CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“We have a story of a woman cursed to sleep a hundred years.” The teasing feminine voice drew me out of sleep, blinking blearily against the sunlight pouring through the nearby window. “Ah. It’s good to see you suffer from no such affliction.”
I jolted upright, finding myself in my bed in my own chambers within the Silverfrost castle, with Aspen perched nearby in her pixie form. She offered me a fierce grin as I met her gaze, her rich brown eyes alight with happiness. “How do you feel?” she asked.
“What happened?” My voice came out like a croak, throat aching. Snatches of the fight returned to me. A one-eyed Preston staggering after me. He and Nerissa breaking my bones. Demons consuming fae. A wolf pierced by my own ice daggers...
Garrick.
My heart twinged, and I bit my lip, trying and failing to stifle my sob.
Aspen leapt up instantly, compassion painted across her face. “Ren...” She set her tiny hand on mine. “Does anything hurt? Kinsey healed you, but with that many broken bones, and the amount of winter magic you wielded, you slept a full day afterward. He was a little worried that your body would be too exhausted to interact properly with his power, and the bones might not set correctly, or...”
“No,” I choked out, tears burning my eyes. And it was true. I felt none of the agony that had consumed me before I’d lost consciousness. “I am unhurt. But Garrick...?”
Aspen squeezed my hand. “He’s alive.”
“What?” I breathed, relief spilling through me.
“He hasn’t woken yet, last I heard,” the pixie continued, her words cautious as she studied my hopeful expression, “but shifter magic protects him. And Kinsey was able to tend to him right after you banished the demons and sealed the underworld.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, soaking in the news. “Will he make a full recovery?”
“We expect so.”
Already, I was swinging my legs over the side of the bed, striding across the cold wood floor toward the door, heedless of the fact I only wore a nightgown. But I’d moved too quickly. My body was weak and my head spun, making me lurch awkwardly. I caught myself on the chair before my vanity as I crumpled.
“You make a terrible invalid,” Aspen scolded, suddenly standing beside me in her high fae form. She seized my arm, gentle yet firm, and guided me back to the bed. “You can see Garrick soon, but first you need to eat and drink. I’ll fill you in on what’s happened since while you do. As our queen, you need to be aware of the state of your kingdom.”
Queen. The sound echoed in my ears, filling me with equal measures of hope and worry.
“My kingdom,” I managed as I sank back against the pillows, letting Aspen tuck me in. My head was spinning, but even more than the monumental news of my impending rule was what she’d shared about Garrick.
Garrick is alive. The knowledge eased my fears and filled me with unending warmth, like an expanding glow in my chest. Nothing could be wrong as long as he was all right. If he was alive, I could learn how to rule. I could do anything. Anything seemed possible as long as he existed in this world.
I needed to see him. Needed to be there when he awoke, ensure he was healed and well. Needed to tell him how I felt. Needed to be by his side, soaking in our newfound freedom and the future we could now embrace together. After the days we’d been robbed of being able to share our own feelings, I didn’t want to lose a single moment, a single touch.
Aspen rang for a servant, and a fae woman slipped in a few minutes later bearing a tray of steaming stew and a pitcher of water. “Your Majesty,” she said as soon as she saw me, her blue eyes widening. She dipped into a curtsey, carefully keeping the tray poised in her grasp. “It’s good to see you well. Thank you for what you’ve done for Silverfrost.”
Your Majesty.I was too overwhelmed to process it. “I...you’re welcome.” I blinked at her. Were the human servants gone? Had their glamour broken when Preston and Nerissa were banished?
As the servant left and Aspen poured me a glass of water—which I hastily drank down—and then handed me the bowl of stew, urging me to eat, she began talking. “We have fae, many of whom were former rebels, helping staff the palace. Others have been tasked with returning the humans to their homes. They’re confused and afraid. Some served for years under Nerissa and Preston, and were quite disoriented the moment their glamour shattered and they found themselves here.”
I shuddered, imagining what it must have been like for them. Had they been lost in other daydreams, believing themselves to still be in the human world? I couldn’t fathom waking from such an illusion to find I’d been a slave to fae all that time, far from home and with years of my life effectively stolen.
“Charles?” I asked.
Aspen smiled. “Not a very good patient either, to tell you the truth. He’s healed well, already gaining some color in those gaunt cheeks of his from a steady diet and rest. I could hardly get him to leave your rooms to rest though.” She rolled her eyes, but her grin didn’t lessen. “I think he truly is remorseful and wants to right the wrongs between you.”
Grateful tears glistened in my eyes, and I nodded.
