Chapter 56

"It will be exactly the same, just sit there and watch," Darcy urged, guiding me through the throng of dancing Fae in The Wailing Wood and pushing me onto a carved wooden seat.

I pressed my lips together. "It will hardly be the same."

"It will – it will!" she said excitedly, her glittery blue skirt bouncing in time with her and making me catch sight of her panties.

"Alright." I relaxed into my chair. Far be it from me to stop Blue from putting on a show for me. "Let's see it then."

Darcy glanced around as Bones by Imagine Dragons thumped through the air, spotting Xavier in his lilac Pegasus form and beckoning him over. He came trotting towards her with a look of intrigue on his horsey face. His horn had a wreath of flowers hanging from it and it pulsed with purple light, his joy making him shimmer all over. He snorted in greeting, nuzzling Darcy's cheek.

"I need you as like, a prop," she said. "Just stand still."

Xavier's eyes slid to me then back to her.

"Imagine Xavier is a really sparkly star in a really deep, dark pit," Darcy said, waving her hands at him and casting an illusion that made him appear to be a large, glittering rock. In her slightly drunk state, she didn't manage to hide his eyes or horn from view, and he was still very much giving her a confused side-eye.

"Wow, it's like I was really there," I said dryly, and Darcy flapped a hand at me, determined to try and conjure an illusion of the star releasing its power in Lionel's castle. But an illusion couldn't aptly capture the magnificence of such a thing. No, it seemed I was out of luck again. My mate had witnessed two Donum Magicaes now when most Fae went their whole lifetime without ever seeing one. Was I jealous? Maybe.

"Just wait," she encouraged.

A smile hooked up the corner of my mouth. "Waiting."

Darcy whispered something to Xavier which I only missed because I was staring at her lips remembering how they'd been wrapped so perfectly around my cock less than an hour ago. Fuck, she was irresistible, and I was star damned thirsty for her.

"Tick-tock, Blue. The night is young and I have way too many plans for you to waste time sitting here."

She glanced at me with a mischievous smile then stepped away from Xavier and began forging her illusion once more. Xavier's exterior began to glow, shining brighter and brighter, fuelled by his Order while Darcy put on a show around him with a bunch of Faelights.

"And then the grand finale," she announced, but Washer came stumbling out of the crowd in his tighty-whities, knocking into her and spilling his cup of beer all over her. She cursed, and I was at her side like a shot, shoving Washer back with a snarl.

"Watch where you're walking, asshole," I warned.

"Oh, do mind my hiney," Washer said, bowing apologetically to Darcy. "I've had a teeny weeny bit too much of the old juicy Lucy."

"There you are, you fangsome flapjack, and of course my darling Darcy!" Geraldine came bounding out of the crowd towing Leon along behind her.

Gabriel was smiling happily, and Leon looked hyper as shit, but that didn't necessarily mean he'd been drinking. I swear the guy ran on liquid sunshine, peppy at all hours of the day.

"We are having a romp of a time," Geraldine said. "And I am trying to gather up our majestic crew of begonia bandits for a bit of a hoo-ha."

Xavier shifted into his Fae form, casting a pair of pants made from leaves onto his body.

"Isn't that the name you give your…you know," he asked as he trotted closer.

Darcy bit her lip on an amused smile and I slung an arm around her shoulders as we waited to see what Geraldine had on her mind.

Geraldine wailed a laugh, smacking Xavier on the back hard enough to send him stumbling forward a step. "You do make my chipper chop, my sweet Pego-brother. No indeed, I see where the confusion came from. Bossy bandits is another name for my Brendas." She cupped her giant tits. "But I believe it is my Lady Petunia that you speak of."

"Who's speaking of your petunia?" Max came muscling through the crowd wearing a sparkly pink hat covered in seashells.

"Calm your clam, Maxy boy. No one waters my garden except your sprightly sea cucumber, but alas, Fae do dream. We cannot blame Xavier for his ganderings." Geraldine tiptoed up to kiss Max and he smiled serenely.

"I'm not gandering," Xavier muttered, but Geraldine didn't seem to hear him.

