.
I’d probably end up dead in a gutter, and no one would care. ”
Every soul selected for the trials is broken in one way or another.
James was exactly the kind of corrupted human the Court needed to parade before the stars.
“And you realise what this is all for, right?” I ask carefully.
“Yes.” He nods. His expression doesn’t change.
“When you live here long enough, you start to understand Kieran’s ambitions.
The reasons behind the things he does.” He pauses, glancing towards the glass window, where my mate waits outside.
“He doesn’t actually want to hurt humans, you know.
If he can help it, he won’t. His only goal is to prove that his kind—our kind—shouldn’t be punished for the crimes their humans commit.
That it’s okay to be flawed. He doesn’t even want to go back to the other Court.
He just … doesn’t want any more of his people to fall. ”
For a beat, I don’t know what to say.
On one hand, I don’t agree with how things are done in this Court.
On the other hand, I understand why, and I’m struggling to wrap my head around how hard all of this is for Kieran.
His family is cruel—too cruel. They cursed him, trapped him here, all because he dared to build a home for the Fallen. So, Kieran retaliates the only way he knows how—by showing them their precious little humans can be just as monstrous.
And in a meantime, there are still Fae—twisted, bitter ones—who believe Kieran should kill every human to ever step foot inside this Court.
Now he’s here, caught in the middle, trying to save them both.
“Are you …” I hesitate, then finally say it. “Are you happy here?”
The question earns a gentle smile. “I have a home, own a business, and married the love of my life.”
I can’t help but smile with him.
“Kieran made his point, and then he gave us new lives,” he murmurs.
“Of course, it’s unfortunate when there’re deaths in the competitions.
But I do believe that part was a compromise.
Something the Council insisted on to keep the peace.
To satisfy those who still demand blood.
That’s why they hold funerals. It’s their way of honouring the price, while keeping the machine running. ”
It’s a huge statement—those words from him.
I feel them like a slap on my face, the numbness expanding in lazy waves so slowly they seep through every part of me until I’m soaked with them.
I haven’t heard everything.
But I have heard enough.
I thank James and wish him a good day before stepping outside. Kieran turns to meet my eyes—and it’s all I can do before I throw my arms around him, holding him like I’m afraid he might disappear any second.
“Oh,” he whispers. “Does this mean I can sleep in the bedroom again?”
“It means I love you,” I breathe, murmuring against his chest. “And yes … you can move back to the bedroom—if you promise to stop carrying everything on your own. I am your mate. From now on, we share the weight. Together.”
Kieran exhales, stroking my hair gently, his touch so delicate—so out of this world. “It’s not something you need to bear, Little Star.”
“But I will.” I pull away just enough to look into those eyes. “I’m your partner, Kieran. We’re in this together. You wanted forever—this is how we do it.”
The storm-lit eyes soften, like fire turning to embers—still fierce, but warm and steady. He lifts a hand to my face, fingers gently brushing my skin. A quiet sigh escapes him.
“I don’t know where you came from, but I thank the stars for you every single night,” he mutters, his voice hoarse. “You are … incredible in every way. And it genuinely blows me away that you chose me.”
“Says the one who built an entire Court to save thousands,” I say softly. “It’s your Court. And no, I don’t agree with everything, but we’ll work on it together, over time.”
He smiles faintly, that familiar glint returning to his eyes. “So … starting with James was the right call, huh?”
I roll my eyes. “Unless you bribed him to say nice things about you.”
“Swear to the stars, I didn’t. What’d he say, anyway?”
“He said”—I pause, a sweet smile tugging at my lips—“you gave him a new life.”
Kieran arches a brow. “Well, guess we’re his regulars now.”
“I suppose so.” I laugh.
“Come,” he says, taking my hand in his. “Let’s introduce you to the others.”
And by others, Kieran means the rest of the humans who chose to stay—the ones who turned Fae.
The whole village is full of them. They speak easily with me, sharing stories of their trials, the lives they left behind, and the magic they now hold.
Most of their powers are simple—healing, warmth, speed.
One of them asks when I plan to turn Fae.
I have no answer for that.
They joke that I should do it before I turn thirty—to preserve the beauty, they say.
All I can do is laugh.
It’s easy for them. Their human lives are long gone. But mine? I haven’t fully come to terms with my new responsibilities as Kieran’s mate yet. My life has flipped upside down, again.
For now, I want to take one thing at a time.
“Will I be able to pick what kind of magic I want, if I turn Fae?” I ask as we settle onto the balcony back home, tea in hand. Kieran uses his power to warm the seat again.
“That’d be nice, wouldn’t it?” He laughs, lifting his own cup. “But no, it doesn’t work like that. The stars choose for you.”
