It was clear that the jeweled roads of the Capital had not been trodden in a long time. Snow filled the streets like white powder, so much so that they cushioned the fall of their feet as Sal, his friends and the Fey Army marched towards the Crystal Palace. Sal imagined that if not for the overwhelming snow the footsteps of the soldiers coming up behind them would have echoed throughout the Capital, instead their footsteps made soft crunching sounds as they landed in the powdered ice.
Aside from the sound of their muffled footsteps, there was nothing, no conversation, only silence. None of them seemed ready to break it with any sound of any sort, their breaths were nearly inaudible, and they dared not utter words, whether whispered or said aloud.
We are in mourning, Melchior had said, and his voice had been broken and strained. That was enough to take away all forms of speech.
What had happened?, Sal wondered, and what were they mourning?, or worse, who were they mourning?
Sal knew he could get an answer just by asking, but some questions were better off being unanswered, and some answers were better off being discovered.
Despite that he was secretly glad for the silence at least, it gave him just the peace he needed to sort out his thoughts.
It hadn't escaped his mind that he would soon be unburdening everything he had kept inside. Just a few more minutes, a couple more steps, a few closed doors, and then he would tell them everything. It made his heart pound and his hands grow cold despite the effects of the Warmth glyph caressing his skin. He began to question if telling them was actually the right thing to do.
Expectation was a strange thing, he thought, It kept you in constant anticipation for something for so long that the waiting became familiar, and when the expected was seconds away from your reach, you began to wonder if that was what you really wanted in the first place.
Suddenly, what you wanted was to wait a little longer, to delay time by just a fucking second.
But there was no more waiting, Sal realized. No delays this time. There was only forward and nothing else.
Forward and nothing else, Sal recited as they continued on, the rhythm of their footsteps matching the beat of his anxious heart.
When they finally got to the palace gates — the pearls covered in rippling frost and the golden vines encased in ice like glass — the soldiers dispersed on either side of them, leaving Sal and the rest alone with Melchior and Fyonna.
The Crystal Palace up close was like a lance of ice towering over them and the rest of the Capital, piercing the dark purple sky in all its sharpened glory.
"Holy shit!" Casmir said. "Is it just me or did the palace get bigger?"
"I'm positive it's just you, friend." said Antony.
Melchior smiled slightly and turned to Fyonna.
"Fyonna, could you go ahead and inform Bloom of our guests' arrival, please?" he said.
"Commander" Fyonna whispered. Sal could hear the caution in her voice, it reminded him of all the little boys back at the Joint, looking up at him, looking up to him, eyes brimming with the need for approval. "With all due respect that is not what protocol states, moreover I do not think that would be necessary, the Queen…"
"Since when do you dictate what is necessary?" Melchior said, his voice had a sudden rumble to it, and his eyes were like the start of a fire.
"I was only—"
"And what do you know of the Queen's preferences that I, her soul brother, does not?"
"I did not mean to—"
"Fyonna." he said, his voice was like a storm on restraint now.
Fyonna gasped and shut her mouth instantly.
"Melchior" Sal whispered.
Something seemed to snap and Melchior blinked, as if realizing himself.
He sighed and laid a gentle hand on Fyonna's shoulder and she looked up at him. Sal could hear her thoughts, could Feel her emotions.
I am trying, am I not?
"Obedience first," Melchior whispered, there was a brotherly softness in his eyes now, the storm and fire gone from his voice. "We have discussed this, repeatedly, now do as I say, as you are meant to, please."
She nodded solemnly and pushed the gates open without looking at any of them. Sal heard her mutter under breath, her voice so soft he could only make out a few words.
"He is mourning, he does not mean to."
Before long she opened the palace doors and vanished.
Sal turned to Melchior but he refused to meet Sal's eyes. Something was wrong with him, and Sal wondered if maybe he should read his mind, Feel his pain, but he refrained from it.