"Geraldine's gonna dare me and Gabe to do something wild," Leon said, bouncing on his toes. The Lion shifter was wearing a Skylarks Pitball shirt with his name and number on the back, and an old bell of jealousy rang in my chest. It had been a long time since I'd thought about my past endeavours to make it as a pro Pitball player, but the fact that Leon Night had claimed that fate still had the ability to make me envious apparently.

"I sure-a-tidley am," Geraldine said. "And your attire gave me the dingles for the idea."

Leon looked down at his Pitball shirt, his Lion Charisma bouncing off of him so much that pretty much everyone's eyes were drawn to him. "This is gonna be awesome. Ah shit, where'd I put my beer?"

He glanced around like someone might hold the answer and three Oscura girls raced off of the dancefloor, snatching a bunch of beers from the ice cooler and sprinting to offer them to him. He selected one with a vague nod of thanks and the girl who had managed to give it to him beamed with pride, the other two glaring at her jealously as they stalked back off into the party. It was pretty common for Lionesses to serve powerful Lions among their Order, and Leon was one of the strongest of his kind.

"You shouldn't be doing that," Gabriel said to him, but Leon waved him off.

"I can't help when my Charisma is Charismaring, Gabe. I'm seduction in Fae form."

I dropped my mouth to Darcy's ear. "Let's slip away to the Shimmering Springs. There's a pretty rock pool there you'd look fucking edible in. Especially naked, sitting on my-"

A wet slap to my head made me look around with a snarl and I found Geraldine pointing at me. "Stop being a ninny and listen up."

Darcy smothered a laugh, prodding me in the ribs and I gave Geraldine my attention for her sake.

"This fursome fellow and this winged flapperjack owe me a dare." Geraldine gestured flamboyantly to Leon and Gabriel. "And I declare it to be this. We shall divide ourselves asunder. Our looksome Lion captaining one team, and our handsome Harpy captaining the other. It shall be a game of balls. Pitballs to be exact. Whenever a team scores, the opposing team must take a shot of Sourache. And whoever's team comes out the loser will have to do the bluffman's jabba jive." Geraldine broke into hysterics while we all shared looks of confusion over what the fuck that was. "Have we an agreement?"

"Drunk Pitball," Leon said excitedly. "Fuck yes."

"I'm not drinking," Gabriel said. "I can't until my visions are back to normal."

I frowned at my friend. He looked so much brighter in himself, but The Sight was still causing him pain, and I hated to think how much longer that would last.

"You are excused from all spirituous beverages," Geraldine declared.

"How is that fair?" Leon complained. "He'll be sober while we're all shitfaced."

"Oh, my simple feline," Geraldine scoffed. "Have you suffered through the doomful agony of The Sight day and night and saved us all from certain destruction time and again, only to find yourself with an icksome Cyclops rifling through your mind who left you with harrowing scars upon your very psyche?"

"Well…no," Leon pouted, then looked to Gabriel and sadness entered his eyes. "Fine, he can be excused. So do we get to pick our teams?"

"Abso-tively," Geraldine said. "Take turns, one after the other."

"You can pick first, Leon," Gabriel said with a calculated glint in his gaze.

"Wait, wait, you can't go using your fancy third eye to predict how this goes," Leon growled. "You can pick first."

"Alright," Gabriel said, looking like he'd just gotten exactly what he'd wanted. "Orio, you're with me."

"Then I get Darcy," Leon blurted. "You can't have Elysian Mates on the same team."

"Fine, you have Darius and I'll take Tory," Gabriel said.

"Ha, fine. I've got the resurrected Dragon consort dude," Leon said smugly. "I want Geraldine, too," he added, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her to his side.

"Then we'll have Max," Gabriel said.

"I want Xavier," Leon said possessively, moving to sling an arm around him.

I tuned out the rest of the picking, considering snatching Darcy and shooting away to the Shimmering Springs into the night. She looked damn excited about this game though, and I had to admit, I hadn't played a good round of Pitball in a long time. Besides, a post-game victory fuck did sound kind of sublime…

"The teams are appointed!" Geraldine bayed. "Onward to the Pitball stadium, friends! And gather the enlisted Fae."

