Chapter 105 Chapter One Hundred Five
Chapter 105 Chapter One Hundred Five
Surprise flashed across Kaelani’s face as her eyes flicked briefly to Lyressa before returning to Julian.
“I had some business to attend to,” she said. “I wasn’t gone that long. I thought you’d still be asleep.”
Julian didn’t respond out loud.
“You can’t just leave like that,” he said through the mind-link, his voice firm in her head. “Without telling me.”
The words brushed against her mind—the sensation and the emotion in his tone not just heard, but felt.
“I was worried about you,” he continued through the link, his voice softening against her thoughts. “I didn’t know where you were. I didn’t know how to reach you.”
Kaelani blinked, momentarily thrown—not just by his words and the realization that, in all her life, she had never had anyone to check in with, no one who was truly interested in her whereabouts—but also by the fact that this was the first time she had ever experienced someone speaking directly into her mind.
“I’m sorry,” she replied through their link.
The way it felt enthralled her just as much. Intimate. Vulnerable in a way spoken words never quite were.
She set the tote down on the kitchen counter and crossed the small space between them.
Her fingers slipped into his, grounding herself as much as him.
“You’re right,” she said quietly now, aloud. “I shouldn’t have left without telling you.”
Lyressa tilted her head slightly, her gaze moving between them.
“Were you two just speaking inside your minds?” she asked, genuine curiosity threading through her voice. “That is fascinating. I’ve learned a little about your kind, and I must say, that ability may be the most intriguing of them all.”
She leaned back in her chair, studying them both with open interest.
“Fae can plant thoughts, influence intentions, even whisper suggestions into the edges of someone’s consciousness,” she continued. “But the way you communicate is different. It’s direct. Shared. Seamless.”
Her eyes brightened faintly.
“It’s extraordinary.”
Julian’s attention turned back to Kaelani.
“I woke up to the record player running,” he said through the mind-link again, his voice steady in Kaelani’s head. “When I came out, I found her inspecting it like it was some kind of foreign artifact.”
Kaelani offered Lyressa a small smile.
“How did you find me?” she asked.
Lyressa’s lips curved faintly.
“I didn’t,” she answered.
Her focus shifted to Julian.
“I found him.”
Julian’s posture tightened slightly, though he said nothing.
“He’s connected to the light now,” Lyressa continued, her voice calm but assured. “I will always be able to channel his presence.”
Her eyes returned to Kaelani.
“But it wasn’t him I came here for.”
The faint amusement in her expression faded into something more serious.
“I came for you.”
Kaelani regarded her openly, as though she were a welcome guest.
“What can I do for you?” she asked.
Lyressa’s expression eased, though there was something purposeful beneath it.
“Your people need you,” she said.
Kaelani’s brows drew together slightly.
“My people?” she repeated. “You mean the Unseelie?”
“That’s right,” Lyressa replied evenly. “You are their queen, after all.”
“Excuse me,” Julian said, lifting a hand slightly as if he needed to physically interrupt the air itself. “She’s their what, now?”
Lyressa inclined her head slightly.
“Kaelani is the Queen of Shadows,” she said. “The rightful ruler of the Unseelie Court.”
Julian stared at her.
“Is this because she defeated the Crypt Keeper?” he asked.
Lyressa shook her head.
“No. Though that victory only affirmed what was already true,” she replied. “Her claim does not rest on conquest alone.”
Her eyes shifted to Kaelani with something close to reverence.
“She is the descendant of the ancient Unseelie royal bloodline. The heir to the shadow throne. As foretold by the Seers, she was anointed long before she ever set foot in our realm.”
Silence settled heavily in the kitchen.
Julian turned slowly to Kaelani.
“Did you know this?” he asked.
Kaelani hesitated only a fraction of a second.
“I did,” she admitted. “And I was going to tell you. It just… didn’t feel relevant to bring up right away.”
Her attention returned to Lyressa.
“Because the Unseelie do not accept me as their queen.”
Lyressa’s expression softened, though there was quiet gravity beneath it.
“The moment Draevyn fell, the illusion fell with him,” she said. “They saw clearly what they had refused to see. That they turned away from their rightful queen out of fear and ignorance.”
Her gaze did not waver.
“They were wrong to reject you.”
The words were not dramatic. They were factual.
“They wish for the opportunity to correct that mistake. To show you the loyalty and reverence they denied you.”
“Return to the Fae Realm, even if only for a day.”
A faint smile touched her lips.
“The Seelie Court wishes to hold a feast in your honor. For what you have done for them… for us.”
Kaelani exhaled slowly, the weight of Lyressa’s words settling heavier than she expected.
“I sense a great deal of expectation behind that request,” she said. “I just became Alpha of my pack. I don’t even know if I’m mentally equipped to be a Queen.”
Julian’s head snapped back toward her.
“Wait,” he said sharply. “Did you just say you became the Alpha of your pack?”
Kaelani winced, her eyes squeezing shut for a brief second as her nose scrunched slightly.
“Look,” she said, lifting a hand defensively. “I had a plan, okay? I was going to come back, make us breakfast, and then calmly discuss all the events of this morning with you.”
Julian held her gaze.
“I very much intend to still have that discussion,” he replied evenly.
His gaze moved over her again, slower this time.
“And then,” he added, his tone tightening just slightly, “you can explain why you smell like gun smoke.”
Lyressa rose from her chair with quiet grace.
“Forgive my intrusion,” she said, stepping forward just enough to claim the space without overtaking it. “But there is something you should hear.”
Her voice carried no judgment—only quiet certainty.
“No one is ever prepared for the weight of a crown. It is not something you simply train for. It is something you grow into.”
A faint softness touched her expression.
“You question whether you are equipped. That is precisely why you are.”
“You do not crave the throne. You do not wield authority for vanity or pride. You carry it because others would suffer without you.”
She let the words breathe before continuing.
“The Unseelie do not need perfection. They need someone who will not turn away from them.”
Her voice lowered slightly.
“And that’s you… because even when they doubted you, you stood for them.”
The words settled into Kaelani, heavier than she was prepared for.
“If I accept that title,” she said slowly, “that responsibility… will my children—” Her eyes flicked briefly to Julian before returning to Lyressa. “If I have any, of course—will they be next in line?”
Lyressa smiled gently.
“As you already know, time moves differently in the Fae realm,” she said. “When you are there, you will not age as mortals do. How long you reign is unknown. So too is who will follow you.”
She stepped a fraction closer, her tone steady and assured.
“It may be one of your children. It may be their children, or their children’s children.”
Her gaze deepened, ancient and certain.
“Our rulers are not appointed by inheritance alone. They are anointed. The gods choose. The Seers are shown the vision.”
She let that settle.
“Each sovereign rises for a purpose—to bring the change their realm requires at that moment in time. To guide it forward.”
A faint warmth touched her expression.
“You were chosen, Kaelani. And it is no mystery why.”
A quiet stillness settled over the room, as though the air itself were absorbing what had just been said.
Lyressa inclined her head slightly.
“I won’t take any more of your time,” she said gently. “But I do hope you consider my words.”
Her gaze rested on Kaelani a moment longer.
“The Fae realm awaits its Unseelie Queen.”
Then her attention shifted briefly to Julian, a knowing softness passing through her expression.
“I look forward to seeing you both again.”
Before either of them could respond, light gathered around her form—white, luminous, and warm.
In the next breath, she was gone.