To Spark a Fae War (The Fair Isle Trilogy, #3)

by Tessonja Odette

Aelfon asks. “We can’t tell them about the Parvanovae, in case they get any clever ideas, which means they can’t know our plan for enchanting our proposed wall.” “We can tell them Estel has created the technology

“If they were that easy to reason with,” Flauvis says, “we wouldn’t be at war in the first place.”

I lift my chin and meet his approving gaze. “The weapons won’t be usable because I’m going to melt them.”

the palace, Aspen turns to face me, taking my hand in his and bringing it to his lips. As he lowers my hand, his mouth quirks into a crooked grin. “You truly are a brilliant queen,” he says. “Or perhaps it’s your devious human side that is so wickedly clever.”

She nods. “My sister was not, but in the end, even she regretted creating the Parvanovae after the war ended.”

“Like all magic, it’s fueled by your intent. Simply open it and think of a place you’ve already been that you would like to go.”

“Accept my gift, Queen Evelyn. I’ve come to trust you. I hope you trust me too.”

She turns to follow my gaze, then lowers her voice. “I owe you an apology too,” she says. “I was wrong to be so firmly against you bringing your sister here. I think you were right about her. She…she seems sincere.”

“You really are mastering the elements, aren’t you?” I startle at the sound of Aspen’s voice so close to my ear, but I manage to maintain my focus on the orb.

I can hardly form the words through bursts of laughter.

“A glimpse at your magnificent kingdom.”

away from her.” The voice that rings out from the beach isn’t one of the soldiers. It’s Cobalt. Shimmering blue scales cover every inch of his nix form, chest heaving as he pins Mr. Duveau beneath a glare with his single eye.

This is the creature I was raised to fear. And I’ve never loved him more.

first time. You’ve made me feel like I deserve to enjoy it. With you. I’m not going to give that up just to sulk in the doom and gloom of reality.” “I think Nyxia would say that’s all very sunny and idealistic of you.”

with you.” I quirk my brow. “Why is that?” He gives me a shy smile. “Well, we’ve just begun to suspect you might be carrying my child.” I freeze, my body going still. “Your child? How do you know I even want children?” Heat flushes his cheeks.

He opens his mouth, and I expect his high-pitched imitation to follow. Yet, to my surprise, he says nothing. His lips curl at the corner of his muzzle in a canine smirk…but he doesn’t speak.

Aspen snickers at my side and Nyxia struggles to hide her grin behind an air of boredom.

“No,” I snap. “We aren’t breaking down the wall to destroy the humans. We will free our magic so we can face the soldiers at Port Denyson with our full strength. But also…” I resist the urge to wring my hands, clenching my fingers into fists instead. “I’ve made a bargain with the humans.”

We can face the troops who invade at Port Denyson as soon as they touch land. We can meet them on our terms.”

exception. Fire may be my primary element, giving me the power to create, but the earthen element obeys my command nearly as well. My strong affinity for air lets me move swiftly through time and space.

“You just admitted the djinn are the most powerful fae. If you can singlehandedly build a wall around the isle, you could turn on us.”

He smiles down at me. “Have I told you lately what an incredible queen you are?” My lips turn up at the corners. “Well, that’s the first time I’ve heard it today.”

escorting the royals. “We really need that bell we spoke of.” Aspen’s voice is a husky growl in my ear.

Estel’s eyes turn down at the corners. “I’m not coming back, Evelyn. Not from any of this. I never was.” Suddenly, it all makes sense—how ambiguous

“I discovered why my sister didn’t destroy the Parvanovae like she said she would. I can’t transmute the bomb unless I detonate it. To guide its transmutation, I must absorb the blast, become one with it. My final act of consciousness will be to fuel the energy with my intent, transmuting it into protection. It’s the only way the enchantment will work.” “And that…will destroy you?

bomb but wasn’t able to transmute the energy. Or perhaps she was caught before she could.

Invisible. But not broken, for I can feel it humming all around. Estel’s enchantment is complete.

Nearby, a white wolf lies on his side, the bottom half of his body coated in blood. It takes me a moment to realize the wolf is Flauvis. Despite his injuries, he snaps his teeth when a human woman

peace, saying something I can’t hear, but Flauvis only bares his teeth. Part of me wants to go to him, shift back into my seelie form and inspect his wounds. But there’s someone else I need to see. More than anything in the world.

“You’re the one we’ve heard about, then. The human-fae queen. The one who bargained for our protection.” I’m taken aback as I contemplate her words. Is this what Mayor Coleman has told the people of Eisleigh? Or has rumor spread on its own? When I don’t reply, she

My chin quivers as I summon the words from my heart. “Estel has returned to the stars.” Lorelei’s shoulders droop, her hold on me growing slack. Her eyes are keen, telling me she knows there’s much more to this story.

The corners of his mouth quirk up, and I see his gaze flick to a certain bespectacled ambassador in the process of uncorking a bottle of Agave Ignitus. “Of my own free will. I shall go where you and your mate go.” He bows low, then disappears into the crowd.

I am bound by love. Its depths and shallows, streams and

waves. Its darkness and light. I’m open to all of it now. Pulling Aspen’s lips to mine, I initiate the night’s revelry with a kiss.

nearly bark a laugh at what rests in the center of the room. An obsidian table, twice as large as Nyxia’s. I meet Aspen’s smirk with a quirked brow.

He eyes me with concern a moment more before his mouth quirks with devious delight. Stepping forward to return to the space between my legs, he frames my waist with his hands on the tabletop. “I should rescue you then. Although, I must warn you. The corset might not survive my valiant efforts.” I lift my chin, lips parting as my breaths grow heavier. “Do what you must.”

together. “Evie, have I ever told you how grateful I am that you almost killed me with an iron blade?” “Excuse me?” He lights a kiss on my cheek, then my jaw. “The day we met at the wall.”