Everyone split up to find the others, and Geraldine stumbled over a rock in her haste to move, knocking into Washer.

"You'll be needing a referee, I suppose?" he asked as he steadied her. "I shall limber up for the task. Pitball's not really my game, but I know the ins and outs of it from my academy coaching days. The nooks and crannies of the rules so to speak." He started lunging and Geraldine tried to talk him out of it in a desperate garble, but Washer lunged off in the direction of the Pitball stadium without another word.

"Come on, let's find Tory and Darius," Darcy said excitedly and the spark in her eyes for the game made me want this win more than ever.

It was going to be carnage, pure and simple, and I couldn't wait to come out on top.

At dawn, I waited anxiously in King's Hollow, having left Darcy sleeping back in Rump Castle. Last night had been completely wild, and I'd had a sum total of one hour's rest when we'd finally made our way back to our bed on the island. The Pitball game had been brutal, and the most fun I'd had in a long ass time. Thank fuck for healing magic, because I was pretty sure the hangover would have destroyed the best of our army this morning.

Darius landed on the roof with such force that the whole treehouse swayed and I smirked, certain he was pissed at me for dragging him out of bed so early after the long night we'd had. But I wanted to keep this as secret as possible from Darcy, and she had been so exhausted, I knew she wouldn't wake while I was missing.

Darius dropped through the skylight in his Fae form, fully naked and looking like I'd shat in his morning coffee.

"Did you bring it?" I asked, noting the bag in his hand which had a Dragon tooth-shaped impression in the fabric.

"Yeah, it's stuffed right between my ass cheeks, Lance. Go fetch it," he said, smoke spewing between his teeth.

I gave him a goading smile. "Always trying to get me near your ass, Acrux. Some things never change."

He barked a laugh, his anger falling away as he opened his bag and took out a gold medallion, looping it over his neck before adding ten gold rings to his fingers, a golden cuff to his wrist, and placing an honest to shit crown on his head. Then he walked to the chest in one corner, taking out some sweatpants and pulling them on.

When he returned to me, he reached into the bag one final time, taking out a small, glittering item.

I took a hopeful step toward it, but Darius snapped his fist closed around it, a growl rumbling through his chest.

"Easy, big boy," I said, grinning as I inched closer. "You said you wanted to do this."

"I do," he said through gritted teeth. "But that doesn't make this part any easier."

I moved nearer and he thrust his fist at me, his fingers still locked tight around the object.

I held my hand out beneath his fist and his jaw ticked as he worked to release it.

"You don't have to," I said seriously.

"Your stupid little face lit up when you saw this," he ground out. "And…you're my best friend. I want to."

His fingers started to unfurl and my heart warmed as the beautiful sapphire ring I'd found in Luxie Acrux's cave fell into my palm. The band was gold with a delicate pair of wings clutching the gemstone. It was almost perfect. But there were a few alterations I planned on making before it reached the standard I'd set for it.

Darius yanked his arm away like he feared he might grab it back from me, his hand fisting at his side.

"Thank you," I said earnestly, knowing how much this meant coming from him. "I love you, brother. You know that, right? And I'm so fucking grateful for this."

He nodded, the tension in his shoulders easing.

The door sounded downstairs and I lifted my head, looking to the stairwell expectantly.

"Who else did you invite?" Darius asked, following my gaze.

"Caleb and Gabriel."

My sanguis frater stepped into the room in a blue long-sleeved t-shirt and some grey sweatpants, followed closely by Seth in a white hoodie and jeans.

"You brought the mutt," I said icily, and Caleb pursed his lips.

"He should be a part of this," Caleb said firmly.

"But what am I a part of?" Seth asked enthusiastically.

"He'll tell Blue," I growled. "He can't keep a secret for shit."

"Oh can't I?" Seth said, arching a brow at me, reminding me that he had somehow managed to keep his feelings from Caleb long enough. Though he'd told half the group instead, so it wasn't exactly a win on his part. "Whatever it is, I'll keep it secret. Unless you're cheating on Darcy, in which case, I'll be ripping your cock off shortly."

