Page 18 of Wolfsbane

“Hesper…” He stepped towards me, his demeanor now soft and gentle. I backed away, shaking my head.

“No, you don’t get to do that.”

“Hesper, please,” he continued until I had backed into the horse with nowhere to run. Morel gently lifted my chin to look up at him, the moon positioned perfectly behind him as he nearly glowed in the moonlight, his hair almost blue as snowflakes landed in the strands, his eyes burning a goldenorange as he gazed at me with such tenderness. “I told Dr. Altair no.” My heart skipped.

“W-what?” His response was completely unexpected, tugging at my soul as I stood there.

“I told him no. You are free to do whatever you please, as you’ve always been. But Hesper,please, don’t leave. Stay here…with me.” I felt such an electric pull towards him, such need to embrace him and hold him close and never let go.

“You—you said no?” It was almost unbelievable. The king of darkness, the man so many feared, said no to a proposal that would give him everything.

“I did.”

“But why? A marriage between our kingdoms would give you everything you wanted.” I felt lightheaded and dizzy, struggling to focus, as the sight of him before me was almost too much to handle.

“Not everything. Hesper—” He stepped closer, and our breaths danced in the air, our bodies nearly touching. “I—” He raised his hands, motioning as he tried to speak, obviously struggling to do so. “For the first time in my life, I don’t feel worthless. I have spent so many years consumed with hatred and spite, seeking nothing but revenge on Agaric for the past. But then you came along and turned my whole world upside down.” He rubbed his temples, lightly groaning as he looked at me, gently gripping my face. “The day I laid eyes on you, my heart did something it had never done before. It began to beat. I felt dead inside, but you—” He lightly shook me. “You made me feel alive. You are my very own wolfsbane, Hesper, entrapping me with your beauty and deadliness. I know you will never marry, not unless your heart tells you to do so, but I have fallen under your spell, Hesper. And I, not a king, but Morel,” he fell to his knees, his hands wrapping around my legs as he stared up at me, “am asking you—no, I ambeggingyou—to marry me. Notfor my title or my kingdom, but because my heart longs for you. Please, will you be my wife? My wolfsbane?”

My body became numb, my heart nearly giving out as I stood there, fully in shock. The king of darkness was on his knees, begging me to be his wife—not for political power, but for love.Love; the very thing I said would be the only reason I would ever consider marriage. And here he was, offering me just that. Love.

As I stared down at the beautiful man before me, my heart fluttered and bloomed. I had been fighting the feelings I had felt towards him for some time, making excuses for them, but I knew what they truly were, and the truth had scared me…until now. I slowly fell to my own knees, still looking up at Morel as a single tear fell down my cheek.

“If I am your wolfsbane,” I removed my glove and gently placed my hand against his cheek, “then you are the very light in which breathes life into my existence, casting me as your shadow.” Morel wiped my tears as he too began to tear up. I could feel our walls crumbling, our pain and past morphing into this powerful force between us as our souls surrendered to one another. “I think I too have loved you since the day I first met you, and I promise to love you until the heavens fall upon the Earth.”

“A symphony of stars,” he whispered. Hearing him recite my kingdom’s words back to me broke me as I leaned up and kissed him, passion overflowing as he held me close, my arms wrapping around his neck as he pulled my body into his lap. “Wolfsbane,” he breathed, surrendering himself to me.

“Let me be your shadow, king of darkness.” My tears fell to our mouths as he kissed me back with such power, the moon beaming down on us.

“Whatever you desire, my queen.” He stood with such ease, holding me close as I continued to kiss him.

“I desire,” I whispered, reluctantly removing my lips from his, “to be your wife.”

Morel stopped, gazing up at me. My cheeks were burning from our immense moment, despite the night and freezing snow falling around us. His lips curled upwards as he smiled, beaming with pride.

“As you wish.”

TWELVE

MOREL

My heart had nearly givenout after confessing my love to Hesper, begging her to be my wife. I had always hoped she’d felt the same, but I never imagined she would accept my proposal. My soul had found its match, its shadow, and it was her. Hesper. My queen.

“My king,” Orion stopped me as I entered the castle. His eyes told me my flustered appearance was obvious. “Is everything alright, Morel?” He looked me up and down, searching for wounds or reasons for my appearance.

“Everything is perfect,” I beamed. Orion raised a brow.

“Dr. Altair and I were discussing further options, and we believe—” The doors of the castle interrupted him as Hesper silently entered. Her cheeks were flushed and burning a rosy red, her hair covered in snowflakes as her metallic eyes swirled with new life. She stopped, noticing us. A smile pulled at my lips as Orion noticed, looking from Hesper to myself, gently wiping the snow from my shoulders. “It seems someone had a nice walk in the cold.” Orion made a face as I wheezed a laugh.

Hesper and I had discussed our plans for moving forward. We decided we would have an intimate wedding of just us, Dr. Altair officiating and Orion as our witness. Her only requestwas to not announce it to either of our people. She was fearful that Grisset would be opposed to a queen of Hellbore on its throne, despite my objections and desperate attempts to assure her that my people loved her as their own queen. Nonetheless, I promised to honor her request. The kingdom would not know, even if it did leave me sad knowing how much they would rejoice and welcome her as their queen. My queen.

Hesper quickly rushed away in the direction of her room.

“My king.” Dr. Altair joined Orion and me. “Forgive me for my outburst earlier this evening. I did not mean to offend Queen Hesper or yourself—” I raised my hand with a smile.

“I assure you, you did no such thing. As a matter of fact,” I looked at Orion and Dr. Altair, “I have news for you both.” They stood eagerly waiting, Dr. Altair, gentle and patient as Orion, seemed rather anxious. “But first, Dr. Altair. Were you able to acquire my mother’s ring on your journey?” He seemed shocked by my question, fumbling with his robes as he searched his pockets.

“Indeed.” He found the ring, retrieving it from a velvet pouch as he presented it to me.

I stared at the silver-encrusted jewel, the warm memory of my mother wearing it flooding my mind. The center moonstone sparkled in the candlelight, flashing from a cloudy white to vibrant blue, surrounded by antique silver vines that branched around the ring completely. A fitting ring for a queen. For my wolfsbane.

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