Yes, Ethan literally had a plane. I’d been queen for a while, and was getting used to royal life, but that was a little nuts.
We’d chosen Juneau, Alaska for our honeymoon. I would be uncomfortable if we honeymooned anywhere hot, and we thought that was far enough away from Malovia to avoid the Black Claw, as well as remote enough that they'd have a hard time finding us. We’d rented a big cabin on the edge of a lake, mountains surrounding us in the background. It reminded me very much of our time in the Hall of Wonders.
Alaska was absolutely beautiful. Ethan and I spent our time wandering the woods, hiking the mountainside and looking for bears. We found all kinds of wildlife, including arctic foxes, hares, and even a wolf pack in the distance. The pack stood and watched us with reverence as Ethan passed, as if they knew what he was. We hiked through the snow and made love in the woods without a care in the world as the peaceful forest around us beckoned Ethan and I into a world of our own.
At night, we sat around the fireside and made smores with our friends. I drank hot chocolate and thought that this was a perfect life. I'd missed America... I'd missed just beingus.The camaraderie that my friends and I shared without feeling the weight of the world on our shoulders was magical. I knew dark days were drawing closer, and yet, this was a little slice of the world that I could share with just my loved ones. There was no better peace than that.
On the second day of my honeymoon, we were all on edge. It was December third, and the day before the Black Claw was supposed to take my blood. Ethan and I took a morning hike, but I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.
We made our way back into the cabin, where the smell of cooking bacon and fragrant waffles wafted to our nose. I was hungry from my training session, and ready to eat, but as I went to sit down at the table, pain radiated throughout my bones. I let out a cry of pain and collapsed onto the floor without a bit of warning. Immediately, I knew something was deeply wrong.
“Emma!” Ethan rushed to my side. He helped me sit up, but the effort made my head spin. I could feel an ache deep in my chest where my magic was. It made my stomach churn.
This wasn’t my disease. It was something else, something connected deeply to my powers.
“My hearthfire,” I gasped. “It’s been tampered with.”
I winced and put a hand to my chest as the aching became more prominent. My grandmother had told me that if a fae’s hearthfire was destroyed, it would weaken them. I was certain something horrible had happened.
“I’ll check on your hearthfire in Edinmyre,” Kiara offered.
Kiara vanished into another room to meditate. I laid in Ethan’s arms and felt for the cool steadiness of the floor, cursing whoever had done this to me.
Moments later, Kiara returned to the kitchen. “Your hearthfire in Edinmyre is intact. Nothing’s touched it.”
“That means someone must’ve snuck into my office and destroyed my hearthfire on Earth.” I didn’t need confirmation, or someone to check. I just knew.
“How could they? Your quarters are closely guarded,” Theo said.
“Well, somebody got in there,” I said crossly.
“That’s impossible,” Delmare objected. “There’s a ward around your hearthfire that protects it.”
“My friends can get past it. The ward keeps out enemies, not people who are close to me.” I gave a cry, then cringed again.
“The traitor,” Ethan said darkly, as if picturing them now. He didn’t say it, but I knew he was thinking of Vara. She was back at the castle with Arthur, while the rest of our friends were here.
His words struck me deeply. If my hearthfirehadbeen damaged, Vara was the most likely culprit. She had access to my office.
Ethan boosted me into his arms, and carried me to the bedroom. “You need to lie down and recover your strength. I’ll call for the guards, order them to use their shifter sight to investigate the area.”
“Tell them to leave whatever’s broken,” I mumbled. “I need to clean up the pieces myself. More people touching them just means more of my magical energy wasted.”
Ethan laid me on the bed, and tucked a blanket around me. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Stay close to me,” I said. “I need to borrow what energy I can, to recover.”
Ethan nodded and laid beside me, pulling me close to his chest. My eyes closed, and I shivered against his shifter warmth. I thought my office at the palace would be safe, but apparently, I couldn’t trust the people around me. That my Earthly hearthfire had been destroyed damaged my connection to Edinmyre. All the spells I’d done there— including the protection spell against Queen Antonia— were broken now.
It wasn’t very comforting the day before the eclipse was about to happen. I knew this had been done on purpose, at a very meaningful time. These bastards were coming for me.
But they had to find me first. Good luck, assholes.
I slept for some time. When I awoke, Ethan was gone, although the spot next to me was still warm. He must’ve just gotten up.
I still felt weak, but at least I was able to walk again. I shuffled into the kitchen and opened the fridge to munch on some cold waffles before I glanced out the window.
Everyone was outside, huddled around the campfire. By their grim expressions, I knew they were discussing something important.