"Hilarious," I said dryly.

"He couldn't cheat on her even if he wanted to," Darius said. "Not that he ever would."

"What do you mean?" Seth asked, and I wanted to curse Darius for laying crumbs for the mutt to follow.

"Oh yeah, your sparkle dick," Caleb said with a grin.

"Sparkle dick?" Seth perked up even more, glancing between everyone in the room, though all he got from me was a cold glare. "Who's going to tell me then? You can't go dropping the words ‘sparkle dick' and not expect me to hound you to the ends of the earth for an explanation."

I folded my arms in refusal and Darius remained quiet, but my sanguis frater apparently had other ideas on loyalty.

"His dick glowed when Lavinia tried to touch it at the Palace of Souls. It burned her or some shit too." Caleb laughed.

"No fucking way!" Seth said, looking to me for confirmation, and I sighed. I should have known Caleb would give up that truth to his little bestie. I guessed I would have done the same with Darius though.

"It's some Elysian Mate thing, I believe," I said. "Anyway, that's not why we're here-"

"I need to see it," Seth insisted, and Caleb shot him a frown. "For science," he added quickly. "Darius, touch it, go on."

"No," Darius balked.

"No one is touching my dick," I snapped just as the window opened and Gabriel flew in with Geraldine under one arm.

"Oh, I suppose you all wish to attend the shiny sherman fiesta to see the disco ball dongler," Geraldine exclaimed as Gabriel placed her down.

"How do you know about that?" I demanded.

Gabriel gave me an innocent look as Geraldine answered. "The True Queens keep no buzzing bees from each other, and it seems I too have been deigned worthy of their whisperings."

"Blue," I cursed.

"She was most descriptive. Anyway, Maxy boy shall be along momentarily, and I sent word to Lady Tory too by means of an illusory bird, gone to sing her a merry tune at her window. She will be most pleasingly roused by the soothing whistles of my sweet swallow."

"She fucking won't be," Darius sniggered.

"This is meant to be private," I snarled.

"Private?" Geraldine scoffed. "Then why would your Noxy fellow come banging on my window like a cantankerous hat salesman upon the cusp of sunrise to bring me here?"

"It was an accident," Gabriel insisted, looking to me with a touch of embarrassment on his face. "I flew into it. I was distracted by a vision."

"Poppycock, the stars brought you to me," Geraldine declared. "Now what great ganderings have we been summoned for, dear professor of our studious past?"

Seth appeared from the kitchenette with a set of silver cooking tongs, jabbing them at my crotch.

I grabbed his wrist at the last second to stop him. "Don't even think about it."

"Too late for that," Seth said with a smirk. "Come on. Let us see the sparkle."

"No," I growled.

He reached behind his back with his other hand, grabbing a wooden spoon hidden in his waistband and coming at my dick with that instead. I grabbed his other wrist to stop him, but the ring fell from my grip in the same moment. With a growl, I released him and lunged for it, earning myself a wooden spoon jammed right into my cock.

I wheezed, doubling over and cradling my crotch with both hands. "Capella," I rasped venomously.

Darius's hand clapped to my shoulder, sending a wave of healing magic through me to soothe my dick, but the damage was done, because as I stood upright again, I found Seth holding the ring up to the light.

Geraldine let out a pterodactyl shriek, bounding over to take a look at it, and I glanced at Noxy, finding his gaze glittering with amusement. The fucker had known this was going to happen, and he'd let it all play out like a twisted puppet master.

Before I could snatch the ring back, Geraldine came at me like a stampeding rhino, slamming into me and fisting my shirt in her hands. She spoke in a voice that could only be described as emotionally demonic, tears streaming down her cheeks in thick droplets. "Does this sacred, transcendent, inspiring, flamboyantly fashionable ring of destiny mean what I believe it to mean? Are you going to sully your knee upon a mossy hill beneath the light of a million stars and ask the question to your fate-chosen mate that shall make the universe quake with reverence and the mighty ocean roil with desire?"

