Crowned (Court of Isles #2)

Chapter 1

one

Knock knock .

The sound of knocking on the door was followed by a quiet voice announcing her arrival. Millie’s gentle, lilting accent grew louder as she pushed the door open and stepped inside my bedroom. I sat up in bed, straightening, feeling like I was emerging from a coma.

“What time is it?” My voice came out a dry rasp. “How long have I been out?”

Millie’s gaze flicked toward the window, like she didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t want to tell the truth either. “A while.”

I followed her gaze to the window. There was so much brightness flowing in from behind the gauzy curtains that I’d assumed it was high noon, but I was wrong.

It was definitely night; stars twinkled against a blanket of blackness, but something else was illuminating the courtyard, causing my room to feel like it was being lit by floodlights.

As if sensing my disorientation, Millie eased onto the foot of my bed. She handed over a mug of hot cocoa and a piece of biscotti. “Have something to eat. You need to get some food in you, and then we’ll talk. I’ll explain everything I can.”

“Where’s Silas?”

“I sent him home a few hours ago. Well, me and Atlas did it together. Silas wouldn’t leave your side, but”—Millie paused to wrinkle her nose—“the man needed a shower and some rest. I had to call in help.”

“By help, you mean Atlas?”

“He’s out in the garden now. For all the problems those two brothers have, they really do trust one another.”

“You’re telling me that Silas got his brother to babysit me?” I raised a hand to my forehead and pressed there, feeling the start of a headache. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“You’ve been through a lot,” Millie said.

“It’s not forever. Give the man a break.

You’ve been sleeping for almost thirty-six hours straight.

It’s not your fault—it’s the magic that you used to defeat the Furies and heal Atlas and Silas.

It’d wipe out anyone, but especially someone without a lot of experience. ”

I nodded, dunked the biscotti into the hot chocolate, and took a bite. As usual, Millie’s cooking was something extraordinary. I’d put money on the fact there was a little magic in this cup of cocoa, something healing, but Millie would never confess to it.

“Do you mind if I go speak to Atlas?”

“Of course not,” she said. “You’re free to do whatever you’d like. Why don’t you finish your drink and get dressed. There’s no rush.”

I took Millie’s advice and finished the hot chocolate and the biscuit.

Then I dragged myself to the bathroom, taking a few minutes to shower and dry my hair.

I slipped into a knee-length dress I found in my closet, a periwinkle blue so soft it could’ve been sewn together from bits of sky.

I twisted my hair back into a low bun and made my way out of the cottage.

Wisteria Cottage was starting to feel like home. It felt more comfortable than my apartment in New York, and the people here felt more like family than anyone else I’d ever known.

I trailed out of the purple cottage into the backyard and came to a stuttering stop when I found Atlas lounging at the little café-style table, a small espresso in hand, just staring at the garden around him. In his defense, there was a lot to see.

The tall, violet delphiniums had glowing petals.

Millie’s prized rose bushes along the fence were in a constant state of blooming, wilting, and blooming again—one never-ending circle of life.

The tall grasses behind Atlas let out sparks every time the stalks brushed together, sparks that floated up into the air and fizzed like tiny fireworks.

The carpet of Irish moss had so many white little flowers they glittered like diamonds beneath my feet.

I had no idea why the garden was going a little bit nuts, but this certainly explained the amount of light flooding through my window.

The moon was full, and it seemed like the garden was absorbing the metallic light and radiating it back outward.

While the sky was dark, there was enough light here to feel like we were under a floodlight.

“What’s this all about?” I asked, sidling over to where Atlas was seated. I tentatively took a seat across from him at the table. “This glowing stuff is new.”

“I was going to ask you about it,” the Titan said in his confident, lazy drawl. “It’s not my doing, I can confidently say that.”

I spread my arms wide. “Well, I’m certainly not doing anything. I just woke up.”

Atlas shifted forward in his seat. “You don’t have to do anything, Alessia. By simply being, you’re responsible for all this.”

I shook my head. “I would know if I was performing a magic spell.”

“You’re not performing a spell. You’ve got so much power inside you that you’re leaking magic. It’s not within your control. It’s not your fault, and it’s not bad. But it’s definitely you. No offense, but I can control my magic.”

I paused, wanting to disagree with Atlas, but he was so confident that it gave me pause.

I stood up, walked over to a small patch of sunflowers in the back that were taller than me.

I reached out, touched the stalk of one.

The moment my fingers made contact with the rough greenery, the sunflower petals lit up like a Lite-Brite.

I touched another stalk, and another sunflower lit up. I did this for a few minutes—touch, ping! Touch, ping! The flowers lit up like I was playing the bells in a church choir.

“Okay.” I sat before Atlas. “You might have a point. Do you think—”

“I’ll take things from here.” Out of the darkness materialized a now-familiar form. “You’ve done enough.”

Silas. I had only known the man for a short time, so even as I felt him arrive, a part of me questioned how a shadow could look so familiar.

But as the light hit Silas’s face, something clicked in my gut—a deep sense of safety and security, something edging toward more.

It felt too soon, too abrupt to be having these sorts of feelings for a near-stranger, but also, I wasn’t exactly familiar with fated mates.

