Page 212 of Wrath of the Fae

‘I know they’ve been trying. I know you’re all waiting for me. That’s why I’ve come,’ I tell her, taking her hands in mine. ‘I’m not returning. Not as a queen. Not as anything.’

Her face falls.

‘But… you’re our Queen. My sister.’

‘You have started a council,’ I continue. ‘Members from each Kingdom of all ages, all backgrounds, all genders. You’ve created something wonderful here, Rhea. And it needs to stay this way. No more kings or queens. But peace and equality. Besides. I already have a crown. And it’s more than enough to be dealing with.’

The boys behind me continue watching over their shoulders intermittently, just checking I’m still in one piece. They’ve not left my side nor taken their eyes off me since we awoke on the English coastline two months ago.

And I haven’t wanted them to. Not for a second.

‘You’re stilltheirqueen?’ she asks, her voice low as if speaking of my monsters will make them burst through the manor.

‘Yes, Rhea. It’s a pretty permanent situation, I’m afraid. But don’t worry. I have it under control. I gave up my shield power and placed it around the human realm. I no longer have that gift. Nor the gift of the portal.’ I shrug. ‘I’m afraid I have no light left in me. None but the light they give me.’ I nod to the guys. ‘I’m Leviathan now. Completely. And I’m not safe around Fae. Not safe around anyone, really,’ I admit.

‘If you’re not here to reclaim your crown, why are you here?’

I tuck her hair behind her ear. ‘To say I love you. To say I forgive you. To say I’m sorry. And to say… to say goodbye, Rhea.’

‘Goodbye?’ she whispers sadly.

‘I can’t take this crown because I already have one. The monsters in this realm belong to me, and I to them. I keep the remaining leviathans in their deep sleep. And with you restoring balance, whatever creatures left here are retreating again. I’ve forbidden their reproduction, so their numbers will dwindle, and they will die over time.’

‘You can do that?’

‘I’m their queen,’ I shrug.

‘Will the leviathans wake up?’

‘Not if I have anything to say about it. No. They sleep soundly. Keep the balance, Rhea, and they should stay that way.’

‘What of the three in the human world?’

‘I have trapped them there. I surrounded England in rune markings. They can not pass it, and no one can reach them from outside. For the first time in millennia, they have a home to call their own. And plenty of half breeds to hunt and kill for sport.’ I laugh, but Rhea doesn’t seem to see the funny side.

Oh well.

‘This realm is free to enjoy the peace their freedom gives you all. And I have issued a very clear warning to the humans. I will unleash my monsters on them if they ever try to interfere with our kind again. I will wake the remaining leviathans and send them to their world to rip and tear them apart. It’s a message they won’t forget, seeing as they have an entire country full of evil to remind them.’

‘You spoke to the humans?’

‘We did.’

I laugh as I remember the look on each and every leader of the human race as we appeared in their homes.

Wings out. Powers on full display. And a very clear threat.

Never speak of us or come for us again, or they will know the true meaning of the word hell.

England had been lost to them long before this. When Fae landed on its shores, it became ours by right. Now it belongs to the monsters and demons.

It belongs to me.

I hold out my right hand. My skin is still marked with the many runes of the ancient rites passed to me when I accepted the dark crown. The tips of my fingers are permanently jet black, and I know that darkness will never leave me.

I’ve accepted that. I’ve accepted my temper. My rage. My blood lust.

And I live with it.

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