“You know what I’m dependent on? You being happy and healthy,” I said. “I’m a king. I can shoulder your burdens. I can run this country if you need time to be absent. I can take on your duties and fill in for you when needed, but I can’t do any of this without you. And if you’re not healthy and taking care of yourself, I’ll crumble. Remember what we said about holding each other up? We agreed to be that for each other. I have people to help me run this nation, but I have only one mate. And I will not lose you. I need your love more than I need your help.”
The corners of her mouth lifted, and I cupped her face in my hand. “There are many queens that have existed, but there is only one you. You’re my rarest treasure. I’d give up all the jewels in the monarchy if it meant continuing to hold you in my arms every night. But how can I do that if you’re in pain? You were in so much agony last night, I couldn’t even touch your skin without you crying out.”
She scowled, and looked away. I didn’t let the conversation drop. I pressed on. “And I know it’s because you’ve been pushing yourself too hard. But you don’t have to. Let me carry us for now, while you recover. I know battling your disease is frustrating. Fighting it is useless. Let’s find a way to work with it.”
“I just wish I could do more.” Her words ached with frustration.
“You do your duty by keeping me going. The king might rule the country, but it is the queen that supports the king,” I said. “If you weren’t here, I would crumble, and the country would soon after. We can’t afford for that to happen,onawilke.So please, care for yourself, as I care for you.”
Emma grasped my hand, and said, “I’ll try.”
I convinced Emma to take the rest of the afternoon off, and went down to finish the rest of the royal duties on my own. I knew she thought she was slacking off, but I’d expected this. It was more than just an adjustment period. Emma needed more time to recover than I did, not just because of her disease, but because the responsibilities of being the Worldweaver were still on her shoulders.
We hadn’t made any progress on finding the Seelie or Unseelie stones. Arthur was looking, but so far, he had failed to come up with anything substantial. I knew that weighed heavily on her mind.
She still thought she wasn’t strong enough to become the queen she wanted to be, but Iknewshe was. She was stronger than all of us— even me.
She only had to believe it.
On June twenty-first,Emma and I had a day off from all the governing, because we were expected to participate in revelry. Midsummer’s Eve, Radek’s holiday, had arrived, and the palace was ablaze with activities from sunrise to sunset, and even beyond.
A great bonfire had been set up in the middle of the city. Emma and I watched from our balcony as fae danced around it, celebrating the arrival of the longest day of the year.
There was a mock-battle in the courtyard that the guards were hosting. Emma and I watched the spectacle from our royal box. It was all in good fun, and nobody got hurt. During breaks in the battle, dragon nobles would come onto the fields, to tell tales of epic battles long past in fae history.
“I looked into the history of Midsummer’s Eve before yesterday,” Emma said. “A book in the royal library mentioned humans were involved, though it didn’t say much else, and there isn’t a human in sight in Dolinska anymore.”
We’d freed and sent back all of the human slaves in Dolinska since Gabby had run out. Now there were only fae in the city, as it should be.
“In many years past, fae on Midsummer’s Eve would play games, to see how many humans they could trap, trick and enslave in one evening,” I told Emma. “They’d bring them back to Edinmyre, or to Dolinska, and force them to participate in parties until they danced or drank themselves to death. Though that’s all past us now.”
“Thank the gods.” Her expression soured. “And some call the Elementai savage.”
“The Elementai are far more civilized than we are,” I told Emma. “We just put on the illusion of grandeur and riches to disguise our savagery.”
Most of the soldiers participating in the mock battle were dragons. They boisterously wrestled in the courtyard, overpowering each other with the mass of sheer strength. Even though it was merely noon, most of them were already drunk.
Emma leaned over and said, “The dragon Faction really gets carried away with the summer solstice.”
“Midsummer’s Eve is very much a dragon holiday,” I told her. “Radek is a popular god amongst the dragons, as I’m sure you’re aware, since he is the god of war.”
“I hope he favors us, then,” Emma said quietly, and her words ebbed away at the hope I’d stored inside myself.
She swept a lock of hair back as she continued to watch the play, appearing puzzled. “I don’t understand. Malovia is a European country, but the costumes the actors are wearing portray outfits from all over the world, in many far-off places. I thought this was a play about the middle ages.”
“Most of Eastern Europe has been multicultural for ages,” I explained. “My ancient human ancestors were traders from Mali who journeyed here. I am a very distant descendent of King Mansa Musa, the richest monarch in African history.”
Emma wiggled her eyebrows. “Seems like it runs in the family.”
“There is more royal blood in my line than you realize. In fact, if you look into the ancestry of most fae, or even people from Eastern Europe in general, you’ll find bloodlines from people all over.”
“Really.” Emma’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know Malovia, or Eastern Europe in particular, had such a rich and immersive history.”
“It’s because Malovia is stationed in an area that’s a direct line to the rest of the world. Any merchants from England, France or otherwise would have to travel through here to get to Russia, China, or anywhere else,” I explained. “We had many traders from Africa and the Middle East who came here often to sell spices and goods. Many of them remained, and the fae took mates among the wealthiest of the travelers; it is part of what made the fae rich here in the human realm.”
“I didn’t know the world was so connected, even back then,” Emma marveled.
“People believe that there was no such thing as vacations or travel in the middle ages, but it just wasn’t so, especially where we come from. Slavic peoples, such as ourselves, are more culturally diverse than people realize. It’s only in the modern age that folks believe people from our area should look a certain way, but being European, especially Eastern European, doesn’t directly relate to having blond hair and blue eyes. People of all creeds mixed with Malovians, Poles, Ukranians and the like. Humans, as well as fae of different races, have been intermingling for centuries where we live, and we’d do well to remember that.”