"If you're asking if I'm going to propose. Then yes," I said, giving up on keeping this a secret, because it was clear the stars weren't going to let me.

Geraldine stumbled away from me, turning into Darius's chest and weeping there while he vaguely patted her back.

Seth gasped, looking at the ring then to me, and I snatched it back from him.

I noticed Max slipping in the door, giving me a nod that said he'd heard everything.

With a sigh, I glanced around at the room of Fae who Darcy adored, giving in to this madness. "Well I was going to ask Caleb to add some details for me with his earth magic. But perhaps…" I swallowed my pride. "Would you all add something small? A detail or two, or just a touch of magic? I think Blue would like that you all had a part in it."

Geraldine squawked into Darius's chest, and Seth moved forward, looking as eager as a puppy at mealtime.

"Something small," I reiterated, holding out the ring but keeping my fingers pinched tight around it so he couldn't take it again.

He nodded, running his finger over it as he focused on harnessing his earth magic, crafting a beautiful moon cycle around the rim of the blue sapphire.

"Fuck, that's nice," I admitted.

"It has to be right for her," Seth said quietly as he added a few tiny details, rivets in the metal marking the shadows on the moon's surface. I frowned, seeing his love for my girl in the careful way he forged it, but I couldn't open my lips to let the word thank you pass them.

He moved away and Caleb stepped up next, touching his finger to the ring and a glimmer of power ran through it. Two delicate leaves grew from the gold, clasping the moon cycle and the sapphire at its centre.

I thanked him and he clapped me on the arm before stepping aside.

Max walked up next, and when I offered him the ring, he leaned down to whisper a song to it. The words were soft and hypnotic, making the gold glow with a bluish tint for a second before his song fell away.

"It's unbreakable now, and it will never tarnish," Max said, and I gripped his arm in thanks before he moved aside.

Geraldine trembled as she pulled away from Darius and approached me, blinking through reddened eyes. "Golly grapes, this honour is as grand as the great gulf of the celestial triangle, it sets my soul a-rumbling. Dear Darcy and her Orry man are to be wed upon a rising dawn of a new empire."

"If she says yes," I reminded her.

"Oh tish tosh." She flapped a hand at me then examined the ring closely before adding her power to it. She engraved the words ‘blue means you' on the inside of the metal then handed it back to me with a sniff.

"She told you about that?" I murmured.

"Of course she did, with rosy cheeks and a sparkle in her eye," Geraldine said in a choked voice.

"Thank you for this," I said, then she croaked out a sob and walked away.

"Good morning." Xavier landed from the skylight with a thud followed by Sofia and Tyler.

"What are you doing here?" Darius asked in surprise as the three of them grabbed some clothes from a chest in the lounge.

"Seth texted us," Tyler said with a shrug. "He said we're all adding magic to Darcy's engagement ring."

"Seth," I barked. "What did I say about keeping this secret?"

"You said to keep it secret from Darcy," Seth said innocently.

"I don't believe those were my words."

"Sure they were. I wouldn't go ruining my little Phoen's surprise. Give me some credit. Anyway, you guys won't tell her, will you?" He looked to the Pegasus herd, and they whinnied and shook their heads.

I ground my teeth, certain someone in this room was going to tell her, and my top suspect had already proven he couldn't keep his mouth shut for five minutes.

I jerked my head at the Pegasuses and they came trotting over with Xavier in the lead.

"Something small," I asked, offering it to them and they glanced between each other before Sofia leaned in and whispered to the others. I picked up every word and was satisfied with their choice as they each held their hand above the ring and their skin began to shine. That glow spilled down into the sapphire, making it glitter beautifully, the blue colour brighter than before.

"It'll shine even more when there's a rainbow close by too," Tyler said keenly.

"She'll love it," I said, certain of that.

Gabriel walked over as the Pegasuses dispersed and he gave me a stern look. "You'll be asking my permission now then, I suppose?"

"Your Sight has likely shown you the answer to that," I said in a low voice. "She doesn't need anyone's permission to do as she pleases."

