When we reached the top of a small hill, Calix finally came to a stop. In a whoosh of air, his wings unfurled at his back. My breath caught on a gasp as I glimpsed them, before the king was sweeping me up in his arms. I grumbled, wanting more time to inspect his wings—dragon wings! Actual dragon wings were right there, and I wanted time to see the differences between them and Cyrus’s pegasus wings. But we were already lifting high into the air, and I was immediately distracted by the fact that I was flying again.
It didn’t matter that I had done it once before, it felt brand new. A wide smile took over my face as I watched Adamah grow smaller beneath us and lifted my face up to enjoy the heat of the sun’s rays.
“I promised you an explanation.” Calix said, his dour tone quickly wiping the smile from my face. I looked away from the sky and glanced at his face, seeing that he was indeed still in serious mode.
“You did.” I agreed softly. I knew I should have likely been more afraid before getting said explanation, but I couldn’t quite work up any fear. He seemed so different from any Fae I’d met before, as did his friends. And my instincts always seemed to be pretty accurate, they had warned me about Cyrus from the very beginning.
“I know you’ve heard terrible things about me. It’s an unfortunate consequence of what we’re trying to do.” Calix started, staring off in the distance, while I couldn’t seem to tear my gaze from his face. The feel of his arms holding me tightly against him acted as a grounding force as I prepared for whatever he was about to reveal. I had questioned for so long what the Night Kingdom was actually up to, that it felt surreal to be getting an answer. “For a long time after I became King, Icarried on with the status quo. Human slaves were just a thing that had always existed and always would. That is, until about ten years ago, although I admit it had been slowly creeping up before then.”
“What was?” I asked, biting my lip, hooked on the words falling from his mouth. Calix looked quickly to my mouth before meeting my eyes, giving me a wry smile.
“Discontent.” He explained, swerving to the left in a tilt that had me clinging to him. Despite the heavy topic, a real smile crept up for a moment as he watched me fling my arms around his neck to steady myself. “A feeling of—wrongness, anger, take your pick. All are equally true. I just couldn’t stand the idea of humans being kept as slaves anymore. They were people with just as much right to their autonomy as any Fae.”
My mouth dropped open, complete shock overtaking me at such a casual statement that was anythingbutin meaning. He had to realize how rare, how absolutely impossible, such a sentiment was. Especially from a Fae. Especially from a Faeking.
My mind rapidly spun as I tried to connect the dots, the rumors, his actions, his words—none of it truly added up to anything that made sense.
Before I could say anything, Calix continued, his eyes drifting to me every so often as I stared at him in stunned silence.
“I abolished slavery in my kingdom, but that wasn’t enough. I still felt all this—rage. I wanted the rest of the humans to be free, not just those in my kingdom. So, I began doing just that. Small attacks here and there, slowly allowing us to free more and more. As for the humans, this is truly their fight. I’ll never be able to understand the horror they’ve gone through, so I gave them a large role when forming the Resistance. Responsibility and planning are shared among us. Eventually, we will be forced to go to war to free everyone, but we aren’t there yet. For now, wetry to free as many as possible. Especially in the kingdoms with the cruelest masters.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. A human resistance? Fae and humans working together towardsabolishing slavery? Actualfreehumans! It was everything I had ever dreamed of—could this possibly be real?
“You agreed you were a monster when we met before, but now, you claim to be a savior?” I raised an eyebrow as my lips tilted up in a smirk, challenging him to gauge his authenticity. This was too important, too life changing, not to.
Calix’s eyes lit up at my challenge, banishing the bleak cast they’d taken on during his explanation. “I can be a monster or a savior, but I’m usually a mix of both. I do monstrous things to save people from a life enslaved to greedy Fae kings and lords, but still—the good doesn’t erase the bad, and the things I’ve donearemonstrous.” His eyes darkened as his hands flexed, but since he was holding me, he only succeeded in sinking his fingers into my back and thighs. He looked to me as he loosened his grip, and our eyes met with a spark I felt through my entire body. One that banished the darkness in his eyes in favor of the aurora rippling through it.
Calix quickly looked away, clearing his throat. I was left feeling like my body was strung too tight—too familiar to me from mornings spent feeling that same tightness that left me with constant aches and pains I’d learned to shove into the background and ignore.