Maybe some burdens were not to be shared, maybe they were to be borne alone.
"Anything we should know before we go in?" Casmir asked, breaking the silence, he was looking at Melchior intently. He'd seen it too.
"Just be as you are," Melchior said, smiling at them all, it was sad but genuine, in fact he looked almost relieved, like all the hope he'd been searching for had finally arrived. "Bloom needs some genuity right now, she has not been herself since she donned the crown."
"Bloom changed?, that doesn't sound like her." Casmir said. "It's just one miracle after another, isn't it?"
"I don't believe power can influence her so easily." Katarina said. "She never wanted it in the first place."
"You are not wrong, Katarina." Melchior answered as he pushed open the gates. Sal noticed that there were no guards stationed there this time, were they mourning as well?
"Bloom did not change, I know my soul sister and she is one of the few constant things of the universe, but for a long time she has had to present herself as someone other than she is, and that," — he looked each of them in the eye — "as you all must know, can be very difficult."
Sal knew, and he knew that they all, as well as many others, have had to conform themselves at some point in time because they believed authencity simply could not do in certain circumstances they found themselves in.
He knew, as they all knew, that conformation could be painful.
"Take us to her." Antony said. "I'm sure she could use a classic demigod bear hug."
"I am in fact most certain that she would not like that." Melchior said, smiling.
He beckoned them forward and held the gates open as they walked through.
There was no snow on the path leading to the palace steps, probably because the path was well walked, but all of it was piled up on either side of them, completely covering the grass and not leaving a speck of green in sight. The trees were still fruitful, but as the golden vines on the gates were frozen so were they, the fruits encased in globes of ice that made them look trapped.
Sal couldn't see any animals at first, but then he caught sight of a pair of wolfish blue eyes staring back at him from the snow, before disappearing in a flash. Then from the branch of a frosted covered tree an owl looked down at him, round diamonds made up it's eyes, glassy feathers made up it's wings.
He was instinctively searching for the dragonlings that usually hung from the trees but he could catch sight of none of them. He'd been reading up on them and knew that they appeared reptilian but were actually hot blooded creatures because of the fire in their lungs, Sal didn't think they'd be bothered by the cold.
"Sal, come on, stop staring." Katarina said.
Sal turned to the sound of her voice and saw that they were waiting for him at the snow covered crystal steps leading up and into the palace.
He searched around one more time, thought he saw a flash of red against white, before giving up and following.
Sal dispelled the Warmth glyph as they stepped through the large wooden doors, but inside was no warmer than outside the palace, though sconces burned at the corners with bright orange flames, refracting through the crystals in warm rainbow lights and casting enchanting colours over the walls and floor. There was still a chill in the place, something other than temperature.
Sal's mark burned.
"I sense death here." he said, holding his chest and looking at the others. "Pain, sorrow, regret."
"I feel it too." Casmir said, his eyes wide, his voice constrained. He had gone as pale as paper, like he was still a vampire, his eyes were fever blue and he was holding on to Katarina for support. "It's so cold."
"Steady" Katarina said holding tight to her brother, worry etched in her brow.
She looked at Sal, a question in her eyes, before turning to Melchior.
"Melchior" she said. "What happened?"
Melchior looked at Casmir, intensity burning in his eyes, before turning to look at them all. Sal could sense his composure fracturing, his emotions near eruption.
Melchior took a deep breath and spoke.
"A few days ago our charismatic friend Marcus showed up in Fey Land." he said as he continued forward, obviously expecting them to follow behind him.
"Wait, Marcus is here?" Sal asked as he followed. He caught a glimpse of Melchior's hands trembling before he forcefully clasped them behind him.
"Yes, he said he had been seeing visions again, he believed Bloom to be in danger so immediately after his Choosing ceremony he came here, do not ask me how he managed without a portal, our little kitsune has grown in ways that surpass my understanding."
"You said he believed Bloom to be in danger," Antony asked. "Was he right?"
