"King Baltimore was the worst of them—the most powerful," Scarlette said, her voice dripping with disdain. "He twisted their ideals into a weapon and poured their magic into a single force: the Baltimorean Emerald."
Her tone sent a chill down my spine.
"An artifact that could reshape reality," she continued. "Raw, idealistic love meant to 'fix' the universe in its image. Toxic love. Blinding love—the kind that erases truth."
I gripped my spoon tighter. "And what did he truly want?"
Scarlette rolled her eyes, as if the answer was so obvious it offended her. "To be desired. To have the whole world bend to his will and accept him as their king, wholeheartedly, simply because he knew best." She smirked. "Even if the world bowed at his feet, he still wouldn't have had what he wanted."
She leaned in slightly, her expression sharpening. A glint of defiance burned in her eyes.
"I was still in his way," she said, almost proud. "And I challenged him. Openly. Time and time again."
She shook her head before continuing.
"But just as he was about to rewrite reality, I changed the spell."
A shiver crept down my neck. "How?"
Her voice dipped low, laced with satisfaction. "I am an architect of magic," she murmured. "Love magic can be woven into anything. So—from my prison—I linked the Emerald's power to an ancient scroll. One that, as it turns out, was tied to a guardian. A Light Guardian no one has ever seen."
I let her words settle, the weight of them dragging heavily in the air.
"So the Emerald didn't work," I said softly.
She nodded. "It failed spectacularly. Enraged, the King locked it away for centuries. And to ensure no one would ever hear of the Queen of Hearts and Ruin, he had my name erased from history itself."
Scarlette sat back, lips curling into a wicked grin.
"It was worth every ounce of magic I used," she said. "The spell drained me—I was so weak after, I couldn't even attempt escape. But then…"
She chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief.
"They made a mistake."
I arched a brow.
"An administrative error," she said, practically giddy with amusement. "With my name erased from their records, I slipped through the cracks—free to walk the world like any other Love Fairy."
I stared at her, half in awe, half in disbelief.
"I wasn't even sure it was real at first," she continued. "No one in the kingdom recognized me when I walked out. In the centuries I was locked away, I didn't get a single visitor. Not one. Not the friends I made. Not even enemies. No one remembered me."
Her smile faded.
"Which meant he had somehow used the Emerald to erase every memory of me—not just from the archives, but from their minds. Even his own."
She laughed bitterly.
"The guards who opened the dungeon thought it was empty. They were planning to redevelop the building. What a joke."
Her voice grew darker.
"But history repeated itself."
She clenched her jaw, her words steady but smoldering.
"The elders of the Love Fairy Kingdom—they tried to force me to bend the knee again. To pretend I was nobody."
Her eyes met mine. Burning. Unyielding.
"And once again, I refused."
"What happened then?" I asked quietly.
Scarlette's gaze flickered with something unreadable—nostalgia, or maybe the bitter satisfaction of telling a story no one else lived to remember.
She exhaled, a slow breath, like she was bracing herself.
"So yes," she said, her voice calm. Too calm. "I stole the Emerald and ran."
Her fingers flexed against her thigh.
"They gave chase. I fought back. I perfected spells of narcissism and obsession. I cast a Love Pentagon. I made them delirious. I even withdrew a healing spell I once gave to the King." A smirk tugged at her lips. "Chaos followed, obviously."
She tilted her head, watching me. Gauging my response.
"And that's when you saw me," she said softly.
The memory struck hard.
The wreckage. The raw force she wielded. Magic humming thick in the air. Scarlette standing in the middle of it, wild and free, daring the world to break her again.
"There you were," she said, her voice dipping, almost fond. "Silent. Observing. But you—" she paused, her gaze narrowing. "You became my savior."
Her usual playfulness faded, her expression softening with something more fragile.
"Yes, I knew you had your own plans," she said. "I knew because I had watched you too, Veravos. I knew you wouldn't have bonded with me unless it served your purpose. So I let it happen."
Then she smiled—truly smiled.
"But we became something more. A force to be reckoned with. Something I haven't felt in eons."
Her words settled deep into my chest, heavy and aching.
A single tear slipped down my cheek before I even realized it.
She had suffered far more than she let on. And for the first time, I realized—I didn't want her to suffer anymore.
Not while I was here.
I am a Dark Fairy. I do not—
Before I could finish the thought, she pulled me into an embrace.
Her body trembled slightly, her arms tightening around me—not desperate, but certain. Like someone who finally allowed herself to feel.
And this warmth—this unbearable warmth.
Why did it feel like I could tell her everything? Why did I want to take her pain in my hands and crush it until it no longer existed?
Why, for the first time in centuries, did I not feel alone?
My grip on her shoulders firmed. I didn't know what to say. So I asked the one thing I could.
"Is King Baltimore still a problem?"
Scarlette pulled back just enough to meet my gaze.
Her eyes were dark. Unreadable.
"When I said I withdrew his healing and that he bled profusely," she whispered, "I mean he's dead, Veravos."
I didn't breathe.
"Back when we were confronting Luxeron," she said, "and I told you I had killed a king before—I meant it."
Still, she wasn't finished.
Scarlette swallowed hard and let out a trembling breath.
"My obsession magic on his guards sealed the deal," she said, barely above a whisper. "They didn't save him. They just begged for his approval. Yes, even as he lay dying."
Her voice cracked, and she turned away.
"There's no redemption for me," she sobbed, and for once, even her shadows seemed to grieve.
And that's when I understood.
There was no king left in the Love Fairy Kingdom.
They'd fall into their own chaos, devour themselves before ever hunting her down.
But none of that mattered now.
Because she wasn't the only one searching for redemption.
And maybe, just maybe—
It wasn't too late.