I wake up coughing, my body aching, sprawled on the cold floor.
As my eyes open, I see it—thick, swirling mists of red, yellow, and black choking the once-white room, heavy with power. The air buzzes with energy, an echo of something violent that has just transpired.
And there, in the middle of it all, sits King Luxeron.
His once-blinding radiance is gone. No glow, no power—just a hollow shell of a ruler, cross-legged on the floor, his gaze distant. He is catatonic, speaking only when prompted, answering Scarlette's questions with an eerie, detached calm.
I force myself upright, my limbs trembling. A sharp pang shoots through me and I almost lose my balance.
Scarlette is at my side instantly.
"Veravos. Finally awake," she murmurs. "You've been unconscious for two days. Please—be careful. You need to rest, my friend."
Her voice is softer than I expect.
My friend. That's what she calls me. But after everything we've been through—do I even want that to be all?
Maybe. Maybe not.
This week with her feels like a lifetime, even if it's barely a breath compared to my thousand years.
Scarlette hesitates, then exhales as if bracing herself.
I glance at the swirling mists around us, realizing how much work she's done. The scroll lies unrolled before her, the emerald resting atop it.
"Wasn't there anyone else besides the king? Any guards? Council?" I ask.
She smirks, her olive eyes glinting. "No. Just him. I tear down his palace and all its corrupt glory."
I look up at the mist overhead, the strange shifting colors. "Is this… love magic?"
Scarlette chuckles, tilting her head. "Just a little something that hides behind nightmares and dreams."
It's not just the way she says it—it's her. The madness, the ruthlessness, the raw unpredictability.
And damned it all… I like it.
I meet her gaze, holding it a bit too long, drawn to the chaos and brilliance behind those crimson eyes.
How is she wielding so much power?
Scarlette blushes, looks away, then returns her attention to me.
"I need to admit something to you, Veravos."
Great. Another surprise. What now—birds have wings? Trees have leaves?
She steps closer, her expression unreadable. "I need you to hear this from me personally. It doesn't change anything."
My gaze flickers to the swirling mists, to the Light Fairy King sitting motionless in the haze.
"What did you do to him?" I ask, urgency sharp in my voice.
Scarlette exhales, eyes heavy with something unspoken. "Veravos—"
"What?" I snap, still groggy and trying to make sense of everything.
Her next words slice through me like a blade.
"You've heard of me before," she says softly. "A legend spread through all of Fairy Land… a tale of a lost, powerful fairy who went missing, then forgotten."
I stare at her, clueless yet captivated.
Scarlette holds my gaze.
"It's me. I always have been. I am the Queen of Hearts and Ruin."
I almost laugh.
Almost.
But she doesn't blink.
Her crimson eyes lock onto mine—steady, unflinching.
"It's not a joke," she says, brows furrowing, a tension flickering in her voice.
I freeze.
The Queen of Hearts and Ruin.
Not just any Love Fairy—the first Love Fairy. The most dangerous. The one locked away for centuries. The one Dark Fairies still whisper about.
Suddenly, everything makes sense.
The power. The chaos. Her absolute defiance against royals.
I let out a slow breath. "No way. The rumors said you were dead centuries ago. Wait… that actually makes so much sense." My thoughts race. "Your abilities. The way you fight. No wonder you could take on Fairy Kings like Baltimore and Luxeron."
Scarlette shifts, pressing her lips into a thin line.
"Yes," she admits, then adds with a flash of pride, "That's how I easily took King Baltimore's most prized emerald, too."
I look at her, then at the shifting mists in awe.
No ordinary Love Fairy could do this.
She's telling the truth.
"Your Majesty," I blurt, bowing instinctively.
"Don't do that, Veravos," she murmurs, gently lifting me upright. "I told you to treat me the same."
"But you're a legend," I protest. "In the flesh."
Scarlette sighs. Her eyes soften. For a moment, there's an understanding between us.
