CHAPTER 476: THE UNSEEN TRIAL (2)

Not for glory nor for power, but in recognition. This was something that was not easily understood, however, because in putting love above ambition, she, above all, Ian, had unknowingly done what countless others had failed to do. He had passed the test, not by trying, but by being true.

The couple watched as Ian sat down and adjusted her on his lap, murmuring her name and pressing his forehead to hers, seemingly oblivious to the words being whispered by those dainty beings around them,

Even the existing royals’ shock had been lost on them. However, Ian did notice the disbelief in the older royal couple, who had been banished. Prince Syla and Ash’s shocked expressions were the only ones that were very different from the other gathered royals.

"Did he just sit on the throne?"

Maybe Ian had been too angry then, but then, watching this now, he understood why they had done that and many actions from them. He watched as the Faes, even the ones flying around, lowered themselves to their knees because of the words spoken. A few remained standing though, maybe too stunned to move. He had passed the test and been accepted by the throne.

Even if he did not understand the ways and the rules of the Fae, Ian understood what this meant.

And behind him, the throne fleetingly turned crystal and pulsed with a quiet heartbeat of light as if acknowledging him as the only king at the time.

Another thing was noteworthy at the time. Prince Simon had taken Shelby as his ’Queen’, but he had basically held her in captivity and even tried to harm her. The contrast with how Ian handled her, screamed, ’She is NOT a prisoner. She is my QUEEN."

And a true Queen she was. Looking at this scene from this observer’s view was overwhelming for both of them.

The stunned silence that swept through the chamber after the poetic words from the dainty fairies disappeared was heavy and thick until one voice cracked it.

The repulsive Time Witch stood trembling, her glassy eyes wide with recognition. "I-It cannot be," she whispered, her staff shaking in her gnarled hand. "He... he didn’t even try." Her voice carried disbelief, awe... and perhaps something close to reluctant reverence.

Shelby tried to think back, wondering if this had really happened or if it was a distortion of the reality from what they were watching, but that did not really matter as she continued watching, equally stunned as the people in the memory scene herself.

The witch, ever so proud and smug before, now recoiled a step. Her face had lost all colour, not that there was any colour on that old face to begin with. Her lips trembled with the words she dared not speak.

She had sensed the throne’s anger countless times in the past .... And even seen very seasoned warriors scorched and flung down those very stairs. The Fae throne was very famous for that as Prince Syla’s predicament had spread far and wide.

"The throne chose him..." she murmured, almost choking on the words as her ’big’ sister smiled as if she had anticipated this moment.

Shelby watched as the Timeless witch looked straight at them, as if she could see them, making her gasp, but the witch in the little girl’s body just turned away.

And then came the bitter laughter of Lord Lent, biting, and broken.

He staggered forward, pointing a shaking, wrinkled finger at Ian and Shelby. However, as all these went on, Ian was really in no mood to for this, as all his fury then had been on the ones who had tried to harm his wife.

"He doesn’t deserve it!" he barked. "He’s a half-blood! Human filth! What does he know of our ways?" This old Fae’s voice cracked with decades of repressed jealousy. "He didn’t earn it. He didn’t prepare. My chosen one ... my prince, Syla ... trained for years. He endured flames in their literal form! Drank from the spring of Frost! Faced the reflection of Shame, and still, the throne rejected him! It damn well near killed him! What is this now?"

No one noticed Lord Lent, making him pulse angrier. It was as if no one could hear him, even those around him. He shouted angrily pointing his fingers, but not a single person minded him as they all remained on their knees in reverence. The throne pulsed in quiet defiance, a deep hum echoing its will in a calm, ancient, undeniable way.

One of the dainty beings that had shouted the will of the throne floated over to him and whispered, "But this one... he just walked the path."

"Not for himself," another else added. "For her."

Their voices were squeaky and thin but very conspicuous. They floated around his head and kept repeating the exact phrase over and over again, making him as upset and furious as could be.

The old Fae, forgetting that these beings represented the throne, wheeled on them, fuming. "You fools! That’s not how it works!"

