A Deal with the Elf King (Married to Magic, #1)(21)

“The basics, then.” He puts the cup back on his table and then sees to settling me in bed. I want to wave him away and say I can do it myself. But the fact is, I can’t. Moreover, there’s something calming about his aura. Something I don’t want to push away. “Do you know how the Fade was made?”

“I know about the peace treaty between the humans and the elves.” Know is rather a strong word. I’ve heard it in folktales and songs since childhood. “I know that the elves live behind the Fade with all the other folk—non humans—who wield wild magic. And without the Fade to protect us magickless humans, our world would be ravaged.”

I realize that “us” magickless humans is no longer quite accurate. I am the Human Queen and because of that station I have inherited magic. I have powers not one other human could ever dream of, and rather than feeling strong, I am…lonely. I no longer fit neatly with my people and yet I’m not quite one of the folk on the other side of the Fade. I’m trapped between, destined to never really belong to either until the end of my days.

“Somewhat true.” He half sits, half leans on the edge of his bed and folds his arms. “From what I understand…there was only one world, long ago. That world was then split into two—the Realm of Mortals and the Beyond—with what we call the Veil. Then, the realm of mortals was split in two again, creating Midscape and the Natural World.”

“There’s three worlds total? The Beyond, Midscape, and the Natural World?” I clarify.

“Yes, and you come from the Natural World.”

“And where I am now is Midscape,” I reason. Willow nods. “What is the Beyond?”

“No one knows. Well…King Eldas may know. They say that the Veil that separates us from the Beyond was made by the first Elf King to give order to the living and the dead. In doing so, he severed the elves from the immortality they were given by the first gods. For this, other races bent the knee to the elves. They honored the sacrifice of all the elves to give the final rest to everyone and proclaimed the Elf King the king of kings—ruler of all mortals.”

“Did people die before the Veil was made?” I ask.

“Not according to legend.” He pauses. “And before you ask, I’ve no idea about the logistics of people living past when they should have died. The stories vary and each is more horrible than the last.”

“I know what it’s like to be told unbelievable tales,” I murmur, thinking of all the tales of the elves—a mixed bag of truth and embellished lore. “So, in a way, the elves are guardians of the dead?”

“You can think of it like that. It’s part of why we were granted the ability to find the true names of people, beasts, and things.”

“Finding the names…that’s the Knowing?”

“Yes, and it is the strongest power in Midscape.”

“How was the Fade made? When the world split into Midscape and the Natural World?”

Willow looks out the window. “After the Veil was made, peace reigned, for a time. Eventually bickering and infighting took hold. Elves, vampir, fae, dryads, mer, and all the folk with wild magic, we draw our power from the Beyond.”

Mer, vampir, fae, dryads, and more. All the magical and deadly creatures from the stories I was told as a child are real. They’ve always been real, lingering just on the other side of the Fade. I shudder at the notion.

“What about humans, then?” I ask. “Did we have wild magic and lose it?”

“No, humans were different… Long after the fae descended from the dryads, the ancient nature spirits made the humans from the earth itself. So, early humans drew their magic from nature.”

I try and imagine telling my friends at the academy that the first humans were made by dryads and that we once had magic. Just imagining their expressions nearly makes me laugh. “So humans and fae are more alike?” I ask.

“No…think of fae as an evolution that happened by time and chance. Humans were designed—of the dryads’ making,” Willow explains. “Not long after, the dryads died off, and the early humans were quickly ostracized. Some blamed them for the death of the dryads. But I think that anything different is all too easily used as an excuse for hatred.”

“So the great wars started and once more the elves stepped up to make a barrier, this time called the Fade, to separate the Natural World and the humans who came from it from the various peoples and creatures of Midscape,” I logic out. My brain is only operating at half capacity. Everything is exhausted, including the mush between my ears. If I don’t speak it all aloud I might not grasp the world I now find myself in.

“Exactly, Midscape is a between. But there’s just one problem. Can you figure out what it is?” He glances at me. Now my eyes follow his to the window.

“If you create a world between the Natural World and the Beyond…then it’s not natural,” I realize.

“Someone had to bridge the gap,” he encourages.

The truth is dawning on me brighter than the sun on the fields beyond. “The Human Queen.”

“You got it!” He leans over and flicks my nose. Then pulls back, startled. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty, I shouldn’t have—”

I burst out laughing and rub my nose lightly. “It’s fine.”