Chapter 89

Chapter 89
Kate’s POV

Dan led me back to the room. I walked on my own for most of the way, but at times he had to hold me by the elbow when my legs threatened to give out. Still, there’s no real sign of pain or exhaustion, just a feeling like waking up groggy, the kind that fades after a few more hours of sleep.

There, I sat on my own bed, and Dan sat beside me, his weight lifting my side of the mattress a little.

We stayed like that for a while, sharing a moment of silence, reminding me that part of me now rests in the Mother-tree and will be spread across all Tir na nÓg. But that silence shatters when Ashleen bursts in, braids half undone and yellow flowers tangled between her curls.

“Kate!” She almost trips in her hurry, tiny feet slapping against the living wood floor, and before I can say anything, she’s already throwing herself into my lap, hugging my waist. Her weight is light, but the strength of her grip is like she wants to make sure I won’t vanish.

I smile, even if my muscles still feel tired from what happened. I don’t want her to see anything but joy on my face. I run my hand through her hair, brushing away a petal caught near her ear.

“Look what Niv did!” she says, pointing at the flowers, her eyes shining as if she’d just received the most precious treasure in the world.

Niv’leen floats right behind her, arms crossed in the air, showing off a theatrical smile. “Perfect, isn’t it? Worthy of a little pest who nearly drove me mad chasing two-tailed squirrels.”

Ashleen rolls her eyes and giggles, but I notice the pride hidden in her face. She shifts in my lap, climbing over my legs until she can sit, tilting her head as if wanting me to take in every detail.

“You look beautiful,” I say and kiss her cheek.

Ashleen snuggles against me, her lightness contrasting with the weight in my muscles. I hold her tight, trying to disguise the faint tremor in my fingers.

Niv’leen lands softly at the edge of the mattress, wings folding behind his back, and for a moment, he studies me. It’s rare to see him quiet, but I know exactly why: he noticed something. The way his eyes narrow, how his head tilts a little, makes it clear he’s gauging how much of me has changed since he last saw me.

“My little pest looks strange,” he blurts, straight to the point.

Ashleen lifts her head, worried. “Strange how?”

I let out a short laugh. “Strange as in tired, that’s all. It happens when your little sister decides to be too fast for me to keep up with.”

Ashleen laughs, relieved, and slips off my lap, going back to playing with the flowers in her hair. But Niv keeps watching me, suspicious. He doesn’t push, and I thank him silently for that. I don’t want Ashleen to find out yet. I want her to keep only the memory of magic flowers, of play, of the lessons she’ll get from now on.

Dan stays silent beside me, but I know he hasn’t stopped watching me for even a second. I feel his gaze as a constant presence, steady, secure. When Ashleen finally jumps from my lap to spin around the center of the room, showing how the flowers sway in her hair, I manage to let out the breath I’d been holding.

She’s a little sunbeam that lights up everything, and I need her to stay that way.

Ashleen runs in circles, laughing loudly, her sound filling the room like music. Funny how, after so much time living between flight and fear, a child’s laughter feels almost supernatural. A spell stronger than any other.

I hear Dan’s tail hitting the edge of the mattress, so long that even curled, it must be taking up plenty of space behind us. His posture is far from relaxed, and the faint rhythm of the tail’s taps, along with the shifting shadows around his feet, gives away that he’s still alert.

Dan folds his arms, but I’ve already learned that this gesture is deceptive. It looks like a barrier, but in truth, it’s just a way of holding himself back.

Ashleen stops spinning and sits on the floor, maybe tired, maybe dizzy, maybe both. Niv’s wings light up the space around her like stained glass. The two then start arguing about what her next hairstyle should be, completely caught up in that talk.

A moment Dan seizes.

He moves slowly, as if not to draw attention, and within seconds, he’s leaning slightly toward me. His warmth is immediate, even without touching. I feel the air between us grow denser, charged with an energy only he can bring.

“You look pale,” he murmurs, voice low enough that neither Ashleen nor Niv can hear.

“I’m fine.”

He raises an eyebrow, unconvinced. “There’s a difference between being fine and looking pale.”

“You’re pale, and you look just fine.”

“Correction, young mistress: my skin is gray, not pale.”

“They are the same thing to me.”

“Don’t try to dodge the subject.”

I let out a short laugh, unable to help it. “You’ve gotten used to this, haven’t you?”