“The fighting has ceased. The Ashwoods have ordered their troops to stand down, and now they remain as guests in the castle. The crown prince and princess are committed to witnessing your coronation to display their support of your rule, and then remaining until the three of you can sign an official treaty between kingdoms.”
She sighed. “For now, Silverfrost celebrates. We opened the fortress to the public, allowing all to flood the dungeons and see that the demons are, in fact, banished, and you have saved us all. But I know that in turn, dissenters will make their will known. Either out of loyalty to Preston and Nerissa or hatred of your human side, they will oppose you.” Her expression hardened. “However, you have my surviving rebels at your disposal. They serve already as guards and servants in the castle, and they are prepared to take up places in your court as needed. They will defend you to their dying breaths—I’m sure of it.” Standing suddenly, she knelt at my bedside, studying me earnestly. “And I will serve you, in whatever capacity you desire, Your Majesty.”
Startled at her display of deference, I straightened, setting down my spoon. “Aspen, you’re a friend. There’s no need for formality. I...I don’t even know how to be a queen.”
She dipped her head. “But you deserve respect, and any who oppose you will need to see it. They need to view you as their queen.” Glancing up, Aspen smiled proudly. “And you need to own it.”
“I haven’t the faintest idea how to lead a kingdom,” I murmured. And even though Aspen and I had discussed this before, even though she’d assured me many times I wouldn’t be alone and that I was the most fit person to rule, the full impact of what was about to happen settled on me. Queen. Surely it was madness. Surely another fae could take the throne instead.
But Aspen rose and shook her head, taking my hand and squeezing it reassuringly. “The power in your blood is proof that you’re meant to rule. It’s fate, Ren. If one can dare to believe the gods ever condescend to influence our lives anymore, then I’d even venture to say they chose you. Silverfrost tradition claims that the light in your blood not only commands the door to the underworld, but also that it brings light and strength and prosperity to our kingdom. There is power in who you are. And your connection to the land through your ancestry—it’s greater than anything the rest of us possess. You are our best choice.”
I clung to her words, trying to let her confidence seep into me, hoping she was right.
Before either of us could say more, a knock sounded at the door. Aspen bid the visitor to enter, and Charles rushed into my rooms, his face lighting up when he saw me awake. “Ren!” he cried, darting forward and seizing the nearest chair to perch at my bedside. “You look well. Do you feel well?”
Mouth full of my latest bite of stew and throat still aching, I nodded, warmed by the way he was fretting, by the reassurance that he truly did care.
Aspen’s gaze flitted between us. “I know you’re eager to see Garrick, Ren, but let me check with Kinsey and ensure he approves of visitors. For now, I’ll leave the two of you to catch up.”
While Aspen sauntered from the room, I patted the bedside next to me. Charles hesitated before settling in, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. His dark eyes glistened when I turned to him. “You really are all right?” he whispered.
“Yes, Charlie. And you?”
He shook his head. “Perfect. Fae magic is...” His voice drifted off. “Your magic is...”
“Terrifying?” I supplied, thinking of the night he’d cast me out in fear and disgust.
Charles hung his head in shame. “No, it’s beautiful and awe-inspiring. I was a fool, Ren. I don’t know how I could ever possibly atone for what I did. It’s unforgivable.”
“You’re my family, Charlie. Of course I forgive you.”
“I broke my promise to Father to provide for you and shelter you after he died,” he choked out, a tear slipping down his cheek. “I let resentment grow in my heart. You’d always cared for me so well, were always the perfect elder sister. But as I started to get older, and my friends began to gossip about your hair and their ideas about what you could truly be... I let fear grow. I started to think I could become ostracized too. That I’d never have a happy future as long as I was associated with you, or at least as long as I was friendly and kind to you. So I tried to distance myself the only way I knew how.” He clenched his hands in his lap, staring down at them. “I was so wrong. So selfish.”
“And yet I still forgive you,” I murmured, setting my tray on the bedside table and leaning my head on his shoulder.
“Still more proof that you are better than me. You’ve always been better than any of us. No wonder you carry such power. The goodness in your heart alone must be enough to repel a horde of those horrendous monsters.” He chuckled softly.
“It’s my fae blood, not any virtue on my part.” I nudged him playfully. “If it was my goodness alone, they would have fled the kingdom as soon as I stepped foot here.”
He laughed with me, and it felt good, like our sibling relationship had once been, in those years before Charles had started to distance himself from me.
As we quieted, my half-brother’s voice turned sober again. “I’ve heard the talk. You’re heir to the throne, the rightful queen of this land. I know you’re half-fae, and you’ve found friends here, but is that what you want? To stay here? Because if not, say the word and we’ll leave now. You’ll always have a home with me, Ren. I promise.”
