Ember (Faylinn Series)

by Mindy Hayes

  Allura shrugged, tossing her dreads behind her shoulder. “Have you seen Kai? I haven’t seen him since the Dawning.”

  We all shook our heads. It definitely hadn’t slipped my mind that I hadn’t seen him since our eyes met as I walked down the aisle.

  “He’s made himself pretty scarce over that last few weeks. He rarely tells me where he’s going anymore,” Lorelle commented.

  “I would have thought that since Calliope’s here things would have changed,” Allura grumbled. “He’s even more invisible now than before.” She turned to me. “I don’t blame you, though. I think he’s just exploring his new found freedom.”

  “No offence taken.”

  Someone cleared his throat, and I turned to see Declan. “My Queen, I wanted to introduce you to my brother.” He gestured to a giant at his side.

  “This is Desmond, one of the most talented Craftsmen I know. He helped me build my little hut.” Declan knocked his head back in the direction of his home.

  My eyes lifted up and up some more until they met Desmond’s turquoise eyes. He stood about six-foot-five. “Hi, Desmond. It’s nice to meet you.”

  He bowed forward, taking one of my hands in his. “Your Majesty, it’s comforting to know we finally have a part of your family back in Faylinn.”

  “Thank you.” I smiled. “I really appreciate you saying that.”

  Another figure stepped forward. It’s a wonder I even saw her at all next to Desmond. She was a little taller than I was, but next to Declan’s brother, everyone looked miniature.

  Desmond curled his arm around her shoulders. They didn’t look more than twenty-five. “This is Cora, my … well … we’ve been waiting a long time for this to be a possibility. That is …” My eyes shifted back and forth as I tried to understand where he was going with this. “With your permission, we would like to be the first to bond.”

  Her coral eyes shimmered when she smiled at me with the most genuine hope spreading across her face I couldn’t help but smile back.

  “Yes. Yes, absolutely.” I nodded fervently. “You don’t need my permission. Of course you can bond.”

  “Actually, Calliope,” Declan interjected softly, stepping to my side. “They do need your approval before they can move forward.”

  “What? Why?” I muttered to him.

  “It’s a custom. We can talk more about it later,” he whispered back. He moved closer to my ear and said even more quietly, “Just say, ‘you have my blessing.’”

  “You have my blessing,” I repeated robotically. Wasn’t that the father’s line? What position was I even in to tell them their business. Okay. So I was Queen, but they didn’t even know me.

  “Thank you, Your Grace.” Cora breathed in relief. I could see tears glazing over her eyes. “Thank you so much.”

  Desmond swept Cora off her feet and into his arms. They twirled and kissed, and I’d never seen such happiness in my entire life.

  “Would you like to celebrate with me?” Declan leaned down to my ear again.

  I raised my eyebrow, making the question apparent with my eyes. What exactly did he mean by celebrate?

  “Come dance with me.”

  I have never been one for dancing, but could I really turn down such an offer at my own Dawning? “Okay.”

  When I turned back to excuse myself, Allura had disappeared, leaving only Lorelle and Violet waiting patiently. My eyes grazed the area, but Allura was nowhere to be seen. She was more like Kai than I had anticipated.

  “It was good to meet both of you.” I smiled as warmly as I could. I wanted to show just how meaningful this meeting was to me.

  “Lorelle. Violet.” Declan nodded his head courteously.

  “Declan,” she replied. “Enjoy your evening, Your Highness.” Lorelle smiled gently and led Violet away.

  “It’s time you let loose and celebrate a little,” he murmured in my ear and snatched my hand, pulling me into the group of fae dancing in the meadow. We swayed awkwardly at first while I tried to loosen up as he instructed. I’d only ever really danced with Cameron. And that was at lame school dances. The dancing at those dances was completely different from the dancing here. Declan smiled as he watched me try to find a rhythm. The beat of the music began to pulse inside of me, taking control before I had the chance to feel self-conscious of his scrutiny or anyone else’s.

