Page 43 of Finding Closure

“I’m sure that was just a coincidence,” Onas drawled. “You would have objected just as I had—”

I was only half listening because something odd happened when he moved closer to her. There was a bit of a flash and weird coloring from each of them like it was almost trying to reach for each other. “Are you two together?”

“I beg your pardon?” Shael asked, her eyes going wide. “How in the world did you—”

“Smooth,” Onas chuckled, covering his face. “Really smooth, Shael.”

“What do you see, Daughter?” Lageos asked from behind me.

I groaned as I looked at him over my shoulder. “No, I don’t want that fucking power. Seriously. Visions and your bullshit too? On top of telepathy and teleporting? You guys hate me for real.”

“Yes, we engineered it,” he drawled. “Now tell me what you saw.”

I sighed. “I thought I saw something weird with Sean and Avril, but just now it was like almost how I’ve seen auras because of Julian, but it was only one color kinda, and when Onas moved towards her, it flared on Shael and reached for him.”

“Yes, you’re seeing a mating bond trying to form,” he told me with a heavy sigh. “They’re not fated mates, but that’s—they could be a match if they keep on the path they’re on.”

“We’ve not even had sex, so I think thatincrediblypremature,” Shael argued. “He’s a complete butthead and—”

“You sound like how the princess calls the warlock a stupid warlock right now,” Talila teased her.

Shael became completely flustered for the first time I’d ever really seen, and her shirt ripped as her wings popped out. Shecouldn’t seem to recover and gave me a quick head dip before flying off.

“Okay, I owe her a really big apology,” I grumbled before looking at my dad. “So something to work on. Got it. Let’s focus on the—I don’t want people to waste time protesting. They’re too busy for that.”

“Of course that’s what you worry about most,” Onas chuckled. “Gods, I was such an idiot to ever think you were going to be a horrible leader.”

“You weren’t the only one,” Talila whispered, blinking at me in shock. “Do you want to hold another vote to ask people if we should change it? I think—legally you cannot, but if Faerie all votes for it—who will arrest you or call it not a legal coronation?”

“That’s true,” Onas agreed. “You should unfreeze your mother before your coronation and lay her to rest, but everyone agreed to change that tradition given the circumstances. I think this the same. You can write it into law later.”

“I hadn’t really thought to try to change it. It didn’t seem worth it when the ancients are all dead now. I mean the evil ones,” I mumbled.

“Your people love you too much to even allow you to go through a ceremony meant to demean you, Daughter,” Lageos said with tears in his voice. He hugged me tightly and kissed my hair. “They finally deserve you.”

Maybe they really did.

I cried a bit with him, finally feeling like I wasn’t the sacrifice story anymore that I had once repeated over and over to fairies. I finally felt… Appreciated? Accepted? Valued?

All of the above?

Either way, Onas immediately made a statement that I heard my people and would change the coronation if they wanted but to please not spend their valuable time protesting. He even snitched that it was my first concern that they were working sohard for Faerie and had to be tired and needed breaks instead of on their feet for me.

To which they sat down instead. Many came to the town squares and outlined what they wanted changed. It was pretty simple.

They wanted me in real clothes and to not be sexualized since I wasn’t a whore but their beloved heir… And yes, “beloved” was in several of the petitions. They wanted the ceremony to be shortened and the focus where it should be, words mattering instead of torturing me. And they wanted the water but at a normal temperature without humiliating me.

Soooo pretty damn simple and reasonable.

Every area and city had its own petition, and the number of signatures was overwhelming. It just kept growing.

So we changed it. We did it in a big meeting and live for all of Faerie to see and be involved in. We had the whole ceremony on the information boards that people could read and see how crazy it was.

I said I would show the actual coronation dress and all of the layers so people saw what it really was. Neldor flipped out and said he’d rather wear it and let people see how it was basically lingerie that then got wet for dirty old bastards to fantasize about me in… And didn’t realize he was on camera live.

Seriously though, he threw a fit. He said he’d strip down to his boxers and put on the damn slip and get wet to show everyone just how dirty the ancients had been. And he didn’t want people seeing me like that and it really better change because if anyone saw his daughter like that—he was shocked Lageos hadn’t threatened to kill anyone yet.

“First,again, we’re doing thislive,” I reminded him and pointed to the camera. “Second, the demigod doesn’t care about nudity. Even mine. It’s when people get dirty with me.”

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