From Shadow to Light - Book Ten

Bonus: Aeson's Flowers

It was springtime which meant the beautiful flowers around Faylinn started to bloom. Aeson Oliver Breevort stood in the King's quarters, gazing out the floor-to-ceiling windows. His arms crossed his chest as he debated whether or not to go outside and help her. She was busy planting different kinds of flowers around the palace; one of her many duties as the gardener. Her sleek blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail, and she wore gloves filled with dirt and thorns. Even from a distance, Aeson was memorized by her. In a few short days, he was going to be hosting a ball for all four Kingdoms and hopefully, it will go smoothly. Hopefully, he would have time to have a dance with Lily Camara.

For years he has helped Faylinn rebuild while he tried to rebuild his heart and he only failed at one. He understood why he could never be with Vivienne which was the exact reason he broke the affair with her years ago, both of them finally moving on. Nevertheless, the pain still lingers. As everything does. "Brooding again, are we?" a male voice asked from the doorway, snapping Aeson out of his reverie. He turned around to see the Fae male he loved like a brother and smiled broadly at him. Carsten Meryn. They were similar in age and he helped Aeson with his coronation and rebuilding Faylinn, as their other family members did, too. But Carsten stayed with him through it all. His cousin with a mixture of scarlet and blonde wavy hair was buzzed now which showed off his pointy Fae ears, wearing a simple black T-shirt and jeans.

"Brooding, thinking. It's the same thing," he replied simply. He turned back from the window and sat in an emerald armchair, crossing one leg over the other. Carsten walked in quietly then snuck a glance out of the window, smirking at the realization. "Car, it's nothing."

He barked out a laugh. "You've been pining over her for years, Ace. Years! Half the time you're helping her plant flowers and the other half you are walking her back to her cottage. It ain't nothing and we both know it. Hell, the whole Kingdom of Faylinn knows it." When Aeson didn't say anything, his cousin continued. "C'mon. What do you think will go wrong?"

Aeson finally locked eyes with him, sky blue like his mother's. "I have many worries when it comes to Lily. Believe it or not, I worry about messing it up like I always do," he sighed as he leaned farther back into his seat. "I want to protect her from all the darkness that comes with being a Breevort."

"Give her the choice to decide if she wants to stand beside you through the darkness or not, Aeson. All of us are a little fucked up and yes, some of it might be because of our last names but the ones who are worth it won't care about any of it. They will love you regardless." Carsten crossed his arms over his chest. "Go out there and invite her to the ball, King Aeson, or that hope you have about finding another love story will turn to stone forever." Leave it to Carsten to give him orders because as much as he hides it, he wants to see his family happy. Like himself, he protects his siblings with all the strength he has because he had to when his mother died during the Great War. It was as though all of them were hardened after they went home that day. Or the home that was in shambles. Aeson and his cousins fought hard that day and grieved even more for those they lost, making him think about his twin sister. He could still feel her pain after losing Jesse Davenport even if she is now living halfway across the world. Even then, the string that tied them together since the womb was there—never letting each other go.

"Okay," he mumbled finally. Aeson gave his cousin a look to leave so he can have a little bit of privacy and Carsten huffed before walking out of his room, shutting the door behind him. When he was alone again, Ace stood up again and gazed out of the window. She was still planting flowers like it was her passion, too focused to notice him. He found it endearing. He was two seconds away from barging out of his quarters and outside to talk to Lily when his cell phone went off. Aeson pulled it out and scrunched his eyebrows together into a frown, inspecting the caller ID. After the third beep, he finally answered and placed it up to his ear as his hands shook. "Hello?"