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"You were affected that night though," I stutter out, growing more and more fearful about how this all will end.
He turns his black eyes towards me. "That was all you, my darling," He says, and without further ado shoots a black, inky burst of power straight through the heart of my incubus.
The incubus wavers for a second, before sinking to his knees, a look of shock written across his face. Faintly I can hear the small army he brought with him erupting in panic and running in every direction, but the thumping sound of my own heartbeat is drowning out the chaos.
"Clean this trash up," He orders to the guards that had started to gather behind me. He then walks out of the room without another look at me or the incubus who is currently bleeding out onto the stone floor of the courtyard.
Numbly, I rush to my lover's side, placing my hand upon his wound. Any thoughts of hiding my magic have disappeared. I've never tried to heal with my magic before, but it must be possible. It's hard to see his face because of the tears that are streaming down my own face, but I pour all of the love I feel for him into his wound. There's blood gushing all over my hands and splattering all over my clothes, but I ignore it all, concentrating on healing what I've realized is a giant hole straight through the center of my incubus's body.
I'm pouring all my energy into him, and imagining that the blood loss is slowing, when I feel his hand touch my cheek. I look over at his pained face. Keeping one hand on his wound, continuing to pour all of my energy into it, I press my other hand over his.
"You came back for me," I sob. He's wearing a look of love that's so different from the usual guard he has up.
"I took one step away from the castle and knew I had made the biggest mistake that I could ever make. I didn't want to come back and face you until I had something to offer. I guess I couldn't offer much," he says wryly, his breath coming out in gasps.
I look down at my hand and see that the blood is still freely flowing. My efforts don't seem to be doing anything. I cry harder.
"Don't cry, my love. You've given me the happiest moments that I've ever had in my life. To know that some part of me was able to capture even a piece of your heart, that's more than anyone could hope for their lives."
"Stop talking like that," I sob, putting both hands over his wound and continuing to pour my magic into him.
"I want to tell you something," he says, a faint line of blood dribbling out of his mouth as he speaks. He holds eye contact with me. "My name is Mason," he whispers as his eyes flutter closed.
I repeat his name softly but I don't think he hears it as he takes one last breath before he becomes perfectly still.
"No!" I cry out, shaking him and trying every spell I know to wake him up. There's no change in his silent body, and after several more minutes of trying, my hands slide off the blood-soaked wound. I lay my head in his chest, hoping for any sign of life, but there's nothing.
I must lay there for several minutes because there's a soft touch to my shoulder that forces me to lift my head off of Mason.
"Your Majesty, please let me get you cleaned up," comes a soft voice.
It's Gwenny, one of the kitchen staff. She's been one of the only kind faces I've experienced during my time in this hell.
"I can't leave him," I sob.
"I'll make sure that he is cleaned up and prepared for a proper burial, My Queen. I promise," she says, and there's something about her tone that makes me trust her.
Her promise at least allows me to be led numbly back to my room, I'm sure scaring everyone that I pass by since I'm soaked in blood. Gwenny's soft hands gently wipe the blood off of me. I don't even think about having modesty when she draws me a bath and helps me in, getting off the rest of Mason's blood. Throughout her ministrations, my numbness turns to rage until there's little room for rational thought. It incinerates all the carefully laid plans I've had to save Fairie and leaves me only with the burning need for vengeance.
He will be punished.
I wake up hours later with inexplicable tears on my face, and a feeling of deep loss permeating through my body. It's a long time before I can get out of bed and rejoin the living.
Chapter 16
It's been a few days since the ball and Aiden has spent as little time with me as possible, even making excuses not to eat dinner with me. I know that his feelings are hurt, I saw it in his eyes when I didn't return his advances. It's a strange thing, but somehow this situation with Aiden does feel familiar. This blend of anger and sadness over my failure to return his affections doesn't feel new. And it makes me truly wonder, what was our relationship really like before?
I'm currently waiting outside of his office to talk to him. Complicated or not, a part of me has missed him, especially since he's my only friend in this place. I want to somehow mend this breach between us, but I'm not sure how. I also have decided that it's time for him to start including me in the kingdom's affairs. If I'm just a figurehead expected to stand still and look pretty next to him, I would like to know. All of this training seems worthless if that's the case.
I knock on the door and wait for him to respond.
"Come in," he says after a beat. I'm sure he can sense me, just like I've begun to be able to sense him.
I walk into his cavernous office. He's sitting at an ornately carved wooden desk that takes up half the room with its breadth. He doesn't look at me when I stop in front of the desk.
"What can I help you with Eva?" he says with a annoyed tone that makes me angry.
"You can help me by stopping acting like a child," I snap at him.
