Chapter 31

R osamund cursed her long gown as she hurried trying hard not to step on it. She spied her father’s sword on the ground and swept it up, clutching it tight in her sweaty palm. She charged forward.

The dragon used her massive claw to swipe first Jeffrey then Charles out of the way. They both went flying in different directions, landing on the ground with a groan. Both Fae kings were rendered unconscious by the beast. Rosamund sucked in a sharp breath as she watched Rowena go after Phillip next. Her razor-sharp claws cut through the air, missing him as he ducked.

“Phillip!”

He cut her a glance, his expression morphing from surprise to worry. “Get back to the castle.”

Rowena caught sight of her and reared back, her head held high as she looked down her massive snout at the two of them. Rosamund halted next to Phillip who immediately wrapped his arm around her. He held his sword in his other hand, as if ready to strike.

“Ah, the perfect couple. Isn’t this wonderful?” She lowered her head, her dragon eyes peering at them both. “I should have killed you both when I had the chance.”

The beast inhaled a breath. Rosamund knew immediately what she planned to do.

“Her breath—!” she started.

Phillip shoved her out of the way as the dragon puffed out a white cloud. Rosamund stumbled and fell, her gown ripping and the sword falling from her hand. When she looked back over her shoulder, the cloud had consumed Phillip. She let out a strangled cry as he stumbled from the right to the left and then tumbled to the ground. His sword fell out of his hand.

The dragon laughed her smokey laugh. Then she turned her gaze on Rosamund.

“It’s the two of us now, princess. Don’t think I’ll be letting you get away.”

Rosamund climbed to her feet. Her gown was covered in dirt and grass stains. The hem was ripped. She lifted her gaze to the great dragon, her hands clutched at her side.

I am not afraid.

She spied her father’s sword gleaming in the morning sun. Just beyond that was Phillip’s. Two swords.

Rowena sucked in another breath. Rosamund took that moment to bolt into a run. She grabbed her father’s sword off the ground in one fluid motion, then made for Phillip’s. She snatched it up in her other hand. She spun to face the dragon as the beast puffed out another breath.

Rosamund ran as fast as she could but she tripped on her skirt and fell forward. She released the weapons as she landed on the ground so hard it jarred her to the back of her teeth. The puff of smoke went over her, missing her.

Without waiting for the dragon to regroup, she rolled to a sitting position and ripped away the remaining skirt to give her feet freedom of movement. Then she scrambled to her feet and snatched up both of the swords once more. Behind her, she thought she heard her mother cry out and her father shout her name. She ignored them both and ran directly toward the dragon.

Rowena saw her coming and stumbled backward to get her in her line of sight. Rosamund glanced up a moment to see a faint glow in her chest, as though her magic returned and she was able to breath fire once again.

The princess eyed the dragon’s wings, looking for the weak spot Titania mentioned. She spotted the leathery looking skin just under the joint where there were no scales to protect her. That was where she needed to stab her.

Taking a deep breath, she ran again right for the dragon. Rowena stumbled backward, trying to get her in her sights, but Rosamund was fast. Unhindered by her skirt, she was able to run at a quicker speed. Holding both swords, though, slowed her down. She dropped her father’s and held onto to Phillip’s with both hands.

The dragon realized what she was doing and took a swipe with her large claw. The tips grazed Rosamund’s back as she tumbled to the ground, a shout of pain escaping her. She rolled to her back as the dragon planted both feet on either side of her. Her massive snout was inches from her face. Hot steam came out in puffs from her large nostrils.

“You think you can defeat me, don’t you, girl?”

When the dragon spoke, Rosamund was very aware of her spiky teeth. One chomp and she was dead. She felt the ground for the sword but came up empty handed.

“Why do you want me dead?” Rosamund asked.

The dragon blinked, as though the question surprised her.

“Killing me solves nothing,” she hurried on. “Just because you were slighted doesn’t mean I should die.”

The dragon huffed out a hot breath. Rosamund closed her eyes and turned her head as the steamy air cascaded over her.

“You’re right,” the dragon said then. “The king must die instead.”

With that, she shoved her huge body upward, moving away from Rosamund and peering through the destroyed gardens for her father.

Rosamund realized, too late, her mistake.

Rowena the dragon lumbered toward the castle, her chest glowing as she built up enough fire to release a fiery stream.

She climbed to her feet, scanning the area for the swords. But suddenly one of the Fae kings was at her side holding one arm that appeared to be limp against his chest. In his other hand, he held a dagger out to her.

“Here. Try this. And hurry.”

She snatched the dagger out of his hand without a thanks and darted up the aisle toward the dragon. The dagger was much lighter in her hand than either sword and she felt as though she had a shot.

