Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Kane
I stood in the center of my father’s chambers. It was the first time I had been in here since he died in my arms two hundred years ago.
The blood on the floor had been cleaned, and any remnants of that day had been wiped away.
Ella fluttered in the air in front of me. “Are you okay, Your Majesty?”
“I haven’t been here since that night.”
Rubbing the scar on my left arm, I thought of Tallis and his last words to me.
“Be a righteous king and don't believe the lies that you're about to hear. Everything your mother has done has been to protect you.”
Tallis had been my mother’s head guard and a friend. He’d always protected her and us.
Decades had passed, and I was no closer to the truth of what happened to my father and why my mother killed him. No matter what any of my pixies said in her defense, none of it made sense.
The only truth any of us knew was that my mother had removed the Lich King’s exile in exchange for something. It had to tie into my father, but I had never figured out why.
“Seal the room,” I said. “Once this passageway is closed, we can go back to my mother’s chambers and seal her entrance from inside the room. We should have finished this last night…”
“You’re the one who wanted to take a snack break. Do you really think one of the twisted will sneak in?”
“I don’t know, but these corridors all have an exit to the outside. I don’t want to enact the defense system yet, but I may have no choice.”
“Have you told the queen about what the vampyre said?”
“No, and I’m not going to.”
“Do you think that’s wise?”
I moved back into the passageway and pressed the button to close the door. “She needs to trust me first.”
“How is that going?”
Unlike her very passionate sisters, Ella was the levelheaded pixie. “I’m not sure.”
“You two have more in common than she knows. If she understood more of your past, she would find that you two are alike.”
“I’m trying.”
Ella held up a wand, lighting the dark hallway. “I know, and you’re doing great.”
“I wouldn’t say great, but… I think we had a moment.”
My mind went back to yesterday, Deirdre and me in the rain, drenched.
How her touch seemed to warm me. Even now I could smell her vanilla rose scent.
Then later in the kitchens when she hugged me.
I didn’t think it was possible after everything we had been through, but there was something between us.
“I’m taking her to the royal courtyard today.”
“That’s a big step.” Ella landed on my shoulder, wings humming with excitement. “When?”
“Liora will bring her to the main drawing room after breakfast. I should probably head there now.”
Ella smiled. “I knew you two would eventually work it out.”
“I didn’t think so. I’m still not sure how I feel. How can I trust her? Not just because of what I’ve done, but because of what she is. We’ve thrived these years with no humans in the palace… to bring one in now.”
I didn’t want to voice my true fears. That my father had let down his guard and not just his world, but mine too, had shattered.
“What happened to your father will not happen to you. Those witches poisoned his mind. You know that.”
“Human witches.”
I didn’t want to think about the human triplets that had infiltrated our home, earned my father’s love and trust, only to twist his mind into further madness.
We walked in silence the rest of the way until we reached the servants’ quarters.
“Try to enjoy yourself today.” Ella reached into her pocket and pulled out a fistful of green dust.
“I’ll be fine.” Holding up my hands, I tried to block the incoming pixie attack.
With a big puff, she blew the dust at my face. I sneezed, then sneezed again. “Ella!”
“Luck dust.” She giggled and flew off before I could yell at her more.
“Pixies,” I groaned, wiping the dust off my face and hurrying out of the passageway.
By the time I reached the drawing room, all the pixie dust was gone.
The queen's blade dancers stood outside the drawing room. Seeing me, they stepped aside, and one opened the door.
Deirdre sat on one of the high-back chairs, sipping tea with a poised grace.
Her hair was curlier than normal, with ringlets framing her delicate face, half of it twisted up in a braided bun, her emerald crown resting on her head.
Seeing me, she stood, handing Liora the teacup.
“Good morning,” I said, suddenly feeling strangely feverish.
“Good morning.” She stepped around the chair, and I inhaled at her choice of dress.
Instead of her usual loose, flowing gown, she wore a tight-fitted dress that hugged her chest and middle, accentuating her hips and womanly frame. The amber fabric matched my eyes, and I wondered whose idea it was for her to wear it.
“Is something wrong?” She crossed her arms, playing with a tendril of her hair.
“Nothing, you look… well.”
I could almost hear my pixies’ laughter from here.
This is ridiculous.
“Thanks,” she replied and followed me out. “Where are we going?”
“As queen, you have access to certain areas and one of my favorite places in the palace.”
