Chapter Thirty-Eight
We rode into the early morning to Caelum, the onyx walls that had once powered the Seelie queen were nothing but stone. Though they still absorbed a fraction of our energy, they caused no harm and did not lessen our power.
Selene met us at the courtyard near the throne. She had Calroy’s mother with her.
I recognized her dark hair, threaded through with silver, pinned up in a bun, an amethyst gemstone woven through the strands.
She looked exactly as she had in that infirmary, except this time she wore a gown the same deep blue as her eyes, the color pooling like water at her feet, and she stood in the open air of a courtyard she had once served in, and nobody was going to tell the true queen what to do.
Calroy crossed to her and pulled her against him. She pressed her face into his chest, her hands fisted in his shirt, her body trembling as she sobbed.
I felt my own tears fall, beside me Jina, Minha, and Fraya the same.
When Calroy finally stepped back, his mother’s eyes found mine over his shoulder and smiled.
“Yeri,” she said, approaching me.
“Yes, My Queen.” I curtsied.
Her voice was gentle but firm. “You don’t call me that.” She took my hand in hers, her palms warm and calloused. “You call me Nira.”
My throat tightened. “Nira.”
She squeezed once and let go, then greeted Minha, Jina, and Fraya, thanking them for their bravery. Fraya and Minha had come first with Oscan’s help. He flew them here to capture Lucian and Pierre and tossed them in the dungeon.
Calroy walked through the castle with his mother on one side and me on the other, Selene and my friends following behind. The servants who remained after the war, those who had once served Nira the queen, lined the corridors as we passed, heads bowed, some of them weeping.
Nira carried herself with quiet dignity, despite being forced into smallness for years. She had refused to let it touch the part of herself that mattered. No pointed ears. No crown. Just a woman who had survived everything the queen had put her through and come out the other side still standing.
I admired that woman.
Nira touched each of their shoulders as she walked by. Not as a queen. As someone who had lived among them and knew every face. Then she greeted the soldiers, who did not fight for the Seelie queen. Some who had been prisoners. They lined the path to the throne room.
Calroy paused to order soldiers to bring Lucian and Pierre from the dungeon, then proceeded.
Before we’d arrived, Selene and her team had already rallied the queen’s sons.
When Selene announced that the Seelie queen was dead, Lucian and Pierre had no choice but to surrender.
They would have been fools to fight against everyone who opposed them, including the winged soldiers.
The throne room was empty when we entered, as it should be.
Three thrones on the raised dais, the queen’s seat still centered and higher than the others. The gemstones at its arms caught the light from the high windows—sapphire, emerald, ruby, and pearl.
Calroy stopped at the base of the steps and looked up at it for a long moment. Then he turned to his mother.
“Caelum needs its queen.”
Nira blinked. “Calroy—”
“It was always meant to be yours.” His voice cracked. “Father’s throne. Yours by right. I’m not a king. Not yet.” He glanced at me briefly. “A crown never made a man. The sea decides who’s worth following.”
Nira smiled at her son, a hand on his face, then looked at the dais for a long time, wiping the tears streaming down her face.
She’d buried a husband, lost a daughter, and spent years bowing in a castle that had once been hers to rule.
I understood her pain. She would’ve wanted her husband and daughter back instead of the throne.
With her head held high, she climbed the steps, and when she faced the audience again, black wings poked out from the back of her dress, slowly unfurling. Glorious. Magnificent. Grand, but not as big as Calroy’s. A symbol of Caelum finally belonging back to its people.
We all dropped to our knees on the front line, without being told, and bowed to the woman who had spent years suffering under the Seelie queen while having to humble herself.
The queen settled into her seat, straightened her spine, wings tucked, and folded her hands in her lap.
“Rise,” the queen said. “We shall celebrate Yeri’s and Calroy’s return, and the reclaiming of our kingdom.”
Everyone cheered and stopped when the queen raised a hand.
“But first, let us take a moment of silence to honor those who did not live to see this day, and those who bled for it. Their names will not be forgotten.”
The room went silent until the soldiers brought in the two princes bound in chains, arms behind their backs, before the throne. Lucian clenched his jaw, but Pierre’s expression gave nothing away.
Calroy, standing beside me with arms crossed, snarled as his eyes darkened, muscles tight.