He was walking beside Katarina and Casmir, ready to catch Casmir, who was growing paler as they got closer to the throne room, if he somehow fell.
Sal was worried, he could guess what was wrong with Casmir, and he intended to ask Casmir some questions later, but now he was fully engrossed in what Melchior was saying. Not to mention more terrible things were doubtless yet to come.
"Yes, he was." Melchior answered. "That very day we were ambushed in the throne room, I do not know what we would have done had he not been there."
They got to the hall of tapestries, the weaves remained unchanged by the weather, the rainbow lights resting over them made them shimmer and shine with colours.
"Attacked by who exactly?, I can't think of any foe that could possibly go against the Fey Armies and survive to tell the story." said Katarina.
"They outnumbered us three to one," Melchior said with an ironic smile. "We stood very little chance against them"
"Them?" Casmir asked. He stopped and stood straighter, though he still held on to Katarina firmly. "Melchior, who or what exactly attacked you?"
Melchior paused and turned, a mixture of rage and dread on his face.
"Shedim" he spat.
Sal felt his blood run cold.
"There were hundreds of them, Hellhounds, Scorpios, Sabertooths, they simply appeared out of nowhere, I still cannot understand how they were able to get into the throne room, there are wards everywhere, somehow they were evaded."
"And what about Bloom and Marcus, are they okay?" Katarina asked.
"They are both fine," Melchior said, as he turned. "But we were not prepared for a battle like that, we all sustained injuries, I lost nearly all my soldiers, they killed my Second, they almost killed Bloom."
"Mel," Casmir whispered. "I'm so sorry"
Sal wished he could say something comforting, fuck he wished he could say something, but the word "shedim" was repeating itself in his head. He could recall Lester retelling his encounter with the succubus shedim, the fear in his eyes, in his voice, and now Melchior and Bloom.
He couldn't help but think the two were related.
Melchior's shoulders sagged, there was still so much sadness bearing down on him, but he sighed and straightened up again.
"I am fine." Melchior said as he walked forward. "Come."
They went.
"What is important is that no such attacks have happened again, and better still you all are here. You are exactly what Bloom needs right now."
"Why would she need us?" Antony asked.
"She needs a catalyst, she has been too hesitant on choosing a successor for the throne, she feels a certain responsibility for Fey Land and the current...conditions she has put it under."
"You mean the catastrophic frost fest outside." Casmir said.
"Precisely," Melchior said. "She knows she is not the best ruler for Fey Land but she has been obsessed with finding the "perfect" one, and it is not doing her any good, which is why she needs you."
They passed the doorway leading out of the hall of tapestries and not far off was the throne room door.
"She needs to remember that there are greater responsibilities than the ones we push upon ourselves, Marcus already has it started, you four are exactly what it takes to finish it."
They edged closer to the doorway leading to the throne room and Sal saw that what was once a curtain of vines was now a covering of shattered ice floating in the doorway without any visible strings holding them in place.
Leaning beside the doorway was Fyonna looking utterly exasperated.
"Not again," Melchior muttered with a sigh as he made his way to her. "Do not tell me…"
"Yes." Fyonna said. "They are at it again."
She seemed to have gotten over her earlier upset, though her eyes still brushed warily over Sal and his friends.
"Holy Hera of the Heavens." Melchior murmured as he pinched his brow. "Those two are like the sea and the sky when they meet, complete disaster."
"I have never seen the Queen as emotional as she is when she in his company, so much fury, it is good to see." Fyonna said smiling.
"I am glad you are duly entertained." Melchior said as he turned.
He sighed heavily, like he was about to apologize for his children.
"Ever since the attack Marcus and Bloom have been doing research, they like to call it an "investigation", they have not spoken of it to anyone however, not even me, and they cannot stop arguing over theories and dates and what have you."
He smiled, it was a fond smile, the kind of smile one gave when thinking of a very stubborn oblivious child.
