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“We haven’t spoken much, brother,” I said, looking over at him.
He focused on Lia, his jaw tight and his hand clenched on the hilt of his sword. “Things are about to change,” he replied. He peered over at me with his silver mask hiding his eyes and shrugged. “I can’t say that I’m looking forward to it.”
He spun around and disappeared in the mottled mosaic of the crowd just as Lia’s mother, Queen Meliantha, strode closer. Her amethyst eyes bore into me, shining with the same intensity as her daughter’s, although Lia’s had wisps of silver and gold that sparkled in the light. I first met Meliantha many years ago when she was captured by myself and the rest of the Tyvar while in the Mystical Forest, searching for her prince. I didn’t know who she was then, at least not until she looked into my eyes. When my powers of seduction didn’t work on her, I knew she was special. Before I let her go, I had asked her for one favor. It was a gift that has stayed with me until this very day.
Meliantha drew closer and smiled. “Why aren’t you up there with my daughter?” she asked, giving me a skeptical stare. She came up beside me and turned back toward the crowd, grinning at all the guests.
“Your Highness, Lia doesn’t need me by her side,” I said. “She has proved that on numerous occasions.”
Meliantha tilted her head back and laughed. “Lia may be able to take care of herself, but you and I both know she needs you. YouandBastian.” She tentatively cleared her throat and gave me a sidelong glance. “And speaking of your brother,” she paused, “he seems a little distant lately. Is there something going on?”
I shook my head as I felt the tension well up in my chest. “If there were, he hasn’t spoken to me about it.”
Meliantha stepped in front of me, her gaze narrowed with curiosity. “Well, whatever’s going on, I hope it gets worked out. So much change is happening in the Land of the Fae right now.”
I scanned the royals and my attention landed on Lia with her cousin, Aidan, from the Summer Court. He was a dragon shifter, a fierce warrior like his father, with raven-colored hair and burning green eyes. He stood confidently in his tall boots and laughed at one of Lia’s jokes.
“It seems there’s a new king in the Summer Court,” I pointed out.
Meliantha let out a chortle and beamed at her nephew across the meadow. “We have two dragon kings now. Aidan claimed his court last week without telling anyone and wanted to see if they’d notice. He may have his mother’s looks, but he inherited my brother’s slyness!” The rest of Lia’s cousins gathered around her and Aidan. “He calls it the Court of Fire and Water,” Meliantha said, smiling.
That certainly was fitting, considering his love for the sea and his dragon fire. Meliantha sighed wistfully, watching Lia and Kale banter back and forth with their cousins.
“I just wish all of them would claim their courts already. I hate that Lia and Kale have taken as long as they have. The land is ready for them.”
I felt the earth tremble beneath my feet and the magic surge all around us.
“That is true,” I agreed. “But your daughter is stubborn, just like you were at her age. Lia was determined to make sure she was strong enough to protect her court.”
A proud smile curved her lips. “That is my daughter.” Then she met my gaze and she placed a hand on my arm. “Have you not gone back to visit the rest of the Tyvar?”
I shook my head. “I left that life behind a long time ago.”
My bond with Meliantha was strong and comforting, and I enjoyed my life in the Spring Court. Lia had become a part of that life, and I desperately wanted to stay and be with her.
The warmth of Meliantha’s healing magic radiated through me, though it wasn’t enough to quell the cravings that stirred in my chest. Meliantha gave me a sad smile before she removed her hand, then sighed and said, “If only we knew how the curse began. We could start there and find a way to break it.”
“If only,” I murmured back.
The curse was never going to be broken. My mother talked about it when I was a little boy, but that was long ago.
I glanced at Lia, who stood just a few yards away from me, and the yearning that filled my body was overwhelming. My throat tightened as I considered the fact that Lia would never be mine. One day she would find a king to be with, and I dreaded the kind of pain that would bring me.
Chapter4
Lia
“Congratulations, Aidan!” I beamed, admiring the new king of the Court of Fire and Water’s outfit.
A fire-red cape with a golden embroidery marked with the Court’s insignia was draped over his shoulder, giving him a regal demeanor. Aidan winked and offered me some words of encouragement, “Now it’s your turn. Good luck, Lia.” He turned to my brother and slapped him on the shoulder. “You too, cousin.”
Kale scoffed and gave him a sly smile. “You always had to beat me at everything, didn’t you?”
Aidan’s hearty chuckle bounced off the trees as he walked away. “Hey, I can’t help that you waited so long, old man.”
As his laughter faded away, I cast my gaze toward our family and friends and the hundreds of fae who were going to cross the border and live in my court. It warmed my heart to see so many. Looking at them all, I focused on my cousin Ella, now the Frost Court queen. Her milky white hair was swept back in a loose braid with icy blue gems twinkling in her locks. She practically glowed with joy as she clasped hands with her Shadow fae king Kai, his arm tenderly intertwined around her expanding waist. They were happy, their court was flourishing, and they’d be welcoming a new family member in a few months.
Ella had changed the Land of the Fae by allowing members of the Shadow fae—who were once our enemies, along with half-fae and half-mortals—to reside in her court. It opened up a new world of magic and possibilities that had flourished because of it, sparking something inside of me that I wanted to bring to my own court.