  “You should know … Desmond and Cora have been waiting to bond since before Favner.”

  I nearly stopped dancing, but the music wouldn’t let me. “Are you serious?”

  “They had a date set, but Favner had taken over right before they could and destroyed any chance of them sharing a life together. They didn’t think this day would ever come.”

  I wanted to cry. Even after all this time, they hadn’t given up on one another. “How could they stand it? How could they stand to be apart?”

  “They met in secret as lots of fae did. But each meeting was limited and infrequent from the fear of being caught and put to death looming over them.”

  “I can’t … that makes my heart hurt to think that they had to go through that for all of those years. No one will ever have to worry about that again.”

  Declan lightly chuckled. “You don’t have to be sad about it now. You just gave Desmond and Cora everything. They can be together now because of you.”

  Hearing that alone made coming to Faylinn worthwhile. “So I’m guessing they are both Craftsmen?”

  He nodded.

  “And they really do love each other.” It was apparent.

  “Some get lucky.” He smiled, but it was touched with sadness. I wondered who he was thinking about.

  I’m not sure how long we danced, effortlessly gliding and flowing around one another, but I never got tired. It had to have been hours, but my feet felt as though they only wanted more. The only thing that marked the time was the sun. Before I knew it, it was setting. My body couldn’t get enough of the music. No one existed, but us, until I heard his voice.

  “You seem to be making yourself right at home.” I stiffened and turned. “Don’t let me interrupt. I just thought I should officially commend you. You made it through the first day unscathed.”

  I finally found my voice. “Hello, Kai. How nice of you to join the festivities.”

  “How could I miss them? You can hear them from miles away. I could have simply enjoyed the party from my home.”

  “And why didn’t you?” Declan asked with a raised eyebrow, but no malice.

  “And miss this?” He spread his arms out. “The opportunity to officially shake the hand of our new Queen on the day of her Dawning?” He held his hand out to me. I took it, but not without hesitation. It was impossible to ignore the tingling that followed, sprouting up my arm and spreading through the rest of my veins. “I couldn’t miss this,” he muttered, though I couldn’t tell if it was irritation or sincerity in his voice.

  “Allura was looking for you,” I managed to get out as I continued to sway with the music.

  He lowered our hands, but didn’t let me go. I should have, but a part of me wasn’t ready to. It had been so long since we’d last touched. “What can I say? I’m a wanted man. No one can live without me.” His deep eyes grazed mine pointedly.

  “You’re awfully full of yourself today,” I commented.

  He squeezed my hand gently before letting go. “I like to think of myself as more confident than conceited, but think what you will. I’ll let you two carry on.”

  I didn’t feel much like dancing anymore. Now that I’d slowed down I realized how tired I truly was. My feet were tender, my arms sore. My whole body ached. And Kai’s aggravating appearance spoiled whatever kind of time I was having.

  “Declan, would it be all right if I left before the celebration ended? Will anyone be offended or think I’m being disrespectful to tradition or something?”

  “No, no … I think fae have already started to head to their homes for the night. I’ll escort you to your room if you are ready.” />
  I nodded. “Thank you.”

  There was a faint smirk on Kai’s face when I turned to say goodnight. I couldn’t tell if it was out of amusement or triumph. He had to know the effect he had on me.

  “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, Kai.”

  “Oh, the night is still young,” he remarked with a tilt of his lips. “I can make no promises.”

  “Kai!” I heard a female voice call to him. All of our eyes found a blonde dancing in the center of the crowd, waving him over. Her long shiny hair streamed over her light purple wings and a flirtatious grin touched her lips.

  “And if I didn’t do anything you wouldn’t do, that wouldn’t get me very far now would it, Your Highness?” His eyes lingered on Purple Wings until he addressed me personally.

  I scowled, and he winked before dashing into the dancing swarm of faeries.

  My body felt weighed down while I watched him go. I could play the feeling off as exhaustion, but deep down I knew it was something entirely different.

