Page 94 of The Maleficent Faerie
Malec catches me before I hit the floor.
32
THREE DAYS LATER
I’ve never been so desperate for anyone to wake up. The healer assures me Aura will wake—her human body just needs time to adapt to the changes wrought by our union.
I can’t believe I never thought about the combination of a Conduit and a powerful Fae, married before Eonnula, sharing their powers. I’d even researched the transference of power between the Conduit Heir and their spouse, and investigated the magical reasons why humans who marry Fae usually end up with longer lifespans, though they don’t gain their partner’s powers. I should have seen the correlation, the potential.
As for Aura’s vision for the guardian Endling, the great dragon—I am in awe. I’ve been in a constant state of awe since I woke from my cursed sleep a few days ago. With Aura’s kiss, a weight inside me lifted. The destiny of the realm is a burden we share now, with each other and with both kingdoms. No longer do I feel as if I must shoulder it alone.
I lift my cup of wine from the nightstand nearby and sip, savoring the full-bodied richness. Wine was becoming increasingly expensive due to the Edge swallowing vineyards. In the future, that shouldn’t be an issue.
As I take another swallow, Aura stirs, flouncing over in bed. Her brows pinch together, and then she sits up abruptly, rosy and defiant, looking ready to stab someone.
“No,” she says firmly.
I grin, amused. “No?”
She frowns deeper, still caught in the throes of the dream she was having. “Malec?”
“Little viper.”
The blur of sleep clears from her expression, and her eyes widen, asking me a silent question.
I let a smile of triumph spread on my face, and she presses a hand to her mouth, her eyes widening.
“So it worked,” she whispers.
Tears gather in my eyes, even though I’m still smiling. “Yes, love. It worked.”
She reaches out. “Tell me.”
I scoot a little closer to her, taking her hand in mine and stroking her knuckles. “The dragon flew to the Edge and began to devour the Void, just as we commanded it to. It’s incredible, Aura—it ate back the dark so far, it uncovered parts of this realm that haven’t existed in living memory. It’s as if they were there all along, only obscured. There’s nothing alive in those places, of course, but we can reclaim and resettle them now.”
“Once we’re sure the realm is stable.” Her eyebrows pull together in a frown, so I bend down to kiss her puckered forehead.
“Yes, we’ll wait until we’re sure. But it seems the Guardian is taking its role very seriously. We’ve had reports of the Void’s shadows writhing nearer in some places, but the dragon always flies to that spot immediately and swallows the darkness, leaving our lands untouched.”
“How long will the dragon last?”
“There’s no way to know. My Endlings used to last until my energy ran out, but this Guardian seems to be self-sustaining—it lives on the darkness it consumes. People have seen it basking in the light of the suns as well.”
“And will it be a threat? Might it turn on us someday?”
“I doubt it.” I caress her cheek. “And if it ever should, you and I have the power to dispel it, since we are its creators.”
“Its creators. I still can’t believe it.” She touches the center of her chest. “I feel—different. I can sense the potential for magic inside me, but I don’t have any energy left.”
“We’ll go to worship tonight and remedy that. How do you feel otherwise?”
She tilts her neck to one side, then the other, a contemplative expression crossing her face. “Good, I think. Hungry. For food, and for—” Her gaze flashes to mine, a suggestive heat in her blue eyes.
My body weakens with delight—and a shadow of apprehension. “I’m at your service, Your Majesty.”
“Good to know, husband.” She touches my nose lightly. “But first, tell me of my—family.” Her lip curls as if the very word tastes bitter.
“After you fell asleep, some of my knights loaded your parents and the Three Faeries into carts, still in their charmed chairs,” I tell her. “The Three Faeries were furious, of course, but empty of magic, since you siphoned it all and they got nothing from the Surge. Fitzell and my knights left the Regents and your parents just beyond the border. According to my ravens, they were eventually freed by their servants and they returned to the summer palace—though I’m not sure how long they’ll retain any of their holdings.”
