Chapter 71 Teleported
Chapter 71 Teleported
"You can do that?"
"I'm the King of Hel. I can do many things." He paused. "But Nyx, the pendant. It has only two uses left. And I can't make you another one. Not very quickly. It took three years to forge the first."
"I know."
"Use them wisely. And if you need me, if you need anything, send word through the shadow-network. I'll come. King or not, I'll come."
I hugged him. He stiffened, then relaxed, his arms coming around me.
"Thank you," I said. "For everything."
"Don't thank me. Just be happy." He pulled back. "And if the golden king hurts you again, my offer still stands."
"The assassination offer?"
"The very discreet assassination offer."
I laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."
\-—————————
The portal opened in the throne room an hour later.
It was different from the pendant's magic, grander, more powerful. The air shimmered and split, revealing a corridor of violet light that stretched into infinity. At its end, I could see my chambers in Aurelia Prime. My bed. My Nightbloom. My waiting dragon.
Maz was there to see me off. Sybil too. Even Vesper, her wings drooping with sorrow.
"You will come back," she said. It was not a question.
"I will. I promise."
"You promised before."
"And I kept that promise. I came back for the coronation, didn't I?"
"You did. But you are leaving again."
"Only for a while. I'll visit. The pendant still has two uses. And I'm sure Eris would do anything in his power to swiftly create another pendant."
Vesper pressed her forehead to mine. "Be safe, my Princess. And if the golden fools mistreat you again, send word. I will come. I will bring the entire Nocturni swarm if necessary."
"That might cause an international incident."
"Good."
Maz pulled me into a hug. "Give that golden king a chance. But not too many chances. You deserve someone who fights for you."
"I know."
"And if you need me to come threaten him..."
"I have Eris for that."
"Eris's threats are too subtle. Mine are more creative."
I laughed and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Maz."
"I love you too, little sister. Now go. Save your marriage. Save the realms. Do whatever it is the Seer told you to do."
I stepped through the portal.
The world dissolved into violet light. For a moment, I was nowhere, floating in the space between realms, my body weightless, my mind quiet.
And then I was home.
\-————111
My chambers in Aurelia Prime were exactly as I had left them.
The Stormcloak from the northern lords hung on its hook by the door. The Nightbloom pulsed softly on the bedside table. Ash was curled on my pillow, and when he saw me, he let out a roar of joy and launched himself into my arms.
"I missed you too," I murmured, burying my face in his scales. "I missed you so much."
A soft knock at the door. Liriel's voice: "Your Majesty? We sensed the portal, are you..."
"Come in."
The door burst open. Liriel, Thalia, and Sera rushed in, their faces alight with relief.
"You're back!"
"We were so worried..."
"The King has been inconsolable..."
"Princess Elowyn has been insufferable..."
"Lady Freya has been asking about you..."
I held up a hand. "One at a time. Please."
They fell silent.
"I'm back," I said. "I don't know for how long. I don't know what happens next. But I'm back. And I'm ready to fight."
Liriel smiled. "Then let's get you dressed, Your Majesty. Your husband is waiting."
\--------------------------
I found Cardan in the conservatory.
It was early evening, the golden light of sunset filtering through the glass dome and casting long shadows across the marble floor. He was standing by the moon-lilies, his back to the door, his bronze hair disheveled and his shoulders slumped. He looked tired. Like a man who had not slept in days.
Perhaps he hadn't.
I paused in the doorway, suddenly uncertain. We had parted in anger, or rather, I had parted in anger. I had spent over a week in Hel, surrounded by family and the familiar comforts of home. He had spent that week here, alone, with nothing but his scheming sister and his former lover and the cold, empty bed where I should have been.
"Cardan."
He turned.
His silver eyes went wide. For a moment, he simply stared at me, as if he couldn't quite believe I was real. Then he crossed the room l and dropped to his knees before me.
"Nyx." His voice cracked on my name. "You came back."
"I told you I would."
"I know. But I was afraid..." He swallowed hard. "I was afraid you'd change your mind. I was afraid Hel would claim you back. I was afraid I'd lost you forever."
He looked up at me, his silver eyes bright with unshed tears. The High King of Aurelia, the golden ruler of the largest Fae nation on the continent, was kneeling at my feet like a supplicant at an altar.
"I'm sorry," he said. "For everything. For Freya. For the pregnancy. For letting Elowyn blindside you at that dinner. For not protecting you the way I should have. For every moment of pain I've caused you since you arrived in this court."
"Cardan..."
"Let me finish. Please." He took my hands in his. His grip was warm and desperate. "I know I don't deserve your forgiveness. I know I've made mistakes, so many mistakes. I swear to you, I swear on my crown, on my life, on everything I hold sacred, I will not let Lady Freya come between us. I will not let her presence in this palace drive a wedge between what we've built."
"She's carrying your child, Cardan. That's not something we can just ignore."
"I know. And I won't ignore it. I have a responsibility to that child, and I will fulfill it. But that responsibility does not include loving its mother. It does not include sharing her bed or giving her hope that we might reconcile. It does not include putting her needs above yours." He pressed my hands to his lips. "You are my wife. My queen. The woman I choose. And I will spend the rest of my life proving that to you, if you'll let me."
I looked down at him. At his disheveled hair and his shadowed eyes and his desperate, hopeful expression. The High King of Aurelia, brought to his knees by love.
"Get up," I said.
"Not until you forgive me."