My life in New York had revolved around practical marriages where things like finances and location and social status all mattered in a union between a husband and wife. Here, on this wild and chaotic magical island, those were not rules that applied.

It was a mix of relief and terror to experience this new world, with such unfamiliar rules.

I marveled that I could feel so strongly about this man who fit beside me so well, while feeling like I didn’t know much about him at all.

Even when it didn’t make sense for us to be together, it did make sense—on some level I couldn’t consciously reach.

Like the atoms of my body needed to be near the atoms of his.

Atlas stood and gave a huge stretch. “Of course, Silas. You always take over at the fun part.”

Atlas downed the rest of his espresso shot and gave me a playful wink. A few seconds later, his body shimmered—just for a moment—and then he was gone.

I looked over at Silas. “He Phased?”

Silas nodded.

“How did you get him to return to The Isle? When he disappeared, I thought he was done with this place.”

There was a quirk of Silas’s lips. “I had Millie ask him for me. She has a way of getting him to do things he might otherwise not. Atlas has always had a soft spot for Millie.”

I sat back in my chair. Silas studied me for a long moment. It wasn’t a judgmental stare, nor was it intrusive. He sized me up like he was checking me for injuries. Except it felt like he was examining both the outside and the inside.

I watched his face as he did so, sensing that Silas, too, was reveling in the newness of our bond. We were both realizing that there was some cosmic element to our relationship that couldn’t be explained otherwise.

I grappled with this idea, not sure if I should feel reassured or constrained.

I’d always relished the idea of having free will, especially after being so constrained by my parents for all of my life.

But really, had I ever had any choices back in New York?

I felt freer being here on this enchanted island with its magical laws and rules than I’d ever felt under the thumb of New York’s elite society.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions,” Silas said at length. “I’m happy to answer all of them. But we don’t need to do that tonight. Not unless you want to.”

Hearing this was a breath of relief. It told me that Silas wasn’t shying away from hard conversations, he was just giving me the time and space I needed to process them.

Silas looked around the garden, taking in the glow while letting me process.

When Silas looked back at me, there was amusement in his eyes. A real twinkle.

“Is this stuff”—I hesitated, gesturing toward the glowing garden—“dangerous?”

“This?” Silas raised a thick arm and gestured at the beauty around us. “This is magnificent.”

“You know what I mean. If I can’t control my magic, how can I be sure it won’t leak out of me and do something dangerous?”

The twinkle in Silas’s eye dimmed slightly, and he gave a nod. “You’ll have to work on honing your powers, but don’t worry. I have a plan for that.”

“In the meantime?”

“So much of magic has to do with intention,” Silas said softly. “You don’t have an evil bone in your body, so I wouldn’t worry too much about your magic wreaking havoc without your knowledge.”

“When can I start my magical training?”

“Soon.” Silas cocked his head to one side.

“There are still dangers facing this island, I admit. The Furies were not the end of this war. However, the new wards that are in place as a result of you becoming the Fae Queen will buy us some time. We’ll start training as soon as you’re physically ready. ”

“How’s everyone else? The rest of the islanders? I imagine this is just as much a shock to them as it is to me.”

At this, Silas’s face turned a bit stonier. Just for a second—a wall he put up before letting it crumble. “Some are shocked. Some are thrilled. Some will take a little time to come around.”

“What about the castle? Even if I am genetically the Fae Queen, I don’t feel like I’ve earned the title or the throne. Not in a meaningful way.”

Silas merely raised a shoulder in acknowledgment before sitting across from me. “We’ll deal with that as the time comes.”

I got the impression Silas was hiding something.

Not lying outright, but maybe not giving me all the information I needed.

As I studied his beautiful, darkened face, I realized that maybe he needed some time to process the recent events too.

Maybe it wasn’t just me who needed space to digest this new island order.

So, I nodded, and I reached across the table to give his hand a squeeze. At my touch, Silas looked up, his eyes flicking toward me, our connection as taut as a tightly pulled rope. He held that pose for a long moment before he stood, leaned across the table, and took my face in one hand.

His thumb grazed my chin as he drew me in for a kiss, a long, lingering kiss, like it was something he’d been aching to do for days. Maybe he had. I’d been unconscious for the last few days, and he’d been forced to watch me sleep, wondering how I’d feel when I woke.

When we finally parted, our gazes lingering on one another, Silas studied my face as if to understand my reaction. I saw the moment confusion bloomed in his eyes.

“I hope that was okay,” Silas said, unsure. “I just…”

“Yeah. Yes, of course,” I said quickly. “I’m just disoriented. I only just woke up a few minutes ago. I’m still trying to figure out what this fated-mates situation means for us.”

“You always have a choice in this matter, Alessia. Always. Fated or not.”

I stood, moved around the table, and eased myself onto his lap. “I understand. But I choose you. I don’t have doubts about you; I’m just getting used to how strongly I feel connected to you already.”

Then I kissed Silas on the lips. This time, it was all me. My hands in his hair, down his back, around his neck. In return, he didn’t let me go, not until the glow of the flowers began to dim and the sunlight took the moon’s place.

I rested on his lap, my head on his chest. His fingers traced gentle lines down my back, and we just held one another as daylight slowly broke over the island. I looked around and realized that this place was home. And apparently, I was its queen.