Chapter Twenty-Eight #2
“Very well.” The air around him shifts and his tone becomes serious, his eyes focused.
He’s back to staring at the magic within me, magic he’s determined to draw out here and now.
“Heir of Aviness, rightful ruler of these wilds, keeper of the power of the old kings, you’ve entered these waters as a woman, but you shall emerge as a queen.
” He lifts a hand, draws lines in water from my neck to my shoulders, collarbones, and breast. “I, as loyal subject, anoint you.”
“I receive your blessing.” With the tip of my finger, I draw the shining outlines of shapes on him as well, swirls and dots that have no coherent meaning and yet seem to say I see you, I am one with you. “I am the vessel of Aviness.”
I take a deep breath and plunge under.
The moment my head sinks beneath the surface, warmth surrounds me.
I open my eyes and see dozens of silvery figures waiting beneath the water.
They all wear crowns of glass that I recognize from the stained-glass windows of the keep.
I surface, cough up the water I inhaled in shock, and swim backward.
Davien’s hands close around my shoulders.
This is not part of our plan.
“What is it?”
“I saw—I saw—people underneath the water,” I stammer, teeth clattering but no longer from the cold.
The warmth that I felt the moment I was submerged still coats me just like the shimmering water.
It turns my skin a pale gray color, iridescent and flecked with rainbow spots.
“What the…” Words are failing me now as I hold up my forearms.
“This is what we came here for,” Davien says reassuringly. “Don’t be afraid. Don’t hesitate. Accept the anointing as a queen would.”
I think of what Shaye said: Walk with your head held high, for you have the power of kings.
I’ve been pretending this entire time to live up to the expectations of the magic in me.
I can pretend a little longer. I straighten and move away from Davien.
Even though I’m making every best effort, I still regard the water warily.
I can’t see those ghostly figures from above.
But I know if I opened my eyes underneath the surface, I would see them.
Closing my eyes, I choose to focus on the sound of music still thrumming. The more I focus, the louder it becomes. The sound gives me strength, makes me think of my mother. I imagine her looking fondly at me from the great Beyond, proud of her daughter for all she is accomplishing.
I clutch the necklace to my breast and let my consciousness detach from my body. Somewhere, between his words and the music, I will find the magic. And once I hold that power as tightly as I hold this pendant of glass, I will be able to hand it to the man I have given everything else to.
“I am ready for my oath.” My voice no longer sounds like my own. It’s smoother, more confident than I have ever heard it.
“Do you swear to guard and guide your people? To protect them with the ancient magic that has been bestowed on you by fate and family? Will you rule with righteousness and justice as your weapons to strengthen our borders and defend our cause?” Davien is speaking the words from the pages Vena gave us.
He finishes with one of my additions: “Do you take these oaths with reverence and severity?”
“I do.”
“Will you forsake all temptation that could lead you astray?”
“I will.”
“And will you use every last remnant of your power to further, uphold, and revere the way of our people forevermore?”
“All this and more, I swear to you.” My eyes flutter open and I meet his emerald gaze.
Davien’s lips part slightly. He can feel it too.
I wonder if he can hear the music that is reaching its crescendo.
It fills my ears like the water; it fills my soul like the magic of Fae Kings.
“I take these oaths freely and sincerely.”
“Then draw your last breath as the woman you are and arise as a queen.” He leans forward and places his hands on my shoulders. I suck in a breath and Davien pushes me back. This time I’m ready for what awaits me.
Underneath the water I hear cheering, a joyous symphony soaring around me as though it is playing in a hall three times as large and magnificent as the keep we slept in last night. The applause of kings and queens from long ago bolsters me and the magic that I can feel crackling from my every pore.
I am pulled back above the water by Davien. I take in a greedy gulp of the crisp air. I blink up at the sky and revel in this feeling of immeasurable power.
If I wanted, if I dared, I could change this world.
And then, my eyes drop from the heavens and land on him. The first and only thing I will do with this power is pour it into the necklace still clutched in my hands. I stand and Davien kneels. Now is the part we wrote together.
I move to the sounds of music—of the magic that lives within me. I step around him, making mirrors of the shapes he drew on my body with the water earlier. I come to a stop before him and hold out the necklace.
Davien stares in wonder and anticipation. He slowly lifts his hand. Everything he ever wanted is within his reach.
The magic begins to drain from my body. I feel heavier by the second and wonder if I’ll have the strength to say what needs to be said next. But we are so close. “I abd—”
Out of nowhere, a shadowy arrow knocks the necklace from my palm and the power the ritual had been building breaks with an almost audible snap.