“You have a choice,” Nira said, her queen voice carrying across the throne room. “You may live here, but you will be put on trial. Or return to your own people.”
“Our people?” Lucian’s eyes sharpened.
“They are your mother’s bloodline.” Nira tightened her hold on the throne’s arms, knuckles turning white.
“What about our father’s bloodline?” Lucian’s eyes narrowed, looking murderous.
It took seconds for Calroy to reach Lucian and grab his throat. “Your mother forced herself upon my father, the reason both of you are here. So you don’t have the right to my bloodline.”
Pierre flinched and took a step away from Calroy. “And if we refuse?”
“As she had stated, you face charges.” Calroy let go of Lucian and focused on Pierre. “For what was done to the Seaborn. To the winged people. To every kingdom your mother had wronged. Be grateful your queen is merciful. For if it was me, I would have slaughtered you both.”
“But we didn’t do those crimes,” Pierre said.
Calroy closed the distance to Pierre, his face inches from his brother’s. “You stood there and watched. That’s the same.”
“But we didn’t—”
Calroy’s grip found Pierre’s collar, tightening. “Where is my sister? Tell me the truth, now. You have one last chance.”
“I told you already.” Pierre’s throat worked. “She ran off with one of the soldiers. I didn’t chase her down. Why would I? One less mouth to feed, one less servant to manage.”
“And you expect me to believe that my sister would leave her family without a word?” His voice boomed.
“Yes. Your sister is not like you. Believe whatever you like.” Pierre’s eyes didn’t waver. “I have no reason to lie about a girl I never cared about.”
That was almost worse than a lie. Calroy’s jaw tightened, but he let go when I held his hand. “I’m going to find my sister, and when I do, and I find out you’ve lied through your teeth, I’m coming after you.”
“Make your choice,” the queen barked.
Lucian looked at his brother, as if answers were written on his face.
Pierre shrugged, as if the whole matter was mildly inconvenient. “The Seelie it is.”
“We’ll find your sister.” I squeezed her hand. “One way or another.”
Calroy didn’t answer, his daggered gaze pinned on the brothers. If looks could cause fire, he would have set them ablaze.
The queen waved a hand, and the brothers were escorted out. I’d thought she would punish Pierre for what he’d done to her daughter, but she had no proof of what actually happened. Perhaps sending them away was easier than keeping a constant reminder of what she’d lost so close to her.
“That’s it?” I frowned. “They get to walk free?”
“After the soldiers have time to rest, my mother will be heading toward Eldenmoor,” Calroy said.
“To capture the king who aided the Seelie queen. Afterward, she’ll have to deal with two territories, which soon enough, I’ll have to help her rule.
Or appoint another. Perhaps then I could put them on trial. ”
Whatever he decided, I would stand beside him.
That evening, Calroy and I stood on the highest balcony of the castle, the wind coming off the sea below, Caelum villages spreading out beneath us in the last of the gold light. Winged people soared freely across the sky.
“I never thought this day would come.” Calroy stared out at the city, his beautiful blue eyes gleaming against the moonlight.
“You never stopped fighting, even when you were pretending to be a pirate.”
“Hmmm.” He glanced at me sideways. “The sea kept me sane when nothing else did. Besides, the pirate found you. I’ll give him that much credit.”
We shared a laugh.
“What’s the next step?” I breathed in the cool air and leaned forward against the rail, reminding me of being on a ship.
The corner of his mouth lifted. “We live wild and free.”
I laughed. “Where?”
“Anywhere.” He spread his hands toward the horizon. “It’s a very large world.” He stepped closer and kissed me. “We can live in any of the seven kingdoms if we like.”
I wrapped my arms around him. His hands slid lower, settling at my waist, then lower still and squeezed my ass. “I kind of miss your ship, Former Pirate Theron.”
“Is that so?” He pressed his lips to my neck. “Who says you must pick one? Many places I can undress you.”
“Why don’t we start here.” I touched his hardness and felt him sharpen against my hand.
He growled low against my neck and opened his wings wide, folding them around us both, blocking out the city, the moonlight, and the world.
Below, somewhere in the streets, someone began to sing, carried up on the wind. I recognized the melody before I caught the words.
A star in the darkness will unite us all.