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CHAPTER 31 - ILARA
It took a month before the fae of our land could cast their votes. The entire continent needed to be alerted to this new, strange way of deciding who ascended to the crown.
And the council had to create a separate group of fae with affinities in documentation in order to ensure the votes were tallied accurately and efficiently. Thankfully, magistrates at the supernatural courts provided assistance, allowing us to create a system that worked smoothly and easily.
It was so different than anything that had ever been done before. For centuries, the king of the Solis continent had been determined by birth and birth alone, but when the day came that every adult male and female arrived at their council building to vote within their city or village, the prince and I stayed in the castle, sequestering ourselves to his chambers as the servants, hisguards, and our friends and family waited impatiently in the great hall below.
But not Norivun and me. We opted to enjoy the day alone. We hadn’t been able to spend nearly enough time together with no one but the two of us.
A fire roared in the hearth, crackling and snapping as snow flew outside. The castle was still being repaired. There was still so much left to do, but come sunrise, these chambers might no longer be our own, and the castle’s state might no longer be our concern. But we would enjoy it while we could.
“You know, I still don’t know what your sixth affinity is,” I teased.
Norivun chuckled and ran a hand through my hair. “I wondered if you’d forgotten about that.”
“I haven’t. We’ve just been too busy for me to demand that you show me.”
His lips tugged up, and he ran his hand down my back. “And what do you think it is?”
“Honestly? I have no idea. Will you please just tell me?” I batted my eyelashes.
A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest before he stood. “How about I show you?”
He held his hand out to me, and smiling with curiosity, I let my fingers entwine with his. He pulled me along to another room in his private chambers before he ignited a fairy light with his magic.
This room was small, with only a few chairs, a piano, another bookshelf, and several instruments.
The prince pointed to one of the chairs. “Have a seat.”
I did as he said and glanced around as I waited for something magical to appear.
But the prince merely went to the piano and sat, then placed his fingers upon it. “I’ve been wanting to play this melody since that first night you came to me, the night you joined me in my chambers and declared that you saw me for who I really was.”
His fingers met the keyboard, and then . . . he began to play.
Music strummed from the piano, a soft melody at first that grew stronger and sharper and more complicated with every press of his fingers.
My throat tightened as the symphony of sound barreled around me, igniting the room in crashing waves and haunting twists.
The prince played with his eyes closed, his body moving slightly while his hands drifted effortlessly over the keys. He played as though his heart connected with the sound, as though his very essence was poured into that music.
And it struck me with complete shock and bold pride that my mate held a creation affinity. His sixth affinity was the ability to create beauty through sound. His masterful touch created some of the most emotional music I’d ever heard. A song of rapture and love, loss and hope, redemption and acceptance.
Tears shone in my eyes when his hands finally quieted.
He turned to me with an apprehensive look. “Now you know, my love.”
I rose and went to him, wrapping my arms around his neck as my tears began to fall. “You’re amazing, utterly and completely amazing.”
He chuckled softly, then pointed to the mantel, visible through the door in the other room. “Well, if that’s the kind of reverence I get, then I’ll also tell you it isn’t just music. Do you see that painting?”
I turned and peered toward it, at the painting of a scene of Solisarium. It was a perfect rendition of the castle, of the splendor of our city.
“Yes, it’s beautiful.”
“Well . . . I painted it.”
My attention whipped back to him. “You can paint too?”