Gabriel eyed me for a moment then broke a huge smile, clapping me on the cheek. "Good boy. This was a test. I thought you might come knocking at my door one day to ask me. I saw that you thought about it once or twice. But this conclusion is all I wanted from you. I'd pick no better Fae for her myself, Orio. The answer to your proposal belongs to her."

"I think Hail might prefer if you knelt at his grave and begged his permission though," Darius said and I was reminded of my friend's days among the dead, my heart pounding at knowing he had spent time with Darcy's parents. Something I would never get the opportunity to do until death.

Darius frowned as he realised we were all looking at him. "He liked you," he said, releasing an amused breath at some memory. "He called you a good choice for his daughter. And Merissa was just as keen on you."

I smiled, those words sending a wave of warmth through my chest and Geraldine broke down again into sobs.

"They're probably here right now," Darius added, waving a hand at the room in general. "Watching us. Especially with us all thinking of them and speaking about them. They'd have felt the pull and come to see what was going on."

"Really?" I murmured, looking to the small measure of space left in the room and wondering if there might actually be ghosts standing among us, taking joy in our joy. "If that's true then I hope you know I will love and protect her like no other man might hope to."

A breeze spilled through the room, a windchime tinkling out on the balcony and a warmth brushing against my cheek, almost as if someone had placed a hand there.

I sucked in a sharp breath and Darius snorted in amusement.

"See, asshole? I told you we'd remember you," he said to the empty space and the lights flickered as if Hail was responding to that jibe.

"On that note. Have you been thinking of Malrod like I told you?" Darius asked Gabriel suddenly, drawing all attention to him.

"Who?" Gabriel frowned in confusion.

"Your dead dad. Your biological one. I told you about him before you went off to the cabin," Darius said, narrowing his eyes at Gabriel as though he was being purposefully dense.

"You have never once mentioned my birth father to me or indicated that you had any interaction with him beyond The Veil," Gabriel replied in annoyance.

"Marcel," Darius announced. "That was it."

Another tinkling of windchimes seemed to confirm it and Gabriel eyes brightened.

"Marcel…" he murmured to himself.

Darius nodded. "Yeah, I told you he was fading out of memory and in danger of being sucked away into the beyond if no one ever thought of him or grieved for him. Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't take that more seriously because it could already be too late if you haven't even-"

Gabriel lunged at Darius, snatching hold of the gold medallion hanging around his throat and snarling in his face. "You have never once told me to think of him," he growled.

"Maybe take your fucking hands off of me, Flappy, before I burn them off," Darius replied, taking a step forward and glowering as he looked into Gabriel's eyes.

"Oh stop being a pair of bandyhoots and return your attention to the task at hand before I cast you from the window!" Geraldine demanded, thrusting herself between the two of them and forcing them to part.

Gabriel scowled at Darius but listened to her and took the ring from me to do his part. I watched as he added two tiny diamonds among Caleb's leaves, considering whether I should make any comment on what had just been said. He had never mentioned his biological father to me, and I wondered if he yearned to know more about him. I was sure I would have if the roles had been reversed.

"Who sent the whistling motherfucker?" Tory's furious voice cut through the air.

I found her climbing in the window, her hair sticking up in every direction and a scowl etched deep into her face.

Geraldine went to answer, but I flicked a subtle silencing bubble around her to stop her from claiming the wrath of Tory.

"I did," I said smoothly.

"You," she hissed, stalking towards me and letting her wings fall away at her back.

"You just love a morning songbird," I said, a wicked smile on my lips.

Tory lifted her hand like she was about to attempt a dick punch, but then her gaze fell on the ring and she faltered, her eyes narrowing.

"You asshole," she gasped, her hand lowering and her eyes lifting to meet mine. "You're going to propose." She said it like an accusation of murder, and I shrugged one shoulder in answer.

Without warning, I got something from Tory I rarely ever received. She swept forward and hugged me, tiptoeing up to wrap her arms around my shoulders and speaking into my ear. "No one's worthy of her, but if anyone deserves her, it's you Lance Orion."