Leaving the drawing room and her guards, I led Deirdre to the royal courtyard. There were only two entrances on the second floor, and rune locks sealed both of them. At the south entry, I took her hand and placed it on the panel beside the door, a spark gently igniting through our touch.
The runes along the arch glowed purple, and the door opened.
Her mouth hung open, her eyes wide with wonder as she stepped in. “This has been here the whole time?”
“Yes, not even the pixies are allowed in.”
“Who tends to the gardens?”
“The dryads.”
She gasped and stopped on the stairs that twisted down to the main floor. “Can I meet one?”
She’s queen… but…
“I’ve never even seen one. Could one be here right now?” Without waiting for me to answer, she ran down the steps, running across the soft grass. “It smells wonderful in here.”
The courtyard within bloomed with life. Pink roses arched over the main stone path. Ivy curled down the pillars and along the stone benches. One lone fountain sprouted water from a blooming stone rose.
Watching Deirdre spin and smile reminded me of better days, back when my family was alive and well. Laoise used to spin like that. She had that same carefree beauty when she visited here.
Losing everyone at once had plagued me for a hundred years, and never once did I yearn for happiness, yet watching Deirdre, seeing the simple joy in her vibrant smile, I knew I wanted to grasp a future I didn’t deserve.
Before I could question my decision, I moved to her and grabbed her hand.
She stilled.
“There’s more,” I said, pulling her deeper into the gardens, past the hanging wisteria, its blossoms brushing our shoulders, and toward the ancient lilac tree that marked the place where everything had changed.
A soft breeze blew around us, the air thick with the heady, sweet scent of lilac.
“It’s so beautiful…” She turned around, soaking it all in.
Placing my free hand on the bark, I spoke the ancient fae phrase, and the tattoo on my back glowed. The bark warmed under my touch, becoming malleable. The breeze picked up as the lilac tree creaked with magic, peeling open to reveal the gateway into the Dryad Realm.
“Is this really happening?” She squeezed my hand, her face lit in ecstasy.
“Welcome to the realm of the dryads.” I pulled her through, magic tingling every muscle.
Once we breached the gate, I released my hold and let her enjoy the view.
“Oh my.” She held a hand to her mouth, her eyes twinkling with awe.
Tall grass surrounded us, and the nearby trees rustled their leaves in greeting.
Massive sunset-colored sunflowers created a path up the hill. They turned to regard her, bowing forward as she gently grazed their petals with her fingers.
Each flower she passed, she touched.
The smile on her face widened.
She’s breathtaking.
I shook the thought from my head. Though I wasn’t sure why, I continued to fight this desire for her. She was my wife and my queen. Shouldn’t I at least try?
There is danger here.
Axelia’s voice entered my thoughts.
Did something happen? Searching through the thick foliage, I tried to sense the dryad’s location.
Come to the south, past the grove of evermoors. There is something you must see.
Without trying to raise suspicion, I moved to Deirdre as she squatted by a patch of thistle berries. The large round berries were a ripe shade of red.
“Are they edible?” she asked.
I nodded. “Try one.”
She plucked a berry and popped it into her mouth. Her eyes widened, and she scrunched her nose.
“Tart,” she said with a puckered expression. “But really good!”
A crimson streak of berry juice stained her bottom lip, and she licked it away.
“Let’s head this way,” I said, pulling her from the bushes. “I’d like to show you more.”
You wed the human, Axelia said.
I did.
When last I had left, I’d ranted about finding a reason not to go through with it. Yet, as soon as I walked into the palace… each reason sounded less believable.
Deirdre paused, berry in hand as she gazed at my old home. “What is that?”
In the distance sat the home I’d grown up in. A safe place created by the dryads in order to soothe my fears. For decades, it had felt more like a trap than a home, until I had reconciled the idea that my mother was never coming for me.
Seeing the cozy wooden structure stirred too many mixed emotions.
Could I share this with her?
No, not yet.
Though things had been cordial between us, it would be a while before I shared my secrets. “Just an old home.”
She didn’t push the subject and we moved on, following the lazy river through the wildflower field where the view of the purple and pink sky was exceptional. A flock of red starlings chirped as they flew in the sky, creating swirls of red that melted against the painted landscape.
“To think this has been here among us the whole time…” Deirdre’s voice was soft as she took in the surrounding sight.