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A question-mark came through the bond, but Bree kept her gaze focused ahead instead of behind. Slowly, the Prince approached the stairs, swept his legs over the side of his horse, and gracefully landed on the stone ground. This time, he didn’t cast a glance her way, but she couldfeelhis attention zeroed in on her, even with his back turned herway.
Everything is fine, she said in a whisper through hermind.
The tension in his shoulders relaxed but only slightly. He climbed the stairs, coming to a slow stop at the top of the stage. With a deep breath, he turned toward the crowd with his jaw clenched tight. He kept his dark gaze focused on the distant horizon, his chin lifted high. Bree swallowed hard as she stared at him. He was undeniably powerful. Even without his wings spread wide for every eye to see, he carried with him the kind of strength that rippled off his body inwaves.
He looked like a Prince. And he looked like aKing.
Lord Dagen strode forward from where he’d been waiting in the row just in front of Bree. Taveon had surprised her by choosing the Lord to perform the coronation. The two of them had always been so at odds before now. Prince Taveon had never really trusted Dagen, and the same could be said in reverse. And yet, somehow, they’d finally come together when it truly counted, even though Dagen had once tasked Bree to spy onTaveon.
“Before we get started,” Taveon said, clearing his throat after Lord Dagen gave a nod, “I would like to make a short announcement about the future of thisrealm.”
A murmur rippled through the crowd, and Bree furrowed her eyebrows. She’d never attended a coronation before, but she had a pretty good idea that this kind of thing never happened. Anannouncement?
Prince Taveon held up his hand, a signal for the crowd to fall silent. “I understand there have been some rumors circling as of late, due do various...circumstances. Some of these rumors are false. However, some of them are very muchtrue.”
More murmuring spread through the crowd likewildfire.
“As you all know, each year the Dark Fae and the Light Fae participate in a Tithe intended to provide us with the human energy we need to survive.” A pause, Taveon’s face growing grave and serious, though that was hardly different to his usual self. “During this process, not only are innocent Light Fae sent away from their families but humans are twisted and deformed into Redcaps.Innocenthumans. Innocents who then kill more innocents. This is how it has always been, but it time for a change. I intend to make that change by finding another way for the Dark Fae to draw our energy. And I intend to do away with theTithe.”
The murmurs grew into a roar. A few angry shouts were lobbed at Taveon, but he kept his gaze focused on the distance, and his grave expression never faltered. Instead, he turned to Dagen, gave a nod, and waited for the furor to diedown.
Dagen cleared his throat and turned to the crowd, his face pale and his eyebrows cinched tight. “Now that Prince Taveon has spoken his intentions, it is time for the coronation to continue. Everyone, sit down or the Court will find you in disrespect of theproceedings.”
At that, silence finally hung heavy over the tense crowd. Prince Taveon had mentioned this part to Bree. Any fae who did not respect the coronation or did anything to disrupt it at all, would be found guilty of treason and thrown straight into the dungeons. It seemed a little extreme to Bree, but she could now see why they had that rule. If they didn’t, the whole thing would probably descend into chaos. The Dark Fae were not happy to hear Taveon’s plans, and that was putting itlightly.
In the distance, hidden somewhere deep within the castle grounds, a harp began to play a melody that whispered across Bree’s exposed skin. It was a soft and soothing kind of tune but one that twanged with melancholy notes. The sound of it dug deep into Bree’s bones, and it made her entire body feel as it was curving toward Taveon and thethrone.
Tears filled her eyes, for reasons she did not understand. As she glanced around the gathered crowd, she could see that others were just as moved by the song as she was, despite the fact they’d been two seconds away from fighting only momentsago.
Rafe leaned toward her, his voice rough with emotion. “This is the Song of the Moon Tree. It is always played when a fae becomes King, and it is a song that most here have not heard in centuries. For some, notever.”
Centuries. Bree’s heart squeezed tight. The previous King, Prince Taveon’s ‘father’, had ruled these lands for longer than Bree could even comprehend, the lifespan of a Dark Fae never-ending. Unlike Taveon, most of the fae here werenotimmortal. They could die by disease, by poison, by sword. But they would never die of old age, which meant they scarcely ever did. These lands had not been plagued by disease or war incenturies.
Lord Dagen opened up an old wooden trunk that had been brought to the stage by two male fae with dark gray horns. He pulled out the glittering black crown, decorated with row upon row of tiny silver moons. They were bright and bulbous and somehow glowed from within, and the light of the moon glinted across the smooth surface. The sight was dazzling and one that Bree would not soonforget.
Lord Dagen knelt before Taveon, and the swelling musicstopped.
“By my commitment to the realm of the Dark Fae, I bring Prince Taveon of the Kavanaugh family before you as the next ruler of our great lands. Taveon, do you make the vow to your peoples?” Lord Dagen’s voice was clear and strong, echoing through the hushedcrowd.
Taveon gave a slight inclination of his head, and his smooth melodic voice drifted through the courtyard. “I, Taveon Kavanaugh, hereby vow to serve Underworld with all the power, the strength, and the will in my immortal body. I no longer serve myself but the realm as a whole. I give my life to these peoples, here and for always, until the day my body no longer takes abreath.”
Bree’s heart roared as she watched Taveon lower himself to his knees. The only moment of his life where he would ever have to kneel before anyone else. Lord Dagen stood over him and placed the crown atop his perfect head of black hair. Magic crackled through the courtyard, thick and electric. It buzzed with a new kind of life, a signal of a new age in therealm.
A freshstart.
A betterstart.
A world where innocents would no longer have to bekilled.
For so long, Bree had doubted Taveon. For so long, she’d believed him to be a monster. But she had been so very wrong. Taveon was not the monster he’d wanted her to believe he was. He was brave, kind, and full of the kind of strength that was far greater than any physical demonstration ofpower.
Lord Dagen leaned over Taveon and slowly placed the crown atop his head. When it made contact, sparks exploded along every inch of her skin. Bree sucked in a deep breath, clutching her hands tight together as an intense dark magic swirled through her veins. It was the realm, gifting Taveon with a raw kind of power, one that would allow him to rule these fae. And she could feel every spark of it through theirbond.
After a long moment, Taveon stood on shaky legs to face his new Court. Bree’s heart beat madly in her chest. He was nowKing.
The fae began to disperse after they roared and cheered, and after Dagen made the official announcement. The members of the Court would be eager to get to the Great Hall where a ball would rage all night long to celebrate the arrival of a new King and a new age of therealm.
But just as she turned to join them, Taveon caught her gaze, and he held up a hand. Arequest.
No, ademand.
He wanted to speak withher.
No doubt he felt her churning emotions. The unease. The fear. And the shame. Bree swallowed hard as she stood and waited for the rest of the fae to disperse. She supposed she would have to tell him about Fillan now, and he sensed that she needed to speak to himalone.
Taveon took a step toward the edge of the stage, and a strange expression flickered across his handsome face. He almost looked...confused. And then a sharp stab went through her gut. Taveon cried out, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and then he went crashing hard onto the stoneground.