Those words meant everything to me and I squeezed her tight before letting her go and offering her the ring. "Add what you like."

She contemplated it for a moment before reaching out and crafting a tiny Gemini symbol out of gold at the top of the clasp holding the sapphire with a star each side of it, twins to one another.

"There," she whispered, and I swear she had tears in her eyes for a second before she blinked and stepped back.

"When are you going to do it?" Seth asked keenly.

"He'll know when," Gabriel answered for me with that all-knowing look, and I placed my faith in the future he could see for us. He might not have known if we would make it through the coming battle, but I'd be damned if I charged into war before my proposal was made, and I was sure he saw that much. I just hoped to the stars that Blue said yes.

I'd slipped back into bed without stirring Darcy and fallen asleep easily, pulling her body into the mould of mine and holding her tight. I'd left the ring in Gabriel's care, sure if I'd given it to Darius I might have to prise it from his fingers the next time I asked for it.

When we woke, it was midday and our stomachs growled for food. I shot off to The Orb, bringing back a feast to fill our stomachs. We didn't let our words stray to war just yet, speaking of the past, our childhoods, the paths that had led us to each other, then reminiscing over the days we'd spent falling in love. It wasn't long before I had her beneath me, kissing her everywhere and telling her how much she meant to me. I wished I could write the words into her skin, make them permanent so that if we were ever parted, she could still feel them there.

Before I was ready to untangle myself from her, we received a text from Eugene letting us know he had just sent some more books to the academy from The Library of the Lost, and that one in particular held some information about a Celestial Trinity. Darcy sprang out of bed, wanting to get started on reading them as soon as possible, and though I'd have preferred to stay in bed with her, I knew this couldn't wait.

We showered and put on clothes, heading off across campus, hand in hand, still talking of only the good things. Though our feet were carrying us to one certain destination, because we couldn't stay in our bubble of tranquillity any longer. We had work to do, and the bright blue winter sky was already paling with the promise of dusk. No more time could be lost while we had answers to seek and new destinies to paint.

Darcy turned to me as we made it to the Venus Library doors, her eyes reflecting the burning sun, and I memorised the way she looked in that moment, fearing how many more days we might have together. She was perfect in this snapshot of time, a lock of blue hair tickling her face, her cheeks flush with life. I leaned down, brushing my lips against hers and she pulled her hair away from her neck, tilting her head to one side.

"Bite me," she whispered. "Sharpen this moment with pain. Brand it onto me. I don't ever want to forget this moment."

I did as my queen asked, gently biting her neck and tasting the purest kind of sunshine on my tongue. She gasped as I deepened the bite, branding her like she'd asked and her hand clasped the back of my neck, urging me on. I swallowed a mouthful of blood then released her, already overflowing with magic from the times I'd bitten her last night. A simple fire was all it took to stoke the power in her, but I depended on her blood to stay powerful. There was something I loved about that.

We headed into the library and took the secret stairway down into the archives beneath the building where a single fated night in the past had delivered me to Darkmore Penitentiary. But it had been one hell of a fucking night, and I felt no disconcertion in coming here. This place was ours and always would be.

Our books were still laid out on the table we'd been working at, poring through the texts whenever we had a moment of time to spend on it. Since the Nymph oracles had told Darcy that she had already spoken the answer to using the Guild Stones to create some sort of snare, we had been retracing our steps and working through every note I'd taken on the subject, going over each book we had already studied. But Eugene's new books would be our first port of call now, the pile of them waiting there for us, promising new possibilities.

"How is Professor Shellick getting on with testing the Guild potion?" Darcy asked hopefully as she took a seat at the table.

I dropped down next to her. "His last update said he needs a few more days, perhaps a week to draw firm conclusions."

"Which we don't have," she sighed.

"Exactly."

"What if we could have been more prepared for all of this? What if we could have done something differently?" Darcy said, a deep frown lining her features, and I knew the sweetness of our day was finally lost. I despised that. Seeing her struggle with the weight of the decisions that had to be made in this war, wondering if the path she'd followed had been the right one.

