Page 129 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

I released the magic around them and watched every fae kneel as Cassius stood next to me, holding my hand tightly in his. My eyes took in the blood witches as they smiled and bowed deeply.

“This will be the last warning I ever give. We will not tolerate rebellion or hate in our kingdom. Our realm deserves to live in peace, and that is what we will work on movingforward. If you are caught trying to rebel, you will be killed immediately.”

All the fae nodded as I spoke.

“You’re all free to go.”

They left, some quickly, and others took their time. It would take a lot of time to build up trust with them to get the kingdom functioning like Crimson. I walked to the blood witches.

“Thank you for getting the blood marks done. If you guys hadn’t done that, I would have been swarmed by every guard in the castle. I owe you.”

“Are you kidding?” One of them said, “That was fucking amazing.”

I smiled as my eyes shifted to Killian and my mother. They smiled at me like proud parents. I wished I could hug them. Memories of my mother and I filled my mind. She always gave the best hugs, and she always knew what to say. What was I supposed to do without her?

“Don’t cry,” she whispered.

“I don’t want you to go. I already lost you once. I already lost my brothers and Sybil,” I cried.

“But you have Cassius, and together you will make a family of your own. You already started, Thea. Look at everyone here who cares for you. Everyone who fought beside you and rooted for you to win. You have a family,one that loves you.” She stepped toward me. “Killian and I are so proud of you, but please do not dwell on the fact we aren’t here. We will move into the next life together; we will not be alone.

“I wish to the stars and the moon that you could be my daughter in every life, Thea. You are my greatest accomplishment; I will feel your loss in every life. Cassius will love you enough so that you do not feel like you are missing anything. He is so wonderful.” My mother smiled.

Della appeared next to me.

“It’s time,” Della whispered.

Tears fell from me as I stared at my mother and Killian hugging each other.

“Thank you for staying with me. I love you.” I cried.

“I love you too. Promise me you will be okay.” My mother’s voice cracked as tears streamed down her face.

“I promise.”

Killian held her tightly as Della reached for them. I watched them until they disappeared. The blood witches watched me, waiting for direction. But I didn’t know how to be a queen.

“You may set up the coven wherever is best fit for you. I will need time to readjust to everything, and I will be doing that at Crimson’s castle.”

“Then we shall go close to Crimson with you, and don’t worry; we can care for ourselves until you are ready.” A witch named Farah smiled.

“I appreciate you all being understanding.”

They bowed to me and stood but bowed again when Cassius approached.

Sy and Petra ran over to us and pulled me in for a hug.

“Thank the fucking stars for you, Thea.” Sy pulled back and smiled brightly at me. I had missed my friends. The rest of the royal families came over to say thank you and congratulate me on breaking my curse. It was all too overwhelming.

“We will take care of everything here, Thea. You do not need to worry about anything but resting and being with Cassius,” Rylan said as he hugged me. “We are beyond the moon that you are back home.”

“Thank you.” Relief filled me. I was exhausted and just wanted to be alone with Cassius. When I looked behind me, Cassius was watching me with an expression I couldn’t decipher.

“Let’s go home.” He grabbed my hand and squeezed it softly. I nodded as he used his shadows to move us and our family back to Crimson. I immediately went to Haden and hugged him.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “You saved Cassius today, and I will always be indebted to you for that.”

Haden hugged me tightly against him. I released my healing magic for him, but he didn’t have any wounds to heal.

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