The buzzing of those voices never stopped, but another stepped in.

"No," the Timeless Witch said quietly, stepping forward and coming to stand by and observe Shelby and Ian.

This confirmed Shelby’s hunch: She could see them!

"Yes, I can see you," she said without Shelby asking, making Ian narrow his eyes but he did not react. This witch was almost as ancient as Time itself, hence her name. Nothing she did was without cause, but having her on their side was good for them, so he said nothing.

"That is exactly how it works. You all forgot... but the throne did not. The one who leads must first be willing to serve. The one who rules must protect without pride. That is the heart of true power."

The words were not just for this old Fae’s ears but for all.

Lord Lent’s expression collapsed in on itself ... rage curdled to despair. He looked once more at the glowing throne and its new bearer, then at the glowing scroll above, and then... he knelt. Slowly. Bitterly.

He wasn’t alone.

One by one, the rest followed. Not for the half-human he was nor the blood he carried. But for the man the throne had chosen.

He blinked.

Still holding Shelby’s hand protectively, Ian furrowed his brow at the stunned silence, at the sheer reverence in the air around him. Even then, he had wondered why they were looking at him like that. His thoughts had only been on punishing those fools, but even he, Ian, would be a fool if he did not understand what was being shown him.

He was sitting on the Fae throne with a calm stillness... and a sense of belonging.

His eyes finally widened in disbelief. The elders had asked him to take the throne, and he only wanted to get his wife and go back home, but looking at this....

"No... no, no," he muttered under his breath. "This... this wasn’t... I didn’t mean to ..." He glanced around, seeing the kneeling heads, the wide eyes, the looks of awe. Even the throne was glowing faintly beneath him.

"I didn’t ask for this!" he hissed in a slight panic, turning to his Shelby as if she could somehow explain it.

Shelby had always seen a calm and collected Ian, except their early days of the meeting when he was obsessed with Aliya. This Ian was different. She was a little surprised though, but looking at this scene with a different eye told her that there wasn’t much to the decision they had to make. The royal throne had chosen them. Was it unheard of for them to decline it? Could they even do that?

"I wasn’t trying to take anything! I just wanted you safe. That’s all .... I wasn’t trying to prove anything, I - " He cut himself off, his heart pounding.

Then the Timeless Witch stepped forward, her childlike voice like wind over water. "That is why the throne accepted you. Because you did not ask. You acted."

Ian shook his head, dazed. "This can’t be happening. I’m not ready for this. I’m not even - " He stopped himself, mouth dry. "I’m not even fully Fae."

"That is true," the Timeless Witch said with a ghost of a smile. "And yet... the throne did not mind."

"But... my family?" A breath caught in his throat.

And then the scene changed abruptly to their room again, but they were still watching themselves ....

Ian watched himself love his wife thoroughly. Shelby gasped, burying her face in his chest, mainly because there was a ’little girl’ watching them worship each other’s naked bodies. The Timeless Witch chuckled. She had seen too many things in her existence to react in any other way. Child’s body or not, she was long past people having sex. Ian cradled her close, unbothered.

The scene changed again just as they orgasmed together. This time, they were hovering in the skies. The Fae folks had all stopped what they were doing and stared at the skies simply because it was changing!

The skies above had always been restless, swirling in ominous shades of grey tinged with red, like a whirlwind trapped in time. But now .... now, they shimmered.

The hues began to ripple and fold like silken waves of the aurora, cascading through the heavens in perfect rhythm with the couple’s every breath, every movement within the chamber. Every thrust and moan was equated to a ripple, and as Ian’s waist movement sped up, so did the aurora-like ripples. It was as though the very sky bore witness to what had just taken place... and approved. A hush fell over the gathered crowd.

Then, slowly, reverently, one voice broke the silence.

"Our King and Queen have united."

"How can they know this?" She squeaked. The overwhelming urge to disappear was great. ’They knew that we were ...’

"This is too embarrassing!" Shelby whispered and buried her face in Ian’s chest once more.

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