Chapter 43
Just Say Those Words Again
ANNA
Iarrived outside of the ballroom having told Blake to go on so I could have a moment to clean up. When I stepped through the gilded doors, contentment eased my nerves. Everyone was there. The Aurkai never failed at throwing a grand party when the opportunity presented itself.
The cast were all in their costumes, mingling with the guests.
Cheer was abundant, smiling faces everywhere I looked.
The ballroom was glowing in the flame of candlelit chandeliers.
I touched the gold railing of the staircase, pausing to gain my balance as I fiddled with the amulet around my neck.
The train of my emerald gown flowed behind me, my heels higher than I was used to—courtesy of Isabella.
The pleasing sounds of a string quartet played throughout the ballroom, where many couples waltzed.
Eli and Riya looked stunning together as they moved across the marble floor.
I found Isabella, her mask atop her head as she laughed with Ji-Han, their joy making me smile.
At the bottom of the sweeping staircase was Blake. He was watching me, his black-collared shirt clinging tightly to his chest.
When I reached the bottom, he held out his hand. Taking it, he bent down and kissed it, sending a shiver through my body. He smiled at me when he rose, his loose hair gently falling across his forehead.
"May I have this dance?" he asked, his voice but a murmur meant only for me.
I nodded and grinned. He took my waist and I moved with him, no longer in control.
Everyone else seemed to vanish. The melodic notes pulled me into a spell.
I moved more gracefully than I thought possible, following Blake’s lead as he twirled me endlessly across the ballroom before guiding me into a promenade.
I elegantly extended my arm, capturing the dainty mood of the whimsical music.
I let my arm rest there as if I were retrieving an invisible teacup, my finger and thumb touching before Blake pulled me into a spin.
We glided across the marble floor, my dress twirling as we moved.
His body would shift when he lifted me with his palms, communicating to me his every intent.
I was weightless in the swirling candlelight as he returned me to the dance floor.
He spun me gently before guiding me into a dip.
I indulged him, matching his grin as our eyes met, and lifted my leg with my toes pointed into the air so high my dress slid up my leg.
He held me there for several moments before his lips took mine.
The rush made all the sound fade away, and I could taste him—his lips moved against mine with the smoothness and rich taste of fine chocolate.
I’d missed that taste, uniquely Blake, as if his everi was in every look and touch he gave me.
Too soon, he pulled away from me, easing me to my feet. As my senses returned, I was startled by the entire ballroom cheering with applause and whistles around us.
As the melody faded, Blake performed a formal bow. Following his lead, I curtseyed. Applause erupted around us, followed by a loud cheer. I caught Isabella’s gaze and giggled. She was cheering so loudly I that I heard her above all the noise.
“Come on,” he said. “I think we need to get out of here before they start shouting encore.”
I laughed as he gently pulled my hand and led me to the balcony doors.
The evening air was not as biting as it had been for the Winter Ball, but it was still cool.
“There is somewhere I have been wanting to take you,” he said, “but I could not until you were awakened.”
He pulled me along with him down the stairs that led into the gardens. I held the skirts of my dress and tried to keep up with him. He took us into the woods on a part of the grounds I thought was forest, but as we followed an old trail, I saw a faint glow ahead.
“What is that light?” I asked.
“You will see,” he said.
As we neared the eerie light, I noticed the sweet scent in the air, reminiscent of honeysuckle but more fragrant. I held onto his fingertips as my heels dug into the dirt and paused, pulling them off my feet and letting them dangle in my hand.
“There,” I said, laughing, “now I can walk.”
Blake grinned and parted thick vines hanging from a tree. I gasped.
Fireflies twinkled in the air, floating like tiny orbs of light over a small lake surrounded by overhanging branches.
The sweet scent filled my lungs as I took in the flowering trees which bloomed in varying hues of pink, purple, and blue.
I’d never seen such trees before. They were like massive willow trees with flowering branches that stretched far, and from the branches, gorgeous bioluminescent ivy stretched down into the water.
“I had no idea this was here,” I breathed.
Blake smiled, watching me as I took in the breathtaking nature before me.
“Follow me,” he said.
I let him guide me to the shoreline covered in moss that was softer than the finest rugs in Nightfall.
I tiptoed across it, not wanting to disturb such a wondrous ecosystem.
At the edge of the water was a canoe with dark wood and carved trim that arced out at each end.
Blake held the canoe steady and helped me in before stepping in with me.
There were no oars and the boat gently launched into the shimmering teal water on its own.
I gasped in delight as the water parted in gentle trails behind us, the fireflies hovering around us like tiny stars I could reach out and touch.
Moonlight shimmered across the lake’s surface like a corridor we were meant to take to the heavens.
I sat and let my fingers trail in the water, mesmerized by its softness against my skin.
“This is the only place in Nightfall we have let be taken over by the flora of the Realm,” Blake said. “This is not an uncommon sight back home.”
A pang rang through my heart as I looked around me. “And all of it could be lost.”
Blake’s hand squeezed mine. “There will be a way. Something seems to have quickened the Realm’s destruction. If that is true, then there must be something that exists that can repair it. I do not know what has happened, but something has changed.”
I turned to him. “Then you will fight to save it?”
Blake nodded firmly.
“With everything within my power,” he said. “Then the alliance can continue, and I will make you my Queen.”
My heart faltered and for a moment I didn’t know if it was going to beat again. He was serious. Pain set in my jaw as I fought the emotion trying to overtake me. I breathed deep, holding it in, and let my lips twitch into a slight smirk.
“Well, you’d have to ask me first,” I said, my voice breaking.