"Just brace yourselves," he said. "With any favour from the gods they have only been at it for a few minutes, right Fyonna?"
Fyonna shook her head in disagreement.
Melchior sighed again.
"Come on"
He turned and walked through the doorway of floating ice.
Sal went in first, careful not to cut himself with the shards, and was shocked at what he saw beyond the curtain.
He remebered his last time in this throne room, Bloom's parents sitting imposingly on magnificient thrones, fierce looking guards standing at different points, he could remember how sinister the whole thing had been, how terrifying.
Now there was none of that.
Now there was knowledge everywhere.
Scrolls, parchment, leather bound books, texts and leaves and tablets of stone and wood littered the crystal floor, there were what looked like chalkboards at all corners of the throne room, and different Fey stood at them, scholars maybe, scribbling things with charcoal markers and feather pens.
The throne itself was piled high with unopen books, and unlike the quiet outside the palace walls, the throne room was a babble of voices, the loudest of which was Bloom's standing in the middle of the chaos.
She wore a large green T-shirt and brown trousers, her feet bare, a golden crown of vines on her head, and her hands folded in front of her.
She looked a bit different from the last time they'd seen each other. A bit taller, though she didn't have the growth spurt Melchior had. Her hair was more leaves than flowers now, and there was something contained about her, like she was concealing herself. Though given how loudly she was yelling you wouldn't tell at first glance.
The boy she was yelling at was tall and blonde and was holding a scroll while looking down at her with golden slitted eyes sparking with mischief and affection.
Sal had only ever seen that spark in one person, but he couldn't be sure.
"That is not what it says!" Bloom was yelling. Everyone in the throne room was looking at them, all of them extremely tired, but Bloom didn't seem to care, her milky green eyes were trained on the boy standing in front of her with blazing intensity.
"How would you know?, you said you're not fluent in elven." said the boy smiling down at her.
"Maybe not, but I doubt shrednit translates to "roasted turkey"!"
"But do you know?, that is the question." he said with a deep chuckle.
Bloom looked like she was about to explode and Sal was about ready to burst out laughing, so Melchior stepped in.
"Bloom" he called.
She turned, eyes fierce with rage, but as she looked in their direction her eyes went wide.
"Oh my," she exclaimed. "It cannot be."
The boy turned, and he copied the expression on Bloom's face, shock and joy, and if Sal wasn't sure before he was definitely sure now.
This was Marcus.
"I can't believe my eyes." Marcus exclaimed. His smile was radiant, and with a speed that startled Sal he ran across the room and grabbed him.
Sal gasped in surprise as Marcus captured him in arms that were firm with muscles, squeezing him so tight Sal had no choice but to wrap his own arms around Marcus.
He couldn't deny he was a bit surprised by Marcus's height and the strength entailed in his grip, but despite how different Marcus was the hug felt familiar, like there was no difference between the twelve year old whose slim arms had gone around Sal's torso a year ago and the man that held him by his shoulders now.
"I'm so glad to see you, Sal, you have no idea." Marcus said, as he released Sal.
"Me too," Sal said. He examined Marcus and couldn't believe his eyes. "You're all grown up, man."
Marcus smiled and pushed lush pale gold hair out of his eyes. He was wearing a black T-shirt that held onto his frame and jeans that sagged low on his waist. He was bare foot, but that was normal for Marcus, and nine tails swished behind him, probably from a hole in his jeans.
"I haven't changed that much, trust me." said Marcus.
"He has not, he is still infinitely annoying, and he eats too much."
Sal looked behind him and received Bloom in a hug of her own. She smelled like nature, like flowers and leaves and moss.
"Bloom" Sal whispered. "Is it okay if I call you that?, would your great Feyness suffice? Or is there some greater title that I am unaware of?"
"That mouth will be death of you, Salome." Bloom said.
"So I've been told." Sal replied as they parted.