  A guy in Purple Wings’ group patted Kai’s shoulder before playfully shoving him into her grasp. She grabbed his hand and twirled herself in circles before spinning into his arms. The moment a smirk lined his lips as he peered down at her, I looked away with a queasy twinge in my stomach.

  Suddenly the music abruptly stopped and a hush fell over the fae. Declan and I looked to one another, then around the meadow, to see what was going on. Everyone turned in the same direction of the forest.

  “What’s going on?” I whispered. He shook his head without a word and searched the crowd.

  Out of the gathering, I saw a man coming toward me, faeries parting like the Red Sea as he walked. His coal black hair flowed down his back. His features were sharp, so striking; it was almost hard to look at him. Almost. Two younger men accompanied him, flanking both sides of him, their looks so remarkably similar to the man in the middle they had to be related. About five towering figures assembled behind them with spears in hand. I could only assume they were his Keepers.

  “King Adair?” Declan gasped.

  “Who?” I whispered urgently, but there was no time for him to answer before they reached us.

  “So, it’s true?” King Adair questioned, searching our faces with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “Favner is gone?”

  Declan nodded. “Yes. Favner is no longer King.”

  When King Adair’s eyes finally rested on me for more than a second, his hand shot to his mouth in disbelief. “You look so much like him,” he murmured.

  I stepped closer to Declan, feeling self-conscious by his scrutiny. “Who?”

  “Finnian. You must be his daughter.” His eyes lit up with warmth that contradicted his intimidating appearance.

  “I am.” I cleared my throat to speak louder. “I’m Calliope.”

  “Queen Calliope,” he addressed me. “I am Adair. King of Rymidon.” He bowed his head, acknowledging me as royalty. I did the same, knowing he deserved the respect more than I did.

  “King Adair.” My brain was just grasping what this meant. The Waking Oak was working again. The passageway was unblocked.

  “Please, you may call me Adair. You and I are Royals. We may speak to one another as equals.”

  I offered him a smile. “Okay, Adair. But how is it possible that you got through? I thought Favner had set up wards, blocking the passageway through the Waking Oak.”

  “The barrier must have lifted after he died. We came as soon as we noticed it.” He seemed to notice then that all eyes were on us. The music had ceased, and everyone was stunned into silence. But I couldn’t blame them. They had not seen any of their fellow fae in so many years.

  “I am being so impolite.” Adair’s words pulled me back to the present. “Let me introduce you to my sons—Skye and Sakari.” They both bowed their heads respectfully so I mirrored the gesture. “Skye will eventually be taking my place as King of Rymidon.”

  Skye offered me a polite, yet serious smile, most likely thinking the same thing I was. When the time came we would be the ones playing nice with one another. Or rather, I guess we wouldn’t have to play nice. We were already at peace. Things could go back to the way they ran before.

  “Calliope,” Skye’s deep voice resonated as he nodded to acknowledge me.

  “Sakari,” Adair said his name, and he came forward and took my hand, kneeling on one knee in front of me.

  “It’s an honor to meet you, Your Grace,” he said.

  I blinked. He stood again with a smile so charming my breathing sped up and he released my hand. His eyes were like sunshine, a bright yellow while reflecting hints of light orange … beautiful. “Thanks.” I swallowed. “It’s nice to meet you too,” I finished lamely.

  “We did not mean to interrupt the merriments. I merely wanted to come and see if it could possibly be true. Favner is dead, and your family has been brought back to Faylinn. We have our true bloodline back.”

  I didn’t like being referred to like that—like all I was good for was my blood. I may be the true heir to Faylinn, but he made it sound like there was no one else like me.

  “Yes, sir,” Declan spoke up beside me.

  “You are welcome to join us if you’d like,” I offered. “There’s plenty of food.”

  “Thank you, but I think we will come back. There is much to discuss. May we meet again in a few days? I’m sure you could use a little time to get acquainted with Faylinn.”

  “Okay.”

  Evan immediately appeared at my side. “The second day of the waning crescent, Your Highness?” He was prompting me to agree.