Tears stung my eyes. I lifted my head to study Charles’s expression, seeing the sincerity burning in his gaze.
“I want to stay. I haven’t a clue how to rule” –I laughed mirthlessly– “but Aspen and Garrick will help. This is where I belong. And being here, where I can keep the door to the underworld sealed off, will protect our world as well as the fae one. This is where I’m needed.”
Charles appeared thoughtful. “Garrick is the fae that can transform into a white wolf? The one who was wounded?” At my nod of assent, he continued. “Does he...treat you well? I can tell you care for him. And I by no means am in any position to give or rescind a blessing on your relationship—I’m well aware of this. But I only want to know, as your brother who wants to see you happy and secure, if you’re happy?”
My smile felt radiant. “Charles, I’m the happiest with him that I have ever been.”
Daylight streamed through the open curtains, illuminating the bed Garrick was asleep within. Despite the rich fur rugs on the floor before the hearth and beside the bed, the covers on the bed itself were scarce—likely because Garrick didn’t need the layers to stay warm.
I stepped inside slowly, barely noting my surroundings even if I’d never been within Garrick’s quarters. They were fairly sparse, with little to mark them as his but for his hunting knives laid out on the dresser and the swords, bows, and quivers hanging on the walls.
Heart in my throat, I settled on the edge of his bed, focusing on the steady rise and fall of his chest. Soaking in the sight when I’d been so sure I’d lost him. I found where his hand rested on the coverlet and set mine overtop of it, squeezing his fingers.
His eyelids flickered and he shifted his head. “Starlight?” His tone was gruff but soft as his gold eyes settled on me.
The sob of relief I’d been holding back burst out. “I thought you were gone. I thought I’d lost you.” Tears streamed down my cheeks, and Garrick sat up abruptly, his movements smooth and assured as he wrapped his arms around me and drew me onto the bed, his embrace warm and comforting.
“You won’t lose me so easily,” he murmured into my hair, cradling my head against his chest. The beat of his heart was another reminder that he was alive. Whole. Mine.
I drew back, wiping my tears and studying him worriedly. “You’re supposed to be healing. You were pierced by so many—”
Garrick shook his head. “Kinsey explained everything when I woke earlier, before he allowed you to come see me.” His eyes swept over me. “I’m fine. Do you remember what I told you before? Shifters heal more readily when they sustain injuries in their other forms. I’m more resilient if I’m wounded in my wolf form and then transform back—that let me hold on long enough for Kinsey to work his magic. But you—they were torturing you.”
“And now I’m whole. And they’re gone.”
“And we’re free,” Garrick whispered, lifting a hand to cradle my face. “Thanks to you.”
“I don’t want to run a kingdom alone,” I blurted.
Garrick’s lips twitched in a smile. “You won’t. Aspen and I will be here.”
I swallowed. “I mean...” My cheeks heated, a blush creeping from my neck all the way to my scalp. “Garrick, I don’t know how the Silverfrosts do this. In my town, a gentleman would court a lady...he would be the one to ask to do so...and he would also be the one to propose. But I suppose now I’m the one asking you if...you would consider that with me? And ruling with me—as my husband?” I cringed at my own awkwardness. I was going about this all wrong, hadn’t even said I loved him yet.
But Garrick smirked. “Starlight, after that kiss we shared, whatever made you think I’d not want to...” He raised his eyebrows. “Court you, or ask for your hand, or any other of your human traditions that would bind us?” Moving his palm from my cheek, he lifted one of my hands in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “I want it all with you.”
I sobered. “But are you sure? You would be binding yourself to the crown again. You couldn’t live freely in the mountains, hunting and adventuring. Your life will be consumed with politics and diplomacy and formalities and—”
Garrick’s grasp tightened on my hand, his expression earnest. “None of that matters. Those dreams are hollow and lonely without you. Besides, I should be the one asking if you, a queen with far more magic and power than I will ever possess, could ever condescend to want me, a lowly wolf shifter. And when we marry” –his smirk widened– “for of course I will have you, I will gladly give up my life as a hunter. I will happily bind myself to the crown again, because it will mean binding myself to you. What matters to me is you, Starlight, and living out the rest of our days together.”
Blinking back overwhelmed tears of joy, I threw my arms around him, leaning in close and basking in the light of his smile, of his brilliant eyes. “I love you,” I confessed. At last. The words felt so good to say aloud. “I should have said it before, when you told me how you felt. You were worried I wouldn’t feel the same, and I suppose I was shy trying to find the words. You’re right—love doesn’t seem like enough to describe it. But still, I should have—”
But Garrick cut me off once again, this time with a kiss, sweet and languid, a delicious reminder that we had an entire future ahead of us.