I laid my hand on hers. "Don't dwell on what's done, just focus on what can still be done."

She nodded, offering me a tight smile and starting to read a book Eugene had sent called Whispers from the Stars. It was a compilation of all the predictions made by powerful astrologers spanning many centuries. This was the tome that Eugene had said held mention of a Celestial Trinity, and I prayed it gave us some advantage against Clydinius. Anything that we could work with.

I picked up another one of the books that the High Buck had sent us, thumbing through it, but my gaze kept tracking onto Darcy and the tome she was studying. She paused on a section with a picture of three shining stars connected as if in a constellation that formed a perfect triangle – though it wasn't one that had been mapped in the sky. The page was titled The Bane of Celestial Trinities.

I shifted closer to Darcy, reading the text over her shoulder.

A few famous astrological philosophers described a union of the stars that could warp the forces of nature. Little is known of these so-called Celestial Trinities, but what has been theorised is astounding. The power of three, a number of great significance in numerology because of its connotations with wisdom and understanding, might allude to the possibility that a union of three stars could grant each celestial body a great and powerful knowledge. A knowledge that has been described in the works of ancient philosophers, including Garabold Everwing, Persephone Furfavour, and even the great Lucinda Nolefire.

Everwing spoke of a time that might come where three powerful figures held an ‘immense knowledge of the universe's inner workings', while Furfavour was said to have a fixation within her theories that described ‘three stars in triangular formation, seeking to unravel the threads of fate.' It is Nolefire's thoughts on the subject that are perhaps the most chilling, however, stating in her philosophies that ‘if three stars seized the hand of fate, they could wield it in a plague of destruction that could span across the realms forevermore.'

The text went on to describe how a Celestial Trinity might form, but it was all conjecture with little evidence to back it up. I glanced at Darcy's face, expecting to find confusion there but instead I found a glimmer of a plot in her eyes.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

"Something insane," she whispered.

"Of course you are," I half laughed, but the seriousness in her expression told me I should be more concerned than amused. "So, what insanity beguiles my mate this time?"

She shrugged lightly, glancing at me then back to the book and leaving me guessing.

I found nothing of use in the other books Eugene had provided, so I returned to studying my father's diary, convinced there had to be another clue in it somewhere.

My gaze lingered on the power words I'd taught the twins and the Heirs, a frown furrowing my brow as I considered something. If these had been made to wield the Imperial Star…was Clydinius still connected to them somehow?

"Ohmagod," Darcy gasped, looking up at me suddenly and jolting me out of my thoughts.

"Did you find something?" I leaned over to look at her book again.

"No, I just remembered something. At The Library of the Lost, I read a passage out loud to you." She rifled through the tower of books on the table, hunting for the right one, and my pulse picked up. She had spoken those words, could that be what the oracles had meant?

She shimmied a book out from the middle of the pile, flicking through the pages and stopping on one, placing her finger on a paragraph. "There," she said excitedly.

"Read it to me," I urged.

"Stone circles are one of the most powerful formations that can be created in nature, and if each stone is placed in conjunction with the planetary movements, upon sacred ground, or in alignment with the constellations, many magics can be wielded within its ring. From binding a Fae's tongue to the path of the truth, to trapping untold power within its confines, to enhancing the magic of certain gemstones." She looked up at me with light dancing in her eyes. "Lance, what if this is it? A stone circle, somehow connected to the Guild Stones. Maybe that's how we make the snare."

"It's too vague of a direction." I frowned. "How can we devise such magic without more instructions?"

"We'll work it out," she said, leaning in to plant a kiss on my lips and that was all it took to fortify my determination.

"Okay, let's start gathering information on stone circles."

"I'll message Eugene and ask him to send us everything he can find on the subject. He might be able to bring us something soon," Darcy said, taking out her Atlas and quickly sending the text.

I shot away into the shelves of the archives, certain there would be some book here we could start with. The two of us might have been on a misleading path with a lump of fool's gold at the end of it, but it was more than we'd had to go on in days. If there was any chance we were on the right track, then I'd go to hell and back to secure the answers we needed. I just prayed we had enough time.