Page 73 of Calling of the Crown

My heart raced as I looked at Rune—my friend, my lover, my world. We weaved and moved through the dance with calm precision, more in tune with the motions than we ever had been—more in tune with each other than we had been.

Every time the music swelled and we’d react with a string of movements and trick of our elements, I’d find myself getting more and more lost in him. I found myself thinking about how lucky I was—how loved I was.

This man had given so much to me over the course of our time together, and each moment was a precious stitch being woven into the tapestry of our story. Not every stitch was perfect. Some were rough and uneven. Others gentle and precise. But each was beautiful. Every moment with Rune—the spiteful glares, the warm laughter, the tender touches, the painful tears, the promises of forever—was a gift.

I never knew a love like his could exist, especially not for me. It was fierce, it was loyal, it was encouraging. It was everything love should be, and I’d fight for this love until my dying breath.

How could I describe a love like this? Every word, every descriptor, seemed to fall short, so I let my gaze do the talking. I let him feel my love through the dance.

The music crescendoed as it neared the end. Rune and I stepped into each other, and the hands holding our elements reached toward their counterpart in the big moment. Our palms met, and the balls of fire and water shifted to above our fingertips where they grew. Each circled around the opposite element, reaching higher into the air in what was no doubt a blinding display of dancing fire and water. I didn’t actually see, because Rune and I never looked away from each other as the glow from the fire and glittering water circled overhead in a funnel of magic.

Cheers and applause erupted in the room as the music ended, and the fire and water arched through the air to return to their sources. The sudden excitement from the crowd reminded me that people were here, and I took what felt like my first breath of air as the intense connection between Rune and I receded.

Smiling up at my Fox, I swallowed hard. “Hi.”

His lips curved, exposing his sharp canines. “Hi, Beautiful.”

He offered me his clawed hand, which I took, and we made our way to the dais. Jesiah waited there beside a table that held two silver crowns, and together, Rune and I climbed the steps.

Jesiah gave us a subtle nod as though to say, “Well done,” and his eyes glimmered with something akin to pride.

I smiled at him before letting go of Rune’s hand so the two of us could turn to face the crowd of Fae. I scanned the room, noticing quite a number of Land Fae huddled together on one half of the room, some familiar—like Aidan, Yasmine, and Talia—and others not. My heart soared with hope that the gathered Land Fae were a good sign for our mission.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Jesiah started, his deep voice booming through the quieted room. “Water Fae and Land Fae. I thank you for coming to this joyous celebration where we crown our new Queen and King. As is the custom of our kind, we will begin with the crowning of the one joining the royal family.”

Jesiah waved a hand for Rune to step forward. My Fox did so, and he held his head high with his shoulders back as Jesiah reached for the large silver crown embedded with blue jewels. Rune got to his knees under the crowd’s watchful eyes. Some appeared skeptical over the Fox kneeling before them, others looked mesmerized, and others seemed downright overjoyed. It was a wide range of reactions bearing down on Rune, but he held himself tall and faced the good and the bad judgments.

“Rune Amadeus Beckett, son of Fox Fae Balgair and Myra Beckett, kneels before you as a civilian,” Jesiah thundered as he lowered the crown onto Rune’s head, and Rune’s fox ears twitched to adjust the weight being added there. Rune slowly stood tall once more as Jesiah finished, “And he rises your King.”

My heart swelled at Rune’s introduction. He’d worked so hard to be here, and he’d had countless doubts about whether he deserved the title. Despite his worries and the obstacles, he’d made it. And there was no one else I’d rather have by my side.

He stepped back, and Jesiah then waved for me to take his place. I took a deep breath and stepped forward, feeling the weight of thousands of gazes. I fought to stay calm as I slowly got to my knees and waited.

“Bria Marina Damaris, daughter of Water Fae Khal and Alesta Damaris, kneels before you as a Princess,” Jesiah boomed. He plucked the tiara from my head, and I held my breath as he placed the tiara on the podium to exchange it for the crown, which mirrored Rune’s, other than the smaller circumference. He placed the large, heavy ring on my head. With my heart in my throat, I stood, facing the crowd who remained silent as they watched on from below. Jesiah turned to them and finished proudly, “And she rises your Queen.”

The reaction was instant. The Fae in the room screamed out their excitement and clapped profusely. Rune came to where I stood, and he slipped his hand into mine before bringing it up to place a kiss on the back of it. Emotion clogged my throat as I smiled at him, and we seemed to send the same silent message to the other.

We did it.

After months of hard work, I was finally standing before my people as their Queen. All those painfully boring tomes, all the endless etiquette classes, all the merciless lessons from Jesiah. It had all led me to this very second, and I felt the weight of such a moment with the crown adorning my head. Every person in this room looked to me for guidance, and they trusted me with their lives and home. As I looked over everyone gathered, I made a vow to myself to do everything within my power to give them the best lives possible.

And that started with peace.

PART TWO: QUEEN

QUEEN

Chapter Thirty-Three

THE MUSIC STARTED UP AGAIN, and the celebration began. Rune and I took our seats on the thrones where people could come to congratulate us if they wanted, and everyone else mingled in the ballroom. I immediately noticed the room seemed to split into two sides—one half was Water Fae, and the other was the Land Fae who’d attended. No one seemed keen to dance as they just kept glancing nervously at the other side of the room. I could feel tension slowly starting to build, but a simple gesture seemed to fix that.

Ardley, who’d been standing with the Land Fae group, broke away from them and strode over to Khalani on the Water Fae side. The Orca Fae’s eyes widened as the Fox Fae offered his hand, which she hesitantly accepted. He pulled her out into the open room and slowly began to dance. Jesiah and Akira were next to move onto the dance floor, followed by Imani and Avana. Disha and Chanwoo even joined them, and as the crowd watched the different Land and Water Fae pairs move through the slow dances, the air seemed to grow lighter.

More pairs went out to dance, some Land Fae like Bassel and Carlos, others Water Fae like Mingxia and Marcus. Then there were some curious pairs of both Land and Water Fae like Jayanna and an unfamiliar Land Fae whose features seemed to resemble a wolf. Whole families danced, like Alvaro and the twins. Some individuals remained at the edges, watching or chatting to those nearby. The room erupted with chatter, laughter, and dance, and I found myself easing into my chair as the atmosphere brightened with these new friendships between our kinds.

Rune leaned over the arms of our chairs to brush my ear with his lips, and he whispered, “I’ve been dying to tell you since the moment those doors opened that you look fucking divine. Absolutely gorgeous.”

I bit my lip and turned to rake my eyes over his seated form. “As do you, my King.”

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