"How is it that you're here?, and right when we needed you to be?" Bloom asked.
"I'd say Fate but I'd be lying." Sal said. "We're here because there's something I need to tell you guys, and a Hermes message couldn't quite cut it."
"There is much we have to discuss with you as well, but you all have to settle in first, I'll get three rooms for you all."
"Actually...." Sal began.
"There's four of us" came Casmir's voice.
Bloom's eyes went wide, and Sal realized how striking they were with the rest of her. She looked behind him and covered her mouth with her hand when she saw Casmir. No doubt questions swirled in her head, no doubt she was trying to decipher how this was possible, but when Sal saw a tear drop trickle out of her eyes he knew she didn't care.
Sal felt something click into place as Bloom left him and went to hug Casmir.
They were complete.
***
A few hours later they all sat on a long dining table where an assortment of Fey delicacy was set before them. Bowls of fresh fruit and vegetables, pheasant eggs, wolf liver, dragon fruit seeds, duckberry pies and lizard scale cakes. There was mortal food too, fruit cakes and apple pies, colourful salad mixtures, large plates of roasted duck and turkey, mutton stew, vegetable soup, yams and bowls of boiled rice and line after line of kebabs.
Jugs of different coloured liquids formed a rainbow of drinks on the table, ranging from coconut water to apple juice to strong wine to plain old water. There was something that was red and thick and gunky that Sal hoped was some sort of weird Fey smoothie totally independent of anything that used to walk and breathe.
He highly doubted it.
Everyone was seated. Bloom at the head of the table, Melchior at her right hand and Marcus at her left. On the right side of the table Casmir and Katarina sat together while Sal sat on the left side with Antony.
They'd all come out of their other clothes and put on fresh ones provided by Bloom. Everyone wore white silk robes that flowed down to their feet and brushed the floor even in their sitting positions, bands of strong chord held all their long hairs in ponytails, and their feet were bare of any footwear, so Sal could feel the coolness of the crystal floor on the soles of his feet.
They waited until Bloom took off her crown and set it down beside her before they started eating.
After a few minutes, when Sal realized he hadn't touched his food but had taken three glasses of water, he decided to speak.
"I have something to tell you guys." He blurted.
They all looked at him, all except Marcus who was attacking a chicken leg. Bloom must have kicked him under the table or something because he glared at her and then focused on him.
Sal took a deep breath.
"A few weeks after our last hunt something happened." He began, he rubbed the face of his ring, gathering courage and trying not to look any of them in the eye. Especially Katarina who was sitting right in front of him.
"Hermes came to me with a message, and another assignment."
They all looked at each other, the questions bubbling in their minds were so loud that Sal didn't have to strain to hear them. The murmur of their minds was like a swarm of bees, but it all simmered down when Bloom spoke.
"What kind of assignment?" She asked.
Sal looked at her, and then felt Antony's hand on his shoulder, his grip was firm and unwavering.
I got you. He seemed to say.
Sal took another breath, and then he said it all.
He told them about the trip to the Court, what they'd told him to do; to kill Julika because of something she'd done in the past or was going to do in the future, he told them about Lucifer and how adamant he'd been about wanting Julika alive.
He told them about Lucifer's betrayal; how he'd only been using Sal to get to Julika all along, how he needed Julika for something that Sal had no clue about, and how angry he'd felt after finding out.
He told them of his outburst at the Court, his refusal to kill Julika or give her up to Lucifer and his unpleasant trip back to the Mortal plane, his arrival at the Shemer's headquarters, the words that had appeared on his arm, and then Julika waking up.
No one said a word while Sal talked, and he was grateful, he needed everything to flow out in one go without pauses and questions. He needed it all out of his system.
"What did it say, the warning on your arm?" asked Marcus as soon as Sal was finished.
Sal stood up, took out his wand and stretched his arm out. He drew a glyph on his arm— a veil torn in half, the Revelation glyph— and the Shade he'd put in place began to fall away.
