AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Let’s do it. Sounds much easier than walking.” I looked at Granite. “My real name is Margo, by the way.”
He nodded.
Maybe he’d already known.
Odin stood, pulling me to my feet with him and then scooping me up into his arms. I rolled my eyes at him, but watched as he offered a hand to Granite.
The kid looked really damn reluctant, but he finally took Odin’s hand.
There werepeople gathered in a massive crowd that stretched as far as I could see when we appeared on the land at the top of the cliffs. Odin set me on my feet beside him, lacing his fingers between mine.
Sevva and Oli were clutching each other’s hands tightly, sandwiched between Rigga and Verto, near the front of the crowd. I didn’t recognize anyone else, not that I expected to.
Granite tugged his palm away from Odin’s.
My mate called out, “Granite and I have begun healing the land, but it’ll be a long process before the cliffs are stable again. Should you begin building upward, off the surface, the land will be safe to live on. Should you try to build down again, the cliffs will fall, and I will not return to repair them.” Someone—one of the wind fae who had mated to an earth fae, I assumed—tapped into their magic to carry his voice to the crowd.
Silence reigned for a moment. A long, long moment.
“We’ll build upward,” Sevva said, speaking for the earth fae. No one disagreed; I assumed they were too scarred by what had just occurred to bother with a disagreement. “And we would like you to take the throne again.”
More silence followed her words.
No anger, though, as far as I could see.
The anger would come later, I assumed.
“What would you like me to do?”Odin asked me, his voice quiet in my mind.“This is your future as much as mine.”
I considered it for a moment before answering.“They’re your people. You love them, even though they’ve been shitty to you. It’s your call. As long as you don’t abandon me, I’m okay with whatever decision you make.”
He tugged me a little closer, then released my hand so he could slide his arm around my waist.“You know I could never do that. Not after waiting my entire life to find you, and finally having the chance to love you.”
“I know.”My lips curved upward slightly with the revelation that I trusted him so much.
“I have no interest in a throne given to me by people who have never respected my advice or the service I have provided,” Odin said.
The crowd’s silence grew grave.
“However, I will take the throne, and I will protect you, until Granite and I are confident in his ability to keep you safe. But should anyone—any single fae—speak unkindly to my mate, in any way or for any reason, that service will end. You may not like me, but you will respect her, or I will leave you to your crumbling city.”
I bit my lip, trying to hide my worry.
That was a strong threat, one I didn’t necessarily think he should go through with. But this was his kingdom, and he was the one they had mistreated. Not me. So, like I’d told him, the call was entirely his to make.
When no one spoke out in protest, Odin turned and stared at a stretch of open stone. I felt his focus, and pushed my magic toward him as he slowly raised a large building from the dirt.
My lips pressed together when I realized what it was.
“A castle, for my queen,”Odin confirmed, his voice low and silky in my mind.
A soft, tired laugh escaped me, and when the land stopped moving, I walked at my mate’s side while he led me toward the building. Granite followed a few steps behind us, a bit reluctant and a lot uncertain. I waved him closer, though, and he jogged a bit to catch up with me.
The kid was going to have a massive growth spurt in the near future, and I did not want to know how much food he’d need to consume to fuel that kind of growth. But if he stuck around as long as I was hoping he might, I would definitely find out.
Good thing the fae had pasta.
“Granite and I will emerge when the land has been completely healed,” Odin called over his shoulder.
