Page 45 of Calling of the Crown

Rune had never expressed much guilt over his past before. He’d always been sure of his choices and stood behind his killing Water Fae, but now that he was with me and was expected to be a leader for the very people he’d once hated, he was having to view that past from a different lens. If I had to guess, all of that was hitting him at once as he prepared to face the crowd, and it was making him crumble beneath who he was back then. It seemed now, as we walked through the iridescent halls of the palace to face our people, it was finally hitting him that he was no longer the Fox Fae whose mission was to kill Water Fae. Now, he was my partner and future King to those people.

I gave his arm another supportive squeeze. It wasn’t much compared to the chaotic emotions he was probably feeling, but it was my promise and reminder to him that he wasn’t alone.

Chapter Twenty

OUR GROUP ROUNDED A CORNER that connected to the main hallway, leading to the ballroom. As soon as we entered the empty stretch, the doors to the ballroom up ahead cracked open as someone slipped out, their back to us as they focused on shutting the door back. Curious as to who this was and why it looked like they were trying to sneak out or something, I strained my neck to get a better view of the individual over Angus’s shoulder.

When the person spun around to face us, the floor nearly fell out from beneath my feet. His face drained of color when our eyes locked, and he immediately fell to his knees on the floor, pressing his face and hands to the stone.

“Y-Your Highness!” he wailed in alarm.

Everyone had stopped walking, and my entourage grew rigid in defense as they huddled close to Rune and me.

“Blake?” I whispered.

Rune went ramrod straight beside me as he inhaled sharply. A low growl started to build in the back of his throat, and his suddenly fiery gaze narrowed on the trembling boy. “Blake? As in—”

“I’m so sorry, Your Highness!” Blake cried. He shook his head against the floor, and his entire body quaked. “Forgive me. Please! I didn’t–I didn’t—”

“Blake,” I called again, pushing past Angus and Jesiah, who tried to grab me. I shrugged them off. Everyone was right on my heels as I closed the distance between me and the newcomer.

My mind raced to grip that I was actually seeing him again. The lanky brunette was one I didn’t think I’d ever see again, but having him here in front of me transported me back to when I’d first ran into the Water Fae. Back before I knew Fae existed, I’d encountered Blake and his friend, who’d tried to rob me.

Even more profound than that initial encounter was my final one with Blake. He’d revealed that he was Water Fae, and during that interaction, Blake had admitted he felt a certain pull toward me that he couldn’t explain. Now, looking back, I realized the pull was probably because I was his Water Fae Princess, though neither of us knew it at the time.

“Blake, raise your head, please,” I said.

His entire body froze like he was holding his breath. Slowly, he raised his tear-filled green eyes to mine, and his throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Forgive me.”

“What exactly are you asking forgiveness for?” Angus asked harshly, his gray eyes narrowing on Blake.

“That’s what I was wondering,” Dallas mumbled.

“Blake and I met a while back,” I whispered to my team. “We had a misunderstanding back then, but we’ve since cleared it up.”

“I wouldn’t call what he did a misunderstanding,” Rune hissed, his fuming eyes never leaving Blake, who continued to cower as he watched us.

“Rune,” I said gently, trying to quell his rising animosity.

It was true that Blake had participated in attacks against me, but after he’d healed me during our final encounter, he’d also explained himself. He’d been lost, searching for a place to belong after losing all he’d ever known and loved during the Land and Water Fae war. He’d been wandering and waiting for the call to return home—for my call.

Guilt pricked at my insides, because all that time that Blake was suffering in solitude, he’d been doing so while waiting on me. Neither of us knew that back then, but when I thought about it now, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat responsible for contributing to the lifestyle Blake chose.

He’d needed me, and I wasn’t there.

All Water Fae did.

I needed to make up my absence to them, and hopefully, creating a peaceful world for them to live in would do that.

For now, though, I needed to reassure the fearful boy in front of me. He watched us as though he expected us to jump him at a moment’s notice. I realized that having me, the girl he’d once wronged, be his Princess must’ve created this idea in his head that he’d committed a great offense and would be punished for it. While that may have been the case under other circumstances, it wasn’t going to be his fate.

Offering him a friendly smile, I said, “You can stand, Blake. You aren’t in trouble.”

He glanced warily at the people surrounding me. “I’m–I’m not? But I—”

“Made a mistake,” I finished with a sense of finality to my tone. “We all make mistakes, and I’d like to think that most are warranted forgiveness. Don’t you?”

I held my hand out for him. He stared wide-eyed at my palm, and only after I flashed him yet another smile, did he slowly reach out to take my hand. I helped him to his feet, and the way his dull green eyes searched mine in awe made my heart clench painfully. It looked like a puppy who’d just been reunited with his owner after months of being separated. I hated that simply having me here was enough to bring this emotion out in him. It was yet another reminder that I’d failed him and all the other Water Fae by not being here sooner.

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