Alvina and Quinn have never been further apart, but their connection to the spirits might be what reconnects them again.
***
Quinn av Stál is slowly losing his mind. He's sure of that, and the only thing keeping him together is his fiancé Islo Charr...
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"It's time," Dreki said very seriously.
"For what?" Islo asked with a sigh.
"For you to be married. The country needs a distraction and now is the time for a grand wedding."
"And what of this?" I asked and tapped the choker. "Won't it look bad on all of the pictures?"
Dreki chuckled. "Don't worry Quinn, we'll exchange that for bracelets. We've had some amazing engineers working on everything. Funnily enough the baseline for it comes from the Aatskina tribe and their roprothesthics. It's called remote technology." He pulled a small device out of his pocket. It had a little black button embedded in the shiny metal. "It's so nifty. All I have to do is turn this and you'll be in so much pain, you won't even be able to make a feather fly."
I swallowed hard, the choker feeling tighter around my neck.
"It's not necessary," Islo said and took my hand in his. "Quinn can control it now."
"Sure," Dreki snorted. "And nothing stands between that freak next to you and my life. He's keeping the choker. Even for the wedding."
"But you just said-"
"And you keep pushing me," Dreki interrupted and sent me a hard look. "Keep pushing. See where it gets you."
I clenched my jaw and Islo squeezed my hand.
"The party will be grand, and all of the nobles will be invited. Your cousins, Quinn. You should be happy about that. A tailor will come by tomorrow to measure your suits. A silver crown has been commissioned. Can't go wearing gold on your own wedding day now, can you?"
I shook my head, stunned into silence. Gold were for the widowers. Not for grooms to be.
"The food will be great too. We're finding the best caterers for it. And you'll be adopting Isla. Both her and Charred here will change their names to av Stál, to reflect their status as royalty. And after this, we will start to look for a surrogate. Congratulations, Quinn. Within a year, you will be a father. And not just an adoptive one."
"You..." I stopped myself. I didn't want to make things worse. Neither for me nor for Islo. "Thank you."
A smile crept over Dreki's lips and he rose to his feet. "You're welcome, Quinn. I do so aim to keep you both happy."
He turned on his heel and left my apartment. I was still holding on almost desperately to Islo's hand.
"It's moving too fast," I whispered. "It's too fast."
"I know," Islo murmured and pulled me close. "I know it's too fast."
"I can't have a kid right now, Islo. I can't. Not one of my own. I can't. I'm not good enough yet. It'll be corrupted and broken." Tears ran down my cheeks.
"Quinn, no."
"I'm broken inside and ugly and the kid will be too, and I can't do that to a kid, Islo. I can't."