His everi swirled around me in a bluish-white mist as it collected on my finger. A delicate bioluminescent vine tangled itself around my finger, glowing as he lowered himself on one knee.
“I have read this is a tradition in this world,” he said. “That women here have a choice. Since we are here, I am happy to oblige you and give you the impression that you have one.”
He grinned at me as he took my hand.
“Should the Realm and the Falls ever be a safe place for you to be my Queen, I swear I will make it happen, should that be your wish,” he said.
The world around me faded away. Elation was not a feeling I was used to nor had I ever expected a man to leave me breathless.
“But what about the curse,” I whispered. “I know that was why you were avoiding me.”
Blake’s expression hardened for a moment but vanished as soon as it came.
“If the Realm can be saved, perhaps so can my line,” he said.
For this moment to exist was like believing in heaven. I threw my arms around him, blinking away the tears I could no longer resist.
Blake held me tightly against his chest, whispering in my ear, “No matter what happens, you will always be mine.”
To be his.
That was my true wish.
His lips stifled my words which became forgotten as he devoured me. He laid me back, his kiss never breaking, cradling my head in his hand.
“To have you in my bed every night,” he murmured against my lips. “Is a dream I will make a reality.”
When his lips left mine, the crisp air was a brutal touch as he looked at me.
“Until the time it is safe for you to be my Queen, I will not have you,” he said. “It will be my reminder of what I must do.”
I raised a brow. “That’s a little harsh, isn’t it?”
“The scent of your blood is overtaking even Anienlasator,” he said. “I must conquer my demons if I wish to take something so pure.”
Anienlasator, the ivy that smelled so much of honeysuckle.
“Blake,” I whispered. “I would let you—”
“Anna, no, I cannot,” he said. “I must fight it. It is a vulgar power that should be eliminated from Valyria entirely. Not used by a prince.”
I hated when he was right and I hated that he was suffering.
“But Malakai,” I said. “He was so powerful.”
“I command a legion of the best blood mages in the Realm,” Blake said. “Malakai or any blood mage that walks this world cannot touch us there which is why we must save it. Here, I have no power against him.”
I rested my head against his chest.
“Let us enjoy it while we are still here,” he said. “It will not be long before the Council sees you. It is then that we must face the difficult path that lies before us.”
I smiled and twisted into his arms, pressed tightly to his body. I watched the sky, the stars and the moon shining brightly overhead.
“What is it like being in Raven Falls?” I asked.
Blake’s gentle ministrations against my scalp paused for a moment.
“Raven Falls is a complicated city. Many other regions fall under its domain but the city is diverse and ancient. My line first came to power a few thousand years ago, or at least that’s how you might understand it.
It is said that the Ryth’enirs were a direct descendant of a god still worshipped in Raven Falls—the God of Fire, Daemon.
His likeness has taken on many forms throughout the city's history. In some, he wields fire like a torch to light a path to righteousness; in others, his fire is a destructive force used to destroy. There has long been conflict about which path of fire we were meant to take and it has impacted the lives of the people in the kingdom over the centuries. Right now, and ever since the Fall of the Great City, Raven Falls has been lost in shadow—cursed ever since Aryus chose to fully use his blood affinity and took the life of Queen Adara,” Blake said.
“The Tragedy of Aryus Ryth’enir,” I said.
“Exactly. As you can imagine, since then, Raven Falls has not been a place the rest of the Realm is fond of,” he said.
It was as if we were adrift in space itself as we lay there, floating down a river in the cosmos, lost in each other’s warmth, waiting to see where the river would take us.
“I spoke with Ash,” I said, not sure why this came to my mind.
Blake didn’t say anything, but his body stiffened at his name.
“If you want to save your world, the three of you cannot continue this feud,” I said. “The Realm’s demise is more significant than your broken bonds.”
Blake growled in a low hum before he spoke. “If I knew how to fix it, I would.”
I touched his hand, letting him know I was there. “We’ll figure it out.”
I returned to the sky, realizing somewhere out there was the galaxy the realm was meant to be a part of.
“Where should I look if I wish to gaze upon the original location of the Realm?” I asked.
Blake laughed in amusement. “I have spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to figure that out. Even with our telescopes and magnifying my field of vision, I cannot see the galaxy that I know.”
“This world’s night sky is not quite as impressive as Valyria’s,” I said, “but it is still wondrous to behold.”
“It is real,” Blake said. “The first time I came to this world was the first time I could look upon the heavens and know that what I saw was true.”
“If the Realm’s sky is an illusion, what is beyond? Where is it?” I asked.
“We do not know,” he said. “Wherever it is, though, it does not look like a place we want to be.”
I stared into the night sky, identifying Orion’s Belt as I listened to the gentle hum of the creatures of the night. A slight breeze rustled the trees and petals descended across the lake like snow fluttering down in large, crystallized snowflakes.
“Are there any constellations that are easily recognized in the Realm’s sky?” I asked.
Blake was relaxed beside me, still looking at the stars, deep in thought.
“There are,” he said. “The most often used is the unicorn. Its horn is the brightest star in the sky and can be seen even when the light of the moon dims other stars. It is said to have guided mages to the southern parts of Valyria where Venustas was settled. Travelers called it their light through the darkness as they journeyed long distances to trade in the city.”
“Venustas,” I said. “That’s the city that was lost when the Realm was cursed, right?”
Blake nodded.
“Are there ruins left?” I asked.
Blake’s arm tensed around me and I tore my gaze from the heavens.
“What is it?” I asked, as he sat up, breaking the safe and warm embrace I had been nestled in.
He stretched his hand out, catching one of the petals.
“It is not snow. It is ash.”