The Secret Trinity: Reign (Fae-Witch Trilogy, Book 3) (16 page)

“We can’t choose
who
we are connected with any
more than we can choose the family we are born into, or the background we come from.”  I deliberately looked at Adam, and he gave me the proudest big brother smile I had ever seen.  My friends were eyeing each other in total disbelief that this was going
down right now.

“Our souls are what separate
us from the enemy.  Our souls are what we are fighting for.  Don’t let the past generat
ions and all of their sacrifice
be
in vain.  Queen Danu saw this future.  She saw these eyes.”  I said touching my fingertips my temple, and then to the trinity necklace resting on my chest.  My heart thumped beneath it, as liquid power coursed through my blood
stirring inside me.  Everyone’s eyes went wide as they stared at me, frozen as it began, and I could feel the light coming from inside them.  They began to glow, like thousands of green stars lightin
g a dark sky.  The people of
Draí
ochta
had never been so clear in my eyes.  Every soul in this room felt intertwined with mine.  Their energy was my energy, fueling my power.  Their light, their compassion, their love, I felt connected to it all.  My skin began to glow just beneath the surface in the most spectacular emerald color that could rival any rainbow, as that power beamed from my heart, fu
eled by these beautiful souls.

“I was born the Trinity
Fae
and I am meant to be your Queen.  Let me fulfill my destiny.  Let me lead our souls to freedom!”  My heart was pumping harder.  I slammed my fists into the podium as
a
pulse of green light burst from my hands turning the wood into sawdust at my feet.  I stepped forward shaking the dust from my heels walking over to end of the stage.  I held out my palms as beams shot out from them, up toward the ceiling in a blinding light.  The beams sizzled and popped.  I could feel the energy growing inside me
,
my skin glowing brighter with each passing second.  Everyone was silent, starting in awe at the shooting stars erupting from my hands, and it felt l
ike the calm before the storm.

All at once every
Fae
and Witch in the buildin
g leapt to their feet
, shouting and screaming with thunderous applause.  I watched as
Airas
twirled and whizzed through the air with joy, while others had tears streaming down their cheeks clapping above their heads.   The sound became so loud I thought the ceiling might come crashing down on us.  I looked over at William and even he dipped his head in a gracious bow when our eyes met.  I closed my palms
.  T
he light extinguished in my hands and
I
gave a happy little curtsy, the glow from my skin subsiding.  I felt the cold fingers take my hand.  King Bryan was hunche
d at my side.

“I believe our people have spoken.”  Bryan’s voice boomed over the crowd and he held my hand tighter for physical support from that effort.  His statement set off another eruption of wails and cheers and the deafening, approving response had made any vote pointless.   Fiona came to stand by us and handed a beautiful crown to the King.  He turned to face me, holding
the crown in front of my face.

“Do you Aria
Brennan,
accept the
Aira
crown, its
responsibilities for all of
Draí
ochta
and your
people, to be their Queen?”

“Yes, I accept.”  I said, a tear o
f pride rolling down my cheek.

King Bryan placed the delicate
,
jeweled platinum crown on top of my head and gave my forehead a light kiss.  “I am so proud of you, Ari,” he whispered, quickly returning to his throne before he collapsed.  As I looked back to make sure he was okay, I caught Clay’s eyes.  He held my stare, locking me into his aqua gaze.  His face was expressionless with shock but his eyes told me everything, and yet nothing all at once.  I broke from his stare.  It was too intense to bear and
instead
waved at the crowd
,
causing
another roar of loud applause.

“Now, as
your
Aira
Queen, I insist you go out tonight and celebrate your souls until dawn,” I said loudly over the noise, which only caused more shaking of the building.  I gave one more wave and bowed, keeping my head up so the crown wouldn’t fall off.  I teleported away desperate to escape th
e blaze of Clay’s eyes, and when
I knew I was alone, I collapsed to the ground, my crown cl
attering down with it.

I was crumpled in a ball, crying so hard it made my head hurt.  My skin was on fire.  Only the cool metal from the crown pressing against my leg helped to temper the heat.  I felt scared, humiliated, and every other emotion someone could feel over a public confession
such as that
.  How excruciating to love someone and not have them love you back, and soon the whole Kingdom would know it, when Clay came over here to let me down gently.  That would be the next dreadful rumor to spread.  It was all for the best, anyhow.  I shouldn’t love him.  Not loving him
is what’
s best for him.  It was the only way to protect him from me.  No Liam, I’m protecting him from Liam, I repeated over again, trying to convi
nce myself
.

BOOM!  The crashing sound of the cottage door being kicked open made me flinch.  I lifted my head from my hands to see Clay frozen
in the door, his breath visible from the
puffy white clouds of heavy vapor
pillowing
into the chilled
night
air.  I closed my eyes and teleported into my room locking the door.  I quickly wiped away the make-up streaks from my tears in a sorry attempt to show strength, and that his thanks but no thanks speech wouldn’t destroy the last shreds of my heart.

BOOM!  He kicked the bedroom door open, and I flew to my private bath locking the door, deciding he could deliver his farewell speech with a wall between us.  The crunch of metal made me cringe when Clay used his gifts to twist the knob from its frame.  He shoved his shoulder into the broken door and it flew open.  I blinked myself away before he could grab my wrist.  I was running out of places to
hide.  I was not ready for a
pi
ty party explanation of why
he never wanted me to find out.  I’d rather surrender to Liam than sit through that.  I turned the lantern on, knowing it was only a matter of time before he found me, and I collapsed into a heap of pillows, wiping my eyes one more time.  I wouldn’t cry in front of him or acknowledge his presence when he came.  I would let him talk to the wall giving me his lame story about how he never meant to hurt me, and
prayed he would make it short.

