Authors: LK Rigel

Bride of Fae (Tethers) (31 page)

BOOK: Bride of Fae (Tethers)

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“Max,” Beverly said. “I am so sorry about your sister.”

“Boadicea is tortured no longer,” Max said, “nor enslaved to Idris’s command. You have nothing to be sorry about.”

Idris’s glimmer glass was old and strong, and its binding spell had worked its way too deep inside Max’s sister Boadicea. After hours trying to break or unwind the spell, Beverly had become convinced that shattering the glass would kill her.

“She’s safe with Vulsier,” Max said. “Still in her prison, but no longer abused.”

“I’ll find a way to free her, Max.” Beverly rested her hand on the goblin’s arm. “I vow it.”

The drumming rhythm intensified. Dandelion and Goldy descended from the air, the stars dazzling in the night and the moon a bright round, flat disk. They landed in the center of the fairy circle.

Dandelion flashed Beverly a smile, and her heart leapt into her throat. What had she been thinking? She could never leave him.

Bam! Bam!
Two thwacks on drums, and the music stopped.

Goldy produced the dandelion winesack and strode around the circle, holding it high. Dandelion held the fairy cup aloft for all to see. Moonlight struck the glass and its jewels, and it glowed like magic.

“My fellow fae.” Dandelion lowered the cup. “I can’t take the vow. I can’t drink the dandelion wine.”

“The blinking treesap.” Beside Beverly, Max stomped his foot and grumbled, “What now?”

Dandelion called Cissa down to stand with him in the circle.

“I am not the rightful monarch of the Dumnos fae,” he said to all. “I thought I was, but I was wrong. I’ve never done anything, sacrificed anything for the fae unless it would benefit me personally.”

He gave Cissa the cup.

“Princess Cissa, on the other hand, has thought of nothing but your well-being. For hundreds of years, she’s risked her happiness, her comfort, and her life for yours. She would have married
Idris to keep you safe.”

He took the winesack from Goldy and filled the cup in Cissa’s hands.

“Let me do one noble thing in my life. I abdicate in favor of Princess Cissa. Long live Queen Cissa.”

The fairies cheered and whistled, and the musicians played a fanfare that seemed to go on forever. Like the rightful monarch she was, Cissa rose to the occasion. She chanted the ritual words.

“By the fae cup I swear,

And by dandelion wine,

To claim the fae crown

Ever meant to be mine.”

The fairies went wild as Goldy produced the moonstick crown and held it over Cissa’s head. She looked positively regal.

“Speech!” the fairies cried. “Speech!”

Dandelion joined Beverly and Max on the sidelines.

“Well done,” Max said. “Well done, indeed.”

“As Queen of the Dumnos fae,” Cissa said, “I promise a return to the light. We will remain true to the origins of the Dumnos fae. To that end, I will never marry. I wed my people.”

Goldy placed the crown on Queen Cissa’s head and stepped away, leaving her alone in the center of the fairy circle, dazzling and bedazzling.

She said, “I am the bride of fae.”

The musicians launched into another tune, full of pride in their Queen, playing so loud the song was surely heard all the way to Tintagos Village.

“How do you feel, my love?” Dandelion took Beverly’s hand. He kissed her fingers and the colors of her nail polish changed. It was a silly little piece of fae magic, but she loved it.

“Wonderful,” she said. “I’ll feel even better when we get home.”

He swept her off her feet and extended his wings. “I thought we might go surfing in the northern lights.

“Tomorrow, tomorrow, and tomorrow.” She laid her palm out flat
. A circle of light appeared above it, and in the circle an image. The image of their bed at Mudcastle. As they watched, the bedcovers were turned down and the pillows fluffed by an invisible hand.

“What a fool I was,” Dandelion said, “to believe wyrding magic was inferior to fae magic.”

“Let’s go home,” Beverly said. “And see what the magics are like together.”

Bride of Fae

From the author:

I hope you have enjoyed
Bride of Fae.
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About
...
About the Author

L
K RIGEL LIVES IN CALIFORNIA
with her television-watching cat, Coleridge. (His favorite show is
Castle
, but he was enthralled by
Game of Thrones.
) Rigel wrote songs for the 90’s band The Elements, scored the independent science fantasy karate movie
Lucid Dreams
, and was a reporter for the Sacramento
Rock ‘N Roll News
. Her work has appeared in
Literary Mama
and
Tattoo Highway.

Rigel writes the
science fiction romance
Apocalypto
series which includes
Space Junque, Spiderwork
, and
Firebird.
Her short story “Slurp” about an author with muse problems is included in
Deadly Treats
, Anne Frasier’s Halloween anthology published by Nodin Press.

Give Me – A Tale of Wyrd and Fae
is the first book in the Tethers series.
War of the Wyrd
and
The Goblin Ball
are coming soon.