“I know she is, do not presume to tell me aboutmyheroine, Vencia.”
He set down his tea and met her stare, though he made sure to continue leaning back, which felt calculated.
“I am not my ancestor, Elowen. I want to set the wrongs he did right.” Ira said.
If fire could live in eyes, it would have blazed bright in Elowen’s. In fact, the entire room darkened, candles blowing out for a moment under the weight of the emotion that pooled on her ethereal face.
“You can never undo what was done. Only a Vencia would be arrogant enough to suggest such a thing. Tell me, how will you bring back the two hundred wings lost? How will you make it so that I am not the last of my kind? Will you traverse the past and undo what has been done with powers that far exceed my own? Tell me what a human- a Vencia- could do to undo the slaughter of my people.”
By the end of her speech, silver lined her eyes, and the teacup she clutched had several cracks running down it, but still she held Ira in her gaze.
He did not flinch under the weight, but instead bowed his head.
“I am sorry, Elowen, truly. I can’t turn back time, but I would do what you ask of me if it would set right even one wrong,” he said.
She rolled her eyes. “Your part in this is done.”
A snap of her fingers, and Ira slumped over. Luci let her cup fall and immediately went to him and breathed a sigh of relief when his chest moved up and down. However, no amount of prodding could wake him.
“Your prince is fine. Just a simple sleeping spell. He’ll wake when I tell him to. As it were, there is not much time, and you have a decision to make.” Elowen said.
“Wake him up,” Luci demanded.
“No,” Elowen said, nose to the sky. “I will not. Now, do you want to save Brielle or not?”
It was the only thing that could have stolen Luci’s attention. Standing up straight, Luci glared at Elowen.
“If you are my fairy godmother, you know I do.”
The words sounded ludicrous to her own ears, but there was no denying Elowen was anything but a normal human.
Elowen gestured for Luci to take her seat and waved her hand over the table. Gone were the tea and snacks, and instead, three large puzzle pieces appeared. One a midnight blue, another white as snow, and a third forest green.
“Most humans go through life on their own. Lifespans being short as they are, it is difficult to find the pieces that best fit their soul. Even with the help of a fairy godmother, it is a difficult task. You, dear Lucinda, are unique among humans.”
Slowly, she slid her hand over the white piece, and it floated next to the blue pieces, hovering for only a moment before falling and connecting perfectly.
“You found one part of your soul at a young age,” she said.
“Brielle,” Luci whispered.
Elowen smiled up at her.
“A perfect match. No need to force the pieces together as so many do. She is yours, and you are hers.”
Tears welled in Brielle’s eyes. She’d always known it to be true, but to hear it said aloud was something else entirely.
“Having one piece that fits perfectly is not what makes you rare. It is the second piece that does. A prince. Born from a line of darkness yet with a heart that beats pure.”
She floated the green piece, and Luci watched as it hovered and linked its rounded and sharp edges to the navy piece, fitting perfectly.
“Two souls made to complement yours. True partnership. Though my time under Imelda’s tutorship was short, I imagine a rarity such as this has never occurred. It is a great gift in many ways, but for you, for today, it will test you,” she said.
Luci drugged her eyes from Ira, who was sleeping soundly, his brown hair falling into his face. Two pieces that fit together perfectly. No need to force them together. Wasn’t that always how it felt with him? Easy. Like he understood her and she him, even if she was too stubborn to admit it.
“I’ve been here waiting for two thousand seven hundred days, waiting for the one Imelda deemed worthy. When you stepped into her Glass room, I felt it. The knowing she promised.” Elowen said, tears gathering in her eyes.
Everything she said was more and more impossible, but Luci recognized her voice the moment she heard it. It only took her till then to realize where she’d heard it.