Page 133 of Consort's Glory

He felt her reaching for him in the bond, though she did not seem capable of physically doing so. It didn’t matter. She could cry as much as she wanted. He would hold her until the tears stopped, and even then, he would not let her go without a fight.

I love you, she cried out, a clear, high note amongst the storm of chaos that was her normally painfully organized mind. I love you. I love you.

I love you, he answered every time. I love you, Margot. Just as you are.

He didn’t know how long it took for her weeping to subside, nor for the wracking tremors to fade from her limbs. He didn’t know how long they sat there on the floor, though he suspected it was over an hour. The sun was beginning to set beyond the choppy waves of the bay when Margot finally slumped back against him, spent.

Theodore cradled her against his chest and, laying his legs out on either side of her, pressed their cheeks together. As one, they stared at their reflections in the glass.

“I thought I might feel more like an elf,” she mumbled, nasally and raw. Her eyes were bloodshot and her nose was flushed pink. To him, she looked very human. “How come I still just feel like a witch?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that you’re not just anything?” He asked it playfully, but his voice was similarly hoarse, as if he too had spent the last hour crying out decades of pain. “You can be both an elf and witch, darling. You are both.”

Unwrapping one arm from around her middle, Theodore fumbled with his suit jacket for a moment before he was able to pull out the long, velvet box he stashed in the inner pocket that morning, just in case. Flipping the lid with his thumb, he extracted the contents and held it out for her in the palm of his hand.

Margot sucked in a sharp, shuddering gasp. “Theodore, what…”

“I know you don’t do jewels unless you have to,” he said, “but I felt like you might accept some on this important occasion.” He angled his hand to catch the light, letting it bounce through hundreds of perfectly cut diamonds and deep, dark sapphires. Light burst around them, spraying the floor with tiny rainbows. “My family thought it was a bit old fashioned of me, but I had this union necklace made for you. Initially, I had it made to represent the future — elves and Others, our two families moving forward as one.”

Theodore examined the familiar facets of the jewels and the wide, collar-like width of the necklace, such an elvish combination of luxury and vital protection. It didn’t just represent their families, of course. Tradition demanded he choose jewels that echoed his own coloring, so that whenever she donned the necklace, it was as if they were skin to skin, always.

He smoothed his thumb over the cool stones, tracing the smaller, square cut diamonds with the edge of a retracted claw when he continued, “Now it means so much more. Not just our future, but your past. The part of you that should never have been locked away in the first place.”

Margot’s fingers trembled as she traced the sapphire thistles, rendered in a flat, art deco style, that ran around the width of the jeweled choker. Along the top and bottom, carefully selected diamonds swirled in geometric curls that, when looked at just right, brought to mind the famous Healer’s Hand.

She said nothing, but when she held her hair away from her neck, Theodore’s heart soared. Carefully, he secured the choker around her elegant throat, explaining in a hushed whisper, “These days we usually give these to someone we’ve contracted a union with, but for generations it was a traditional gift for a consort. A public declaration for a people who don’t do marriage sigils.”

He dipped his head to kiss the nape of her neck, right above the platinum clasp. “I requested it be made the day I learned who you were. I’ve carried it with me for weeks, waiting for the right time. I’m giving it to you today because I want you to always remember this moment, Margot.”

Her hands came up to touch the cool platinum and glittering stones. He watched her reflection as a fresh wave of tears slid down her cheeks. A weak smile flitted across her mouth — there and gone in a moment. “You mean the moment I had a breakdown on the floor?”

Theodore pressed a fierce kiss to the side of her head. Gods, she had no idea how resilient she was. The strength hidden in her soul could move mountains. “No,” he rumbled. “No. When you were the strongest you’ve ever been.”

He felt her shudder. Margot was silent for several minutes. Her tears dried into salty tracks on her cheeks as they watched the sunset together. Orange and pink and brilliant yellow light streaked over the cold, gray water. In the distance, a fog bank began to roll in. Soon, night would fall like a curtain over their territory, opening up the world for all those who could not dwell in Glory’s light.

In his arms, Margot breathed easier. Although he left her thoughts to herself, knowing she would share them with him in time, he felt even the tumult inside of her begin to subside.

Finally, as the first stars began to glitter in the navy dome of the sky, she said, “I am strong.”

Theodore closed his eyes and leaned his jaw against her temple, savoring the moment, when his pride in her felt like it might burn him to ash. “Yes,” he murmured. “Yes, you are. By all the gods, Margot, you are astonishing.”

She took in a deep, cleansing breath. Their bond thrummed between them, full of life and power beyond reckoning. The soft overhead lights hit the jewels of her necklace and bounced back, shattering in rainbows around her face.

“Thank you.” Margot stared at her reflection, her gaze unflinching even when it landed on the soft points of her ears. “For reminding me.” She raised her chin. The prim, determined tone he loved so very much began to bleed back into her voice. “And for setting me free.”

“You freed me first,” he replied, kissing her beautiful little ear. “I’m just returning the favor.”

Margot reached up to gently touch the spot he kissed. Her fingers lingered on the unfamiliar curve. Her eyes, so human and so elvish, met his in the glass. Theodore smiled, his dimples deepening with the force of his joy.

Finally, he thought. Now we can really begin.