“I’m assuming this thing between us is long-term.”
“Obviously.”
“And you’ll still be part of the High Family.”
“That’s something I can renounce.”
“I would never ask you to.” She looked up at him. “But if I’m with you, reallywithyou, I can’t just drift along like some little secret. You know how to navigate my world, but I don’t know yours, not really.” She took a breath. “I want to learn. I want to understand it, all of it. The rules. The players. The politics. The knives hidden behind the smiles. I want to be someone who can stand beside you not just as your mate, but as someone with her own damn shield.”
He blinked at her, clearly moved.
She smiled faintly. “Because let’s be honest, your mom probably won’t be the only one who comes for me.”
“No,” he admitted, brushing her hair back. “She won’t.”
Silence settled for a moment, thoughtful and full.
Then he said quietly, “You know, if you ever wanted to stay with me in Olympia, it might be easier. You’d see it firsthand. I could show and teach you everything. Be there every step.”
Beth looked up at him, heart thudding.
“I don’t want to ask you to leave all this,” he added quickly. “You love it here. But–”
It was her time to silence him. “I do love this town. But I love you more. And it’s not like I’ll never come back. The pub, Elara, Aryon, Mystic Hollow’s part of me now. It doesn’t have to be all of me.” She smiled, warm and certain. “Maybe it’s time to expand my horizons. Starting with Elf Politics for the Stubborn Mortal.”
Gael brushed his fingers down her arm, his voice soft but a little smug. “You realize you share my lifespan now, right?”
Beth blinked. “What now?”
He shrugged, entirely too casual about it. “Fated mates, shared energy, ancient magic. We’re in for a long, long life together.”
She sat up straighter, squinting at him. “You’re telling me I have to pay taxes for centuries?”
“Only if we stay in the human system. I can get you on the elven registry after we make this official.” He grinned, smacking her lips with a noisy kiss. “You’ll see.” He tilted his forehead to hers, more serious again. “We have time now, Beth. We can go at our own pace. Figure this out. You don’t have to learn it all overnight.”
“I know.” Her voice was quiet. “But I want to be ready. For you. For us.”
He kissed her then, slow, and deep, and full of love.
“Hey, what’s the elf word for my only love?” she asked him.
“Meleth-nîn.”
“Then,meleth-nîn, let’s go show ancient elves some new business.”
SIX MONTHS LATER.
The trial ended after a few sharp gasps, some furious quill-scratching from the Council scribes, and one deeply gratifying declaration of guilt. Bryn was still smug until the moment the verdict was read, and it wiped the smirk off his face. He was sentenced to magical probation, his powers bound by an ancient seal and overseen by not one but three council-appointed monitors. He wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else with his illusions for a long, long while, and social exile would handle the rest.
Gael didn’t walk away untouched. He’d broken protocol, deliberately and repeatedly, to protect Beth. For that, the Council fined him the symbolic sum of one thousand old coins–because she was his mate, and for as conceited as they could be, elves understood that. He paid it in antique silver, delivered in a velvet pouch that smelled faintly of rebellion. Then he framedthe receipt and hung it in their hallway under a plaque that read, WORTH IT.
Beth found another job she genuinely loved, Community Liaison for Human-Elves Relations. It turned out being underestimated for most of your adult life made youverygood at managing diplomatic bullshit with a smile. She helped rewrite outdated policies, building bridges between elves and... whoever else, really.
She also moved in with Gael, which had brought the biggest surprise. She knew he was wealthy, but she hadn’t expectedthatwealthy.
She moved in in his mansion. Technically, it was a historic family estate on the edge of Olympia—think sprawling gardens, rooms with names likeThe East Library, and a bathtub that could seat six comfortably and possibly summon rain if asked nicely.
Beth joked she needed a compass to find the kitchen. She wasn’t entirely kidding.
