Page 87 of A Heart of Crimson Flames
“Music or magic?” I asked.
“Both,” he said.
“Now we can finally go back home,” Calla said to their sister. “The Golden Court. I think that ‘one day’ has finally come.”
With a twinge of sadness, I opened my mouth to speak, to tell Calla that while their court was united again, we wouldn’t all be returning to Olmdere.
“Not yet,” Grae cut in, saving me from my explanations. He kissed Calla’s temple. “There’s one thing I need you to do first,”he said, looking up to the single stained glass window, impossibly whole. The only part of the great hall still standing. The Moon Goddess’s light seemed to sing from it even still.
“What?” Calla asked.
He smiled at his mate. “Marry me under the light of the full moon.”
Briar
I STUDIED MY TWIN IN THE MIRROR. “ARE YOUSUREYOU DON’Twant something a bit more fanciful?” I held up my hands when they gave me an incredulous look. “I’m not saying a gown, but at least let me replace your scuffed leathers.” I flicked my hand over and red sparks emanated from my fingertips. “It’s no problem.”
Calla rolled their eyes at me. “You’re going to be insufferable now, aren’t you?”
I laughed lightly. “Probably.”
“No—battle leathers, scuffs and all,” they said, studying their reflection. “It seems wrong to flaunt opulence in the echoes of a bloodbath.”
I hummed. “Look at you being the poised diplomat.”
“And you the killer,” they quipped, their green eyes finding mine. “How our fortunes seemed to have reversed. Me, the Queen.”
“And me, the shadow,” I mused. “I think it was the way it was always meant to be. If I hadn’t cut in front of you emerging from the womb.” We laughed in exactly the same way. “Maybe it would’ve always been this way. But I’m glad it’s been rectified now. You have the heart of a ruler, Calla. I know our parents would be so proud.”
Calla finally turned from the mirror to look directly at me. “I had thought it was just me,” they said. “That I was the only one who didn’t fit the roles we’d been given. I thought only I asked the question, but now I realize, that question that had plagued me for so long was the same one that also plagued you.”
I cocked my head. “What question?”
“If I could be anyone, who would I choose to be?” A smile crinkled my eyes, emotions welling in them again as I stared at my twin. “Now it’s so clear, so simple.”
“Who would we be?” I asked.
“This,” Calla said, waving between us. “No other definition or explanation will do. This is who we always were, who we always will be. I found my voice and you found your power.”
I swallowed thickly and nodded. “Yes,” I whispered.
So long the two of us had lived our lives positioned in counter to those around us. So long we’d denied our inner voices and shoved down every questioning thought to be who we thought we had to be. But I was never meant to only be an image, a moving portrait. We were never meant to exist as a person to others: twin, daughter, mate. At the very crux of it, we were so much more to ourselves than in relation to someone else: a soul, a heart, a shadow, a crown.
We breached the distance to each other in the same breath, wrapping each other up in a familiar hug, one that was well-worn into the grooves of my heart. “Who knew this is what awaited us all those moons ago in Allesdale? Who knew we were meant for so much more?”
“I think Vellia did,” Calla said. “Did you see her? You were caught up in your fire magic but she—”
“I saw her,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes as I smiled. “And I think so, too.”
Light knuckles rapped on the door and Maez peeked her head in. “Might I steal away my mate for a moment, Your Majesty?”
“Just Calla,” my twin corrected with a wry smile. “And yes, you may.”
I beamed at Maez, unable to hide the way she made me feel every time I spotted her. It was like being bowled over, the emotions overcoming me every single time as if for the first time. She wasn’t the same as she used to be, but neither was she the way she had been when she first absorbed the dark magic. She was something brand-new. This raw version of her might be her truest form yet, fearless. Mine.
I released Calla from our embrace and wandered out into the hallway. The Silver Wolf townhouses that circled the destroyed castle were truly beautiful. Sadie and our group had reclaimed her family home, but the rest went to the displaced humans. More and more were pouring into town each day in preparation for the full moon wedding. With only the clothes on their backs, they’d come to see the Golden Court Queen wed the former Silver Wolf Prince. Or more, it was as if they needed to see with their own eyes that Nero was finally gone, that they didn’t need to fear his bloody fist anymore. The wedding was just a bonus.
And still others came purely to see the dragon that tore down the Silver Wolf palace.
