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With that realisation, she pulled back, breaking the kiss, and leaving them both breathing heavily.
“I wonder if I’ll ever get used to that,” Drey whispered, brushing his fingers against his lips.
Aledwen mirrored the gesture, finding her lips slightly tender from the force at which she’d kissed him.
“Do you mind if I try on my own?” she asked, gesturing behind her at the stone. He nodded once, looking ever so slightly taken aback that she’d stopped their kiss and turned things back towards business.
“Be my guest.” He stepped back to give her a little more space, and with mounting dread, she placed her hands back on the stone and tried to draw her magic again.
This time, there was a tiny glimmer of green. No more than a spec in the grand scheme of things. But it was more than she’d had previously, and that was all that mattered. For now, anyway.
“Did you see?” she asked, excitement weaved into her tone as she looked back around at Drey.
“I did.” A look of concentration flashed over his face, and she wondered what that was about. “But it’s supposed to light up completely, right?”
“Yes,” she admitted, dejection welling up inside her again. A couple of glimmers just weren’t going to cut it. “I don’t know what to do, Drey.” She felt the tears prick in the corners of her eyes, but blinked them away. She wasn’t going to cry in front of him. Especially not over a stone of all things.
“I think I have an idea. But it’ll only work if you’ll trust me.”
“I do,” she answered instantly, not even considering whether it was the truth or not. Deep down, she knew it was, and that was enough.
“There’s another ball tonight, right?”
“You know there is. There’s one every night until the Birth.” She gave a weak smile, amused by his questioning of something he clearly knew already.
“Then I’ll be back in time for a dance. But trust me, Dwen. I’ll find you the solution you need.”
“I hope so, I’ve been looking for years, and not found one.”
He frowned at her. “Then I think my solution might actually be the right one.” He leaned down and kissed her softly, lingering for just a moment. “I’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll see you then.” She waved at him as he turned and left the throne room, leaving her alone with the stupid green stone. It’d never worked at all for her, so seeing a few specks of green was a good start, if not quite good enough for what she needed. And damned if she was going to let Drey be the only one finding a solution. Back the library it was for her.
Twelve
Another wasted day in the library. If anyone could call time in the library a waste. Being so surrounded by books wasn’t as far as Aledwen was concerned. But it also hadn’t turned up any of the answers she’d been hoping for. At least it hadn’t raised any new questions. Unlike whatever Drey was up to. That had raised a lot, and she was dying to know what he was up to.
Unfortunately, he was yet to return. Or if he had, then he hadn’t made himself known to her. Which was disappointing to say the least.
And so, she found herself crammed into another awful gown. Though this one was slightly less terrible than the pink monstrosity of a few nights back. Maybe she could get Drey to rip through this one too. Eventually, there’d be no awful gowns left, and she’d be able to wear what she wanted.
Aledwen snorted. Like that was going to happen before she became Queen herself. If there was one thing no one messed with, it was the current Fae Queen of Spring. Or the previous Summer Queen come to think of it. Though the woman hadn’t been the same since she’d tried to steal the powers of winter and been defeated. The new Queen, Rose, was a much better fit for the prosperity of all four fae courts.
The ballroom was teaming with people, as was to be expected. Even the Spring Fae living in the human world came back for the celebrations leading up to the Birth. There was something about it that seemed to infect everyone with a kind of party spirit. Which would have been fine, if Aledwen had been able to enjoy it. This year was better as she could at least attend, but previous years had been a complete waste of her time.
“May I have this dance?”
“Fane?” she asked, spinning around so she was facing him. She hadn’t meant to seem surprised, but after he’d left earlier, she didn’t expect him to be back so soon. She also hadn’t been expecting the butterflies that’d taken up residence in her stomach. What was all that about?
“Dance?” he asked again, holding out his hand.
Aledwen took it and he drew her into a hold, leading her through the simple waltz playing with a practiced ease.
“What did you find out?” she whispered after taking a few moments to truly enjoy the moment. She liked to dance, and she didn’t often get the opportunity to do it.
“Not much. It’s as I suspected. One of your mother’s earlier deals signed away your magic.”
Aledwen swallowed loudly. “But why?”