  “Yes. Yes. The … second day of … the crescent.”

  “Waning,” Declan whispered, but it was useless. They all knew I had no idea what I was talking about.

  One of Adair’s sons snorted. I darted my head in his direction and saw the one with sunshine eyes was trying to cover a smile.

  “Whatever he said.” I pointed to Evan while I kept my eyes on Sunshine. I couldn’t remember his name. Shark? Zackary? He dropped his hand and offered a stomach-dropping smile. “If that will work for you, Adair?” It wasn’t as if I had any plans … that I was aware of anyway.

  “We would be delighted.” Adair bowed his head in a gentlemanly fashion. “Until the waning crescent. We shall meet again.”

  I lifted my hand to wave as they retreated. The fae scattered once more, creating a pathway as Adair and his entourage exited Faylinn. As soon as they were nowhere in sight, the music began once more, and the dancing resumed.

  “You did well, Your Majesty,” Evan said. “Held your own.”

  “Did I?” I felt so inadequate. What were they talking about? Waning crescents? What were we even supposed to talk about when he came back? Was I supposed to know?

  “Very well,” Declan assured.

  “Are you okay?” Kai suddenly materialized next to Declan, his eyes filled with worry.

  I suddenly felt drained. “Yeah. I’m just really tired.”

  “What did Adair want?” Kai pressed.

  “He’s coming back in a couple of days. He just wanted to see that Favner was really gone. The wards have been lifted,” Declan explained.

  Kai’s eyes darted to all of us in the circle. “And he had to bring the ogre twins with him?”

  “Calliope is going to need to be acquainted with Skye and Sakari at some point. They are the future of Rymidon, Kai,” Declan interjected.

  “Skye might be, but Sakari …” Kai’s words trailed off in annoyance. I was too tired to care what more he wanted to add.

  “Declan, will you take me to my room?” I wouldn’t have asked him if I could remember how to get to it.

  “Of course.”

  “We will meet tomorrow, Your Highness.” Evan bowed.

  “Thank you. Goodnight, Evan. Night, Kai.”

  Kai let out a huff of air and watched us leave.

  “Why am I so tired?” I asked as we turned the corridor near my room.

  “It’s the mus
ic. Because you still have human blood in you, I assume it still has a slight effect on you.”

  “And what kind of effect might that be? Torture? I feel like I’ve been hit by a semi truck.”

  “Fae music has a luring ability that causes humans to be consumed by the melody. With our music playing, they can’t help but dance. Some fae have abused the power. Humans could die because they never stop. They can’t stop until the music stops.”

  “No wonder.” I rolled my neck and watched Declan who didn’t seem to be the least bit affected. “But you’re not tired. Just because I couldn’t stop dancing shouldn’t make me this drained, should it?”

  “It’s possible. Remember when we talked about how we would have to wait and see what ways being half-faery would affect you? This must be one of those things. You may have more stamina and strength than a regular human, but you’re not completely immune to all our enchantments.”

  “Well, that’s comforting. I’m a faery Queen with a weakness to faery enchantments. Awesome.”

  Declan chuckled. “Maybe it’s something you just need to focus on. I mean, as soon as Kai interrupted us, your attention was averted to him and not the music.” He shrugged. “It’s possible you just need to concentrate a little harder to control it.”

  I sighed and opened my door. “Great. I’ll work on that. Night, Declan. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Goodnight, Calliope.” He slightly bent his head then waited until I was in my bedroom and closed the door before he left.

  Chapter Four

  To my surprise, when I woke up the next morning I felt rejuvenated. The stream of sunlight through my windows woke me naturally instead of Evette and Adelaide’s hovering figures, which I greatly appreciated. That appreciation was short-lived, though, when I heard a quiet knock on my door.

  I cleared my throat of morning mouth. “Who is it?”

  “Evette.”

  “And Adelaide,” another voice chimed in.

  I sat up and wiped the crusty sleep from my eyes. “Come in.”