He doesn’t smile, but his eyes shift. The gold sharpens, and the vertical pupils grow even thinner. “Unfortunately, yes, and that’s why I’m trying to make you tell me the truth.”

I feel myself leaning toward him too, as if I had no choice but this. But I don’t quite touch him, even though the closeness is enough to set my heart racing.

“Dan… I’m not lying.” My voice nearly falters. “It wasn’t anything bad. It was just… a relief.”

“Explain better.” He tilts his head closer, a dark strand falling over his eyes. “If it’s a relief, why do you look so tired?”

I swallow hard. I want to say it’s because it was different, that there was no pain, that the Queen was gentle, that having my permission to draw out the buildup of magic must’ve been why it went so well, but all I can think about is how nothing I say will really matter, because just the fact that I was vulnerable is enough to awaken something fierce in him. Something I can see in the gold ringed by darkness in those eyes, trying to drag from me words I can’t even properly form.

His hand moves almost unnoticed, hovering near my arm. He doesn’t touch, but I feel the heat radiating from his skin. It’s like an invisible shield, a silent promise that if I falter again, he’ll catch me.

I close my eyes for a moment. Just to memorize that feeling.

When I open them, Ashleen and Niv are still distracted, laughing at some joke I didn’t hear. They’re practically living in another world while they talk, and maybe that’s why Dan is making such good use of their distraction.

“Since you can’t explain it right,” he starts again, pulling back and slowly returning to his earlier stance, “then at least try to rest.”

“If I rest now, I’ll look weaker than I really am,” I smirk. “And I don’t want Ashleen to see that.”

He stares at me for a few more seconds, then lets out a heavy sigh, as if he wanted to argue again but gave up. “You always do everything the hardest way.”

“And you always complain about my hardest way.”

This time, the corner of his mouth curves into something very close to a smile. Small and discreet, but then it grows, revealing a sharp fang.

The sight of such animalistic teeth should scare me, but I feel myself melting inside.

I’m tempted to lean my head on his shoulder, to allow it, just for a moment. But I don’t. Maybe out of what I’d like to call pride, though deep down it’s probably only fear of what that gesture could mean.

Ashleen is the first to notice Niv go quiet all of a sudden. She’d just stuck one of the flowers in his hair, creating a strange mix between the little fairy’s cute oddness and that plant. She was laughing at her own invention when she stopped at his expression.

“Niv? You okay?”

He blinked quickly, as if snapping from a trance, and let out a soft laugh. “Oh, it’s nothing, little pest. Just thinking of something.”

I see a gleam in his eyes. It isn’t his mischievous spark, nor his usual paranoia. This shine is almost reverent. Something in him is far away, staring at another place, even if his body is right here with us.

“What was it?” I ask, unable to hide my curiosity.

He hesitates for a moment, then moves closer, wings beating to hover a bit above the floor.

“I just realized something. The rise in the kingdom’s defenses coincided with a special celebration for fairies. I hadn’t connected the dots until now.”

Dan frowns, suspicious. “Celebration?”

Niv opens a smile that seems to light up the whole room. “The Night of the Pearl Moon.”

The name alone sends a shiver down me. Too poetic to be just some common tradition.

“That’s when rare flowers bloom only under its light,” he goes on, gesturing with his hands as if drawing in the air. “Not just any moon, no. The most beautiful one, my favorite. She’s not like the others, who hide behind clouds out of shame. The Pearl Moon shines even when she shouldn’t, even when the sky seems set to swallow all light.”

Ashleen’s eyes go wide. “Flowers that only show up at night?”

“Exactly, my little pest!” Niv spins in the air. “Flowers that won’t open for anything or anyone, except for her light. As if they only trust the Pearl Moon to show their beauty.”

I smile, fascinated, but Dan folds his arms, doubtful.

“And what does that have to do with the kingdom’s defenses?” he asks.

Niv raises a finger, all serious, like he’s about to give a great lesson. “Everything. Because the defenses grew stronger at that very time. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence. My pest’s magic gave strength to the Mother-tree, and the Mother-tree will pass that strength to all Tir na nÓg.”

Dan shakes his head, incredulous. “Or maybe it’s just a natural cycle.”

“THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A NATURAL CYCLE!” Niv’leen suddenly shouts, startling us all. “How could A FAIRY THIS BEAUTIFUL be part of some mere NATURAL CYCLE?!”

