“Be happy,” the Fae Queen urged, before rising to her feet and disappearing along the path back to the throne room.
Lifting the hem of her gown, Desdemona ran, following the path she’d seen Malachi take. After a few twists and turns, she discovered him in a small, private courtyard. Sitting on a stone bench, he stared down at his folded hands, a silver archway climbing with ivy and blooming flowers surrounding him.
He took her breath away in elegant royal court attire. And though her memories weren’t complete, something told her she’d never seen him this way. His curls had been brushed and tamed, laid back from his face in smooth, red-brown waves. He’d shaved his face, displaying his strong jaw and chin. The white tunic he wore clung to his powerful shoulders and arms, reminding her of his primitive nature, despite his clothing. There was a part of him that could never be fully tamed.
He stiffened as she approached, seeming to sense her before lifting his gaze. Standing as she drew near, he bowed, his jaw tightening perceptibly.
“Your Majesty.”
“Malachi,” she murmured. “I want to remember.”
His eyes went wide as he straightened from his bow. “I’m sorry?”
She took another step toward him, her hands clenched tightly in front of her. “We shared something special. Don’t try to tell me we didn’t. And now it’s been ruined, and I don’t know what I did to ruin it. Whatever I did, I’m sorry. Do you understand? I’m sorry, and I want my memories back. I want to know why I feel this way around you, and why realizing you had left Mollac made me sick to my stomach. Please, Malachi.”
He swallowed forcefully, as if trying to choke down something he shouldn’t say. “Your Majesty, you made a request of me, and I fulfilled it to spare your heart the pain.”
“That pain cannot be any worse than this one,” she whispered, moving toward him again, now so close she could see the small flecks of gold in his brown eyes. “The pain of knowing someone loves you, and that you once loved him, but having no memory of your first kiss, or of holding his hand, or of being held by him. I’m in agony, Malachi, and I can see that you are, too.”
He trembled, his hands clenching at his sides. “You sacrificed yourself for Mollac,” he murmured. “You sacrificed yourself for them ... to become their queen and dedicate your life to them.”
Reaching up, she cupped his face and inclined her head, probing the depths of his tortured gaze with her eyes. “And you gave me up.”
He nodded. “I gave you up ... for them, and for you. So that you could be what Mollac needed you to be. So you wouldn’t have to suffer for missing me day after day.”
“But you—”
“I have missed you with an ache that cannot be eased,” he confessed, closing his eyes. “I have tried to put you from my mind, but gods help me, I cannot.”
She brought her other hand up to his face, cradling it gently. “Then end this misery, Malachi. I want to remember how I came to love you and why.”
Shaking his head, he reached up as if to remove her hands from his face. It only made her hold on tighter.
“Mollac needs their queen,” he rasped, his voice becoming gruff and tortured.
Standing on tiptoe, she brushed a soft kiss against his lips. “I have come to realize it also needs a king.”
He gasped at that, his eyes widening. “You cannot mean—”
“But I do,” she declared. “I cannot rule alone, and I do not want to. Not anymore. Something inside of me knows that when the strain of it become too much for me, you will help me bear it. You will be the person I can lay my cares upon. Help me remember, Malachi ... show me why I feel that way. Then come home and become Mollac’s king ... my king.”
In an instant his lips were on hers, his hands cradling her head. She gasped at the intensity of his kiss, wondering if it had always felt this way to kiss him—as if she’d jumped off the top of a mountain and begun to soar with the wind in her face. She closed her eyes and melted into him, tilting her head back as he kissed her as if drawing breath from her every exhale.
Then, suddenly, she felt him in her mind. A blast of air, like a cool breeze, seemed to fill her head, and behind her closed eyelids, images began to flicker and move. At first, they came so rapidly, she could not make sense of them.
But then, she remembered.
