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“No one’s happy,” Travus laughed nervously. “I suppose I–Aria, what happened to your wings?”
She pulled away to wipe her cheeks and glare at him. “I had to bring you back. Athank youwould be nice.”
His eyes searched hers in disbelief. “Necromancy? Aria, you gave into dark magic?”
“It was the only way.” She cried. “And now you’re no longer immortal. You’re free to live a normal life,” Aria held her stomach lovingly, “with us.”
“But…but your wings,” he said almost heartbrokenly. “Your position in the Enchanted Forest. Why would you give that up?”
“Because I–” she froze, feeling heat creep up her neck as embarrassment consumed every inch of her body. “Well…um…”
“Well?”
She looked away, sucking in her lips to keep from grimacing. She couldn’tbelievethe words that were about to come out of her mouth.
“I may, to my surprise, and it was absolutely not in my control and is completely against my better judgment to feel so–”
“Aria,” he said so softly that her heart quivered, and she met his soft gaze and small smile. His hand slowly slid onto her cheek to caress it. “If it’s that difficult then–”
“I’ve fallen in love with you.” Aria nearly spat over her shoulder for how naturally that came out, and Travus snorted. She grimaced at him for how humorous he found the situation instead of endearing, but she could see he was in a lot of disbelief as well.
“After everything I did?” he whispered as his arm tightened around her back, and she narrowed her eyes at him.
“This doesn’t mean you don’t owe us reparations, Travus,” she said importantly. “My feelings for you may be unconditional, but not my decision to be with you.”
“Of course, otherwise that wouldn’t be like you. I understand.” Travus grinned.
His smile faltered a little as he caught sight of her wings once more. “I didn’t get to see you with your natural wings properly,” he sighed. “That’s a shame. I’m sorry to have put you in this position but thank you. I didn’t know you cared about me so much.”
“I wasn’t planning to,” she said coyly before finally looking away from him to assess the situation outside the barrier around them.
The Council Stones had been retrieved, the Enchanted Lake was clear, and the mist had fallen away. Though the knights and rulers of the other nations were still present and talking amongst each other, Aria had never experienced the Enchanted Lake without its true inhabitants, the birds and insects and other creatures. It felt quiet without them prancing about and sticking up their noses curiously into people’s matters.
“Alright, let me go deal with the mess I’ve made,” he sighed with a pat on Aria’s back. “Please stay behind me. They won’t take kindly to your decision.”
As he helped her up, he grabbed her hands tightly to kiss them, looking at her with a shy inquisition. “You really love me?”
“Don’t make me say it again.”
“Do you…think we would be good together?”
She glanced away shyly. “We’re both insufferable, Travus. I’m sure there’s bound to be some compatibility because of that. Besides, we owe it to our baby.”
He chuckled and pulled her in, and she allowed herself to melt into him. The situation outside their little bubblelooked rather dire, but she knew that if there was anyone she was going to argue the entire realm with, it would be Travus.
Chapter 27
Though the aftermath of the situation couldn’t be ignored in the Kingdom of Eldoria, the reparations came with a lot of benefits to everyone.
The Elves, unaccustomed to sharing their black iron and the crafts that came from it, found themselves becoming open to the idea of traveling and experimenting with customs outside of their nation. There was, of course, a slight distaste that King Travus had to endure from his people for the isolation he’d inflicted upon them, but all was forgiven once the new heir of Eldoria was born in the coming months.
“There’s so much that’s changed,” Aria commented quietly to herself, when she saw the festivities taking place outside her window. “I was so sure that a half-Elven heir would not be welcomed.”
There was a clear view of the town from her room in the highest tower, and she could see beings from all the nations celebrating the birth of their child. Now that it had been amonth since her birth, it was time to introduce the Crown Princess to the world, and Aria was nervous.
“Given my treatment of Eldoria, I’m sure they’ll eagerly await the day our daughter replaces me,” Travus laughed as he came up behind her to watch, wrapping his strong arms around her waist. “I suppose by the time she’s to take over, things will have changed even more.”
Aria shrugged. “Perhaps. I believed things would go back to the way they were once everyone went back home, but this…I could only dream of a day like this.”
