Nyx waved her hand, and the scene shifted from the frozen image we’d observed to the rush of battle once more. The sound of gunshots rang through the air, the rumble of earth shifting beneath our feet. I felt the air whip around me from the Aither Fae and Wrath demons flying above us, the force of their wings slapping my cheek.
The noise of battle echoed in my ears, drowning out the thundering beat of my heart. But one by one, the creatures around us noticed the being standing beside me and they paused, staring in awe at the Goddess Nyx. Her magic rushed through the courtyard, lifting the hair of my arms and trickling not only over my body, but over the fight. Guns suddenly went quiet, and those in the air dropped to the uneven ground.
“My children,” Nyx said, raising her hands. “I have failed you. I allowed for a corruption that never should have seen the light of day. I tried and I failed to squash it, and for that, you have paid with your lives—your fates.” Those final words were spoken to me as she turned to face me. “And my Daughter has paid dearly.”
On the ground behind us, Dante writhed, making a pained sound. But not even his army paid attention to him. They were glued to the Goddess and her words, not the male they once chose as their King.
Several creatures dropped to their knees. Others stumbled, as if finally awakening from a sleep they had no idea they’d been in.
“We are at a turning point, and it is time for change,” she continued, tearing her silver eyes from me to stare out over the crowd of gathering creatures. I felt the presence of my mates as they stumbled towards me, but they never breached the small barrier that cut us off from them, that kept me and Nyx separate.
Nyx brought her hands above her head, looking up to thesky as it cleared, and the moon no longer in full lunar eclipse. “We are at a crossroads that requires great sacrifice.” Her face lifted, moonlight glinting off the exposed bone in her face. “And our world requires change. Our Queen must choose her fate. And you must decide your own.”
107
Ivy
Ifelt the weight of all their stares fall on me as Nyx lowered her arms. Cupped between her hands was a ball of soft, silver light. It almost looked like a witch light, only made of nothing but what appeared like starlight.
Nyx looked at me again, the softness in her stare bringing more tears to my eyes. “Your choice, my Daughter.”
My choice.It felt like a lifetime ago when I got tochoosesomething for myself. When I got to fight for something that was forme.
“The realms aren’t mine to rule anymore,” I said, looking away from Nyx and into the crowd of creatures. The stench of battle still hung heavy in the air, tension coiling around every creature gathered. And yet they listened. They didn’t speak. “Faery is no longer mine and has returned to their High Queen.”
Soft gasps filled the air as someone pushed their way to the front of the crowd. The pointed ears and ethereal, wicked beauty gave them away immediately.
“We have no High Queen. Their line died over three millennia ago. Would you abandon the Fae for whathedid?” the female asked. She had blood running down her face from a long cut across her forehead, hair like pink cotton candy. I didn’t even need to wonder who she was—the Lady of theSpring Court. She looked like a spring harvest come to life, with her soft curves and the antlers curling from her temples. One of her arms was made entirely of vines that wound together to shape the muscles and bone of her arm and hand.
Slowly, I shook my head. “That’s not at all what I intend to do,” I replied, meeting her deep green eyes. “I gave the High Palace a chance to choose its new Queen. There might not be an entire bloodline left for Queen Titania, but there are still whispers of her power out there. It’ll be up to your realm—and you—to find that Queen. But I’ll always have a connection to your world.”
Understanding sparked in the Lady’s eyes as she stepped back and brought her fist to her heart. “Thank you, Queen Ivy.”
My fingers trembled, my hold on the skull tightening as I turned to Xerxes. “A new Prima is going to be born soon,” I told him. “Your world will survive thethraxand every other threat that comes for it. The land will continue to belong to the Primals, and only a Primal will rule it.”
Through the bond, I felt warmth from him, a heat I could only consider to be love. Understanding. Admiration. Feeling him through our bond for the first time felt surreal; his thoughts were a whirlwind of shock and happiness, pride and sadness for the world he would be leaving behind. And yet he had no regrets, especially now knowing it would be protected. That his people were safe.
“You stole my power from me, wife,” Damon said, stepping forward. “I’m not King of Elysian anymore.”
I shook my head. “No,” I confirmed, bowing my head. “The throne and crown of Elysian aren’t yours anymore. The fields are no longer yours to rule.”
“Who will take it, though?” one of the other Elysian demons asked. “If not him, who?”
“That is for the fields to decide,” I said, turning to the group Damon called his cousins. I remembered them from the island—their faces etched into my mind because of their rescue. “The magic will find another creature worthyof becoming ruler over Elysian. It was time for Damon to retire anyway.”
When I glanced back at my mate, a smile curved his lips. Through the bond, I caught his gratefulness. His relief that he would not be forced to return.
“That means you are no longer the Queen of Elysian,” he said, folding his arms over his chest.
I shrugged. “I can live with that.”
“But will you be our Queen?” Elara Blackwood asked, stepping forward from the crowd, Vanya and Blythe not far behind her. The sight of my friend brought tears to my eyes, the relief of seeing her alive—okay—flooding me.
But before I could answer, another figure stepped forward. A face I didn’t recognise, but one with great power. “It sounds as though you aren’t,” he said, holding his hands lightly in front of him as his icy eyes flickered from my face down to the skull in my hands. “You sound as though you are about to say goodbye.”
My heart pounded as I looked to the Goddess, but her eyes were already on me.
Your choice, she whispered into my ears, bowing her head.
