Just so,Tarian murmured in her mind.
When does the magic of the crystal chalice wear off?
He barely spared her a glance as they neared the area where they’d previously had to turn back. To her, it all looked the same. Fungi and moss illuminated the rough ceiling and jagged walls. Small weeds struggled out of the dirt near the base.
Never,he said, tugging her forward.The magic stamped you. Now you bear its mark, like you bear mine. I will also make my mark visual, however. Official. Otherwise, you’d be used by the royals and then their guards. A pretty human, such as yourself, won’t go unnoticed. I’d end up having to kill half the palace when coming to your aid.
I wouldn’t live long enough,she ground out, her whole body burning in anger.The first person to touch me would die, and they’d surely have me executed shortly thereafter. There are some things worse than death.
I know well,he said ominously.
She wondered about that as they walked, his incredible cautiousness for the first time she’d ever seen. Then her thoughts veered to what he’d said about his mark. She’d let his talk of claims roll off her shoulders, having seen the proof of what he’d do if she violated their absurd agreement, but he hadn’t mentioned a magical stamp upon her flesh. He hadn’t told her specifically that his magic would remain laced into her skin. It couldn’t have been like a Demigod’s mark, glowing and ethereal—noticeable. Her familyhadn’t said a word, and that was something they definitely would’ve noticed and picked apart.
The mark is not for humans,he said.Though that would be helpful if the fae are to dabble among them. It is for my kind. It denotes ownership. You are mine. You will only be touched by me. Handled by me. As I’ve said, repeatedly, I don’t share. My magical stamp, and my mark, will affirm what’ll happen if they cross the line with my property. In case you’re still not clear, it’ll mean their death. Gruesomely, if I can spare the time.
But…what about the green guys? They didn’t seem troubled by any claims.
No, they didn’t. And look what happened to them. A visual mark will help those too stupid to notice the magical claim.
And you don’t plan to release the magical claim and save yourself the grief of my kissing my way through the castle?
His look at her was dark and tortured.I would love nothing more than to choose how long that claim will last. To not apply it at all. That magic is not because I am fae. It is because I am, myself, trapped. Part of my servitude in the court comes with what the queen and her minions think of as a joke. A curse, by all accounts. Once affixed, Icannotrelease that claim. It is a brand upon you—upon any of my lovers. If you should grow tired of me and want to choose another, you’ll be forced to repeatedly see your lovers die by my hand. I’ll be magically forced to oblige. My first and only love feltthe sting of the entrapment acutely until the court tired of their games and ended the claim themselves.
How’d they do that?
He was quiet for a moment.By killing her, of course. Torturing her while I watched. She’d lost her love for me. I am still, and will forever be, partial to her. But to be released from the claim, the court decreed she had to die. I was more valuable than her. Only the royals are immune to this…curse. This horror. I can never have a causal fling without sentencing someone to death or entrapment…except for them. They aimed to make me a plaything. To service the crown.
His lip curled in a snarl, and she felt herself reeling with that revelation. Recoiling in horror on his behalf.
I would rather die than touch any of them,he thought, and she didn’t blame him. She understood his desire to rip them off the throne and be done with them entirely.My power is too great for them to force me, and so they taunt. Always taunting.He took a deep breath.But then, that’s how the game is played. I have been working you in. You’re smart enough, and hard enough, to be immune to those antics. Thank the gods for their mercy for that. Your life has already been spent in constant danger. You won’t be out of your depth in the dark fae court. Not at first. Not until they seek to punish me by using you. I can only shield you so much, and then you must fend for yourself. It is the nature of faerie courts. The game ends when you are broken. When we both are.
He fell silent, and she didn’t disturb the troubled stillness in the aftermath. She took that all in for later contemplation. There was too much to unpack, too many revelations and angst for her to properly analyze right now. This fae had layers. Many of them. And pain. He was in a precarious situation in his court, and she needed to really dissect each nuance of that. It was too delicate to do right then, especially as he slowed. Their current situation needed all her focus.
There was just one thing that snagged her logic.
Why didn’t she just kill you?
He spat out a laugh, then slapped his hand over his mouth to muffle the sound.
I mean…Daisy shrugged.She didn’t love you anymore, and it came down to you or her. I thought fae were ruthless. Why didn’t she just kill you?
She should’ve. You would’ve…and then died for your efforts. The royals like to taunt me, but Iamvaluable to them. But not all fae are as vicious and ruthless as we claim. Some are softhearted and kind. She was. She didn’t deserve what happened to her. She didn’t deserve the destruction I wrought in her life.
And I do?
He slowed as they reached a wide opening that forked into two smaller tunnels, one going right, the other left. His gaze found her and stuck. Darkness shielded his expression.
You are better equipped for handling villains, I think.He paused.Yours is a situation out of yourcontrol. You didn’t fall victim to loving me. You fell victim to fate. You can contemplate all this later, as you decided earlier. Focus now, or neither of us will make it across the fringe.
“You were always going to end up in this situation,” he’d said once.
He nodded upon hearing that thought, but didn’t elaborate. She’d need to dig if she hoped to glean more.
She needed to stop him from hearing her every fucking thought.
She took a deep breath and did as he said, focusing. Live today so she might escape tomorrow.
The tunnels looked identical. They could’ve been cardboard cutouts placed side by side, each rise and fall in exactly the same place as the other.