The only thing that helped her catch up to the dragon was that she was big, slow, and blood streamed down the backs of her legs where Jeffrey and Charles had cut her. Her tail swished back and forth. Rosamund zig-zagged to avoid it. When she finally caught up to her, she ran ahead, her legs throbbing and burning with the exertion. She skittered to a halt in front of Rowena when she was only a few feet from the castle.

“Rowena!”

The beast halted, her head swiveling down to look at her.

“You are a determined thing, aren’t you?”

Her chest still glowed faintly, as though she were still building up the fire down within her core. Then she leaned closer to Rosamund, her snout only inches away from her face. It was the opportunity she needed.

She darted forward, her heart in her throat, as she clutched the dagger. Before Rowena realized what was happening, Rosamund shoved the dagger hard inside the soft place under her wing.

The dragon emitted a shrill growl as she reared upward. Rosamund staggered away from her, watching in horror as the dragon stumbled and fell to the ground with a thunderous noise, making it shake.

“You vile little creature!” she cried out.

She flopped from side to side, as if trying to reach the dagger sticking out of her side but couldn’t. Titania used that moment to step forward, her hands outstretched and glowing. Elara joined her. The two of them used their Fae magic to surround Rowena with their white glowing magic and force her to transform back into her Fae form. The dagger was sticking out from under her arm.

Titania moved closer and kneeled down to look at the dark Fae queen.

“Your rule is over, Rowena. You will face your fate at the Tribunal. When you are found guilty, you will spend the rest of your immortal days imprisoned in the Eternal Tower.”

Dark menace crossed the other queen’s face as she glared up at Titania. Then she said something in her Fae language and spat.

The two Fae kings joined them. Draco held a length of rope in his hands. With Rowena subdued by Titania’s and Elara’s magic, he wound the rope around her wrists and tied it with a tight knot. King Atlas took her by the upper arm and hoisted her to her feet.

“Atlas and I will make sure she’s properly guarded,” Draco said.

The two Fae queens released their magic hold.

“See that you do,” Titania said, her voice stern.

And then the three of them disappeared out of sight.

As soon as they were gone, Rosamund broke into a run toward Phillip. She dropped to her knees by his side and scooped him into her arms, cradling his head against her chest. She brushed away a lock of hair on his forehead. His eyes were still closed as he groaned, his brows drawing together as if he were in pain.

“I’m here,” she whispered. “Your Rose.”

Finally, he opened his honey-colored eyes, his gaze meeting hers. Her heart tripped in her chest as relief sputtered through her. She smiled.

“Rose…what happened? The last thing I remember was a cloud of smoke.”

“She blew her breath on you and it knocked you out,” she said. “But you’re all right now. The threat is over. The dragon is gone.”

“Gone?” He pushed out of her arms to a sitting position and then immediately grunted. He put his head in his hands. “Where is she?”

“Take care, prince. The effects of her dragon’s breath will take a bit to wear off,” Queen Titania said as she gazed down at the two of them.

Phillip shook his head to clear it, then looked up at the queen. Question creased his face.

“Where is Rowena?” he asked.

“Vanquished. She will face trial for her misdeeds at the Tribunal. And then she will be punished,” the Fae queen said.

Rosamund helped him to his feet, then. He glanced around at the destruction. The royal gardens had been decimated by Rowena’s dragon fire. Their wedding arbor was shattered in pieces. The chairs were scattered everywhere. Trees were down. Plants were flattened. The ground was scorched in places.

“Oh…” he said on a breath as he took in the sight.

“I’ll all right,” Rose said quickly. Her voice wobbled only a little.

“All right? Rose, the wedding—”

“We will find another place to marry,” she said, trying to sound hopeful. Though, in truth, seeing the devastation around her was disheartening.

Then he took in her appearance, glancing down at her ripped and soiled gown. His face contorted in pain. “Your gown…”

“It’s fine.” She waved away her concern. Because if she didn’t, she would break into tears over the ruination of her beautiful gown.

“No, it’s not,” he said, stepping away from her. “There has to be some way to repair it.”

“Well, there is a way,” Titania said. “If you’ll allow it.”

Rosamund cut her a glance as Elara joined her. She nodded. “Yes, please.”

A smile creased her beautiful face. She cast a questioning glance at the other Fae queen who gave her a nod. They clasped hands and closed their eyes. Together, a power formed between them. A bright, blue-white glow began to surge from them and then covered Rosamund. Her skin tickled as the sparkling radiance overcame her. She watched, fascinated, as the threads of her gown reformed and repaired. After a moment, the light faded and she was standing there once again in her beautiful green wedding gown.

She was unable to hide her gasp of delight. “You did it.”

“Of course, we did,” Elara said. “You are truly a fairy princess now, dearest.”

“Rose, your skin is…sparkling,” Phillip said, wonder in his voice.