The moment he’d found her alone on the mountainside of Mollac, when she hadn’t remembered who she was or where she’d come from. The days he’d spent caring for her and helping her coax her abilities to the surface. The nights she’d nursed him back to health as he lay dying. The evening he’d confessed his love to her and pressed his lips to hers for the first time. And one, beautiful, perfect night in his cabin, when he’d whisked her away from it all.
When he pulled away, her eyes had filled with tears. They spilled over onto her cheeks, and she released a sound that was half sob, half laugh.
“My Malachi,” she whispered. “I knew it ... I knew there was a reason. So many beautiful reasons.”
He still held her in his arms, but watched her with uncertainty, as if wondering whether she would change her mind.
“Now that you remember, do you regret it?” he asked. “I will understand if you do.”
Throwing her arms around his neck, she laughed again. “Yes, I do have regrets. I regret ever having asked you to make me forget what you mean to me. I thought that love was my weakness, that allowing myself to be happy would cause Mollac to suffer.”
His shoulders relaxed and a relieved smile crossed his lips. “And what do you think of love now?”
“I think that it is my strength,” she declared. “Love for you, love for my sister, love for my people. And together, we will make Mollac great once more. Greater than it ever was.”
Lowering his head to kiss her again, he smiled against her lips. “Are you certain this is what you want? I have no notion of how to be a king.”
Laying her head upon his chest, she closed her eyes and reveled in the sound of his heart beating, the feel of his arms around her, and the sensation swelling in her heart—love making her feel as if she might burst.
“I have only recently become a queen, you know,” she reminded him. “We will learn how to rule together. What do you say? Will you marry me, Malachi?”
Grasping her shoulders and gazing down at her, he smirked. “I’m supposed to do the asking.”
She shrugged. “Nothing about our love has been conventional. From the start, we’ve been different. I’m offering you everything I have, Malachi ... my heart, my kingdom, my love.”
“Your heart,” he mused with a sly grin. “And what of the Phoenix? Am I fortunate enough to claim her fickle heart as well?”
“Undoubtedly,” she replied without hesitation. “You are responsible for setting her free, after all.”
Reaching down to lift her into his arms, he cradled her close, capturing her lips in a searing kiss. “Then my answer is yes,” he murmured.
She giggled, running her fingers through his hair. “Say it again.”
Chuckling, he pressed his mouth to her ear, a low rumbling growl sounding in his chest. “Yes.”
A shiver traveled down her spine. “Once more.”
Laughing, he spun her in swift circles, prompting another round of giggles from her. “Yes, my love. Yes, to infinity.”
When he stopped, Desdemona’s head spun dizzily, though she felt certain it wasn’t only from the circles he’d just whirled her in.
“I do hope you are up to the task of keeping the Phoenix happy,” she teased, running her fingertip down the bridge of his nose affectionately. “She can be quite demanding, you know.”
Holding her tighter, Malachi grinned. “I think I am more than up to the task. I captured the Phoenix’s heart ... nothing could be harder than that.”
“No,” she admitted. “But you’ve won, Malachi. You’ve won fair and truly.”
“Yes,” he replied, setting her on her feet, continuing to hold her close, as if n
ever wanting to let her go. “Yes, I have.”
Epilogue
WITHIN A FORTNIGHT of General Rothatin’s engagement celebration, the wedding of Queen Desdemona Ravenmoor to Malachi Voran of Mollac took place at Semran Hall. I traveled there, along with my scribes, The Brothers Grimm, Arrian Riverleaf, Princess Phaedra, General Rothatin, and his betrothed, En’im. Despite the loss sustained in the battle for Mollac, we chose to celebrate life that day, as well as the joining of two hearts in love.
Princess Jocylene, physically recovered from her ordeal, was in attendance as well. An air of sadness seems to hang around the poor girl like a cloud, but I have high hopes for our child of the earth. Her happiness can still be secured, and through the Eye of Goldun I have foreseen a joyous end. I can only hope that she will turn away from a path of anger and vengeance, or it could steer her from the path of happiness altogether. As the Fae Queen, I can do no more than attempt to guide her along the path of her destiny and pray to the gods that she will arrive to that happy end.
