The Fae King's Ruin

The Princess and the Queen of All Magic

Amethyst-colored eyes pinned Aislin to where she stood. Her muscles seemed to have locked into place without any warning and she wondered if the Queen had put a spell on her to render her immobilized as a joke.

If so, it was a terrible joke.

Not that it mattered, anyway. There was no way she would be caught dead asking the Queen such a thing and risk offending her in the process of satisfying her suspicious thoughts. It would kill whatever ounce of the good reputation she had amongst these people, and Aislin had a niggling suspicion that she didn’t have much to begin with.

Subtly, she took a deep breath and rose from her curtsy slowly.

“Thank you for having me, Mistress,” Aislin made herself say, even as her mind remained hyperfocused on her every action, zeroing in on every detail in the room. 

She noticed when someone even so much as shifted in their seat or smirked, and her eyes briefly scanned the room, only to pause on the only person on the Council that Res did not teach her about.

It was fine, though. He didn’t need to.

Bottle green eyes crinkled up at her in a smile, great white wings settled comfortably behind broad shoulders. Blond curls, longer than she’d last seen them, fell almost to his chin now, but his arrogant, beatific face remained the same.

Aislin had heard enough times of the day that the alliance of the Unseelie and the Fallen snapped into place. It was one of her brother’s father’s last acts as King, and as a gift, he had his own wife share a bed with the Commander of the Fallen before Zachary. 

Neither party expected something would grow out of that one night, and the Commander had broken the only rule that he was given before fu*cking her mother: to not get her pregnant. The very next day, she was told, Zachary himself had executed his superior and mentor.

How Zachary managed to earn himself a seat on the Queen of All Magic’s Council shouldn’t have come across as a surprise to her. He had a tendency to cling to whatever power he could achieve. Aislin’s eyes never lingered on him for more than just a passing glance.

“Felix,” the Queen said lightly, turning to the werewolf. “Do make room for the newly-betrothed.”

It took all of Aislin’s control to keep herself from blushing, pasting a bland smile instead on her face. Beside her, she heard Avery groan lightly as he chivalrously helped her to a seat beside the Vampire King. His unnerving eyes stared at her and nodded in silent acknowledgment, and Aislin tried not to hurl up her breakfast in fear.

“You must forgive them in advance, Princess,” Avery began saying as he pushed in Aislin’s chair. “That may only be the first in a long afternoon of teasing.”

The Queen grinned at him. Beside her, the General leaned further back in his chair, silently eyeing Aislin. She put her hands on her lap under the table once she noticed that his gaze was on her iron bracelets. No one missed the action.

“That seems very uncomfortable to wear all the time, Aislin,” Ella whispered, her eyes holding genuine sadness and a hollow remembrance of a time that ought to be left in the deep wells of the mind. “Had no one ever taught you to master your powers?”

She swallowed, not expecting the conversation to settle fully around her. For some reason, Aislin felt embarrassed. She must seem weak to them, undisciplined, to not be able to harness her powers just as well as everyone else. Clenching her hands into fists, she glanced at Avery beside her, lips pursed and eyes downcast.

“Several have tried, Your Majesty,” she murmured, looking back at the Queen, her emotions tucked away and sealed. “No one ever had prior experience to training a half-breed like me.”

Her eyes flicked towards Zachary at the word ‘half-breed’, satisfied when she was acknowledged with a flinch.

“I’m sure we can look into it.” The Queen’s consort and mate piped up, offering Aislin a small smile. “No one here had experience with training a human gifted with powers before me, too. No matter what power you have, no matter how great, everyone deserves to learn how to master it and be free of those manacles.”

“Have you forgotten already what destruction the Princess’ powers were capable of?” the Queen’s cousin drawled, amethyst eyes sliding over to him. “We almost died in that castle because of it.”

She stiffened and realized that so did Avery. Aislin tried to reach for his hands but he was quick to lean them against the edge of the table as he put the Queen's cousin under his scrutiny. He looked like a King. Fierce and powerful, not in violence but through justice. Aislin's breath caught in her throat as she watched him lit into the Captain.

“Have you forgotten already, Captain Wysterra, that Princess Aislin was under her brother’s mind influence during those moments in the castle?” Avery said, voice smooth and not quite snappish, but his words were cutting nonetheless. “I don’t think you do, even if I know you were there.”

Captain Wysterra smiled at him unkindly. The Queen frowned at him, and so did her mate. “Avery is right. That was war, cousin, but we are living in peace now. And thanks to the Treaty of the Faes, every magical race shall now run under a unified banner—something that no one had ever seen coming from a million lightyears away.” She tapped a manicured finger on top of the table. “Now we can truly call ourselves a council for all magic. Princess Aislin’s presence makes us complete.”

Down the table, a female with iridescent scales for skin loudly sucked on her teeth. Aislin recognized her as Queen Meridian, the Merqueen. 

“The Mistress is right,” she declared, shrugging. “In this case, we should look ahead.” Sharp eyes turned to Aislin. “Everyone pulls their weight in this Council, Princess. Do you fight?”

Aislin found herself lightly chuckling. “I lived with my cousin all my life, and as soon as he realized I couldn’t use my powers to defend myself effectively, he taught me how to pick up a sword and a bow and arrow immediately.”

When Queen Meridian grinned, she revealed rows of sharp teeth that looked utterly terrifying. “Good. It’s gotten boring fighting with a bunch of pissy men.”

Unwittingly, her eyes moved to the other silent females on the table, Peia Solaris, and Anaïs. Across from her, the Orc Chief caught the look she gave them. “They’re part of the non-fighting personnel of this Council,” he gruffly explained, and Aislin was warmed to find that there was no animosity in him as he spoke to her. “They heal.”