The Latin words unfurled themselves and Antony, the closest to Sal and the first to see it, gasped in surprise.
They had left a wound on Sal's arm that did not hurt but had not healed. It was red and fresh, the lines that made the letters as straight as they'd been that first day, the words were still spelt out visibly and Sal couldn't help but glare at them.
"Sal, that's horrible." Marcus said.
"Not as bad as what it says." Sal replied.
"And what does it say?" asked Bloom.
"Hoc te lueris" said Antony, his voice and fists were tight, his crystal gaze on Sal's arm was sharp and intense.
"What does that even mean?" Casmir asked confused.
"You will pay for this" said Sal as he slashed a line across the glyph and let his arm fall under the Shade again.
"I can't believe you've been hiding that from me this whole time," said Antony. "That's not something you just keep away!"
"It was my burden to bear."
"You didn't have to bear it alone, for gods sakes Sal, you're telling me you've had that for a month now and you didn't even think about saying anything?"
"I wanted to tell you but I couldn't okay, you'd just left your dad and you were starting a new life and then there was Lester to think about, I just couldn't do it." He said. "I couldn't do it then which is why I'm doing it now."
He turned to the rest of them.
"That's why I wanted all of you in the same place at the same time I needed to say it all at once, I needed to get it all off my chest but not one at a time, not while Casmir was still pulling away from the End, not while Katarina was still with Diana and the rest of the Hunt"
"But Sal you had no idea when I'd be back." said Katarina. "How long were you planning on keeping this secret?"
"I don't know, for as long as I could I guess."
He Felt the disappointment and worry and understanding emanating from all of them in the room, and he closed his eyes and let it wash over him. He hadn't been expecting them to instantly understand, and he knew Antony was only trying to look out for him.
"Look I'm sorry I didn't say anything before, but I didn't know what to do, I don't even know who it's from."
"It's obviously from the Court." said Katarina.
"Or from Lucifer." said Bloom.
"No way," said Antony. "Sure Sal might have pissed him off a bit, but Lucifer adores Sal."
"There is a difference between adoration and preservation" said Melchior. "I do not believe Lucifer ever cared for Sal, not affectionately anyway, only in the manner one cares for a tool or a weapon, I believe he only deemed Sal useful not adorable, no offense Salome."
Sal nodded but he couldn't help the tightness he felt in his chest.
A tool or a weapon, useful not adorable.
"He needed me to get to Julika," Sal said, ignoring the tightness that came with tears. "The question is why?"
"Power, why else?" said Bloom.
"Yeah, you said the Court was so scared of Julika they wanted you to kill her, in my experience if powerful people are scared they probably have a good reason to be." said Casmir.
"I did not even know you kept the girl." said Bloom. "If she is so much trouble then killing her is probably the best option."
"You don't know her, you haven't seen her." said Sal. "Julika is harmless."
"For now" said Marcus. "You said she can't remember anything, which is why she appears as innocent as a dove but I guarantee you the moment she remembers who she is she will become a dragon."
"That's not going to happen." said Antony.
"She is the daughter of Percival for crying out loud." said Bloom.
"So?" said Sal. "Since when is blood the only thing that determines good and evil."
Sal took a deep breath.
"Look, I know it's crazy to protect her when I have no idea what she's truly capable of, but I'm not going to kill her, and I'm not handing her over."
"You're letting your heart get in the way Sal." said Marcus.
"It's better than just ending a life when I could try to change one." He looked down at the Nightshade symbol at the back of his hand. "I have to try and save her, if not from the Court or Lucifer then from herself."
"And what happens to the rest of us?" said Bloom.
Sal turned to her, Bloom's fierce eyes shivered with rage and fear as they settled on him.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"The shedim attack," Marcus said, eyes bright with realization. "Of course, it all makes sense now."
"What makes sense?" asked Katarina.
