She shook her head before resting her forehead against her forearms. Her situation seemed so much bleaker.
“You said the Obsidian Throne was set to be inherited by rotten, strategizing children. The scourge of the realm.”
“Yes. And it holds true.”
“Yet, to have that title, are you not one of those children?”
“I was not born into this title. I was given it. Trapped with it. Taunted by it. My power granted me admittance, among other things. I am not in line for the crown. They would not suffer my sitting on their throne. I am exactly as you thought, Daisy. A powerful thief with a title to open doors. An errand boy for royalty. A crook. A murderer. A jester who doesn’t tell jokes, but who is one. I am their blunt tool, and they titled me for the pleasure of their disdain.”
“And the king and queen?”
“They are no parents of mine.” The viciousness of his tone washed cold down her spine. “Come on,” he said. “It’s time we go.”
A heavy weight lodged in her stomach as she climbed out and slipped on her panties. His gaze was cold, like ice. Hard. No amusement showed through his steely gaze, no teasing laughter in his flat voice. Right now, he looked the noble royal he claimed to be.
She slipped on her boots and followed him without a word. Without a thought, really, if that were possible. The others joined them next to the ruined hub, debris scattered every which way. She looked where the darkrend had been felled, but no beautiful, winged fae filled the sky. They’d done their job and left.
No one spoke out loud or to her at all. Tarian grabbed her hand, his soft touch the only thing reminiscent of the man she’d gotten to know in the last few days. The one who had never physically hurt her—the one with a tender side and who was prone to tease andquick with a witty reply. The one she’d wanted deep inside her last night, a stark contrast to this prince headed back to his court. Maybe he’d been right to refuse her. He’d shown her an act of mercy. Maybe he’d done her a favor.
It is the last favor I will ever do for you,he said into her mind, that hard tone cracking just around the edges.The last Icando for you, Daisy. Forget the man you’ve known these last couple days. That man is about to be put aside. Has to be, if I hope to survive. In his place will be a monster. A master manipulator. Your tormentor. I will do it so it looks like fun. So it looks like I enjoy it. I’ll do it for an audience. And I will be convincing.
Shivers coated her body, but not from the words. He’d said many things since she first reconnected with him on that ledge. Some true, many not. Right now, it was his dull, hard, dead tone. His lack of humor. His hopelessness. He was tucking away his personality so he could fill whatever role was expected of him—a role he loathed, with fae he despised.
They stopped beside one of the shanties, this one the largest of all, almost like a hulking black barn. Lennox and a female she hadn’t seen before pulled open the doors. Inside waited great, winged beasts with shaggy hides, wide backs, and four legs. One shook its great head like a horse might shake its mane.
The others filed into the barn and immediatelystarted to get the animals ready. They’d be flying to the kingdom, it seemed.
“Why me?” Daisy blurted, the question having always been at the fringes of her mind, always nudging her thoughts—but, with everything going on and their struggles to survive, not having room to be fully brought out and analyzed. “Surely you could find another toy. There are a million magical people better suited to royal games and political maneuvering. I actually have a list back home. I’ll give you the ones you can be satisfied in killing. There’s a bunch of real assholes in the magical world. I’m nothing. I don’t even have magic. I won’t be much of a contender against fae in a royal court. Anyone would do. Why me, the weakest of the magical world?”
He turned so his back was to the barn and animals. Regret filled his eyes. “You are so much more than anything the human magical world could ever offer.”
“Is it because of the crystal chalice?”
“Yes,” he whispered. “It was always about the crystal chalice. You are tied into this because of it. There is no escape, not for either of us.”
“But…” She shook her head frustratedly. “I still don’t understand why it has to be me. Anyone could’ve found that thing. Someone else did, as a matter of fact. You killed him, but his friend was harboring it. Why not take him? I basically stumbled upon it—because of you, I might add.”
His hands closed around her upper arms, callousedand warm. His deep green gaze delved into hers. “Ifound that thing. It is not an object, Daisy. It is a human. It is you.”
“Wha—” She swallowed. “I don’t understand.”
“The crystal chalice was always meant to be a person. A thinking, talking prism by which the other chalices react. In every human generation, there are millions of people who might ascend, but only when all the criteria are met does there become a crystal chalice: a non-magical human, enhanced by man, with the blessing of the gods. In your case, a dedicated trainer enhancing your natural abilities, and a godly gift of blood magic, freely given. When that human dies, a great many more possibilities are born, and one of them is eventually realized. On and on, death and rebirth, forever. Only the gods can stop the endless cycle.”
“But what if more than one is realized? Can’t you use one of the others?”
“By the decree of the gods, only the first can ascend. There is only ever one crystal chalice at a time. One prism.”
Her gut twisted. She felt sick. She dared not even think about how she’d gotten here, but it popped into her mind anyway. As before, he spoke the truth that she was unwilling to show to the light.
“Your mother figure tried to save you, but she doomed you instead. It is not her fault. The gods made this so. Most crystal chalices never end up in this position. I toiled to find information about it all.”
“So then, I got really unlucky with timing.”
“Story of your life, right?” His grin was slight. His eyes lost their twinkle almost immediately. “When I found you first, I was surprised to learn you didn’t have the godly magic. I thought maybe the pull of you meant you were what I sought. But then when I saw you next…the prophecies had been fulfilled. The crystal chalice had been formed. You had completed your transformation. I found you before the diamond chalice, though—the object you tried to destroy. The final object I needed. So I kept track of you. Played games to test you. When you set your hand upon the diamond chalice…”
“No, I—” She kept shaking her head. This was not making any sense. It was completely preposterous.
His tone softened. Turned gentle. “The chalices don’t light up for me, Daisy, or for anyone else. The objects don’t hum. Not unless you are present. I know what they are by sight alone. You ignite their ability. For you, they buzz. They hum and glow. They come alive. The first time I felt the buzz was on that ledge, when it was tucked into your bra.”
