Chapter 158

MILA

I felt so much lighter after my conversation with Felix’s parents. Apologies were made and relationships were mended. I felt like we were all slowly rebuilding the lives we’d had before Felix fell ill–with some notable upgrades, of course.

However, meeting with the dowager royals was not the most important thing I had left to do.

After we ate a quick breakfast with Ivan, Rowena, and Esmeralda, I transported myself and Felix to the Dragon’s Teeth mountains. Once again, we were right outside the stone door leading to the library. The heart of all the magic in the kingdoms.

“Do we even know what we’re doing?” Felix asked. It was much colder up here than in the capital, and his breath was coming out in little clouds from his face.

“Not really,” I admitted. “But I have a feeling we’ll figure it out.”

It was time to heal the magic, not only to Fresonia, but to all the magical kingdoms. Hopefully, we would be able to restore the magic back to its original strength from a thousand years prior, the way it had been during the time of Sofia and Samuel.

That would mean another complication for our uncertain new word–magic would be much more common throughout all people, not just royals–but it would also make Fresonia stronger.

Our past selves had imbued the magic with the very love they shared between them. Now that Felix and I were better than ever, that certainly had to mean that the protection would be strong.

Felix pulled me against his chest. “Before we do this, I just want to say how proud I am of you.”

I laughed. “I haven’t even done anything yet. Save that for later.”

“No.” Felix pulled back slightly, surveying me. “I’m being serious. I’m talking about my parents. I’m proud of you for having that conversation and for being able to forgive them. You amaze me, Mila, you really do. I’m constantly in awe of you.”

Tears sprang to my eyes. “Thank you, Felix. I love you.”

He ran a finger across my cheek. “I love you too.”

I looked at the snowy glen around us, breathing in that crisp mountain air. “I think I know what to do.”

We sat down on the ground, ignoring the chill that seeped into our clothes and bones. We held hands and faced each other. My heartbeat was starting to race erratically, but I knew exactly what I needed to do.

“We will swear our love to each other and to the kingdom,” I said softly. “And then with a kiss, the protection will be sealed.”

Felix looked at me strangely. “Did Sofia tell you that?”

I closed my eyes, feeling that familiar thrum of magic around me. It was faint and dying, to be sure, but it was still there.

“No,” I breathed. “I just know.”

Felix reached out and clasped both my hands with his. I opened my eyes to see him staring at me, an enormous amount of love in his face.

“You are more than just my wife, Mila,” he said in a low tone. “You are the sun in the sky and the very air I breathe. I love you more than my crown, more than life itself, more than all the stars in the sky. I will love you forever.”

I nearly cried at that, but I pulled my emotions together for my own promises. “Felix, you are my greatest gift. I have spent lifetimes trying to find you and I would go through all of that again if it meant I got to be with you, even briefly. You are my whole heart. I love you now and I will love you forever.”

Felix was tearing up now too, even though I knew he would refuse to admit it.

I pressed a hand into the soil. “With this love, I swear to protect, defend, and nurture the magic of Fresonia and all the magical kingdoms up until my dying breath. And let our everlasting love be the lifeblood of magic, allowing it to thrive even after our deaths.”

Felix repeated after me, burying his own hand into the snow.

Even though I was so cold I thought I might turn into a solid block of ice, I leaned forward and pressed my lips to Felix’s.

His mouth was soft and welcoming, and he reached around the back of my neck to pull my head closer to his. I don’t know how long we sat there, kissing, but all of the sudden, the air around us shifted.

It was as if the earth had been sleeping for a long, long time, and now, finally, it was awake.

That tiny hum of magic that I had felt before our vows was growing stronger and stronger, shaking the trees with its might. The ground rumbled beneath us, not like an earthquake, but rather like it was stretching and yawning after a long slumber.

The air was then filled with a new sound–birdsong.

Felix looked around us in amazement. “The magic is back, Mila.”

I could feel it, too. The earth was resettling, but the air remained charged. There was a clear sense of electricity and life in the wind now, and I could feel that magical core within me grow stronger with each breath.

I had no idea whether magic had flooded back into the civilians, but it had certainly flooded back into the kingdom itself.

Felix scrambled to his feet and raced a few yards up the mountainside. When he looked out the land below us, his face lit up.

“Mila!” He called out. “It’s healed! It’s all healed!”

I ran over to join him, stunned by what I saw below us.

From here, you could see the entirety of the kingdom, villages, towns, and farmlands spread out before us like a patchwork quilt.

The fields of Fresonia, which had been brown, bleached, and dying only moments before, were now filled with rippling green grass. Trees that had once been weak and small had blossomed and grown to new heights. The wind was sweeter and the sun was brighter.

The land was healed, fixed by the restoration of magic. No longer would farmers be struggling with dead crops or dry soil. We had revived the very earth of the magical kingdoms, allowing them to be fruitful once more.

But the land was not the only thing we were concerned about.

As if on cue, we then heard a familiar roar pierce the sky, and two large wings emerged from the back of the castle and headed in our direction. The dragon roared again, this time a sound of joy and glee.

I thought my husband was going to faint from relief right then and there.

“Ignatius!” Felix cried. “He’s alright!”

The dragon raced towards us through the newly healed sky. I threw my head back and started laughing, loving the feel of magic on my skin and tongue.

We had created a new world. A better world.

And better yet, we had ensured its forever safety.

I loved Felix and Felix loved me. With our love, magic would now be protected forever, and this time, there was nothing on earth that could destroy it.