“Interesting.” I blink. “What about wings?”
“Those, too.”
“Ugh. So if I don’t like them, I’m stuck with weird wings for the rest of my life?”
“Some Fae don’t even have wings,” Kieran drawls, slowly sipping his tea. “And you can magic them away. You don’t have to wear them all the time.”
“But you have them out most of the time.”
“Yes, because I’m sexy beyond resistible.”
I narrow my eyes at him. Should have known he was going to say something like that.
Kieran grins. “Does that mean you want to turn Fae eventually?”
“Not any time soon,” I murmur. Even the thought makes my stomach twist. “But I don’t want to be a cranky old woman when you’re still thirty, hot, and sexy.”
He throws his head back to laugh this time, loud and unfiltered. “I’ll still find you adorable, trust me. Though the hardest part would be watching you grow old and …”
He can’t even say it.
But I feel it, hot and heavy in my chest.
“Come on, Kieran,” I say, smirking now, trying to lighten up the mood. “You won’t be attracted to a fifty-year-old me the way you are now. And sex with an older lady could be … challenging. Back pain and all that.”
He looks at me like he’s imagining growing old with me—an easy and comforting thought.
An impossible one for him.
“I’ll turn Fae eventually,” I whisper, leaning closer. “Can’t leave you to mourn me for eternity now, can I?”
It’s the best solution for us—the only right one.
But one I’m not ready for just yet.
Joy flickers in his eyes. Kieran reaches for my hand, then lifts it to his lips. “I’m not going to ask that of you. You can take all the time you want. I’ll wait—even if you want to do it when you’re forty.”
“You heard what the others said. I have to do it when I’m still young enough.” I laugh. “So I look pretty forever.”
“You’re already pretty forever.”
Who would have thought the brooding King of the Fallen turns into a soft-hearted, I-love-you-and-I’ll-give-you-the-moon kind of partner behind closed doors?
“You know, we never celebrated our mating bond,” I say, tilting my head, the biggest smile on my face. If he were human, this would basically be like an engagement party. “Maybe we should go out. Have a nice meal tonight.”
“If you promise I get to take off whatever fancy dress you slip into the moment we’re home.” His smirk deepens. “It’s been too long.”
“Gods, it’s only been a few days.”
“That’s a few days too long.”
I sigh, shaking my head, but can’t stop my stupid smile.
We finish our teas, and I start trying on the hundred dresses and gowns Aurora approved and had Laia deliver—and according to the King of the Fallen, they all look shit on me.
Kieran is making me change again and again just to catch a glimpse of me naked like he hasn’t already seen every inch of me.
I finally have to kick him out of the room.
Peace, at last.
I slip into a black sequined gown with long sleeves. It matches my ring and hugs my curves like it was made to demand attention—sexy but still elegant. Just the right amount of both.
I look at my reflection in the mirror, my face flushed as I realise Kieran and I have only been to one date, when we grabbed lunch that time after …
well, making up from the five days he avoided me.
But tonight will be something special, a celebration.
Sure, we live together and are way past that, but something about going out with him, just the two of us, like a normal couple, makes my stomach twist with giddy nerves.
And now that all my things are here, I can finally dress properly.
I put on some jewellery, paint my lips, and finish with my favourite perfume.
I don’t know what the Fae put in it, but I honestly can’t get enough.
Neither can Kieran.
“You look …” He pauses, already pulling me into his arms the second I step out of the room. “Gods, what did I do to deserve you?”
“You’re too much.” I laugh but kiss him anyway. It’s always impossible not to with Kieran—my red lips be damned. I’m sure Kieran can sort out the smudge with a flick of his magic.
We haven’t even left the house, but his hands are already wandering down my body—one sliding down my back, the other at the nape of my neck. Gods, I love how Kieran touches me, craving it like I need it just to stay sane.
It was hell sleeping alone in that massive bed. We’ve barely touched until now, and I’m realising just how much I’ve missed it. I’m starved for it.
“Do you think maybe we could”—he breathes, his lips grazing down my neck, biting it, voice rough with need—“leave a little bit later?”
“Hm,” I purr. “Tempting.”
But before he can persuade me any further—
Kieran jerks back. Stiffens. Horror spreads across his face.
Then, he starts coughing, choking. Violent and desperate.
I freeze.
A few seconds later—it hits me, too.
The burning sensation in my throat, the air leaving my lungs. All of a sudden, I’m struggling to breathe. Panic rips through me.
Within moments, we’re both on the floor, gasping, choking, Kieran crawling towards me with wide, terrified eyes.
My head spins. My vision fractures.
I can’t breathe.
We can’t breathe.
What is happening?
What is happening to us?