My access to the source burned bright inside me, pleased with my acceptance of my mate, while also fortifying my position as king.
But everyone knew a king was nothing without his queen.
Mortus stumbled over a root, the early morning sun not yet brightening our horizon. I teased a flame into the air, highlighting the ground as we moved, my mind spinning over the idea that had come to me moments ago.
“Do you feel any connection to Ophelia?” I wondered out loud.
I felt his wince more than saw it. “Yes,” he admitted, his voice gruff.
“What level?” I pushed aside a low branch and watched as he moved through the passageway I’d created.
He paused to allow me to lead once more, a sign of both submission and reverence. Good. It was high time he recognized me as his king.
Of course, all those hostile moments on the Council weren’t him at all, but Elana playing him like a puppet.
I nearly sighed, agitated with her once more. The image of Claire shredding her with elements, however, appeased my inner vengeance. Elana had more than deserved the pain of being ripped apart by the spirit source. Had I been able to do such a thing, I would have in an instant. But it was Claire whom our spirit chose as the conduit.
“I… I’m not sure what level we’re on,” Mortus eventually said, drawing me back to the path we were walking upon. “I can sense our link, but it’s frayed to hell.”
“Because she broke the vows of a third level,” I murmured, nodding.
“No.” Mortus cleared his throat. “Because it was compelled, not willingly given. On both sides.”
“Interesting.” I mused over that in silence for several minutes, pleased to see the grounds appearing through the forest ahead—the dimming moon still shining across the lively grass. “Elana compelling you two to bond defied the elements, which caused the rift of power.” I almost admired the clever bitch. Almost. But I despised her a hell of a lot more. “And she used that distraction to her advantage by sucking the souls of all the Spirit Fae in attendance on that fateful day.”
“During our ceremony, yes,” Mortus said.
“You remember?” I asked, glancing at him.
He shook his head. “Not exactly. But enough people have told me what happened.”
We stepped onto the path that led back to the Academy, a warm energy caressing the fields and leaving a hint of Claire’s sweet scent behind.
She smiled into my thoughts, our connection thriving stronger than ever. You’re okay, she whispered.
Thanks to you, my queen, I replied softly, my lips curling. I didn’t ask if she was awake. I already knew, could feel her vitality sweeping through the air all around us.
What happened to ‘princess’? Her amusement touched my chest, causing my heart to beat in time with hers.
My princess became a queen, I told her. No, a goddess of the elements.
I don’t know how it happened, she admitted. It just… did.
You were favored by the source, Claire. Thereby completing the prophecy our Council once feared. When one becomes half and five become one, a plague will descend upon the fae. Only death is the cure.
For so long, our kind thought it meant the end to the Elemental Fae race. But that wasn’t it at all. Claire was the cure—the one to bring death upon the plague otherwise known as Elana.
No one ever told me the prophecy. I could picture her frown matching her internal voice. Why did you all keep it from me?
Because it never mattered, I replied. You chose your fate, Claire. Not some prophecy proclaimed by the Fortune Fae.
It might have helped to know I was destined to absorb a bunch of energy and kill Elana, she countered, her sassiness causing me to chuckle.
Would it have made a difference? I wondered back at her. Truly? Because I think you would have done exactly what you did regardless of some words hanging over your head. Or perhaps you would have acted differently and changed fate. I shrugged even though she couldn’t see it. Either way, you were exquisite, my queen.
She seemed to be mulling over my comment, just as Mortus was with my earlier statement about Elana using his compelled bond to create a distraction.
“I want you to help Ophelia,” I told him as we walked through the Academy’s iron gates. “Help her heal and I’ll consider your debt repaid.”