BOOM!  The wooden h
atch door hit the floor so hard
I thought it might snap from its hinges.  Clay leapt up through the floor, and I turned my face the other way closing my eyes,
bracing myself for his speech.

I felt his hands on my waist as he lifted me off the ground turned and
land
ed me
on my feet, holding my shoulders so I would face him.  My eyes quickly found the ground.  I refused to look at him as anger waved from his pores, glowing so bright and golde
n, we didn’t need the lantern.

“I’m sorry you’ve been stuck with me, Clay.  I’m sorry you resent feeling drawn to me, wanting to hold me because your soul forces it, whe
n probably you’d
rather have nothing to do with me.  I’m sorry you’ve had to waste your life to protect me and now yours is in danger of withering away if Liam gets to me.  I’m sorry for all of it, okay.  I’m Sorry!” I shrieked,
forcefully turning my back to him, s
till looking at the ground.

“I’m not sorry!”  His voice so low and in
tense it shook the tree house.

“Save it, Clay.  If you really felt that way, you would have told me by now.  I’m not in the mood for your pity.  I only did what I had to do tonight for the Kingdom, so please, see yourself out.”  I said, the strain in my voice betraying how heartbroken I felt.

“I tried to tell you, Ari.  For years I watched you, protected you, waited in the shadows while these dirt balls used you, and there was nothing I could do.  I had to sit back and watch them hold my Soul Keeper.  They got to take you to dances, kiss you, make you laugh, and all the while I knew it would only end in disappointment because deep down something would be missing.  The only thing that got me through that was this moment, this time.  I convinced myself that when you
saw
me again, the
sealment
would click, and you would finally be mine.”  Clay said huskily with a regretful sigh, and a single tear trickled down my face.  I was thankful I was
n’t facing him so
he
didn’t
see it. 

“When my Father sai
d I could bring you back to
Draí
ochta
, I had never been so scared because I had
waited so long for that moment.
I thought my chest was going to explode w
hen you opened your eyes. 
I looked directl
y into your beautiful green light
and you looked at me like I was a stranger.  All of those
years that I
told myself you just had to
see me again and it would
happen, were
just obliterated before my eyes.  I didn’t know what to do
or say.  I was a wreck inside.  And on top of all of that Liam went and ripped your heart out.  Would you have even listened; would you have
believed me?  But I still couldn’t help myself.  The more time we spent
together, I knew I was a goner,” h
e said, putting his hand on my shoulder, but I promptly shrugged it off and snorted.

“Yeah, Liam, and now you
, why am I so unhappy in love, why does it have to hurt so much
?
!
”  I said stepping further away from him, crossing my hands over my stomach,
the ache churning my insides.

“Don’t you dare compare what we have to
Liam!
  You are only using him and your heartbreak as an excuse now, because you’re scared.  You’re scared because you know what we could be and you don’t want to deal with it.”  Clay grunted with bitte
rness and my jaw clamped shut.

“You’re right, I am scared.  I’m scared for you, Clay.  I am no good for you.  You have to trust me on this.  I think I really am broken and you don’t want a b
roken soul.”  I admitted sadly
still facing the wall, hugging myself for warmth.

“It’s your head that’s broken, Ari, not your soul.  You declared to the entire Kingdom j
ust now that you and I are sealed
together, all the while convincing yourself that y
our feelings are one-sided
, when you’re really just afraid of what might happen if you let yourself fall.  I have done everyth
ing in my power to show you that
I will catch you.  I know y
ou sense the light between us when you
let me in, even if only for a sliver of time.  The only reason I didn’t tell you the truth was because I wanted you to make the choice.  I didn’t want you to feel an obligation to me once you found out our connection.  All of our time together, trying to be myself with you, showing you a side of me that I have kept from
everyone in my life,
only to be shut out again.  I can’t keep breaking down your brick walls, just to find another cold surface waiting for me when I get through.  It is very clear to me now that you will never trust me with your heart.”  Clay’s voice had a darkness coated over each word.  He spoke the truth
.
He knew it
and I knew it
too
.

“Clay, I
...”  My voice began to shake.

“Save it, Aria.  I don’t want your pity any
more than you wanted mine.  Like I said, I
knew I was a goner.”  Clay huffed
, walking
toward
the hatch door.  I could feel his eyes on me, judging me for my cowardice, and I shut my eyes tight trying to think of anything but reaching for him.

He waited for me to turn, to tell him I was sorry, that I knew we were meant to be together, that I wasn’t afraid anymore and my heart was his.  But I didn’t turn.  I only waited, holding my breath, squeezing my eyes ti
ghter, praying for will power
not
to leap into his arms.

Clay let out a steady sigh.  “I love you, always.”  He whispered it so softly I could barely make out the words.  My heart rattled in my in my ribcage and thought my insides would burst.  I snapped my eyes open and looked down at my hands which were glowing green, seeping blinding light from my pores all the way up through the glass ceiling, illuminating the dark winter sky.  My breath stopped, my heart seized, as my entir
e life flashed before my eyes.