Hades put out his hands. “I mean, I helped, hello? What am I going to do, leave all the tricks up to the humans to figure out? Half of the magic would go unused.”
“The problem here is, he didn’t think of it,” Elysara said with a smirk. “It’s not thechildrenat all, is it, Nvran?”
He ignored her. “I would’ve returned her…after the prince had given up hope. That would’ve won me the bet. As it was, I think helping the humans counts as cheating.”
“Oh ha!Whowas cheating?” Elysara asked, outraged.
“Umm…” Nvran pointed at Black Hair. “Did she think we’d miss her in the games?”
“I didn’t care if you did or you didn’t,” Black Hair spat. “All of you were cheating in one way or another. The chalice showed more promise than most of the fae. She didn’t deserve any of this. Neither did the prince. I swear, if you’d spend more time amongst the star children, you wouldn’t find such a need to torment them.”
“Amongst them?” Equilas lifted her eyebrows. “Is that what you’re calling it?”
A few of them snickered.
“Anyway.” Equilas lowered her hand to the throne arm. “Tarian, you have a choice. You’ve always had a choice, and if the issue with your mother hadn’t come to pass, I think you would’ve been given it. Will you be king of the Diamond Throne, or will you let Nvran take you to the afterlife? You have one chance. Choose wisely.” She paused. “Choose to be king. You’d hate to waste all of this. All you’ve been through. You’d hate to lose her again.”
Tarian looked down into Daisy’s eyes. “She’s human. What would become of her if I were king?”
“Weren’t you listening? She is the crystal chalice, boy. Human or not, the crystal chalice is of high status in Faerie. We have made it so. She would be at your side as queen. You would use her magic in tandem with yours to be mightier still.”
And when his back was turned, she’d forever be a target. Forever in danger. People would seek to use her or cut her down so his magic wasn’t so indestructible. Besides, chalice or not, to fae, she’d always be just a human and would never fit in this world, just like a Chester didn’t fit in magical San Francisco. If she were also in a position of authority, even as a figurehead,the grievance would be more insulting still. She’d never find a moment of peace. She felt that in her core.
If the gods heard any of that, they ignored it.
“You two can live happily ever after,” Equilas went on, “or the chalice will watch her mate die. We wouldn’t allow that clever human to bring him back.”
“If I were to take the throne, what of my father?” Tarian asked. “My family?”
“Tarian,” Equilas said in irritation, “your heart is bleeding all over your shoes. It’s embarrassing. You know how a fae takes the throne.”
Death,Tarian thought.Treachery. I have already killed my mother. I’d now have to kill my father and any family that rise up to oppose me. I have many siblings. They will form alliances against me…and with me. We’d be a throne divided, as it is now. In turmoil. To end it would require bloodshed.
That was always what he’d hoped to avoid. He’d just wanted to earn his place as prince and make his mother’s sacrifice worth it. He didn’t want to spit on her grave by causing more harm. Daisy knew all of that, knew him, without having to ask.
But the alternative was death…
“No.” She tore her eyes away from him. Fuck that. Fuck these clowns. “I fulfilled my duty as the crystal chalice…and I lived. My family tore me from your clutches. We would’ve gotten out of that castle, and we would’ve gotten through the fringe. I don’t owe you shit, and neither does he. We’ve danced to your tune, and we’re done. Besides, the crystal chalice was always meant to be a thinking, rational, logical being—or as close as a human can get.” She was quoting Eldric now. “The chalice was meant to be a beingnotof Faerie, without the pitfalls of life here.” She paused to let that sink in. “Youcreated those rules. Ihaveto go back to the human lands…and he’s coming with me. Here, he’d choose death anyway.”
“Daisy…” Tarian said.
She held up her finger to him. “You abducted me against my will. Welcome to payback.” She stared at Nvran. “The person—entity, whatever—that would lose out on this is you. He’d be a favorite in the afterlife, I realize that. I also realize your contrarian personality.” She glanced to the side. “Hades, are you going to go along with this, or am I going to get Dylan to tell Zeus all the stuff you did on this side of the divide?”
Hades smirked. “Blackmail. Nice. I knew you were worthy of my magic.”
She looked at Nvran but realized she would have to appeal to them all. “I want to make a deal.”
40
Daisy
The equivalentof three human days later…
In the end,it wasn’t Daisy who made the deal. It was mostly Kieran, with insightful input from Amber, two people who had studied under Valens and had to make deals with Demigods and powerful people all the time. He was ruthless in his strategizing and wouldn’t give the gods an inch, demanding what was best for Daisy and Tarian and the human world as a whole, and accepting only what he absolutely had to in order to get it done. The whole time, Hades had stood by with a grin, occasionally commenting on the tight nature of Poseidon and all his children.
The result was something they could all live with, with grievances and wins on both sides. The bottom line was, Tarian would get to live in the human world, but not strictly as a human. He’d have rounded ears to stay under the radar and subtler magic that wouldn’t grow roots and go wild, but his blood would be steeped in Faerie. He would keep his princely title, and his family would know he had left so they could live in peace. Theycould even visit him, and he them, but he would have no shot at the throne. The last was a declaration from the gods, obviously in spite.
“Tell me truly, how do you feel about it all?” Daisy said after they’d all appeared on the grasses somewhat removed from the Obsidian kingdom’s castle.
