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The Illusionist
Ships of all kinds lined the ports and docks of the Royal City. Large bulky vessels from the House of Blades, sleek sloops from the House of Tides. But the longships with endless oars made the palace of the Ever Kingdom feel a little more like home.
Rave armies were there to greet us as we disembarked. A familiar face awaited us on the docks.
“Alek!” I waved and rushed to embrace the Night Folk prince. “I told you there was no reason to come.”
“I’m here as a Rave,” Aleksi said. Dressed in the dark uniform of earth fae warriors, his dark hair braided down the center of his head, he did look ready for another war. “You think if we receive word that the Ever is going to battle with some fae-eating clan, the royal houses wouldn’t send warriors to stand by?”
“So, you aren’t pleased to see me?”
Aleksi groaned and hooked his strong arm around my head, shoving my face into the underside of his arm, a barbaric practice he’d done since we were littles. “I’m overjoyed to see you, Mira. Happy to see me? Well, are you?”
I shoved him away and smoothed out my braids. “You’re hardly noble, Rave.”
Aleksi chuckled, then went to greet the Ever King and Queen and my mother and father.
Tait dropped a canvas pack filled with the flammable leaves used to help ignite the ember spears on the Ever Ship.
“You know, Hearttalker”—I traced the edge of his jaw with my fingertips—“I have a marvelous idea now that we’re home.”
“As do I.” One half of his mouth curved up.
“Hmm, I wonder if we’re thinking the same thing.”
“We could say it at the same time, see if our minds are truly as aligned as they ought to be.”
I snickered. “Agreed. On the count of three.” I slowly counted down on my fingers, then whispered against his ear, “Make me scream.”
In the same breath, Tait said, “We should celebrate.”
I blinked, one palm over my mouth.
Tait’s eyes were wide for a breath, then he released a long, free, low laugh. “ ‘Celebrate’ meaning what you said. Exactly what you said. Let’s get on with it.”
“No.” I tugged on his hand, pulling back to slow his quickened pace toward the palace. “No, I heard that. I heard that, Tait. You are beginning to enjoy balls and dancing. Admit it.”
“Untrue. I enjoy you. Let’s go and begin our celebration. Soon we will need to council and speak about all this battle shit.”
I laughed, leaned against his shoulder, and held his arm as we walked.
The man would make me scream, no mistake, but now I knew my surly, stoic, and slightly ill-tempered Hearttalker would stand at my side aligning silver on tables, winding ivy and glittering leaves about chandeliers, selecting the sweetest wines and richest ales, all to brighten my heart.
I knew it, for that was the deepest reaches of love, the sort my friends were discovering, the sort we witnessed in our households as young ones.
It was the sort of love in which faults, oddities, fears, and dreams were shared, carried, and adored by another.
Strange how the love I would cherish into the Otherworld was found in the grumbliest of sea fae.
I had grand plans to never let him go.
A ball was inevitable. I was not alone in the need to celebrate. One word from Livia, and invitations were sent to the earth fae realms and elven isles to bask with the Ever in a new victory.
In truth, all this newfound peace between folk seemed to spur a need to continually meet, to laugh, to explore the lack of bloodshed until it truly became a commonplace. Within the week, Bloodsinger would bemoan and glare like he might go on a killing spree, but he would be forced to accept that his palace would once more be overrun with earth fae and elven folk.
There was much to do, but first, I strode with Livia, Skadi, Sander, and Celine to the same chamber where Skadi was kept after the battle for the Ever. Back before Jonas petitioned her grandfather for her hand to seal peace.