"During the battle one of the shedim left a message," Marcus replied. "The Nightshade will lose everything, it said, he will lose everything and Mortikhos will make sureof it"
"Mortikhos?" Casmir asked. "Now that's an interesting name, anybody know who that is?"
"Never heard of him" said Katarina.
"He's not a deity I'm familiar with" said Antony.
"The name is old drakonyan, a demon language" explained Marcus. "It translates to ruler of death"
"That is what you and Bloom have been researching all this while?" asked Melchior.
"We thought if we could find the origin of the language we could track whoever sent the shedim after Bloom, narrow it down from the Court to a pantheon, but drakonyan is an old language of one of the Hells, which one we're not sure."
"Well there you have it, demon language equals hell equals Lucifer," said Casmir. "Case closed."
"Case not closed, each pantheon has at least one underworld with a wide variety of shedim in them" Antony said. "It could be any of the underworld gods, any of them."
"The shedim" said Sal, his brain whirring into action. "Did it say anything else?".
"Yeah, right before I burnt it to ash." said Marcus. "Ad mercedem incipit."
"Of course," Sal said with a scoff. "The payment begins."
Sal's intuition had been right, the shedim attacks on both Bloom and Lester were connected, and they were both his fault.
"Whoever this is they're not attacking me directly, they're going after the people I care about." said Sal. "They're using you guys to pay."
"So it could be any of us next," said Casmir. "I just got back from the dead, Sal I don't think I can survive another trip."
"No one's going to die," said Katarina, taking Casmir's hand in hers. "If they're coming after us then we just have to stick together."
"We can stay here for the time being". said Bloom. "Our mages are already setting up new wards and there are enough rooms for all of you, we stay here, figure out who this tulkin is, and then we kill them."
"We can't stay here, Bloom." said Sal. "You guys aren't my only family, there are people I care about in the Mortal World too, my best friend, my uncle, my parents, and then there's Julika."
"I have a kingdom to rule" said Bloom. "I cannot just abandon my duty for..."
"Bloomera Nephity!" yelled Melchior, the loud rattle of plates and spoons following after.
Everywhere went deathly still.
Melchior was on his feet and was glaring down at Bloom, pure rage pulsing in his eyes,his chest was rising and falling rapidly and his hands crackled with green lightning. The chair he'd been sitting on was on the floor, his fork was standing upright in his serving of roasted fish.
"I am sick and tired of hearing you lie to yourself," said Melchior. "By the gods Bloom!, you hate the throne, you hate the weight that comes with leadership, you hate what it makes you do, how it makes you act, think, feel, you hate that you are confined by the shackles of your duty, you hate this!"
"You do not know what you are talking about." muttered Bloom, though she didn't even sound like she was convinced herself.
"You know I know, I feel it, everyday, I feel what you feel, and it hurts," said Melchior. "You love the Fey, Bloom, you always have, but you love the freedom even more, it is who you are."
He picked up his chair and sat down slowly, all the fire and rage cooling down.
"I am sorry for yelling, but we cannot stay here Bloom, if we do, we jeopardize everything you are trying to protect, besides it's about time you do what you have been too afraid to do for years now, it's time to give up the crown to someone who actually wants it, because you sure as hells do not."
No one said anything for a long time, and all the food placed before them had been forgotten. Sal didn't know what to say, he didn't want to drag everyone away from the lives that they were used to but he needed them together if he was going to protect them.
Who was he kidding.
He needed them.
Period.
"You are right, Melchior." said Bloom finally. "I have been afraid, and I am glad I have you to pull me out of my fears when they threaten to suffocate me."
She turned to Sal, not a shred of malice in her eyes.
"Tomorrow I will choose a successor and then we will come with you," she said. "Now please, let us eat and be merry now, I have a feeling that much is to come later."
Sal poured himself a glass of the weird gunky stuff and raised it above his head.
"I'll drink to that."