Page 109 of A War of Three Kings

A weariness drags down my soul.

I can hardly battle the monsters in my own court, much less take on the demons of the gods.

Keira shifts beside me. “I thought the fae created the portals?—”

I let out a deep laugh. “We may be more powerful than humans, but we do not havethatmuch magic! We can open them at will, manipulate their paths and destroy them, but we cannot create them. The stone itself is from the realm of the gods. The fact that you have so many here shows how much they favored humans and this land. I suspect your order of Mothers of Magic started out as a cult to worship the gods, and in return they created the sanctuaries with many portals.” I tug on the lock of Keira’s hair. “Besides, you need to stop referring to fae in third person. You are one of us, whether you like it or not.”

A frown pinches her features. “Can I not be both? I cannot belong to the culture I was raised in and spent my entire life a part of,andbelong to the culture of my blood? Must I reject one for the other?”

I let out a rough sigh. She is right.

“You can identify as whatever you want, Keira. Both. Neither. It is up to you to decide. I’ll support you, so long as you don’t make my entire race the villains in your story.”

“Never, Aldrin,” she whispers. “Never again.”

“Can I be completely honest with you?” I ask softly.

She raises her head to look into my eyes. “Always.”

My heart rate ramps up as I choose my words carefully. “I don’t want you talking about us fae in third person, I don’t want you to reject your fae blood, because I want you to be my queen. Toembracebeing a fae queen. It is not much I offer you—a crown in exile while I am hunted by my enemies—but I am a selfish man, and I want all of you.”

Keira kisses me lightly on the lips. “You are far from selfish, Aldrin.” Her smile grows. “I want to be your lover, your queenand your life partner. I want all of you and to give you everything I have. We will fight those enemies together and win back your crown, because your people deserve a just ruler as much as you deserve your birthright.”

My stomach tumbles. I pull her in to me and kiss her hard in a bruising of lips. When Keira breaks away, she is breathless.

“No more hiding what we are to each other, Aldrin. I don’t care if every lord, countess and foot soldier has a problem with it. I won’t hide the fact that I am madly, desperately in love with you anymore.”

I cup her cheek as a thrill ripples through me. “Marry me, Keira. Become my betrothed.”

A tear runs down her cheek and I catch it with my thumb and brush it away. “Of course I will, Aldrin.”

We fall asleep mostly naked and curled up around each other. It is the closest to paradise I have ever come.

Chapter 28

Keira

It feels wrong to be up here, in this beautiful palace of marble that overlooks the city of Windkeep Stronghold, while chaos unfolds beneath us. Lord Adalwolf’s residence is one of opulence, with mosaic artwork inlaid in the floor, gold trimmings adorning the ornate stucco vines on the walls and many gurgling indoor fountains.

Immense glass windows reach from ceiling to floor in this audience chamber that sits at the highest point of the city. They are needed. At this height, the severe winds could blow a person right off a courtyard garden or out a window on a bad day.

I ignore the war council members as they funnel into the room and take their seats at the broad oak table in the center of the space. I focus on the view below as tension ripples through my shoulders, making me clench and release my hands as I itch for action.

The city sprawls out in all directions in an intricate maze of roads and squat, white buildings with flat roofs. The streets are over-packed with the soldiers of our army, many setting up their tents in parks or wherever they can find a strip of space. But it is not this chaos that has my anxiety rearing its ugly head.

Beyond the city, past the fields and woods, huge channels of black smoke contrast against the bright blue of the morning sky. Villages are being razed to the ground. How many deaths do those bonfires represent? How many homes, businesses and livelihoods are destroyed? All for one man’s wounded pride. Because Finan couldn’t handle my rejection.

“Shall we begin this session of the war council?” my father says.

I turn from the window to the full table, noting only my grandmother is missing. I join them, taking a seat at Aldrin’s side and slipping my hand over his on top of the table, squeezing it a moment and sharing a glance with him before letting it go. Only Countess Lynna notices our exchange and her black eyebrows raise almost to her hairline.

“It is obvious the mad king’s forces are taking the eastern route to Appleshield, burning the villages as they go.” Lord Tomas’ pudgy cheeks ripple as he speaks and spittle flies from his lips. He throws out an arm toward the east, as though we all haven’t noticed the sight out that window.

My father pinches the bridge of his nose. “Can we wait to hear what Drake and Zinnia discover?” he says, tipping his head to indicate both fae.

“It shouldn’t take long to throw our consciousness out to the enemy.” Drake gives the room his classic cocky smile, the one that reaches his eyes and crinkles his silver face tattoo of a tree. “Not with that army being so near.”

He unbuttons his cloak and drapes it across the ground, preparing to prop himself against a corner where two pillars meet. Zinnia does the same, but as she moves to sit on the floor, Lord Adalwolf launches out of his seat and grips her arm.

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