Page 35 of Of Pixies and Promises
“My darling daughter, it’s time to pass you the reign.” Juniper lifted the glass leaf tiara from her head and placed it on Nyra’s head. She swallowed, and her sad eyes teared as she grasped her daughter’s hands. “You are the new queen. The tithe belongs to you. The gully is yours to protect.”
Unseen energy thickened the atmosphere. It was like lightning on Sid’s tongue. A vibration. The gully taking a breath. Juniper slumped as Nyra gasped and lifted. Her back bowed as she floated, but her wings weren’t holding her aloft. Worried, Sid reached for her, but Juniper’s cool fingers wrapped around his wrist.
“She is receiving the tithe. Look how bright she glows… my daughter.”
As though the sun powered Nyra’s heart, a light glimmered from her pores and wings, spilling into the clearing. Everyone shielded their eyes until the light dimmed. When Sid looked back at his mate, she stood on the ground with a shocked expression and tears leaking. Wordlessly, she beckoned for Sid.
“Hurts,” she choked out. “So much more than I ever felt. Mother was holding this pain for so long.”
He clasped hands with Nyra, she closed her eyes, and Sid felt a pull through his equilibrium. Pain speared him, and he knew this must be the connection to the injured forest Nyra was talking about. That pulling feeling intensified, and strange things around the glade started happening. Lush ferns sprouted from the scorched earth. Metal bullets, weapons, trucks, barrows, the digger… it all sank like it was in quicksand. People hurriedly moved out of the way because Nyra’s reparation to the land wasn’t waiting. Life sprung anew in the gully. The pain in Sid’s chest lessened. He could breathe again.
If only everyone could feel the pain when they hurt the world, perhaps they would take better care of it.
When it was done, when the forest was vibrant and green, Nyra opened her eyes and let go of Sid’s hand. Unlike Juniper, who looked pale in comparison, Nyra’s wings shone like diamonds. Her skin still glowed.
“Long live the queen,” Juniper whispered, smiling as she lowered to her knees.
One by one, the pixie soldiers around Nyra dropped and announced their new loyalty. When Sid was the only one left standing, he looked to Silver and Shade but found them gone—and the surviving humans too. Shade must have taken them back to Crystal City.
His lips curved as he took his queen’s hips in his hands. “You did it.”
“We did it.”
He lowered to his knees, still holding her thighs, and whispered, “Long live my queen. I will be with you every step of your reign.”
“Promise?”
His heart clenched. This time when he answered, no hint of a lie was on his tongue. “Always. Forever.”
Chapter
Fifteen
TWO WEEKS LATER
“You look incredible,” Sid murmured as Nyra walked out of her dressing room in a floor-length ballgown.
It was made from a similar combination of gossamer, dainty leaves, and tiny white flowers as she’d worn on the day he met her. He couldn’t stop staring. It reminded him too much of when he’d ripped that last dress to shreds. His throat went dry.
He dragged his gaze up to her smirking face and knew she was thinking the same thing. Her wings fluttered and she shivered. He might have glimpsed a glimmer of golden dust.
It was the night of the coronation ball. Even though Nyra had already been named queen, this celebration was supposed to happen on the day they’d met.
“You look rather dashing yourself, D’arn Sid.” Nyra sidled up to him and ran her fingers down the collar of his leather battle gear.
He’d received his Guardian uniform a week ago after meeting with the Prime. She was a hard, sometimes emotionless female, but she seemed like a good leader.
As the consort to a pixie queen, Sid still had a lot of education and training to complete. Her in the royal court and there at the Order. He had rules to adhere to, and missions that would take him away from Nyra, but it meant he could be proactive in his desire to atone for the wrongs he’d committed.
It bothered Sid that he wouldn’t be here full-time to protect Nyra as the queen’s consorts should, but Silver told him Shade never did as he was told. If Sid wanted to stay with Nyra, then he should.
“I feel weird,” he admitted to Nyra. “Perhaps I should take off the uniform and wear something formal like the others.”
“No,” she gasped. “I like you in leather. Besides, it will do my subjects well to be reminded of your new job. That you’re one of us. Not everyone will see the Guardian mark on your face, but they will see the uniform from any distance.”
He glanced around their private royal suite. It existed inside another hollow of a tree, and now that Nyra had a greater capacity to hold mana, she could shift him to full size or small at any time. He felt a little out of place without wings, but he was finding his way about. As soon as he learned to control his own mana, he’d feel better.
He might even be able to borrow the ability to shift and grow his own wings. He tried not to keep his hopes up and hadn’t told Nyra about the possibility yet.