“An oversimplification,” the Keymaster, Atticus, said. The Chief snorted. Ah, yes, the only Council member that everyone unanimously disliked. “We just stay out of everybody’s way.”

From beside Aislin, the Vampire King, who had been utterly still until now, finally moved. He shifted in his seat, head turned towards the winged fallen angel sitting beside the Lady of the Children of Light.

“The Princess is half your kin, Zachary,” he said, voice soft like a whisper. “Why wasn’t anyone able to teach her to use her powers?”

Zachary slumped in her chair, making Aislin straighten in hers. “The Crown Princess Aislin was kept far away from any of the Fallen as much as possible,” the Fallen drawled, cleaning the dirt under his fingernails with a knife. "Decreed and everything by her brother, the late king."

Avery turned to Aislin. “Really?”

Aislin nodded, glaring at Zachary. “With good cause,” she tried not to spit the words out. “They tend to agitate my powers.”

Zachary smiled at the Queen. “She was made fun of because she didn’t have wings.”

Queen Ella glared at him. “That’s not something to be happy about, Commander. You’re going to help her master her Celestial powers. You and Peia Solaris.”

The beautiful lady in sparkling beige robes sighed delicately. “Must I always babysit him just because he is my kin?” Zachary merely blew the lady a kiss.

“I’ll help,” Avery piped up, smiling at Aislin encouragingly. “You might have fae powers entangled with the celestial half in you.”

Aislin did not return his smile. She looked to the Queen. “I am very grateful for your help, but I’m not sure I should do anything but keep wearing these iron manacles,” she said, holding up her wrists. “To some degree, Captain Wysterra is right. My powers are volatile and deadly. I cannot risk anyone’s lives.”

Warm hands gripped hers. Aislin found Avery’s eyes, bright as the golden sun but filled with sadness and understanding. 

“I know you’re scared,” he murmured to her, and she could see the others straining to hear what he was saying. “We have seen the potential of your gifts. Marvelous, wonderful things, should you choose so.” His eyes fell to her wrists. “I have worn similar cuffs. So did the Mistress while she was captive. And those things take something away from your being when they’re on you. You are magical and a Celestial both. It’s time to stop suppressing that side of you and see who you truly are.”

Aislin swallowed, blinking away the burning tears in her eye as quickly as she could. This was not the place to show vulnerable she felt, even if the King had gotten so good in making her feel said emotions in the first place.

“Let me consult with my cousin first,” Aislin said, earning a satisfied nod from the Queen, a bright grin from her mate, and an eye roll from the Captain. 

“Very well. Any other pertinent reports to add to the table, or are you all satisfied in your odd version of welcoming the Unseelie princess to our midst?”

The Alpha of the werewolves raised a hand, a roguish grin on his lips. “My birthday’s next week. You’re all invited!”

Avery chuckled as the others began to talk over one another. He leaned close to her as Aislin blinked, not quite understanding how quickly everyone seemed to move on from her. Even Captain Wysterra was laughing at something his cousin said, the sullen glare that had been trained on her since she walked in now gone.

“Not at all what you expected?” the King whispered in her ear.

Aislin swallowed, shaking her head no. “I don’t know what happened,” she admitted. “Where do we stand?”

But he only answered her with another whisper of a chuckle. Then everyone began rising from their seats, startling Aislin as she scrambled to rise as well. The Keymaster was the first one out the door, barely saying goodbye to anyone but the Queen. Then Anaïs was gone, humming a melody quietly to herself. The Orc Chief was speaking to the Queen’s mate off to one side, as the Queen herself made her way towards Avery and her.

She smiled kindly, arms crossed against her chest as she reached them. “Think you can keep up with these heathens once a week for the rest of your life?”

Aislin bowed her head. “I’ll do my best, Your Majesty.”

“Please, call me Ella. Or Mistress when you’re being formal.” Ella smirked at Avery. “It’s only nobles like him you should call ‘Majesty’.”

“Ah, so humble,” Avery teasingly sighed, and Aislin was once again impressed by how Avery and the Queen seemed.

Ella clapped her hands together. “When’s the wedding going to be?”

Aislin and Avery looked at each other at the same time. “We haven’t decided on an exact date,” he explained. “But Aislin thought we should do it in the spring.”

The Queen nodded thoughtfully. “Good thinking.” Then her voice dropped to a whisper. “Weddings held when it is so gods-damned cold outside is torture if you ask me.”

Aislin’s eyes darted to her cousin, who was still deep in conversation with the Vampire King and did not seem to catch his cousin’s words. For the first time since coming here, Aislin let herself grin at the Queen.

Amethyst eyes sparkled brilliantly like a gem as she turned to the King of Alfheim. “You should give her a tour of Locke Village and have lunch with us. We will be trying a heck of a lot of food to figure out the wedding menu so two more mouths to help us battle through all that the village cooks have prepared will be a huge help.”

Avery’s head swiveled to Aislin. Her eyes almost bulged out at him. Was he crazy? She wouldn’t dream of turning down anything this witch invited her to. 

“Of course, Mistress,” Aislin smoothly said, giving Avery a small, imperceptible frown that only he could see. “We would be honored to accept.”

Ella grinned. “Good. And don’t worry about Xaero, he’s just messing with you.”

Avery laughed and Aislin followed, albeit a little hesitantly. She was not entirely convinced that the Queen was telling the truth about her cousin, not that she would allow herself to let her guard down around him. Aislin was suddenly grateful that her own cousin wasn’t here. There would be a mighty brawl that perhaps even Ella would not be able to break off if the two were ever seen in a room together.

The King offered his hand to her which she gladly accepted, and with a wave, they both turned to go back the way they came. Aislin almost flew down the stairs, taking a huge gulp of air as soon as she was out of the awning of that building.

He smirked at her and nodded his head across the village. “Come. Let’s go for a walk.”