Page 138 of House of Embers
Fordham put a hand on her arm. “What my betrothed means is—”
Titania glanced between them. “You do not wish me to do this for you?”
“No,” Kerrigan said quickly. “We do. We do want that.”
“We do,” Fordham agreed. “It’s a great honor. We never would have even considered that such an honor could be an option.”
Titania took a sip of her tea. “It has not been offered in many years,” she said finally. “It used to be that the great houses of the Fae clambered for such an honor. They competed for my attention to be bestowed upon them.”
“As is right,” Fordham said.
Kerrigan leaned forward. “Why did they stop?”
Titania glanced out the open window to a bird trilling on a nearby tree. “Times changed. Alfheim was closed to us. This new land was notthe same. The magic was weaker. The connection to our home world was severed. Fae began to wither and die.”
“But you remain,” Kerrigan said.
“I remain,” Titania agreed. “And for a time, we did not know it was different. We thought that all would continue as it was when we first came to this world. Even with the war with the dragons, we believed ourselves immune to the fragility of this world. We could die in battle, of course, but because of time? Because of suffering? Because of loss?” She tilted her head. “It was years of battle before the oldest among us began to fragment. What do you call it?”
Kerrigan cleared her throat. “Surrender to the abyss.”
“How poetic,” Titania said like acid.
“It is a consequence of this world?”
Titania nodded once curtly. “There is not enough magic here, as there was in Alfheim, to keep us alive. A thousand years if you were lucky. Such a short time.”
Kerrigan choked on a laugh. “That’s a very long time compared to humans.”
“But you are not human, are you?”
“No,” she said slowly, remembering their first meeting.
What had Titania said to her? She had not seen one of Kerrigan’s kind in a long time. Then she had believed Titania was belittling her for her humanity, but she had known then that Kerrigan was a demi-Doma. She had lived in Domara and seen the rise of He Who Reigns. She clearly knew who and what Kerrigan was before Kerrigan ever did.
When Titania had said that it would be a test of wills to see if she could keep Kerrigan here…she had meant it. He Who Reigns’ magic flowed through Kerrigan’s blood, and Titania was the first person to ever tell her that. She had always known.
“So you will not perish here like the others.” Titania’s eyes flickered to Fordham’s. “You may go to the abyss, but she will not followunless she chooses to. Not withhisblood in her veins even at just half power.” Then she tilted her head. “Ah, but you have the mating bond. So perhaps you will live to her lifeline. Only time will tell.”
“Why didn’t you go back?” Kerrigan asked.
Waves crashed in Titania’s eyes as they fell to Kerrigan’s wrist. “Do you think we did not try? The door was closed.”
“There are ways,” Fordham argued.
“My own father figured out how to get there,” Kerrigan said.
“Yes,” Titania agreed. “There are ways. You bring more with you. A way to tempt He Who Reigns to demolish this world as clearly as he did others. But there is no way back to Alfheim. He made sure of that.”
Fordham’s head dropped. “That was confirmed for me in Domara.”
“You wereleashedthere,” Titania said with distaste as her hand went to her throat.
“Yes,” he said with bite in his voice.
“And you still have it,” she said to Kerrigan.
“I surrendered to it,” Fordham corrected.
