“We all have different roles in our society,” Cassiel continued. “As the Elven heir, you will take the role as our male leader. The Emperor is responsible for governing our society, fighting wars, and making decisions. But you cannot rule alone.The queen is our spiritual guide, and the mother of our race. She consults with the goddesses and sees what the Elves need to do as a people to prosper. As Emperor, youcannotmake decisions without your queen. She is here to guide you. And so, you can see where I’ve had trouble without a queen at my side.”
“Ava’s already got enough responsibility on her shoulders. It’s not fair to put this on her. I don’t even understand how she’s supposed to communicate with the Elven goddesses, when she isn’t an Elf herself.”
“If you are at all familiar with fae tradition, then you know that intention becomes reality. We came from Edinmyre, from the same place as the fae, so we hold many of the same beliefs. As with the Arcanea, the Elves believe that if you adopt a child or marry into a family, you become part of that family, regardless of your magical talent or genetics,” Cassiel explained. “You are my heir, and I chose you to follow my legacy. You chose Ava as your queen. Because we made those choices, the Elves choose you, too. Ava is an Elf because she is your wife, and as we say, the blood of your blood. You have Elven heritage, and she is married to you, which makes her one of our own. She became a part of our race the moment she said her vows. Ava can communicate with our goddesses because they will accept her as their own daughter. It is her fate. The goddesses destined her to do this job before she was born, because she wouldn’t be your wife if theyhadn’tpicked her.”
“Why Ava?” I asked. “Why not Drea? She’s married to my father.”
“Elves are born into their roles,” Cassiel said. “Drea wasn’t predestined to become queen, so she never will be. Elves believe that before we are born, our spirit enters into a contract, one that outlines our destiny. Although your father and Drea are partners inthislifetime, they are not destined mates. He was destined to be with your mother, but once she passed, her role among ourpeople cannot be handed to someone else who did not agree to it before this lifetime. Cameron and Drea didn’thaveto end up together. It’s just something that happened.”
“So the gods and the ancestors meet in the Blessed Haven to decide our fates before we’re born?” I asked harshly.
“Pieces of your life are predestined, yes,” Cassiel confirmed. “But you were there, too. Your soul agreed to all of this.”
I scoffed. “That’s bullshit. Believing that way allows people to blame the victim so they don’t have to work to change things. You can’t sit here and tell me Ichoseto be homeless, or that Ichoseto be sent to prison.”
“The Elves do not believe in victim blaming.” He sounded a bit disgusted that I even suggested it. “This belief system should be utilized to empower you. It allows you to reclaim your power, and to find meaning in things that otherwise disempower you. There is, of course, room for one to experience the world, but certain fates cannot be avoided.”
Kallie had said something like that a while ago, because as a fae, she believed in things like destiny. But I wasn’t sure.
I shook my head. “I don’t know if I can get on board with all of that.”
“It’s not your fault people treated you the way they did,” Cassiel said gently. “But if you see yourself as the one in control, you may find meaning in what you experienced.”
“There isn’t anymeaningto trauma,” I argued. “It didn’t make mestronger. It turned me into a criminal. I always had to hide or run from people who wanted to hurt me.”
“You must find your strength in that,” Cassiel said. “The monarchy mirrors its people, and our lives will reflect their struggles. The Elves have been in a state of poverty, hiding from the authorities of the magical world for years. Perhaps you had to undergo what you did in order to gain a better understandingof life, so you could be a better leader. It’s you, Charlie, who will lead the Elves to a greater place.”
He was talking about my prophecy. I liked to think I understood the Elves and how they thought, but I couldn’t accept that I’d somehow chosen to go through all this shit to get there.
Ava and I were fated to be together— of that, I was certain. But he was wrong about me choosing the rest of it.
I didn’t want to hear more about it, so I turned the conversation back on him. “Is that why you never remarried? Because you’d found your fated mate, and even if you met someone else, they’d never beher?”
“Yes,” Cassiel said, and I sensed a hint of sadness to his tone. “Aponi was it for me. I was only capable of loving one woman, and I’m still only capable of that, even though she’s been gone all this time.”
I instantly understood how he felt. I didn’t know how my father had remarried, because I could never do it. Ava was the only person in this world for me, and my grandmother had been the only person for Cassiel. I felt a connection with him, because we shared that kind of understanding.
“Ultimately, I want you to comprehend how important it is that you keep yourself and your family safe,” Cassiel said. “At the moment, we can’t communicate with our goddesses. Ava’s the only way we’ll be able to. She will be undergoing her spiritual process as soon as possible, and you’ll have to help her. If you’d have grown up here, I would’ve taught you this early in life, but we must work with the time we have and start now. There’s a hierarchy here within our system you’ve never dealt with before, and I must teach you how to utilize it, before you make another mistake.”
“Maybe that’s our problem,” I said. “Ididn’tgrow up here, so I have to make decisions from the harsh lessons I’ve learned, Grandpa.”
“Please, call meseanari,” he requested. “It’s the Elvish word for grandfather.”
The request struck me momentarily. I’d never called him Grandpa to his face, and I hadn’t meant for it to slip out.
I didn’t know if we were close enough for that yet, or if we’d ever be. But we wanted me to call himseanari, because… that meant we were family.
“Okay.Seanari,” I repeated, testing the word on my tongue. I liked it, and I suddenly felt much closer to him. Almost like I could tell him anything. “But… I’m not like you.”
“Do you not want to lead our people?”
I leaned back in my seat. “I do, but I need to do itmyway. Either deal with that, or take my title from me, but I’m not going to stop doing what I believe is right.”
“And that’s why you’ll make a good Emperor. I’ve chosen you for a reason, to take over the throne once myself and your father are both gone, should I meet an early end. You weren’t merely born into this role; I knew you had the capability to become what our people needed you to be once I learned where you came from and everything you went through in order to survive,” Cassiel said. “You went through so much to get to Forevermore, before you even knew what it meant to you, and that proved to me you were willing to fight for our people.”
“I was fighting for our people when I broke into that bank.”
“Yes. I saw the security footage on the news,” Cassiel said in amusement. “It was easy to see that you and Ava were having the time of your life out there. I understand how you feel— your grandmother and I had some great times together when we were young.”
