“And while they waited, they thought it would be fun to take bets on the outcome,” the female with black hair said in obvious disdain.
“Would it kill you to have a little fun?” Elysara rolled her eyes.
“Half the Obsidian Court is dead,” the other said. “The magic was so twisted by the end that it had taken on a life of its own.”
“They would’ve been killed anyway.” Equilas waved it away. “Plus, your obsidian prince still lives. He can take over. You liked him best anyway. I know you’ve dabbled with him.” She lifted her eyebrows at her sister, who didn’t respond.
Equilas smirked, returning her attention to Daisy and Tarian.
“But…what if I had failed?” Tarian asked.
“We would’ve handled it. We were monitoring you every step of the way?—”
“And taking bets,” Black Hair murmured.
“I have to admit…” The god of the afterlife scratched his chin, back to looking at Lexi. “It was interesting there toward the end.”
“So you see—” Equilas tried to continue.
“Long storylong,” the other male muttered.
Equilas sighed in annoyance. “So you see,” she went on pointedly, “her markings are divine crystalline, as befits her station and her magic. Crystal holds energy. It boosts power. As her fated mate, Tarian, she gifts this great marking to you, the noblest in the realm.”
“Her station?” Tarian asked guardedly.
“But of course. She is the prize of Faerie, child, chosen by the stars. Her magic grants her eternal life and the potential for godly power.”
“A power that’ll kill me,” Daisy said.
The simpering smile was back. “Yes, that is the drawback. Eternal life doesn’t go very far when the highest form of power ultimately kills. It keeps things fresh. But look, you have a resource to keep you alive. The very same creature who granted you the power in the first place. This whole journey has been so very interesting.”
“Fascinating, definitely,” the other male said.
“Thatis why your gold ink has turned to crystal,” Elysara said with a beaming smile. “To correspond with your fated match. To proclaim yourselves to the world!”
Daisy’s heart soared. It felt like it filled her whole person to bursting. She was glad it had turned out the way it had. Because of Tarian’s dire situation, that in turn had affected her, they’d fallen in love the hard way. They’d had to deny their attraction as much as possible until they’d earned it. Until they’d learned to trust each other and depend on each other.
She’d go through it all again to end up at his side—and hate his gods just as much.
Tarian’s thumb stroked Daisy’s shoulder. It was a reminder that the gods weren’t done with them yet. She could fall into this new information later. First they had to secure a future.
“You kept me alive so I could find my fated mate…only to kill her?” The tremor this time was in anger.
The other male chuckled. “With great love…comes great tragedy.”
Elysara sighed dramatically. She leveled Tarian with a flat look. “It was the only waysome of uswould agree to see this out?—”
“At the peril of Faerie,” the god of the afterlife said.
“But if you proved yourself true,” Elysara went on, “and used the power to do your duty as a prince,future king, and Guardian, then it was decided that she’d be returned to you.”
“Yet that fucker tried to cock-block me to do just that,” Lexi said angrily.
“Okay, okay.” Hades materialized off to the side, his hands out. He glanced over his shoulder at the Faerie god of the afterlife. “Let’s not piss him off and get me into a fight, okay?”
Daisy felt Tarian tense in confusion. She was damn surprised to see Hades, as well. And now she was damn glad for him. They hadn’t needed these horrible gods to save her. They’d needed Lexi…with a little help from the god who had granted her the power.
“No, no. I enjoy her spunk.” The god of the afterlife sat forward. “My children should be able to employ magic similarly to what she does, but none of them have figured it out. I’m intrigued.”