“I have killed plenty of my own kind and even some humans who protected them. Those who refused to see the truth of things. I’ve used those who don’t see the truth to protect those who do. Those things will forever prevent me from being any type of hero, I assure you.” Calix snorted, a smirk lining his lips as he looked at me. “Besides, being a hero would be quite boring, don’t you think?”
I huffed a laugh, “Sure.Boring.” I bit my lip in thought. “This doesn’t seem real. It sounds like you somehow ripped my dreams out of my head and are splaying them out for me, trying to entice me. It’s too good to be true.” I finished quietly. My mind spinning with everything he’d told me.
Calix’s face softened. “I know. It can be overwhelming for a lot of humans at first. Those who have dreamt of freedom for too many years with no hope of it ever being reality. But I promise you, Asteria, itisreality. It’s also why we need you.” His lips curled into a genuine smile, softening his entire face.
“What do you mean?” I questioned, tilting my head to the side. I knew they wanted the information I had collected during my time at Dusk. But what impact could that truly make when it was only one kingdom, one prince, I knew anything about.
“Dusk is at the epicenter of the chaos beginning to rise. We’re dealing with dual issues, and your intel can ultimately help with both. We haven’t been able to get a spy close to Cyrus or King Astraeus before, they’re both too paranoid.” I snorted a laugh at the understatement, and the smile Calix gave me in response caused my breath to catch. It was highly inconvenient the way my body kept responding to him.
As we brokethrough the tree line, I spied lights shining up ahead. I squinted, trying to make out what I was looking at.
“This is the best way to view the city for the first time.” Calix said, and his smile came through in his voice as he landed us on a hill just outside the city. He put me down softly, his wings unfortunately disappearing before I could get a good look at them. But as I took in my surroundings, the sight in front of me stole my attention. I stood there, completely transfixed as shock and awe coursed through me. I truly couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“This is the Night Kingdom?” I asked breathlessly. It was everything I had ever dreamed of, and so much beyond anything I thought possible. When I first imagined Night Kingdom,thiswas what I’d hoped for. A magical place where the moon and stars reigned supreme, with beauty and wonder everywhere you looked. When I’d heard of the Night Kingdom’s attacks, of Calix’s reputation, I’d lost all hope that it would be anything like I’d imagined—but now I was standing before a dream brought to life.
My eyes landed on a gleaming, sparkling palace on the horizon, making it difficult to look anywhere else. It shone like a star over the land. Beautiful and suited perfectly to its surroundings, as opposed to the overbearing monstrosity that was the Dusk Kingdom’s palace. When I finally was able to drag my eyes elsewhere, there was something new and wonderful in every spot. Calix’s chuckle stole my attention from the splendor of his kingdom—a sound even more compelling than the sights in front of me.
“It is.” Calix answered, his voice filled with pride. It was clear he loved his kingdom deeply and was incredibly proud of it. One look at the city in front of me, and I couldn’t blame him in the least. There were so many wonderful sights, it was hard to know where to look first.
“This is Tairngire, the capital of the Night Kingdom. Straight ahead there.” Calix’s arm rose to point at the giant, glittering palace in the distance. “Is Tairngire Palace. Though few call it that. Most call it the Starlight Palace, others call it the Opal Palace, and some refer to it as the Fallen Star.” He chuckled warmly; a heat I could feel radiating off him.
“Is that because…” I trailed off, but Calix nodded, easily picking up what I meant.
“Because it looks like glittering starlight? Yes, that’s one of the reasons. It looks even more like starlight at night, too.Everything seems more alive at night thanks to the magic of my kingdom.” Calix explained, shifting to watch me as I took in his kingdom. “But during the day, it’s certainly no less beautiful. The palace is made of star opals, so it glitters and shines no matter the time of day.”
My jaw dropped, “Star opals? The entire thing?” My voice rose several octaves as I gripped the necklace my parents had given me on Placement Day, which was currently hidden beneath my shirt. It had a small amount of the white and multicolored star opals, and even that was shocking to see. Star opals were the rarest jewel in all of Celesterra, only found in one single mountain range that stretched through Day and Night Kingdoms. I supposed they had full access to those mines, but still, an entire palace of star opal seemed strange when the jewel was so rare.
“The palace was built long ago.” Calix smirked, nodding. “Star Opalisrarer now, but we still have plenty. The mines are more magic than nature, after all.” I looked at him incredulously, but he just shrugged.