The journey to Mollac helped heal wounds of the past for me, I must admit. I had not set foot in the realm since Queen Eranna and I had our falling out centuries ago. The soft beauty of the winter wonderland is being restored day by day, as the hard ice begins to melt away, replaced by soft snow, and blossoming winter flowers. As a gesture of goodwill toward the Fae, Queen Desdemona used the heat of her Phoenix fire to melt away the iron encasing the fortress of Semran Hall—ensuring that the Fae can come and go without protective armor, unharmed.
And now, my friend, we look forward to our next mission—the liberation of the realm of Zenun. For too long, Kalodan Longspear has sat upon the throne meant for Princess Phaedra’s brother, Orath—the true king of the underwater kingdom. Queen Xyla remains imprisoned in Eridell Castle, while many of Zenun’s citizens remain under siege—much like the people of Mollac were before Desdemona freed them.
Even now, things are aligning for the fulfillment of Princess Sonia’s destiny. Despite having not yet come into her powers, the younger daughter of Zenun has proven herself to be smart, strong, and intelligent. She alone discovered the way to bring dragons back into the world, coaxing them from eggs that had long lain dormant. I firmly believe that she will more than live up to the example of her sister and the other royal daughters.
I have high expectations for all the wonderful people who fight for Fallada.
I have hope, my friend, even as our High Princess lies in a sleep-like state in Osbel Tower. For what sleeps can always be awakened ... all we must do is determine how it is to be done.
The turning point in our war against evil has been reached, and the rise of the Phoenix has ensured that we have come out the victors. I look forward to overseeing the final battles, and watching our brave princesses fulfil the prophecy. Soon, Fallada will become a land greater than ever before.
I look forward to that day with optimism.
Book 6 of the Lost Kingdom of Fallada Series
Coming 2018!
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The Lost Kingdom of Fallada
Reading Order
Beyond the Iron Gate (Prequel)
Fallada’s Faerie Tales (Prequel)
Daughter of the Red Dawn (Book 1)
Child of the Sacred Earth (Book 2)
Rise of the Tide (Book 3)
Tempest’s Fury (Book 4)
Flight of the Phoenix (Book 5)
More by Alicia Michaels
The Lost Kingdom of Fallada Series
A collection of modern fairytales with a fantasy twist.
Beyond the Iron Gate (Prequel)
Fallada’s Faerie Tales (Prequel)
Daughter of the Red Dawn (Book 1)
Child of the Sacred Earth (Book 2)
Rise of the Tide (Book 3)
Tempest’s Fury (Book 4)
Flight of the Phoenix (Book 5)
The Bionics Novels
A gritty, high octane dystopian thrill ride, placing a 19 year-old girl at the forefront of a revolution against the government.
The Bionics (Book 1)
The Resistance (Book 2)
The Revolution (Book 3) (Coming January 2018)
Sharing Spaces Series
Romantic comedy series centered around a group of college roommates.
V-Card (Book 1)
Brat (Book 2)
Thin (Book 3)
Bellamy and the Brute
A contemporary, paranormal horror twist on the story of Beauty and the Beast.
Bellamy and the Brute (Book 1)
Bellamy and the Haunting (Book 2)
About the Author
Ever since she first read books like Chronicles of Narnia or Goosebumps, Alicia has been a lover of mind-bending fiction. Wherever imagination takes her, she is more than happy to call that place her home. With several Fantasy and Science Fiction titles under her belt, Alicia strives to write multicultural characters and stories that touch the heart.
The mother of three and wife to an Army sergeant, she loves chocolate, coffee, and of course good books. When not writing, you can usually find her with her nose in a book, shopping for shoes and fabulous jewelry, or spending time with her loving family.
Sign up for Alicia’s monthly newsletter for sneak peeks at upcoming works, insider news, and a special monthly giveaway for subscribers only: http://www.fantasybyalicia.com/e-newsletter/
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