Page 103 of A Dance with the Fae Prince (Married to Magic 2)
“What is it?”
“I saw—I saw—people underneath the water,” I stammer, teeth clacking no longer from the cold. The warmth that I felt from the moment I was submerged still coats me just like the shimmering water. It turns my skin to a pale gray color, iridescent and flecked with rainbow spots. “What?” Words are failing me now as I hold up my forearms.
“This is what we came here for,” Davien says reassuringly. “Don’t be afraid. Don’t hesitate. Accept the anointing as a queen would.”
I think of what Shaye told me weeks ago—walk with your head held high, for you have the power of kings. I’ve been pretending this entire time to try and live up to the expectations of the magic in me. I can pretend a little longer. I straighten away from Davien. Even though I’m making every best effort, I still regard the water warily. I can’t see those ghostly figures from above. But I know, if I opened my eyes underneath the surface, I would see them once more.
Closing my eyes, I choose to focus on the sound of music still thrumming. The more I focus, the louder it becomes. The sound gives me strength, makes me think of my birth mother. I imagine her looking fondly at me from the great Beyond, proud of her daughter for all she could accomplish.
I clutch the necklace with both hands to my breast and let my consciousness detach from my body. Somewhere, between his words and the music, I will find the magic. And once I can hold that power as tightly as I hold this pendant of glass, I will be able to hand it to the man I have given everything else to.
“I am ready for my oath.” Somehow, my voice no longer sounds like my own. It’s smoother, more confident than I have ever heard it before.
“Do you swear to guard and guide your people? To protect them with the ancient magic that has been bestowed on you by fate and family? Will you rule with righteousness and justice as your weapons? To strengthen our borders, and defend our cause?” Davien repeats the words from the pages Vena gave us. He finishes with one of my additions: “Do you take these oaths with reverence and severity?”
“I do.”
“Will you forsake all temptation that could lead you astray?”
“I will.”
“And will you use every last recess of your power to further, uphold, and revere the way of our people forevermore?”
“All this and more, I swear to you.” My eyes flutter open and I meet his emerald gaze. Davien’s lips part slightly. He can feel it too. I wonder if he can even hear the music that is reaching its crescendo. It fills my ears like the water; it fills my soul like the magic of fae kings. “I take these oaths freely and sincerely.”
“Then draw your last breath as the woman you are, and arise as a queen.” He leans forward and places both his hands on my shoulders. I suck in a breath and Davien pushes me back. This time I’m ready for what awaits me.
Underneath the water I hear cheering, a joyous symphony soaring around me as though it is playing in a hall three times as magnificent as the keep we slept in last night. The applause of kings and queens from long ago bolsters me and the magic that I can feel crackling from my every pore.
I am pulled back above the water by Davien. I take in a greedy gulp of the crisp air. I blink up at the sky and relish in this feeling of immeasurable power.
If I wanted, if I dared, I could change this world.
And then, my eyes fall from the heavens and land on him. The first and only thing I do with this power is pour it into the necklace still clutched in my hands. I stand and Davien kneels. Now is the part we wrote together.
I move to the sounds of music—of the magic that lives within me. I step around him, making mirrors of the shapes he drew on my body with the water earlier. I come back to a stop before him and hold out the necklace.
Davien stares in wonder and anticipation. He slowly lifts his hand. Everything he ever wanted is within his grasp.
The magic begins to drain from my body. I feel heavier by the second and wonder if I’ll have the strength to say what needs to be said next. But we are so close. “I abd—”
Out of nowhere, a shadowy arrow knocks the necklace from my palm and the power the ritual had been building breaks with an almost audible snap.
