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Fife clearly sensed his mother's melancholy. He clapped his hands and forced a bright smile. "Well, here's hoping our Mirri finally gets to have a relationship with the kind of father he always should have had. Now, who is going to dance with me?"
Adder sighed. "Come on, you fool. But if you step on my toes, I'm never dancing with you again."
"I would never," Fife said in outrage. "Have you not witnessed my grace and perfection?"
Bach shook his head as the two of them headed off into the crowd of dancers, then looked around. "I would offer to dance with you," he told me softly. "But I think someone should keep an eye on Mirri, just in case."
I nodded my understanding. Fife's mother might vouch for Lord Stagburn, but he was still a stranger to us. And Mirri had been through enough betrayal.
Bach's parents exited the throng of dancers, and his father joined him as he headed off in search of Mirri. Bird linked arms with me and Agate and insisted that it was a lovely time for a stroll. "You can tell me all about what's got you looking so sad as we go, darling Kat."
I sighed, but I really did like and trust these two women, even in just such a short time. It was probably silly, since I had so recently been betrayed by people who I had known and trusted for years. But…given Bird’s level of scheming, and Agate's propensity for helping her friend's schemes succeed, I thought maybe it was wise to share my concerns. So, I told them about everything. The tournament. The initial anger and bitterness between me and my mates. And the one-year clause that I had written into our bonding contract.
Bird clucked at me in sympathy and patted my arm. "Oh, you poor thing. But you can't possibly think they will leave." She scoffed. "Anyone with eyes in their head can see that nothing could tear those boys away from your side."
Her words helped. It made me think that maybe I wasn't wrong to hope. That if someone else saw what I saw, it confirmed that I just might be right. That there just might be genuine love growing between us.
"Give it just a little more time," Bach's mother said, always the more sedate one. "Then ask them to stay. You'll see. Your worries are for nothing." She gave me a warm smile and squeezed my arm. "You're already part of our family. Treat your relationship as if leaving was never even an option for them." She winked, reminding me of her effervescent friend who strolled along at my other side. "Are you the steward here, young lady, or are you not?"
I laughed, feeling lighter. She was right. I was in charge of my life. And I was going to own my mates in every way. They were mine. There was simply nothing more to say.
Chapter 32
Several Months Later
The garden attached to the Northbower ballroom was protected by a spell that kept the space warm, even though glittering snowflakes swirled above. The space was lined with rows of rustic wooden benches festooned with evergreen boughs, winter roses, holly, and bright red sprigs of winterberry. Flowering vines dripped from the trees that lined the outskirts of the space, blooming even in winter thanks to fae magic. Lanterns flickered with magic flames that changed from gold to rosy orange and back again, casting the dusk garden in a warm glow. Most of Mistvale had come to witness the ceremony, and many others from all over Elfhaven as well.
The mountain pass was a boon to travelers, new and old. Larkwood's coffers were overflowing with profits from the mage dust mine. I had received word from the royal inquisitors a couple of months back, informing me Gambol and his sister Jig hadn't been publicly executed. But they had had their ears notched. While Gambol and a few innocent members of his family had been allowed to stay, Jig and much of the rest of his family had been banished from Elfhaven and any land with close alliance to us. No one else had been foolish enough to attempt to remove me from my stewardship since then. They all knew how close the siblings had come to death. Jig's mate and the fae who had attempted to use the elder mountain spirit to murder me hadn't been so lucky in their sentencing, since the two males had had a direct hand in the assassination attempts.
And that was just how the royals had dealt with their own people. Which was also part of the message. All the human kingdoms knew how lucky Bellspear had been to avoid an all-out war with Elfhaven. No one would be attempting to harm any of the royal stewards again anytime soon.
We were safe. We were prosperous. And in that newly secure space, I finally got the time I needed to focus on the males who had been at my side through so much upheaval and change. I loved them fiercely. And it hadn't taken me long to realize that Bird and Agate were right; my fears about the future of our relationship were unfounded. Because my mates loved me just as fiercely in return.
They had laughed at me when I finally worked up the courage to ask them to stay. They said they already assumed the addendum to our bonding contract was null and assured me they had no intention of ever leaving me now, even if I wanted them to.
My heart pounded in my chest as I lifted my head and squared my shoulders. But it wasn't nerves that had my entire body quaking at the moment. It was anticipation.
"I'm so proud of you," Queen Iris said as she touched my cheek. "Your parents would be proud as well. Their spirits watch over you today, as always."
King Bane placed a big hand on the center of my back, where my dress dipped low, exposing skin. I turned my head to look up at him in surprise as a brief rush of magic coursed through me, invigorating and bracing, making me feel instantly stronger and bolder than ever before, like a rallying war cry. The corner of his eyes crinkled in fond amusement. The great, terrifying Gray King of legend had just loaned me a little bit of his power. "No tears," he commanded me and his mate. "We face the upcoming battle with no show of weakness."
Queen Iris snorted an indignant laugh and patted my arm as she linked it through mine. "Don't mind my dear mate. He's simply afraid of emotions. The poor thing."
The strains of the music that floated out through the ballroom door shifted, and Saffron bowed to us and made a sweeping gesture with one gloved hand. "It is time, my lady, your majesties."
"Come," Queen Iris said with a fond smile. "Let's show everyone just how successful my little Game of Hearts has been."
I chuckled at her gloating, but my feet were already carrying me toward the door.
Arm-in-arm with the rulers of Elfhaven, I walked down the long strip of springy green moss that led through the crowded ballroom and into the garden beyond. The pixie family that lived in the garden trailed after me, carrying little baskets of flower petals, which they rained down over the rippling train of my gown. The conversation in the ballroom died down to hushed murmurs as we passed the people standing along the mossy aisle. When we reached the garden, the family members and guests seated on the rustic benches turned to watch the procession.
My heart pounded louder with every step. It felt like golden cords of light tugged at my center, pulling me ever closer to my mates.
They stood under a flowering silverleaf rose tree at the far side of the garden, on a slightly raised stage covered in flowers and evergreen boughs. Each of them was dressed in tailored silks and velvets—the same specially created tunics they had worn on our original bonding day. But unlike that day, they currently all wore radiant smiles. Their beauty was overwhelming.
As was custom, each of us were accompanied by our parents in a show of family solidarity. Fife's mother stood between Adder and Fife, clearly claiming them both as her own. Mirri's father—the one he was actually willing to claim—stood at his side, beaming proudly. Bach's mother and father stood at his side, smiling serenely. And the king and queen of Elfhaven stood in for my own parents.
When we reached the tableau on the stage, the royals each kissed my cheek, then they and the other parents moved to sit in the front row. Ama stepped forward to drape a delicate garland of white flowers around my neck. Then she placed an intricately woven crown of snowdrops on my head, atop the upswept mass of curls that resided there.
