“You caused this, my Queen.”

“Me?” she looked at him in a shock. “I used magic?”

“Yes. You unknowingly used your innate power of the earth element. I had to stop you.”

“I used a new magic, not just about flowers blooming…” she mumbled under her breath, her eyes bright with joy. “Why did you stop me? This land, I can make—”

“Seren, calm down. You cannot use your own power yet. Don’t you remember what my mother explained to us before she left?  Using one magic will trigger the other, and our enemies will find us if the hellfire inside you is triggered again.”

Seren understood, but her heart ached as her gaze landed on the desolate field. Her instincts were telling her she could bring the land back to life, and it was her responsibility to take care of this land.

“Please listen to your husband, Queen Seren,” Yorian remarked as both he and Cian approached them. 

Seren helplessly glanced at the vast dead land. “Is there no way?”

“We will find a solution,” Yorian replied. 

“Don’t feel bad, Seren. We will soon take care of this,” Cian assured her. “Mister Yorian promised to aid our kingdom.”

“This land seems to be suffering from misdeeds of the people who dared hurt the one they should not have,” Yorian mumbled, which didn’t go unheard by Drayce. He then understood what Yorian was referring to. 

Seren was the daughter of the Deity of Earth. With her mother losing her divinity,Seren, despite being a mere demigod, was the one to inherit her sovereignty over the power of earth. Unless someone else filled that throne, even if she didn’t want to, the only child of the former goddess was the next Deity of Earth. Her powers would develop as she had come of age. 

Today’s incident was the first indication of it—Seren could sense the pain of the earth as if it was her own. 

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He could not let his wife blame herself for being unable to heal the earth and carry the burden of millions of lives. 

Cian was curious to know as well. These days, he was hearing so much from his sister and father that he felt the world was no longer the same world he knew and understood. Though he was not outwardly showing it, Cian’s interest about the world of supernatural beings was growing stronger by the day. 

For Cian, elves were nothing but creatures mentioned in children’s books and folktales, yet now, he was even conversing with one. For the same reason, he wanted to interact with this ancient elf who claims to have lived for thousands of years. 

While the three men were talking once more, Seren decided to go back to the carriage. Along the way, one withered plant in particular caught her attention. It was a shrub barely reaching her waist, and she could not help but reach out.

As soon as her finger touched the plant’s yellow and dry leaves, their color started to turn a vibrant green, regaining life—

Swoosh!

The branches ignited, but before she could move away, the entire plant caught fire. 

Drayce hurried towards Seren and pulled her away. His own power snuffed out the flames, leaving only the smoke and the scorched remains of the plant. He held his scared wife in his embrace. “Are you hurt, my Queen? Your hand—”

She looked at him with moist eyes. “That plant, I wanted to save it.”

“It’s alright. It was going to die anyway. You don’t have to feel bad,” he tried to console her. 

“We should head back first,” Cian suggested, looking at his sister.

Drayce agreed and they returned to the palace. Leaving Seren in the care of her servants, Drayce went to see Yorian and Cian in the Crown Prince’s study. 

The three men sat facing each other in the lounge area of the room. 

Drayce asked Yorian, “Did you figure it out?”

“We are yet to think of a permanent solution,” the elf replied. 

Cian sipped on the hot tea prepared for them. “Mister Yorian explained a couple of things to me. Now I can understand  why my sister is always so happy whenever she is in her garden or when I bring her out to the lake, surrounded by nature. She is practically nature herself.”

Yorian agreed, “I’ve witnessed your sister’s miracle. Fairies could do something similar, but not on a large scale like Queen Seren’s. That beauty of flowers blooming everywhere is one of a kind. We cannot let it fade. This thousand years’ soul cannot be devoid of seeing that beauty again.”

“Is there a way we can allow her to use her earth magic on its own?” Drayce asked. “Should I try suppressing it?”

“I am not sure but we can try,” Yorian replied. “Ideally, your power of darkness can suppress another power of equal or lesser strength. Queen Seren is a unique case with two elements that are originally incompatible and impossible to exist together. You have to be careful, King Drayce.”

“If it’s going to work then I will try,” Drayce said. 

Yorian looked at him for a while before answering, “But King Drayce, heed my advice. You need to be at your strongest when you use your powers.”

Drayce understood the meaning. To be at the strongest of his powers, the elf meant Erebus. 

Though Yorian was not aware of Erebus’ existence per se, he was experienced enough to clearly see Drayce had reservations about his own darkness, as if he was trying to suppress its full power. 

There was only one time when he found Drayce’s strength almost rivaling the King of Agartha’s—back when the young king saved the ship from the storm in the sea. 

“I will,” Drayce assured him. 

Yorian said, “Talk to Queen Seren first and ask if she agrees to our little experiment, though I am sure she would be happy to hear there is hope.”

“Alright.”

Yorian then turned to Cian. “I ask that Prince Cian find a location not privy to people’s eyes, and hopefully one we can damage if an accidental fire occurs.”

“That is easy. The royal palace has many such places, but it won’t harm Seren, right?” Cian asked, feeling worried. “If an accident happens—”

“Rest assured, Prince Cian,” Yorain smiled. “Your sister is more than what she seems. Besides, I do not think her husband will allow her to partake in anything that will endanger her.”

Cian didn’t deny that claim. 

Yorian returned his attention to Drayce. “I am suddenly reminded. If we succeed, perhaps we should also use this chance to make her master her own power. We talked about this before. She was eighteen years delayed in training. It’s better she starts using earth magic properly instead of keeping her ignorant, leaving herself more vulnerable to accidents.”

Drayce smiled at the thought of Seren freely wielding her own power. He could almost hear her blissful laughter. He was ready for whatever it takes. After discussing some more, they left Cian’s study. 

On the way back, Yorian said with a knowing smile, “There is an even better way to connect with her powers, something only you can do to help her control it effectively.”

Drayce sighed. “I know.”

“Bond between mates is the most miraculous thing,” Yorian said. “You cannot avoid certain things even if you want to, King Drayce.”

Drayce could only be quiet as he continued to walk in silence.

====

A/N- In the month of June, there might not be any chapters.

Reasons-

1) I need to bring the plot of third novel in the same time line with first two books of the series and then I can write all three of them together. No one will get spoiler from one book from another and they can be finished together. 

2) It would be easy for me to write and match all the incidents happening simultaneous in all novels.

3) I do not wish to keep you waiting for updates and I am sure you all are not happy with once week updates.

4) I promise to give mass release on the 1st July and then continue all three novels together. It will be interesting to read things being related to each novel.

5) Those who are reading 3rd book, they can keep meeting Drayce and Seren in it and see them interacting with Arlan’s naughty runaway betrothed.