“Excuse me…?” Dan grimaces, while Ashleen and I glance at each other, confused.

But Niv doesn’t even hear. His eyes glow brighter as he speaks low, like confessing a secret. “I know nobody believes me, but to me, she is a fairy. A distant one, living so far away she can’t come closer. And she doesn’t appear often because she’s afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” Ashleen asks, voice full of childish curiosity.

“Afraid of people.” He sighs, almost melancholic. “People hate change. They want everything to stay the same all the time. And the moon… the moon changes. She grows, wanes, disappears, reappears. So she thinks nobody could ever truly love her in all her forms.”

I’m speechless. He’s speaking with such innocence and truth at the same time.

Niv places his hands over his chest, like swearing something solemn. “But I love her. I love every form she takes. When she’s full and owns the sky. When she’s just a shy sliver hiding in clouds. When she vanishes completely, and yet I know she’s still there, only resting. I love all her phases. And that’s why we’re a couple, even if only I know it.”

Ashleen lets out a crystalline laugh, not mocking but enchanted.

“You’re dating the moon?”

“I am.” He lifts his chin, proud. “And one day she’ll realize it. She’ll stop hiding and shine only for me.”

Oh heavens… I don’t know if I should laugh, cry, or just hug Niv. It’s one of the most beautiful and saddest things I’ve ever heard. Beautiful, because I can see he loves with a purity I didn’t even know still existed in the world. Sad, because it’s an unreachable love, doomed never to be returned. And deep down, it hits me like an arrow.

I glance sideways, unwillingly, and find Dan. He’s still, serious, watching Niv as if trying to dismantle his words with logic.

“Niv’leen… The moon is just… the moon,” he finally says, almost annoyed. “She’s not a fairy, she’s nothing but a rock trapped in the sky.”

Niv rolls his eyes, offended. “Oh, you gloomy lizard, damn you! You don’t understand a thing!”

I bow my head, trying to hide my expression. Because for the first time, I realize maybe I understand Niv more than I understand Dan right now.

Ashleen wastes no time. Her eyes sparkle like a child who’s just discovered the world still holds hidden miracles.

“So… are we going to see them? The flowers? The Pearl Moon?”

Niv spins toward her at once, thrilled, as if he’d been waiting for that question. “Of course! Do you really think I’d miss the chance to take my favorite little pest and her sister to the most beautiful night of the year?” He flips in the air again. “There’ll be music! Delicious food! Dancing everywhere! And pearl flowers, thousands of them, opening under the moonlight. You’ve never seen anything like it.”

Ashleen claps, glowing. “I want to dance too!”

“And you will,” Niv answers, as if it were a sacred promise. “With me, with your sister, with whoever you like. Even with this iguana disguised as a man, if he decides not to sulk. The feast is for everyone.”

I almost laugh at her excitement, but my throat tightens when I realize this will be her very first time having such an experience. A party, dancing, flowers — all of that had been stolen from her by Varkhael’s shadow. And now, she has it all back.

But Dan’s voice slices through the enchantment like a steel wire.

“You really think this is a good idea? A celebration in the middle of a threat even your mother can’t define?”

Niv’s smile doesn’t falter, though his gaze hardens. He crosses his arms and lifts his chin firmly. “It’s fine. If it weren’t, Mother would’ve said so. A celebration isn’t just fun, you heartless brute. It’s a reminder we still have something worth protecting.”

Dan frowns, clearly displeased, but doesn’t argue further.

I look at the two of them, and my heart splits. Because I understand Dan’s point. But I also understand Niv, and something in me needs to believe his words. Needs to believe that a night of flowers and music can be more than a luxury.

Ashleen squeezes my hand tight, her face glowing with hope.

“We’re going, aren’t we?”

And I find myself unable to say no.

“Yes,” I answer, smiling at her. “We are.”

She lets out a squeal of joy, bouncing in place, and Niv laughs loudly, as if it were the best news of the night.

Inside me, the anxiety stirs. A party, a moon that makes entire gardens bloom, music and dancing under the open sky… That’s exactly what all of us need. Not just Ashleen, not just Niv. Me too. Dan, too, even if he won’t admit it.

Maybe it’s a risk. Maybe it’s madness. But for one moment, I want to believe the world can open into pearl blossoms, and that under Niv’s most beloved moonlight, no shard of ice will ever reach us.

And when I close my eyes, for a second, I can almost smell those flowers before even seeing them.