Chapter 66
After baking a small cake for Emily and Beta Tom to celebrate, I see that King Harvey is missing. Placing the iced cake to the side to rest, I dash off to our bedroom and see he is sitting at the edge of our bed, staring out the window seriously.
“Honey?” I call King Harvey, who barely moves his head.
“My parents are coming, Elena.” King Harvey’s jaw doesn’t even move. “I must say I hope it is positive news.”
I shrug. “It must be, King Harvey. I have proved myself and have done nothing wrong.”
“You never did anything wrong, my wife.” King Harvey stands and is at my side at once, pulling me into his warm chest. “Is there cake for us?”
I can’t help laughing out loud at his innocent question. “Yes, yes. I made two cupcakes for us.”
“Lovely.” King Harvey grins. “I can cover you in icing.”
“Later, Harvey.” King Harvey’s mother states coolly. “I see that Beta Tom will be married shortly to your wife’s sister.”
Faintly, in the distance we hear Beta Tom screaming for joy over their engagement. Despite myself I smile and hope he will keep that enthusiasm for the rest of their days. When Emily lets out a jubilant shout back, my heart warms and the feeling overtakes my whole body. Now, I smile openly with no reservations, even under my in-laws’ watchful werewolf gaze.
“Yes, they are celebrating.” I can’t wipe the smile off my face.
King Harvey smiles back at me, relishing my happiness.
King Harvey’s father clears his throat as he steps closer to us. He stands by his wife and takes her hand in a powerful grip.
“We have heard that Elena is to be Luna Queen. That information has traveled across the lands, Harvey. Is she prepared for the ceremony? If not, it will be a great stain on your name, boy.”
King Harvey visibly tenses at his father’s words. “Elena will complete the ceremony.”
“King Harvey, what is this ceremony?” I ask, watching his parents pale at my question.
King Harvey turns to me with nothing but ease and kindness in his face. “To crown you as Luna Queen, my dear, you must create an orb around yourself and sustain it for ten seconds, then do the same to another person, finally, you must create a red shockwave of a shield and wield a sword of your red shockwave power.”
“No healing?”
“If you can do all those, we know you can heal at least minor cuts.” King Harvey informs. “I shall train you and you will succeed.”
My heart drops and I feel sick, looking at his parents staring down at me.
“…I hope I can do all that.”
King Harvey cups my face in his warm, loving hands. “Do not think so lowly of yourself, Elena. I do not.”
King Harvey’s parents look at us and say nothing for a minute, then after studying us, his mother speaks.
“We will leave you to train.”
In a blur of red, they are gone.
In momentary defeat, I take a seat on the edge of our bed and put my face in my hands. “Your parents are very intimidating. I can sense their power radiating off them.”
“And mine?” King Harvey puts his massive hand in mine. “What do you feel?”
“Safe.” Looking up at him, I love how his eyes soften even if they are silver for the time being.
“I do trust you, King Harvey.” Leaning on his steady arm, I wrap my arm around his waist, and he laughs at my awkward attempt to be loving. He appreciates it, nonetheless, dropping a kiss on the top of my head.
“I have always trusted you, Elena, despite your infuriating moments.”
I click my tongue. “You are no better, Mr. Werewolf.”
“I simply wish to keep you safe.” The playful tone of his voice fades out fast.
I sigh. “I know, I know, but everything is going well. You must train me more. I can’t keep an orb up that long.”
“Stamina, Elena, like when you ran, same idea.” King Harvey leaves my side and finds the small plastic orb he gave me a few nights ago. He presses it into my hand and then snatches it away and levitates it with a small red flame in his palm. “Try.”
Holding out my open hand, I watch King Harvey gingerly push the plastic orb container to my hand. Believing in myself I manage to hold it up for three seconds.
I sigh at my defeat. I need seven more seconds. King Harvey hums at me.
“King Harvey…”
“No time to waste, my wife. Again, and again and again.”
For four hours, King Harvey levitates the pink lid of the container in his right hand as I do everything to levitate the orb in my right palm, the best way to do it is to count. I get to eight seconds and finally, my hand is numb, I no longer feel the flame or warmth and my bicep muscle twists in agony.
Dropping my hand, I rest my head on King Harvey’s right bicep. He kisses my forehead and sighs, lying down.
“I have not done that in some time, Elena. You are doing wonderful.”
“Thank you.” I say, depleted.
“I am a large man. I wonder how you will create an orb to cover me.”
“Lose weight.” Muttering to him, I scrap up enough strength to look up at King Harvey and see his marvelous grin.
“Perhaps you need to drown me.”
“What?!” Sitting up rapidly, my head spins and King Harvey sits with me to hold me.
“I need to be covered entirely and you need to feel it, the first thing I thought of was water, you can feel the water…”
“Or a blanket, King Harvey!” I exclaim then huff heavily.
King Harvey just shrugs at me. “Whichever, it is not like you can kill me, Elena.”
“I guess nothing compares to war…”
“Nothing really.” King Harvey picks me up and carries me out of the room. “Time for dinner.”
We eat in comfortable silence. After we eat, King Harvey hands me my shield in our training room.
“Let me guess, cover the shield.”
“Ten seconds, Elena. Bigger than the orb so.”
Cracking my neck, I hold the shield in both my hands and focus as powerfully as I can. Not even a whimper of a flame escapes my palms. At my lowest, I sit on the floor and King Harvey pulls out a red flask.
“Can I have a sip?”
King Harvey tilts my head back and pours the liquid in my mouth. The harsh burn answers my question. It is whiskey.
“I do not drink normally, Elena. I just think this will keep us awake for at least another hour. Sometimes this needed to loosen the body and train.”
I swallow the whiskey with a biting gasp. “Do not allow me to rely on whiskey, my pathetic father is a drunk.”
King Harvey tosses the flask as if it is on fire into the distance. “Next time, a hot bath together. Or tea.”
“Perfect, thank you, my love.” Tugging King Harvey’s calloused hand down, he follows and leans down, I kiss him eagerly on the lips and he groans, rocking into me.
I pull away as a fire explodes through my body, feeling his blatant desire for me. A living flame bursts out my hand and shoots over King Harvey. It protects his broad chest, and coats it in one motion.
With every breath he takes, it pulses.
“Elena,” King Harvey begins with a prideful grin. “I feel very loved.”
“Are you proud of me?”
“A strong beginning, yes I am!”
King Harvey kisses me in congratulations, and I smile. I can keep going now and master what I need to be Luna Queen.
