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“That’s not how it works, Princess. It lowered your inhibitions, made you aroused, yes, but you’ll notice you didn’t pull Pretha into the shower and beg her to touch you.”
He catches it in one hand and smirks at me. No, not smirks. Smiles. Something’s changed between us, so I risk a question.
“Isabel was the woman I loved. I planned to marry her and give her children.” He swallows. “But she died.”
“At least I know how to take care of someone who’s been dosed with faeleaf. A good male wouldn’t have left you begging.” I spin on Finn, gaping in horror, and he holds up both hands. “I didn’t say a word,” he says. Kane smirks. “Jalek could hear you through the walls. Old house.”
Kane gapes at me. “Why the hell do you need to regain his trust when he’s the one who was with another female?”
“Abriella, all the shadow fae age and heal like mortals. They have for twenty years.”
No wonder Pretha panics when she catches Lark using magic. The child is unknowingly shortening her own life.
“Even as I stand here knowing you may give your heart and your life to the wrong prince, I trust you. And Abriella, you should know this is no small thing.”
“Finn is my friend. I don’t want to lose either of them.” When she turns back to me, her smile is sad. “In the end, you will have to choose.”
But Oberon rejected her. While the king was locked in the mortal realm, he had fallen in love with a human woman. He said he couldn’t be with the queen when his heart belonged to another.
If the king didn’t want to die or become weak, he would have to take the life of a human—many humans if he wanted a long life, and many more if he wanted to use his magic during that life.”
She made the Seelie powerless to hurt the Unseelie—thus the end of the Great Fae War.”
“Goblins are the keepers of realms. We gather the secrets, the histories, and the stories. No curse or spell can keep us from gathering or sharing any information we wish,
“Because the queen wanted the Unseelie to become as evil as they’re rumored to be. She wants them to kill humans. It’s her way of punishing all humans for the one who stole King Oberon’s heart.”
It is her son who wants to marry a human—a very specific human with the loveliest fire-red hair.”
“You can break the curse.
“Fire Girl, you have two paths. Which do you desire to know? The one where you die or the one where you live?”
I spent last night begging Finn. I spent this morning loving the laughter in his eyes when he teased me, and the entire afternoon trying to figure out how to save him. And I don’t know where this puts me and Sebastian.
“I think Finn would like nothing more than to gain your trust, then lower your inhibitions so you’d do something reckless . . . like agree to bond with him.”
“He’d have . . . access to your power.”
“The bond can wait. For now.”
I feel so close to saving Jas, and more than ever I’m terrified that the moment I save her, I will lose everything else.
“If you think he’s so good, you should use those powers of yours to find his catacombs in the Wild Fae Lands. See what he keeps there and tell me if you still believe him so noble.”
He never forgot the golden fae princess, but his love for the woman was too intense to deny. When the portals reopened, he knew he had to return home, but the human refused to join him.
“Oberon cared more about himself than about his people. He could have ended the war by marrying my mother, such a small sacrifice, but he refused. Whereas my mother’s sacrifice was enormous and saved thousands, but now she is dying to pay the price of . . .”
“And these?” “Back in Elora. He told me that Mordeus bought Jas.” I shrug at his frown. “There are things you cannot tell me, and there are things I didn’t want you knowing I was doing.” There still are. “And I trust Bakken.”
“Goblins’ secrets aren’t usually so easily bought. He must . . . he must believe he has something to gain by staying on your good side. But be careful that you don’t rely too much on their kind. If they discover your weaknesses, they’ll take and take until you find you’ve given everything.”
When I wrap my fingers around the hilt, a strange jolt of power rocks through me. It feels like it was made for my palm. “Only this can kill the king,”
“Riaan told me that you two talked last night,” he says softly. “He said you admitted to having secrets. Secrets that you’re forced to keep or risk losing your sister.” He pulls a scabbard from a drawer and unbuckles the small belt attached to it. “Maybe the same secrets that made you give me a fake and keep the Mirror of Discovery for yourself.”
“I trust you, Brie. Whether or not you trust me in return.”
“Keep this on you at all times for protection. Use your magic to hide it if you can.” “I . . .” How much does he know about my magic? About my secrets? “I can. I’ve gotten better.”
“This blade will also work against Finn.”
All I care about is saving my sister. But that’s not true anymore. Maybe it hasn’t been true for a while.
“It’s the great book of our people. The Court of the Moon once claimed it as their own, but I’m loath to imagine the havoc Mordeus would bring to our world if he had it.”
Now it may be the only thing keeping my mother alive.”
“I don’t know what would happen to you if your mortal skin came into contact with such great magic. And if the book is disturbed . . .” He swallows. “If the book is disturbed, I fear what would happen to my mother.”
If I give the book to Mordeus and Arya dies, the curse will be broken and Jas will be safe. But Sebastian will never forgive me. And if Mordeus uses the book to destroy the lives of more innocent fae, I may never forgive myself.
“Drink with me and let go for an hour.”
Within minutes, my worries fall away.
“You are in danger every moment you remain in my realm, yet I can’t bring myself to . . .” He searches my eyes. “You don’t understand yet, but I need you.”
“What good is magic if I can’t use it to impress the woman I love?”
“I loved you in Fairscape, loved the mage’s apprentice who kept me from despair, and I love you now. The golden fae prince who loves his family and wants to find a way for feuding kingdoms to find true peace.”
“I’m so sorry I ever thought I wanted you to be different. I love you as you are.”
“I don’t need flowers or jewels. I want only you.”
“I’ve never felt like this about anyone, and it scares me a little—how I feel about you. How much I need you. It scares me how . . . how this has all come together.”
I open my mouth to scream, to gasp for air, but she’s sitting on my chest and my lungs refuse to expand.
“Remember your deal with the false king. He will be true to his word. Choose your path wisely, Princess.”
“The ceremony is elegant,” he finally says, “in the way that only what is pure can be. It begins with us selecting the rune that will symbolize our bond, and then I’d say some words and you’d repeat them.”
Some bonded pairs will simply hold hands, but when the connection is romantic, most couples let the intimacy of the moment guide them. The magic—it’s . . . intense. Powerful.”
I remember what it felt like to cast a room in darkness with Finn at my side, and I conjure that feeling. I ignore the blinding pain in my shoulder and focus on darkness. On the cool soothing of pitch-black night. The room goes dark, and the sentinels shout in confusion. Not even moonlight from the skylights makes it through my shield of darkness.