"Well… not everyone remembers the legend," she says dismissively.
"But in five centuries, all rumors stopped—and now you're here," I breathe. "With me."
"I need you to be who you were to me," she whispers. "The first person who actually worries about me. The first person who gets me as I am."
She smiles—a small, bittersweet thing that makes my chest tighten.
"Don't be afraid," she adds gently, though the unease inside me doesn't entirely vanish.
And in that instant, it hits me.
The first Love Fairy.
Bound by a magical deal with me.
Powerful, unpredictable, chaotic… and tied to my fate.
I can't help but grin.
I can do anything now.
Scarlette tosses me the scroll and the emerald. I blink—she actually trusts me with them?
"Do what you need to, Veravos. I'll babysit our dear royal vegetable," she says, almost too casually.
She may be the Queen of Hearts and Ruin, but she's still the chaotic menace I met a week ago—shifty, unpredictable, everything the rumors promised.
Chaos incarnate.
"Scar… what are you doing?" I ask, voice low and wary, eyes darting to the swirling mists tugging at the air.
She meets my gaze. Searches. Softens.
"Ver… do you trust me?"
Something in her tone tightens my chest.
Do I?
"Yes," I answer instantly. No doubts. No hesitation.
Maybe it's desperation—maybe it's something deeper—but here, on the edge of life and death, I trust her.
Or do I?
She's the Queen of Hearts and Ruin.
I see the shift—the grin. Sharp. Knowing. Devious.
The Scarlette I know.
"Then lend me a bit more of your dark magic," she commands. No plea—just a demand.
Without question, I extend my hand, releasing a ribbon of dark mist. It merges with her red mists in a dangerous dance of power.
"This will scare the daylights out of him. Reveal his secrets to me. Dark and obedient love." She winks.
I can't look away. I smile—delighted.
Gods help me. I like her more and more.
"Tell me," she snaps, voice dark and commanding, "Where is the Light Guardian?"
King Luxeron's eyes flicker. His breath trembles as the mist curls down his throat.
"Judorah's got him," he rasps.
"How do you know this?" I ask.
"I gave the Light Guardian to Judorah so he wouldn't take my throne," Luxeron replies, emotionless.
"So predictable," I scoff.
Scarlette shakes her head in disdain.
Doesn't he know the Baltimorean Emerald won't work without the Light Guardian? Idiot.
Scarlette's grip on her magic doesn't falter. The red and black tendrils coil tighter around him.
"Where is she? Where are the other Dark Fairies?" I demand, pulse hammering.
Scarlette barely glances my way, keeping her focus on the king.
"Answer him," she commands.
"I don't know," Luxeron replies.
"He really doesn't," Scarlette says with a shrug.
"Now, sit here like a good boy and wait," she orders.
He obeys instantly, sinking to the floor with a blank, lost expression that makes my skin crawl.
Scarlette finally turns to me. "That should hold him long enough."
The mists thicken around us—red, yellow, black—twisting and surging. The throne room dissolves like smoke.
We reappear on the outskirts of the Light Fairy town.
I inhale sharply, steadying myself. "I can't believe how close we actually came." My fingers tighten around the emerald and the scroll. "We have what we need. Now we just have to find Judorah."
Scarlette stretches as if she just woke from a nap. "Mmm. Easy part's done," she says lightly.
I shoot her a look. "Easy?"
She smirks. "Compared to what's next? Yeah."
I exhale, scanning the golden-lit streets. "We don't even know where she is. Searching the entire kingdom would take too long."
Scarlette hums thoughtfully, tapping her chin. Then she grins—sharp and knowing.
"Then let's make her come to us."
I frown. "How?"
She steps closer, her red mists curling around her like a living thing.
"Simple. We have something she wants. Two things, actually."
Realization slams into me. My grip tightens on the emerald and the scroll.
"You mean—"
Scarlette's eyes gleam.
"Let's set a trap."