Page 46 of Courting Envy
I would. If she'd let me.
"Only if you forgive me for taking so long to accept this." She reached behind my head and drew me to her then.
Our lips met and it was like that very first kiss, electrifying, hungry, perfect. I wanted so much more, but I'd wait until she was ready to offer it to me freely.
"You are my prince, now and always." She whispered those words against my cheek, but I felt them reverberate through my bones, through the very stones that this castle was made of. Her magic, our love, tethering me to her as well as Envy. Flaming heat shot through my body, electrified by the new connection to this place, one I’d never had before.
Rava stood and drew me to my feet, squeezing me hand reassuringly before she moved to Kyveli, pulling her up as well.
"And you are my princess of shadows," Rava told the other woman. She stepped into Kyveli's embrace, their lips meeting in a kiss that looked almost as passionate as mine had felt. I searched my body, my brain, for a sign of the jealousy that had run riot any time I'd considered Rava being intimate with someone else, but there was nothing there.
Not a trace.
I just wanted her to be happy, whole. To be part of her inside circle.
And I was.
Next, she went to Reon. They rested their foreheads against each other, and his tail coiled around her, drawing her in for a hug. He was there for her in a way that I hadn't been, and all I felt was gratitude. It was so fucking weird.
But nice, too.
Finally, she moved back from the three of us. Her face glowed with a light so pure that it pierced my heart. She was all that was good in the world, and she was mine to love.
"My tethers, my loves,” she said, taking us all in. “Come. We've got a court to address."
Rava had changed so much in an instant, transformed when I freed her from the gem. Ready to embrace her new life. Me, included.
She slipped her hand into mine and led me back to the surface.
Chapter thirty-one
Rava
Theveryairofthe circle felt different now. It crackled with life, an energy that had been lacking before. As we made our way back up the tunnels to the castle proper, I could feel my people swarm towards this place. They could see the changes, feel the shift in the air, and they were coming to see their new queen.
My loves followed behind me, Lucien still gripping my hand like he might lose me if he let go. I could feel his gratitude, his overflowing love, and knew that everything would be okay.
I felt so different now, utterly changed from the person I had been before. My horns and claws, the scaling on my body, it all felt normal now. Part of me rather than something that had been inflicted upon me. Magic was like the blood that flowed in my veins, and I knew without being told that everything here was mutable.
But it wasn't a one-way path. The health of this circle was my health; we were an ecosystem, and it was my job to keep it balanced.
There was a tingle along my spine, an itch in my brain, and I knew there was one last thing I had to check before I appeared before my people. When the gem broke, my last ties to the human realm had been severed and I couldn’t feel Marie anymore. There was only one person who knew how she was.
"Lucien?" I asked, trying to keep the quaver from my voice. "My sister?"
He squeezed my hand a little tighter. "She's going to make a full recovery. She's safe."
The last tension slipped from my body, and I felt like I could let the mortal world go. For today, at least. There would be time later to see my sister. Right now, I needed to see my people. It was an urge in my chest, a desire I could not deny.
The guardians that we passed fell in behind us, following Reon's cues, and soon we were back to the main level. I went up one more flight of stairs, knowing that I would need some height. Huge double doors appeared in the wall and opened out onto a balcony that was forming as I moved towards it.
I could already hear the noise from below, the crowd buzzing with excitement as the denizens of Envy watched my magic at work. My clothes shifted and changed, reshaping into a gorgeous emerald dress, gold threading through it so that it matched the gold in Lucien's skin. My scales were resplendent, glinting in the bright sunlight that streamed down on the dais I had created, only a few shadows shimmered around my hair, a note for Kyveli, who for once had stepped from hers and into the light, her form solid and sure.
Moving ahead of my loves, I stepped around a huge golden throne which was threaded with carved snakes, right to the edge of the dais so that my people could see me in my full glory. In their glory.
It reminded me so much of the last night I’d sung; the audience clapping and cheering, the reverence in their eyes, the pure awe of my fans.
Well, now all of Envy were my fans, and I soaked up their adoration, basking in it. My light grew brighter, fueled by their appreciation.
