Chapter 34
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Even though Kole had been cured, which the healers at the Imperial Council confirmed, he wasn’t required to return to work. As a newly mated male, he was given the usual two months’ holiday that all males and females were given once they’d completed the bond with their fated mate.
Consequently, Kole and I spent the next two months either in my bedroom chambers, enjoying our newly formed mating bond as most newly mated couples did, or visiting with family and friends.
We saw Gwenery, Timith, Ree, Bennif, and Siam often. I also got to know Xaven and Callahan more, the two warriors Kole considered his closest Silten friends.
And we also went on frequent domal rides with my parents, sisters, and their friends, whom I was quickly getting to know.
Nathaniel joined us on occasion too, and even though Kole still wasn’t a fan of the lordling, and likely never would be, at least I no longer felt any attraction to him.
That, at least, helped my possessive mate not feel the urge to kill him. At least, not on a daily basis.
And even though Lady Ryderdim had begrudgingly allowed her grandson to be in my presence, she still hated me, but she’d at least stopped her tirade against me. And as the months slowly passed, as far as she and everyone else in the realm knew, I’d never used my forbidden magic on anyone.
And thankfully, after returning to fae, that was entirely true.
A few days after my encounter with Nuleef and Diredan, in which I’d been rid of my horrific vampire nature and Kole had been cured, I’d explained everything that had happened to my parents. No longer a vampire, Arnel’s previous commands had been obliterated, so I told them everything.
They knew that I’d become a vampire and what I’d done under Arnel’s control, and I’d explained how I sought out the gods in hopes of finding a way to stop Kole from turning into a monster, and in the process, had inexplicably saved myself as well.
Amazingly, most of it wasn’t new information to them.
I’d come to learn that Kole had indeed told them that I’d been changed into a vampire, and he’d also revealed the extent of what Arnel had used me for.
Knowing that had allowed my father to shrug off his desire to build mining tunnels between his region and Stonewild, and since I was fae by the time King Riverling visited, I never felt the command to manipulate him.
The kingsfae and Imperial Council had also unraveled who all of the God of Night followers were, thanks to Arnel’s thorough documentation, and they identified who’d been changed into vamfeers and who had been willing to be changed if called forth by Arnel.
And while the surviving God of Night followers technically hadn’t broken any laws by following an ancient god, they had all landed themselves on the kingsfae’s watchlist. If any of them decided to try building a temple again, since Arnel’s had been destroyed, I had hope that their plans would be thwarted before they’d truly begun.
Luckily, the damage I’d done as a vampire had resulted in no long-term harm to the realm.
But I still shuddered, thinking of what would have happened if Kole hadn’t gone to such lengths to find a way to understand what happened to me.
Or if the gods hadn’t interfered, and Kole had been changed into a hideous vamfeer in the end.
I still would have stayed with him. I’d meant it when I said I would never leave him, but I had a feeling it would have been a torturous existence for both of us.
After that ugliness faded behind us, Kole and I ventured back to the other realm once, just to tell Nicholas what’d happened.
He’d been in the process of couriering us what his gargoyles had discovered in the Bulgarian Libraries, but we’d told him the information was no longer needed.
And when we’d explained what’d happened, Nicholas had been shocked, amazed, and thrilled beyond belief to learn that it was possible to rid oneself of the vampire curse, if one was lucky enough to be kissed by the gods.
And since Nicholas confirmed that no documentation could be found in their realm that would rid one of a vampire’s curse, which meant that I was truly unique and the only creature in any realm to have ever been returned to my natural form, I breathed a sigh of relief that Goddess Nuleef had helped me in the end.
With all of that concluded, Kole and I enjoyed the rest of his time off with no further mention of Arnel, vampires, or vamfeers.
When not in Whiteolf, we traveled the realm, the vast distance meaning nothing since we both could mistphase. And since I was a fairy once more and didn’t need to worry about exacting my magic on anyone, our time spent with others was entirely carefree.
I finally met Kole’s family, and we spent a solid two weeks in Kole’s residence in Prinavee.
It was exactly as I’d imagined it would be.
Modest, very masculine, and well away from the busy capital.
