Astreia

How could everything be so right and so wrong at the same time?

Vyta was relit. New souls could come into this world, and I could officially be crowned queen of my country. My chosen mate and best friend had been returned to me. But nothing was as I had hoped it would be. This dream turned into reality was too much like a reflection in a warped carnival mirror. Everything was just slightly off.

I rubbed my arms and glanced back at Morana and Remiel to ensure we hadn't left them behind. The setting sun backlit their figures, making it impossible to see their faces, but I sighed in relief when they started walking again, their heads close together as they talked.

My gaze snagged on Tievel. He watched them as well, his expression hard as he muttered under his breath. He did that often now. Whispering nonsensical words and phrases that made my skin crawl. Morana told me in passing that she would explain why he did it, but somehow we had not found a moment to slip away together and talk.

Tievel turned his head and caught me staring. His cruel mouth twitched into something resembling the shadow of a smile. I had long suspected he harbored darkness inside of him. So easily hid behind a beautiful facade. When he tried to force my hand in marriage, I'd seen who he truly was, and there were no pretty words he could say now to convince me that his presence here wasn't for some sinister purpose.

I only hoped Morana recognized how irredeemable he was. Her amorous affections might lie elsewhere now–something I intended to find out as soon as possible–but she would always love him. The boy who had shown her the smallest kindness when she arrived at his palace.

"And you're certain we can't sacrifice the Reaper?" Dante grumbled.

He had been in a foul mood ever since Tievel joined us. As much as Morana had once loved the prince, Dante's hatred for him went deeper still. It didn't matter at all that Tievel had been a child when the war broke out. He shared blood with the elf who had destroyed our families and country, and nothing would make Dante feel better than spilling it.

"Sure." He stumbled in shock, recovering with the grace of a warrior. I hid a smile behind my hand. "But only if you have a mind to face a very angry Deathsinger."

Dante's dark skin paled. "I suppose there is no harm in seeing if there is a way to break the spell."

A laugh lodged in my throat, and I coughed to cover it. I loved how he could always make me laugh, even in the thick of chaos and tension.

"She is a fearsome creature." I toyed with a silver braid and frowned. "You don't think so?"

I raised my right shoulder. "To me, she is simply Morana. My friend. Fearsome is certainly not a word I would have used to describe her growing up. She was meek as a mouse, and always afraid of everything."

"Her hair is nearly white. My father said that was the mark of a Deathsinger turning into a Banshee. That it means she's consumed the souls of the dead and stolen their power."

"It means she's done what was necessary to survive," I snapped, my power crackling in my veins and shining so brightly for a moment that Dante had to look away. That was happening more often since Vyta was lit. Like I was a cup overfilled. "We don't know what happened, and I won't judge her without knowing the truth."

"Of course. I apologize." He blinked to clear his vision. "That's the third time today."

Up ahead, Yoko's slender form appeared. She spent most of her time weaving in and out of the trees, scouting ahead, and keeping wraiths away. It was helpful for sure, but I couldn't shake the feeling she did it to put distance between us.

"Excuse me," I said, ignoring the question in Dante's expression and running toward Yoko.

She tensed when she heard my footsteps. "Astreia, don't do this. Go back to him."

Thick needled pine boughs crisscrossed overhead, blocking out the sun and making the air feel even colder than before. Or perhaps the drop in temperature had more to do with Yoko's close presence. The wraith inside of her might be silent and buried deep, but death's chill seeped from her pores. I wondered if I touched her, would her skin feel like ice?

"You won't even talk to me?"

"No."

"Not even as friends?"

"You don't want to be friends, do you?" The black veins running down her face pulsed as she stared at me. Her lips appeared to be more blue today.

"I want whatever you'll give me."

My starlight rose to the surface, making my skin glitter in the shadows. I didn't know if it was my emotions that stirred it to life, or if it thought of Yoko as a threat. Probably both.

She hissed and put another foot between us. "I can give you nothing. The darkness inside of me cannot withstand the light inside of you. We are more incompatible now than we ever were."

"You can't mean that," I sobbed, reaching for her, my fingers finding nothing but emptiness as she pulled away. "Doesn't it mean anything to you that we found each other again? It has to be fate that brought us back together."

"No." She jutted her sharp chin toward Dante. I could not look back, too afraid to meet his eyes. "Fate brought you back together with him. Anyone with eyes can see that he cares for you, and I can see that you care for him."

"Of course I care for him. He was a dear friend growing up, and we've grown closer during our time together."

"How close?"

I sputtered in protest, unable to form the lie on my tongue. Instead, I settled on a half truth. "That's not fair. I thought you were dead. What happened between us only happened because you left me!"

She spun on me so fast I yelped and threw out a hand to stop myself from falling over. I gripped the thin trunk of a sapling. Light flared in my palm, and smoke curled around my fingers. Withdrawing my hand, I stared at the blackened mark on the gray bark.

"That's good."

Soot left a streak on my trousers as I wiped my hand. "What's good?"

"You're afraid of me. Your body and power recognize what your heart refuses to see. We can never exist together in this world. I am an abomination."

"But when the Reapers–"

Her black eyes softened, and for a moment, I saw her. The woman who had stolen my heart. The woman who had slipped into my room at dark with strawberries and fresh cream and told me stories about ridiculous soldiers, making me laugh until I cried. The woman who had kissed my tears away before showing me what genuine pleasure was. The woman who told me she loved me, and for the first time, I didn't just hear the words but felt them.

But I saw her only for a moment. Then she was gone.

"I do not believe the Reapers can save my life."

"Then why even agree to this?"

"Because I'm hoping they can save my soul. That is all I can hope for."

"I refuse to accept it."

"If only being a queen meant that you could will things to be the way you wished them to be. But you told me long ago that even queens do not have that power. Be happy that I will find peace, and I will be happy knowing that you will be loved by a man who can give you what you need. An heir."

Yoko didn't give me a chance to respond. She melted into the shadows of the forest, leaving me standing alone in the road. Tears I had refused to cry when I thought she was dead fell with abandon, and a knot grew in the pit of my stomach.

"As."

Dante's hand was warm and heavy on my shoulder. When I didn't respond to him, he pulled me into his arms and hugged me against him until finally I relented and relaxed into the embrace.

"Better?"

Tievel strutted ahead of us, his expression knowing. I waited until he crested the hill before nodding at Dante.

"Do you..." I swallowed and wiped my cheek. "Do you believe in true mates? Like the ones in the stories our mothers used to tell us?"

Red tinted the apples of his cheeks. "I thought everyone did."

"As a child, I believed it, but after I was taken, I decided it was a fantasy." Spun by those lucky enough, like my mother, to find real love. Then I met Yoko, and I believed again. If two elves are truly meant to be together, do you believe they will find their way back to each other, no matter what?"

He wet his lips with his tongue, his eyes never leaving mine as he nodded. "I do believe that. With every fiber of my being."

"Thank you," I whispered, slipping my hand in his as we resumed our journey.