“Drop to your knees,” a guard bellows as he kicks in the back of the king’s legs. He falls, and his mother follows suit on her own.
My mother gets up from her seat. She looks incredible, dressed in a pale green dress that flows loosely to the floor, the hems and sleeves made of fabric as thin as a spider’s web, her hair pulled off her face by a tiara made of flowers.
She looks at me. “My Future Queen, I realize we are doing this a bit backward, but I don't want anything to interrupt your marriage and coronation. The decision is yours on what we should do with these two.”
The old king studies me with contempt, with hatred, while his mother might very well be poisoning me with her glare. I’ve been pondering this moment for the past few days as we prepared for the event, knowing this was coming.
I step forward on the large dais, the diamonds on my billowing princess dress glinting from the numerous lights strung around the grounds and the fiery torches peppering the land.
“I don't know either of you very well,” I say, “but my whole life, up to this point, has been a lie because of you. I grew up without my real family, thinking that I was going crazy. You took away everything from me. And as much as I'd like to think you’ve learned your lesson and would never harm me again, that’s not the case, is it?”
Their deadpan stares answer my question. Not that I’m surprised.
“You are a curse on our realm" the old woman spits. "You will rip it apart and wreak havoc with your tainted existence.”
I square my shoulders, lifting my chin, and despite the anger curling around me, I refuse to give her what she wants. To see me lower myself to their level.
“That's where you're wrong. I will unite the fae like they once were, like the fairy queen would have wanted. There will be no more war, no more death and bloodshed, but a realm where fae aren't afraid of their own kind. Your militant leadership ends now.” I lift my gaze to Michae. “Take them to the dungeon!”
“No,” the old king pleads. “We ruled this kingdom for years; please, show us mercy. There is no reason to condemn us to death.”
I feel no pity for him, because he had years to make right what he did to me. I don't trust him in the least. “Take them,” I repeat, louder this time. “You tried to kill me, and for that you will have your power stripped and sent to Earth to spend the rest of your days. Get them out of here.”
“You’re a fucking whore who will destroy this realm!” The old king gets to his feet, writhing against the guards’ grip, bellowing curses.
While his mother cries about injustice, then turns on me, “I should have killed you as a baby instantly.”
Her words make me sick to my stomach. I turn my back to them and return to my princes, who smile with admiration.
“You were perfect,” Deimos says.
Then why am I trembling with nerves of the confrontation in front of a crowd? I take slow breaths to calm myself.
It isn’t long before an elderly fae in a long white coat buttoned from his thighs to his neck approaches us. White hair drapes halfway down his back, and he smiles so gently when he meets my gaze.
A soft tune permeates the air, the fairies serenading us as they move from the trees to hover amongst the guests. The sight and sound of their beautiful wings beating, blending with their humming tune, brings a sense of love to my heart.
The guests join in, and I can't stop smiling, because I know what's coming.
My whole life I've struggled. I fought to just feel normal. To fit in. To stop being an outcast. But this feels right—I’m exactly where I should be.
The elderly fae stretches a ribbon of lace between his two hands. "Place your wrists on this band," he instructs.
The four of us crowd together and follow his instructions, after which the officiant proceeds to tie our hands together with a nice little bow.
He then begins to speak in a language I don't understand—an ancient fae language, I’m guessing—but I get the gist. He is marrying us, uniting us as one family as he holds our bound wrists in his palms.
My chest beams with warmth, and that earlier giddiness spreads through me, because this is real. There are no more tricks or secrets.
The girl who was lost, who had nothing, is marrying three princes. Tears prick my eyes, and I blink them away, because I won't cry. My princes all look at me, smiling, and I wish more than anything it was just us four and not so many onlookers. I'm trapped, my emotions bubbling within me to the point of exploding while trying to act as casual about this as possible. But it's a losing battle.
Looking from Deimos, to Luther, and then to Ahren, I know I made the right decision to fight for us.
Once the fae pauses, he lifts our hands and kisses each one in blessing, then undoes the ribbon from around our hands. "You may now exchange rings."
A flash of panic races up my back as I realize I didn't get rings for my princes. With everything else going on, it hadn't crossed my mind.
All three of them drop to one knee in front of me, loving me with their eyes and smiles.
Ahren takes my hand first and presents me with a gold ring embedded with a pink, star-shaped diamond. I gasp. “It's beautiful.” And then I start giggling—never in my life did I expect such dreams to come true for me. It sparkles like a disco ball as he pushes it onto my fourth finger. I wiggle my fingers at how perfectly it fits perfectly on my middle finger.
“May it always brighten your path so you never
