It takes two days to heal what can be healed, mend what can be mended. In the physical sense, at least. Then some of our fighters begin to leave. Traditions are followed for every court regarding the care of the dead. Some bodies are wrapped in cloth and taken away with their comrades to return to their families. Others are burned on the beach. Still others are feasted on. While the latter turns my stomach, I’ve already learned from my fire fae subjects that life and death are treated differently by each court, each culture, each species of fae. The seelie and unseelie will always handle things differently, as is their right. A right I’m determined to see is never stripped from either side.
On the third day after the battle, Aspen, Lorelei, and I guide our troops back to Irridae Palace.
On the fifth day, we’re home.
The moon illuminates the courtyard as we enter the palace gates, cool night air brushing my skin. We hardly take two steps down the tile walkway before Foxglove and Amelie rush out the front steps to intercept us. As soon as Amelie is in my arms, we dissolve into tears, falling on our knees while we hold one another. I hear a similar reunion between Foxglove and Lorelei taking place nearby. When Amelie and I can finally bring ourselves to separate, I see Aspen has joined the two ambassadors, arms draped over their shoulders as he brings them to his chest.
Rising to my feet, I wipe the tears from my cheeks as more figures stream out of the palace—Marie Coleman, Dune, the spider seamstress, and then Breeda with a girlish squeal. Then other fae funnel into the courtyard—the mushroom crab and his family, blue wisps, firebirds, dragons. The courtyard erupts in cheers and yips and excited conversation. Amelie runs to Lorelei and Foxglove, Breeda flutters around my head, speaking too fast for me to hear, and Dune taps from paw to paw, asking if I brought any dead for him to feast on.
As the commotion grows wilder around me, my attention is drawn to a figure who stands silently amongst the crowd. It’s…Fehr. No one has seen him since he finished the wall. I’d expected he’d take his freedom and make himself scarce for a while, but he’s…here.
He steps forward and takes a knee before me. “I’m sorry I didn’t come directly to you, Your Majesty. I sensed unrest growing near parts of the wall in Eisleigh. Humans were rioting, trying to take down the stones.”
The news fills me with dread. It’s not that I hadn’t anticipated some rebellion from the humans. I doubt everyone is so willing to accept a fae rule, no matter what we accomplished for the greater good. Still, hearing unrest has already begun to stir makes my bones feel tired.
“Even though the enchantment prevents harm from coming to the stones, I’ve dealt with the rebels,” Fehr says. “I ushered them to the other side of the wall where they can either rot or try and make it to the mainland.”
“You did well,” I tell him. “We will find…other ways to deal with rebels in the future.”
He rises to both feet. “I have returned to your service, Your Majesty.”
I lift a brow. “Of your own free will? You know we have no bargain.”
The corners of his mouth quirk up, and I see his gaze flick to a certain bespectacled ambassador in the process of uncorking a bottle of Agave Ignitus. “Of my own free will. I shall go where you and your mate go.” He bows low, then disappears into the crowd.
I sense Aspen long before I feel him. His arm circles my waist, and I turn to him, pressing my head against his chest, silent as I watch our people celebrate our return home. With the sparkling lights coming from the wisps, fire sprites, and kitsune flames, it feels like the start of a revel.
As tired as I am from our journey, I hesitate to give in and join. But after everything we’ve been through, after all we’ve lost and won, perhaps a revel is what we need. Perhaps it’s whatIneed.
I lift my gaze to my mate’s, arms circling his neck. Our Bond pulses between us, saying everything we don’t have words to express. Joy, gratitude, exhaustion, sorrow. Beneath it all is that which links us whether near or far, regardless of tether or Bond, life or death. It’s the same element that connects me to my people, my sister, my friends. My mother. Estel. Those I’ve lost and those I still have near. It’s that which makes me fight. Protect. Risk my life.
It’s love.
With it comes waves of grief, chasms of pain and longing. And with it comes passion and joy. It’s what it means to be human. What it means to be fae. Seelie and unseelie alike, whether they admit it or not, feel love. Humans and fae, despite their differences, are bound by the same element of love.
Iam bound by love. Its depths and shallows, streams and waves. Its darkness and light. I’m open to all of it now.
Pulling Aspen’s lips to mine, I initiate the night’s revelry with a kiss.
Epilogue
ONE YEAR LATER
Foxglove leads the way through a stand of slim white birches surrounded by an elegant citrine wall. A canopy of crimson leaves dance in the mild breeze overhead, the sun shining through the boughs to create the ideal climate. The air that caresses my skin feels like the warmest day of the most perfect autumn, warm enough that a lightweight dress will suffice, but cool enough that I wouldn’t be sweating if I chose to wear a cloak or jacket. Foxglove extends his arms. “Here you’ll find the autumn garden. There’s a pond, several benches, a brook. Then on the opposite side of the palace, there’s a lovely desert courtyard with cacti and succulents. I selected each one myself. It’s also a great place for sunbathing. Oh, and your pool is there too. Shall I take you to it?”
Aspen and I exchange a glance. “Perhaps show us inside the palace first,” Aspen says.
Foxglove adjusts his spectacles. “Very well. How about your bedrooms?”
Hand in hand, my mate and I follow after the ambassador-turned-palace-designer into a set of double doors. There we enter an enormous hall with intricately carved marble walls and a blue tile floor. Heads of servants bow as we pass, while guards in bronze armor stand at attention.
“It seems the palace staff has already settled in,” I say.
Foxglove grins. “Yes, most of your households have already arrived. The rest will be coming tonight. Well, except for Lorelei. She’ll be staying at Lunar a few more days.”
I purse my lips to hide my smile. Even though I only sent Lorelei to exchange a single message with Nyxia, it seems she and the Lunar Queen are getting along far better than they used to. Or perhaps they’ve grown fond of their fights and have been unable to extricate themselves from their most recent one.
I return my attention to the elegant halls, finding it impossible to take in all the splendor at once. When Aspen and I brought Foxglove the idea of building a new palace on the border between our courts, he immediately went to work. In every wall, tapestry, table, and vase, I see the beauty of Autumn and Fire combined. Leaves mingle with flames in fiery yellows, deep reds, and rich browns. It’s even more stunning than I could have imagined.
