Chapter 24
MALAKAI
The silence Aveline leaves in her wake is instantly filled by the fussing of my castle.
Shadow Keep behaves exactly like a broody hen.
The moment the grand dining hall doors click shut behind my fierce witch bride, a wind sweeps across the stone floor, whisking away the mud and crushed pine needles Cern tracked in.
The velvet chair beneath his massive frame vibrates with a threatening hum until he hastily shifts his weight to a more polite posture.
I can’t help but let out a small laugh.
Across the table, a silver rag materializes out of thin air, vigorously scrubbing at the grease Valen leaves on the pristine wood, while a cabinet door in the corner slams shut with a sharp, echoing crack—the castle's version of a scolding.
The house’s tantrums are a good sign.
Shadow Keep has long since accepted Aveline as it’s mistress. I wonder if she knows it.
"Incredible," Valen utters, his jaw frozen entirely in his handsome, mortal illusion for once.
He lets the front two legs of his chair drop to the floor with a heavy thud.
He runs a hand through his dark hair, eyes wide with a look I have never seen on his face—awe.
"An overgrown excuse for venison. Malakai, where did you find her? She didn’t even flinch when my face slips. "
Cern stares fixedly at his bread as if it has personally offended him, his massive antlered head drooping slightly.
"She is... she is correct about the perimeter wards," he grunts. "I have not reinforced the western thicket since we awoke from our slumber. I’ve been too occupied tracking the Seelie.” A long pause, as he scratches under his chin and stands. “And I can manage my own anatomy."
"Not according to the lady of the castle," Hash Beauchamp chimes in.
The Seelie rogue lounges gracefully in a chair at the far end of the table, completely unbothered by the lingering tension.
The massive yellow dog at his side hasn’t taken his eyes off the ham on Hash’s fork. The Fae pats the dog on the head before giving him a piece.
Hash looks up at me, a knowing glint in his eyes. "You look like a man who has finally been given a drop of water in the desert."
“She’s my mate.” It’s that simple and that complicated.
Standing, I pace the length of the hearth, the soft autumn sunshine melting through the windows.
"Her soul is the other half of mine, born of light and day. I loved her before she even possessed a name in this life, and I will love her when this keep is nothing but dust. I can’t remember more than a shade of the other versions of her, of us, but if I felt a shred of what I feel now towards them, I don’t know how I’ve managed to keep living. ”
Valen and Cern share a heavy look. The irreverent demeanor they wear like armor slips away.
All that’s left are the weary entities underneath.
"I can’t decide if I am envious of you or relieved," Valen says softly. "It does not happen for us."
"What do you mean?" I ask, stopping my pacing to look at them.
Cern sighs, and he leans back against the stone wall.
"You are the only one of us who has ever been bonded to a soul before, Malakai. The Elder Gods who came before us, they had soulmates, like you. But Valen and I? We have existed for eons, but we have never been wed. We do not have another half to our coins.” A small, humorless smile flickers across his face.
“When we awake, it is just the forest and the rot of graves.
There is no voice waiting, no soul to love. "
An unexpected tinge of yearning bleed’s through Cern's admission.
It surprises me.
"It is just chaos," Valen adds, his dark eyes turning serious as he stares at his own calloused palms. "Death is a lonely business, brother. I look at the coven, and I only see things that break easily. But your witch... she is different. She is going to make you earn her, Malakai."
"She is worth everything," I mutter. A trace of pride curls through my chest at my Aveline.
"We need her to learn quickly," Hash interrupts, his cheerful demeanor completely vanishing as he sets his silver fork onto the plate.
The air grows heavier, the metallic tang of magic cutting through the scent of breakfast. "The borders worsen. The Unseelie Queen is no longer merely testing the barriers; she’s pushing wild magic through the fissures. The Seelie King is no better, and I fear they’re working together.”
Cern straightens, no longer leaning against the wall. “And the Seelie Queen?”
Hash shakes his head, feeding the dog more ham from his fork. The great yellow tail thumps against the floor. “There’s no sign of her, not since… Wren, the metalsmith enchantress, crafted her a protective piece. I think she must have gone into hiding.”
“What else?” I ask.
“The Fae creature that chased Aveline through the woods was a scout.” Hash doesn’t look up at me, just keeps petting the yellow dog.
“The Unseelie search for the weakest anchor point in the Wild Oak Woods, and right now, that is Shadow Keep, the grove, and the ancient graveyard.
Your three domains. The Fae know if they take out the chance of your bonds, then they will have this realm to themselves. "
“Foul news indeed,” Valen says with a dramatic sigh.
Boner barks, and Hash feeds him another piece.
"The wards are reinforced," I counter sharply. “Aveline and I repaired one such fissure already.”
"Reinforced, yes. Permanent? No," Hash steeples his long fingers.
"A threshold requires balance. Until Aveline fully claims her power and accepts her place as the witch queen by your side, the core of the castle's magic remains split. As does your wild place, Cern, and your graveyard threshold, Valen.”
“If the Unseelie Queen and Seelie King unleash the full weight of their domains, nothing can stop them. You must seal the bonds with your other halves, with the realm-bound witches who will balance your power." Hash’s full attention is on me.
The castle seems to understand the gravity of Hash's words. The chandelier overhead sways slightly, the crystal prisms chime echoing off the vaulted ceilings.
Cern stretches, his huge chest expanding.
His antlers miss the stone door frame by a mere inches.
"Well. This overgrown excuse for venison better hoof it to the village…
Though I suppose I should repair the shattered doorway upstairs before wooing my own bride.
" He looks over at me, a roguish but supportive glint in his emerald eyes.
"Go find your woman, Malakai. We will handle finding ours. "
I offer my brothers a curt nod of gratitude.
The house opens the heavy oak dining doors before I can even reach for the handle, a cool breeze from the courtyard nudging at my back, urging me to follow the trail of warmth that always lingers in my mind wherever Aveline walks.
I’ll find my woman, and I’m grateful it’s her.
I’ll find her in every lifetime.