He’d told me I could decorate it as I saw fit, and we both knew we would never sell his humble abode.
It was an escape from Whiteolf, royalty, and all of the duties that came with my new life.
And on the Solis continent, it was just him and me. No demands. No duty. Just us.
I met his family as well when we ventured to Solisarium.
It tickled me completely that his parents and brother welcomed me with open arms. Even better, they didn’t think twice about my royal status.
To them, I was the female their son or brother had fallen in love with.
His mate. His eternal partner. His forever love.
And on the Solis continent, amidst the ice and snow in his family’s home, we enjoyed home-cooked hearty suppers, took long walks along the frozen river near their abode, played endless games of cards, and spent hours chatting, shopping, and enjoying their local entertainment venues.
We caught up with Nuwin too and enjoyed several nights out at their local salopas. The royal prince was just as cheeky and coquettish as he’d been the first time, and it only took half a dozen threats from Kole before he finally stopped flirting with me.
But finally, everything felt calm. Peaceful. Right.
And as Kole’s break from the Imperial Council drew to an end, and Kole planned to return to his work, I knew that Kole’s ability to mistphase meant he could return to me every night for the foreseeable future, if he wasn’t in an area where they needed him at all hours.
So while I didn’t relish the thought of being parted from him for days, or even weeks on occasion, I knew that we would make it work.
But there was still one large problem that we hadn’t addressed yet.
The reality of my future, as a princess of Mistvale Kingdom, hadn’t disappeared.
Just because we were mated didn’t stop the fact that I was a royal, and that during my hundredth summer, I needed to marry a suitable male of royal or noble standing.
And no matter how much I loved Kole and felt devoted to him, he would never be of a bloodline that my parents insisted on.
On the last night Kole and I had together, we ventured hand in hand to my parents’ private sitting area.
Kole had to report to duty the next day, and while I knew that we had many, many summers until the vile need to marry another was bestowed upon me, I didn’t want him leaving with this still hanging over our heads.
I wanted to marry Kole.
I wanted to marry my mate.
Now. Tomorrow. The day after that. I didn’t care when, but the only one I wanted to be joined with was the male at my side.
My parents were sitting in front of their fireplace when we entered, and my mother smiled broadly and jumped up to greet us. However, once she saw that my usual laugh and teasing grin were absent, her lips downturned.
“Stars, has something happened?” She cast an anxious glance at my father.
“No, nothing like that,” I said in a rush, “but Kole and I want to discuss something with you.”
We both sat on the couch. For once, Kole had taken his sword off and left it in my bedroom chambers.
I’d teased him about always wearing his sword mercilessly the first few days of our mating holiday, and his response had been to show me an additional dagger he also kept hidden underneath his tunic.
Of course, his face had been entirely devoid of emotion, but his eyes had sparkled with amusement when I burst into a fit of giggles.
“You’re both looking quite serious,” my father commented. “And while I’ve come to know that’s your usual expression, Kole. For you, Primelle, that has me exceedingly worried.”
I forced a fake smile and hoped that if I infused myself with enough positive energy, they would heed my plea.
I licked my lips and replied, “It’s about my future. About what you expect of me at a hundred summers.” I grasped Kole’s hand tightly, and his palm warmed against mine.
“Primelle and I wish to marry,” he added. “It doesn’t need to be soon, but that is our wish. However, we need your permission.”
He didn’t say more. He didn’t need to. That simple statement made our desires clear, and my parents would have to choose—force both of us to be miserable if requiring me to marry another or grant me a pardon from my royal duty.
My mother’s mouth pinched together, and her brow furrowed.
In a gentle voice, she replied, “We’ve talked about this, Primelle.
You know what’s expected of you, but we would never take Kole away from you.
All we ask is that you remain discreet when that time comes for you to marry one of a royal or noble background. ”
The backs of my eyes began to burn with hot tears, and along our mating bond, Kole’s quiet, possessive fury began to strum toward me.
“I won’t share her,” he said, his tone firm and unyielding. “Surely, you can understand that.”
My father and mother shared another look, and my father opened his mouth to speak, but I cut in.