“I don’t want to fight right now.” I beseeched him and his lips formed a tight line. I dared to rest my head against his bare chest and continued to let my tears drain from me. Rune never judged my emotions, he only made sure to fight off anything that caused me pain. Right now, there wasn’t anything he could do but hold me. So, I wasn’t too surprised when the arm that had pulled me to the bed, tightened around my waist. I smiled against him and calmed my plaguing thoughts to the steady sound of his strong heart.
I fell asleep and Rune’s warmth and strength kept the nightmares away. I wished we could be like this every night. However, when I woke up, the joy of him staying with me and comforting me fell flat, as I realized I laid in bed by myself.
My loud sigh echoed around the empty room. Slowly, I rolled out of bed and prepared for my day.
“I hope you aren’t going to address your people looking like that.” Nyx strode into my room in a green dress that made her purple eyes pop.
“I am. I don’t want to show a separation between me and them by dressing fancy.” I looked down at my boots, pants, and shimmering light-blue tunic. I thought I looked nice and practical. I glanced back to Nyx’s face and saw her mouth twitched up to the side.
“I see your point. You want to be more approachable, like you are one of them.”
I nodded. They deserved me coming to them with humility instead of superiority. We left the palace together, with three guards walking behind us, which made me feel like an outsider all over again, constantly being supervised and walked around like a dog with an adjustable leash.
Some of the Fae people bowed when I walked into view. Crysia had always been one of the greatest Fae kingdoms in the world. We valued and protected nature, rhythm, symbiosis, hope, and leadership. Entrepreneurship flourished, and trade to the other kingdoms made our city’s economy prosperous. I had visited with the people often when I was younger. However, despite my attempt to be like one of them, the people always treated me like Princess Sapphira.
I took a deep breath and looked to Nyx. “Here we go.” One by one, people walked closer and bowed.
“I am Princess Sapphira, daughter of Queen Olyndria and Desmire the great dragon prince. King Lachlan has always been King Verin in disguise, and twenty years ago, he released a sickness upon our world that leaked to the human realm. Half of humanity died, and in our own realm, you—our people—were left stripped of your essence powers. He planned to take away our powers and I did not have the strength to stop him. The only thing I could do was buy us all time. I removed my essence and placed it in the hands of my most honored friend, who rested in an onyx tomb for twenty years, keeping it safe.
“I’ve spent all that time living as a human in the tragic and dangerous world that was left after Verin’s treachery. Now I have returned, ready to serve you, my people, and do everything I can to make our world right again.” I fell to my knees and bowed.
“I will hear any grievances now.” I rose to my feet and looked them all in the eyes. At first I thought maybe no one would come forward. That maybe they understood why I did what I did and forgave the deceit.
Until the first person came forward, then another, and another.
Chapter Seven
Tor
“How long has she been doing this?” I glanced at Sapphira’s purple handmaiden Nyx before watching Sapphira, who was training with Najen, Rune’s second-in-command.
“Ever since we got back from talking with the people. Some were nice and understood everything she did and why. Then there were a few who said things I’d rather not repeat.” Nyx rubbed her hands against her flowing green dress.
I hated for Sapphira to suffer. “We’ll help her through it.”
“You know part of her frustrations stem from you, too. You muddled her heart as a human, and those memories are fresher than the Fae ones.” Nyx glared at me. She and I were never friends in the past. She thought me to be a flirt. To me, she always acted like a stuck-up Fae bitch. She loved dressing the princess up in fancy clothes and living the life of luxury.
“I’m not going to regret being with her. She’s made her choice, and I will be by her side as her friend like I always have. And if my grump of a brother doesn’t get his head out of his ass, then I will be waiting with open arms for her, if that’s what she wants.” I didn’t bother looking at Nyx to see her heated expression. I could practically feel her annoyance burning my flesh.
The metal clanging of swords echoed throughout the training area, and everyone stopped what they were doing to stare. My brother entered the arena, ready to fight. Rune’s black sword clashed with Sapphira’s, then they began to circle each other like predators about to fight.
“You can’t deny what they have, it was selfish of you to think you could intervene with destiny.” Nyx’s barbed words stung like she intended them to. Rune snarled and Sapphira attacked. She had none of the skills she had possessed as a Fae. This was human Sapphira’s knowledge at work, and while she was better than my time with her, it wasn’t enough against Rune.
“Looks like becoming Fae hasn’t changed your sword fighting. Sloppy, and three seconds off with every strike.” He growled, and then came at her again. Sapphira grit her teeth and glared at Rune.
We’d trained like this many times both in the human realm and here. Memories of our times together flowed through my thoughts: dancing in the gardens after a ball; racing horses along the mighty river to where the unicorns grazed; Sapphira smiling at sweetly; kissing her; and enjoying the short time she was mine. I never crossed the lines that couldn’t be undone, I wouldn’t hurt her like that.
When my father told me I was to wed a princess from a faraway kingdom, I wanted to punch him in his black bearded face. I didn’t want to get married, and I was happy in my homeland in Italy. I hadn’t been home in years, and sometimes I missed it. Though I did not miss any family there, they were intolerable assholes. While Rune and I didn’t get along the majority of the time, I still hadn’t forgiven them for what they did to him, and they did it long before I was born. He wasn’t cursed, but they treated him like he single-handedly would destroy our royal line.
When I started to enjoy my time with Sapphira that’s when he and I truly began to clash. I should have seen their bond then, but I was blind. Being with Sapphira hadn’t been the hardship I thought it would have been. She made me laugh, and she had a strong spirit. I would have loved being married to her. After every day we spent time together, Rune grew deeper into a silent rage.
Watching them snarl and fight each other now, I saw what I hadn’t seen before. They challenged each other; she wasn’t afraid of him like many others and he was her perfect match.
“Rune might be a stubborn ass, but there is no stopping what you see before you,” Nyx whispered, and my jaw clenched. I loved her and wanted her to be happy, even if it wasn’t with me.
“Glad you’re enjoying this.”
“I just think you need to stop mooning over someone who was never yours. You had borrowed time, and you should be grateful for it. Come on, Prince, you have the whole world to choose from. Focus on someone else that isn’t a mate with your brother.”