Page 41 of Dark Fae's Destiny

I nod at the creature as it swirls in its unfathomable darkness; at last, it nods back. Though Lucca snarls, I tug him along by the wrist as Ariana cuddles under his arm, urging him to go as well. He doesn’t fight us now as we egress from the dais. As all our allies come with us, wary with wings still spread wide against our foe, Staphylogenes doesn’t attack us. He only lets us file down from the golden dais of the Summer Fae King.

Before swirling up into the highest vaults, disappearing into the noon sky.

A breath of relief leaves the entire hall as thousands of Summer Fae, Dark Fae, and Vampires are released from the Gold Eyes’ menace. But there is no cheering that we have won this day; it came at a hefty price, as Lucca breaks free of us now and rushes back up the dais, kneeling by his father.

Archivolio is cold and pale, his golden light put out. He went with only his own vast hatred in his veins, however, rather than the fiend’s; I suppose that is something, as I stand beside Lucca and let him grieve.

Lucca roars. He rages at his father and this so sudden death perpetrated by the Gold Eyes. As his wings spread wide, he pummels Archivolio’s golden dragonfly throne with his searing light and raging winds of magic—but then Lucca goes quiet as he spirals deep within.

I feel him come to some vast, inner peace now, as he places both hands on his chest and inhales a deep breath.

And then he blasts Archivolio’s golden throne apart—with a massive strike of the Music.

I had no idea Lucca could use the Music like that; shock fills us all as his strike and that ringing sound of the Music fades away, gone from the hall. The towering Ascendant Sigil he created with that booming sound fades from its searing brightness, but I know what that short phrase said.

No more, it said, in Lucca’s brief, yet decisive way.

No more, it said, for the tyranny of King Archivolio Bellari.

No more.

As Lucca’s Sigil fades into nothing, the Music going with it, something in me celebrates. Not just because Lucca sundered his father’s throne, toppling monarchy this day for the Summer Fae, but also because he showed us twice today that we have the power in our trio’s magic to create a complex phrase of Ascendant Sigils with the Music and our focused intent.

I see a vast field of potential inside my mind then, in the otherworld where the Ascendant’s Sigils live. They’re waiting for us; waiting on the other side of the universe for me to orchestrate their creation. Now, thanks to Lucca, we know we have the ability to do it.

And the key, the phrase we have to create, to get us everything we want as we liberate Staphylogenes’ heart.

Lucca turns to his people now, waiting below the high dais. Naked as the day he was born, their once-prince spreads truly gargantuan wings of Light from his body now, engulfing the dais and vaults far overhead. He’s a towering blaze of Light, as he seethes for the reign of his father. And as Lucca addresses his once-people, Ariana and I step to his sides.

As the Dark Summer Fae Prince Lucca Bellari finally has his moment.

“Friends, kin, allies,” Lucca says as his bright, clarion voice is brought to every ear now by the power of his magic. “We have been liberated of tyranny this day. It is not just my win, but a win for all, as we face a new era free of my father’s cruel reign. For he was a tyrant, occupied only with saving his own skin from ever being brought low. He has been vanquished, friends. And though I stand before you upon this golden dais before his shattered throne, I will not replace him. Because there will be no more monarchy for the Summer Fae. Starting now, we shall begin the process of electing a High Council, from which our governing body will reign. From now on, we will rule as we were meant to—as a people of equals, rather than dominance. We will be a people one in our love, our hearts, and our magic. As we were meant to be all along.”

As Lucca gives his speech, no one in the crowd refutes it. Everyone here feels that towering Music and oneness spread through us; I see it upon every face, as Summer Fae nobility, Magistros, and military understand we are a single people, Vampires, Fae, and Dark Fae.

The Summer Fae do not resist Lucca’s edict, but take it into their hearts, digesting it. And as someone claps now, the rest of the hall follows, approval for a new dawn of the Summer Fae spreading in a towering wave all around us.

The sun hits its zenith far above, flooding the hall with its brightest light. And Lucca Bellari, the Dark Summer Fae’s brightest son, stands victorious in it before all the people he has freed.

At last.

15

GAME

The past three days setting up the new Summer Fae High Council have been grueling but fulfilling, as I finally return to Quinn’s rooms at the Red Letter Hotel Florence. With my Livingtree destroyed, I’ve been staying in my old rooms at the Palace of Light as all the Magistros, Generals, rebellion leaders, and Dark Summer Fae met repeatedly to hash out what a High Council for the Summer Fae would look like.

But without Quinn and Ariana, I haven’t slept a wink; I asked Quinn if I could come be with him and Ariana tonight. Though all my things are still in my rooms at the palace, it just isn’t my home anymore.

Gently closing the door to Quinn’s cathedral suite in the late midnight hour now, however, I see an enormous pile of my bags, trunks, and personal items inside. My eyebrows lift; I hadn’t planned on having all my things moved into Quinn’s rooms from the palace. Of course, he’s ten steps ahead of me like always, knowing what I need now that my Livingtree is gone.

And knowing I need to be with him and Ariana—now that my revolution is done.

Quinn rises in a quilted maroon silk dressing robe from where he was sitting before one massive lit fireplace in his living area beneath the loft, his shirt and pants from the day still on beneath. He swirls a brandy, sips it, then sets it aside and comes to me. I had thought no one would be awake at this late hour; but of course, Quinn is a night owl and always will be, thanks to the magic of Night that runs so strongly in his veins.

He sets his hands on my shoulders as he gazes deep into my eyes.

“How are you?” Quinn asks, never one to mince words when it counts. His dark onyx eyes search mine, but flicker with his Fae fire as he feels through our bond how much I’ve been through in the past days and how exhausted I am.

---