She glanced down to see her skin was, indeed, shimmering in the late morning sun.

“Our work here is finished,” Titania said.

“Finished?” Phillip asked.

“When we were invited to the wedding, we suspected Rowena would also arrive and exact her revenge,” Elara said. “Since she would know the princess was not dead as she had expected.”

“We hoped, of course, that was not the case,” Titania said. “It was why the four of us decided to come. I’m only sorry we did not act sooner.”

“We will do everything in our power to make sure Rowena never again releases her dark magic on anyone,” Elara added.

“And we appreciate that, your majesties,” Phillip said with a low bow. “Thank you for your help.”

“We should have helped more,” Titania said. “Now, we must take our leave and see to the Tribunal.”

They both bowed to Phillip and Rosamund. They returned the bow.

“Farewell,” Rosamund said.

And then they disappeared in a puff of faery magic.

Jeffrey and Charles joined them, then, looking as though they’d both been run over by an oxen cart.

“Oh,” Rosamund exclaimed.

“By the gods, man, you both look awful,” Phillip said.

“We both feel awful,” Jeffrey said. A grim expression crossed his face.

“I thought that dragon was going to be the death of me,” Charles said.

“The death of all of us,” Phillip added.

Her parents along with King Reginald and Queen Adele arrived then, relieved to see all of them still alive and in one piece.

“I suppose we will need to reschedule the wedding,” Phillip said.

“We can still have a wedding,” her father said.

“We can?” Rosamund’s head snapped in his direction.

“Of course, we can,” he said. “We have a chapel, don’t we?”

“But, my darling, what about all the guests?” her mother asked.

“We will just have to make do,” Stephan said. He gave his wife a large, joyful grin, as if this was the best idea he’d ever had. “Bring those of the highest rank into the chapel, find the bishop, and let’s get these two married.”

Rosamund was grateful to the Fae queen for repairing her gown. It had pained her to rip the skirt when she was fighting against Rowena.

Her father’s head injury was tended by the healer, who managed to stop the bleeding and bandage him.

After some confusion and a bit of chaos, that evening, the chapel was filled with those who arrived to witness the wedding of Rosamund and Phillip. She still hadn’t a moment to thank him for the white rose which, miraculously, survived along with the other flowers in her bouquet.

Once more, she stood at the end of the aisle, holding her father’s arm, and facing the altar that had quickly been decorated with candelabras to give it a romantic glow. Her mother and Queen Adele did what they could on short notice.

At the end of the aisle, Phillip waited in his finery that was still smudged with dirt. He seemed unconcerned with his attire and only had eyes for her as they started their journey down the aisle. Her heart beat in anticipation, her nerves suddenly gone. She was focused solely on Phillip’s smile and the way the candlelight reflected in the strands of his hair turning them gold.

At the altar, her father kissed her cheek, the sheer joy evident in his face. She took Phillip’s outstretched hand. Together they turned to the bishop and pledged their love and life to each other forevermore.

Afterward, at the celebration of their nuptials, Phillip grasped her hand and stole her away from the grand dining hall onto the balcony to get a breath of evening air. Stars twinkled overhead in an indigo sky. The full moon shone brightly, the beams cascading down in slashes of blue-white light.

“Are you happy?” he asked.

“Yes. Are you?”

He turned to her, taking both her hands in his. “Deliriously so. I’m glad you got the white rose.”

“You noticed.” She grinned up at him. “I didn’t have a chance to tell you. Jeffrey told me the meaning. Everlasting love and devotion.”

Thinking of it now made her heart squeeze.

“I hoped he would. I mean it, too.” He squeezed her hands. “Rose…I’m so grateful for everything we went through to find each other.”

She loved that his nickname for her was Rose. Once it had irritated her. Now, she wouldn’t want him to call her anything else. She leaned into him to steal some of his warmth as a cool wind breezed over her.

“As am I. Even falling under the sleeping curse.”

“ Especially falling under the sleeping curse. If you hadn’t, things may have turned out much differently for us. Oh, and I wanted to give you this.”

He reached into his pocket.

“Hold out your hand.”

She gave him a quizzical look but obliged. He dropped the gold coin into her palm. She emitted a small gasp as she eyed it, the shiny gold surface winking in the evening light.

“The gold coin. You still had it.”

“I kept it for you.”

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close into his embrace. She tipped her head upward to look into those breathtaking honey-colored eyes of his.

“What shall we do now, my prince?”

“Perhaps we find a new adventure, princess.” A smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.

“Where shall we go to find this new adventure?” She slid her arms around his waist, loving the way his strong body felt against hers.

His smile widened. “Wherever the wind takes us.”

When he kissed her, his lips warm and gentle on hers, she couldn’t wait to find out where the wind took them.