Page 79 of Beltane

This.This was why Siobhan and Donnelly came to me now, rather than immediately after the deal had been made. There would be no sense in suggesting I get out of this arrangement if there wasn’t a way back into the human realm. Poppy must have told Siobhan, who would undoubtedly have told Finn and Donnelly.

“Poppy.” Diana tsked her teeth in a chastising tone. “You should confide these things in me. How can I make sound decisions if I do not know what my children are doing?”

“Yes, my lady.” Poppy gave her a small curtsy before walking to stand next to me. “Do you want me to take him back to the others?”

Rather than answering, Diana turned to her husband. “What do you think, my love?”

“I don’t like the way he talks to you.” Alberich pouted. “You should send him wherever he wants to go, so I don’t have to see him again.”

The queen made a delicate laughing noise and pushed to her feet, gliding toward me. Her white robes flowed behind her, a blond halo of hair floating around her head. She looked like an angel, and in that moment, I wasn’t sure if she offered salvation or death. Neither would have surprised me.

“Oh, Alexei.” She shook her head and ran the back of her fingers down my cheek, dropping her gaze to my lips before glancing back up at my eyes. “What a tragedy it is to let you go. I had hoped to have you for many moons to come.”

The enormous weight that had suffocated me since I saw Carter and Miri drop evaporated. I was going home. Finally. After all this time.

“All my requests will be granted?”

Diana chuckled, grabbed my face, and leaned in to kiss me. Before I could ponder her response, Poppy’s small hand slipped into mine and the world went dark.

30

Miri

It was a sham marriage.

I knew it. The whole bloody world would know it soon. Ivy had confessed earlier, and rather than respond, I’d gone ahead with my wedding. That should have been answer enough, but the media was relentless, after all.

I didn’t care.

I made this decision, knowing it was the best for everyone involved. After all that’s happened, it was the only way this could end. In this fairy tale, the princess had to save herself.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror, memorizing the details in the lacing on the ivory dress. My hair fell in soft ringlets around my face, and my makeup had been done so elegantly, I had to squint to make sure I was still me. Underneath it all, I knew I still looked like rubbish. I likely would for the rest of my life if I had to live without my beloveds.

That wouldn’t last long. Rubbing my thumb over the place on my hand where there used to be scars, I went back to the night this started.

“Until the end,”we’d promised each other.

The end had come and gone, and we were still separated. I ignored the surge of agony in my heart as Lex’s dark chuckle echoed through my mind, combining with Carter’s blinding smile and Ivy’s incinerating stare.

How I loved them. How I screwed up our happily ever after.

Stop that,I chided myself. I did what I had to do, and now it was over. Now, I moved on.

“Miriam, darling,” Gran said, floating into the room with her arms open wide. Her smile stretched across her face, practically eerie in how much she forced it. If I didn’t know better, I’d suspect she was a robot or perhaps an alien hiding in a convincing meat suit.

I turned and tried to grin, blinking back the tears forming in the corners of my eyes. “Hello, Gran.”

“Well, now what’s that frown?” She clutched her purse tighter, taking another step toward me. “The prince of Monaco is a fine choice, better than any I had, by far.”

“You love Pop.” I scowled, recounting the thousands of times she’d admitted it to being an affair of the heart between them.

“Yes, but that came later, darling.” She sighed. “You’ll understand what I mean in a few years.”

I hated how she talked down to me, as if I was incapable of understanding what love meant on my own. Unfortunately, I knew what it was to sacrifice everything for the people I adored. I knew how it felt to be the one person standing in the way of a villain destroying everything I’d ever known. Was that not love? I clutched myself tighter, wincing against the stab in my chest.

“The sooner we get this all squared away, the better.” Gran shook her head. “Honestly, Miriam. You’ll thank me one day.” She patted my cheek with her gloved hand before turning toward my waiting family.

I should be celebrating this day with the loves of my life. I should be walking down the aisle to someone I adored, someone who had been there the night I consummated my real marriage, the one that filled my soul with so much joy. But no, that wasn’t in the princess’s story, either. The princess married a prince and popped out a bunch of other little royals to carry on the traditions.

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