“Do you truly think you are ready to rule, Adara?” Lady Axyla asked. Her gaze was piercing, and I shivered—it was as though she’d stripped me to the bone, baring all of my insecurities to her far-too perceptive eyes. “To take the throne and all the responsibility that comes with it?”
I hesitated, then decided to just tell her the truth. “I never came here seeking the throne, Lady Axlya. My only goal is to complete the ritual so I can unlock my full powers and eliminate the shadow magic threat. Becoming queen was never part of the plan.”
Genuine surprise rippled across Axlya’s face. “You don’t desire the throne?”
“Not in the slightest.” I laughed a little. “Until a week ago, I didn’t even know I was royalty. If I didn’t care so much about the safety of the realm, and if my mother wasn’t being enslaved by a shadow demon, I wouldn’t even be here right now.”
Lady Axlya’s mouth flattened. “I think your mother would be disappointed if she could hear those words. Yourrealmother,” she added, a hint of derision in her tone. “Not the earth fae imposter who raised you in that backward village, cutting you off from your power and people.” She shook her head. “No wonder you’re so weak.”
I reared back, her words sharper than a physical slap. “Weak?” I echoed, outraged. “How can you say that? After all I’ve been through—”
“All you’ve been through?” Lady Axlya laughed, the sound bright but sharp, like a knife’s edge glinting in the sunlight. She leaned in, and the surrounding air thickened with moisture as her power rose to the surface. “You’ve walked this earth a mere nineteen years, child. I have been here forcenturies. I’ve loved and lost countless people in my life—lovers, children, friends, family. The grief I’ve felt and the tears I’ve cried for them could fill an ocean all on their own.” Her cerulean eyes were like a storm-tossed sea, the emotions frothing in their ancient depths so intense that for a moment, I could barely breathe. “Yet I continue to serve my people and safeguard my realm, because the Radiants gifted me with my power for a purpose. That purpose was not to hide away in a pocket of safety, where my abilities and my mind are of no use to anyone. And that is not your purpose either.”
The challenge in her voice was clear, the impact of her words so profound that all I could do was stare, dumbstruck. Lady Axlya was only an inch or so taller than me, but at that moment, she seemed to tower over me, her power and presence swelling until it felt as if I stood before a giantess.
My thoughts must have been written on my face, because Lady Axlya’s expression softened, her magic receding until she seemed her normal self once more. “I was born to rule, just as you were, but that does not mean I became a leader overnight. It will take time and training until you are big enough to truly fit the role, but that doesn’t mean you refuse to step into the shoes. It merely means you have to work hard to grow into them.”
She left me, then, to struggle with those heavy parting words, settling on shoulders far too slim to bear their weight.
* * *
Iwas still sitting in the garden hours later, staring at a statue of Tiber, one of the five water spirits, when a rustle of wings and a heavy thump sounded behind me. I didn’t have to turn around to know Einar had returned. His smoke-and-sandalwood scent drifted to me on the wind, setting the mark on my shoulder throbbing once again.
“Adara.” Einar’s voice rumbled through the space between us. I kept my gaze fixed on the statue, its left side kissed by red and gold rays from the setting sun. But my dragon protector refused to be ignored. He stepped in front of me, blocking my view with his winged silhouette. My hands fisted into the folds of my skirts, and I nearly stood up, but he went down on his knee before I could.
I opened my mouth to tell him to move, but a gasp fell out instead as I looked down at the bowl he was holding. A water lily floated inside it, but not a common one. This one brimmed with magic, its silvery-white petals slicked with an otherworldly violet iridescence. The star-shaped center shimmered with an inner light, as if an actual star, albeit a tiny one, nestled in its depths.
It was the most beautiful flower I’d ever laid eyes on… one I’d thought only existed in myth and legend.
“This is a dream lily.” I reached out to skim a reverent fingertip along one of the moonstone-colored petals. A tiny trail of shimmering dust rose from the petal where I’d touched it, and for a split second, a floating sensation overtook me. “Where did you find it?”
“On a tiny island some fifty miles northeast of here.” Einar smiled, his eyes dancing as he took in my reaction. “Daryan used to bring these for your mother. They were her favorite flower, and they helped soothe her when she had restless nights.” His smile faded. “I know you’ve been having nightmares since the battle with King Aolis. I thought this would help.”
“I…” I wanted to thank him, but a knot of emotion swelled in my throat, cutting off my ability to speak. Tears spilled unbidden from my eyes as I took the bowl from Einar. The water rippled as a few drops hit the surface, and what little anger I had left dissipated.
How could I be angry when Einar had brought me a gift that didn’t just touch my heart, but my very soul?
“Did you know her?” I whispered, not looking up at him. “My mother?”
“Not really.” Regret tinged his voice as he wrapped his big hand around my forearm. His thumb stroked my bicep, sending warm tingles down my arm and into my core, and the bite mark throbbed again. “I was angry, as were most of us with Daryan, for falling in love with a fae, and spent more time trying to talk him out of the idea than getting to know his prospective bride.” A soft chuckle escaped him, and he shook his head. “The spirits have a cruel sense of irony.”
“What do you mean?”
I raised my eyes from the bowl to look at him, and he caught my gaze, his own more open and honest than I’d ever seen it. “I judged my best friend for his inability to resist the mating bond, and yet here I am, kneeling before a fae, head over heels in love with her.”
My hands trembled as the sincerity of his words hit me, causing the water in the bowl to slosh over my skirt. I hardly noticed the cold liquid seeping into my skin, my mind still trying to process what he’d just said.
“You’re… in love?” I finally said. “With… withme?”
Einar smirked. “You don’t have to sound so horrified by the idea.”
A startled laugh escaped me, and I set the bowl aside before I really did drop it. “I’m not horrified,” I said, catching the hand resting on my bicep so I could lace his fingers with mine. “I just… don’t understand. Last week you could barely stand the sight of me. How could you possibly be in love?”
“How could I not?” Einar countered. “You’re the most incredible female I’ve ever met, Adara. You’re strong and kind and brave and resourceful, and you don’t give up no matter the obstacles thrown in your path.” He lifted my hand to his mouth, golden eyes burning into me. “You might be fae on the outside, Adara, but the heart of a dragon beats within you. And I want that heart to be mine.”
Einar’s lips skimmed across my knuckles, shooting a bolt of need straight to my core. The bite mark on my neck flared with heat, and I could feel my own teeth aching in response. It was almost as if I wanted to bite him back…
“No.” I shook my head, pulling my hand free of his. “You haven’t told me everything, Einar. You haven’t explained about this bite mark, or why my whole body aches every time I look at you. It’s like a craving I can’t shake, and I don’t understand it.” I massaged the spot on my neck, and Einar’s eyes flared with heat as they tracked the movement. “And I don’t buy the whole enemies-to-lovers thing either, Einar. Not after what happened with me and…”
