She caressed my cheek and I fought the urge to bite those pale white fingers.
“What have you done, Ariadne?” Gemini asked, her voice low as she stared right at my father, the mortal who seemed frozen in time beside her.
“Oh, this?” Ariadne asked, waving a hand over him as though it was nothing of consequence. “I made a deal with Sophierial and she handed over this little ancient recipe her court has been holding onto for millennia. They call it the Elixir of Eternity. A bit dramatic if you ask me. But it works. One sip and you live forever, just like us. Only without the magic. Sorry dear.”
She glanced over her shoulder at me and I understood two things at once. One, that she did not know I could use magic and that might be an advantage if I played my cards right. Two, that she intended for me to drink the elixir myself. My eyes widened as I looked at my father at her side. His jaw clenched but he didn’t say a word.
“He—you made him immortal?” I asked, stunned.
“I did. And I intend to make you immortal too, dear,” she answered with a smile that I thought might be an attempt at maternal nurturing. “Just one sip and we can be together forever. Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that, I suppose. Sophierial did warn me it wouldn’t work if the drinker was not willing and your dear dad here nearly died quite a few times before he emerged, made anew. But you’re half immortal already so I can’t imagine it would be as hard for you.”
“No.”
She paused, blinking in confusion.
“No?” she asked. “What do you mean no?”
“No, I won’t take it,” I replied, shaking my head.
“I’m offering you eternal life.”
“And I’m denying it. I enjoy being mortal. I like that part of me that’s tied to them, to him.”
I nodded in my father’s direction and saw his gaze soften somewhat.
“They raised me,” I told her. “They were there for me when you weren’t. You didn’t even start looking for me for fifty years.”
“He told me you were dead!” she shouted, pointing at Lark.
“I want to die someday,” I told her and she paled. “Old and gray and surrounded by people who loved me, knowing I lived a life that made a difference, a life that mattered. Because time matters, mother, when you don’t have an endless supply of it. Every moment counts. Every relationship touches your soul. I won’t abandon my mortality and I won’t become a pawn in whatever game you’re playing here.”
She stared at me for a moment, stunned, and I felt a swell of pride from deep within me, where I had locked that fragment of Lark away so that she could not find it. My father was looking at me in a way that gave me strength. Lark was flooding my soul with pride. Because of them, I stood my ground. Because of them, I held my head high and told her no.
But then Ariadne flicked her wrist and Lark went skidding forward on his knees, still bound in chains. My eyes widened and shot to where he came to a stop at the foot of the stairs.
“Mortals,” Ariadne hissed as she descended those steps until she reached him. “So small minded. So wrapped up within their own brief lives they’re incapable of seeing their potential, of seeing the bigger picture.”
She raised a hand, flexing her fingers, as she came to a stop beside him.
“I’ll give you one more chance,” she ground out through gritted teeth. “Say you’ll take the Elixir.”
My eyes widened in my panic, shooting from her to Lark where he knelt at her side. His jaw was set, that dark, intense gaze upon me as he shook his head slowly.
“Don’t,” he muttered in warning and then the hall filled with the crack of bone and Lark’s thunderous cry of agony.
Chapter thirty-seven
A Vow Above A Bond
Myheartcleavedintwo at the sound. Tears streamed down my cheeks, an unending river of sorrow, as I listened to my soul bonded Fae cry out in pain.
Cass was crying as well, her head lowered so that we could not see her tears but her body shaking with them. Rook alternated between trying to break free of his restraints and muttering curses toward my mother. Gemini just watched, eyes hard and jaw clenched in rage. How was this happening? How had it all gone so wrong?
“You can stop this,” Ariadne told me, shouting to be heard over Lark’s screams as another crunch of bone filled my ears. “Agree to take the Elixir and I will stop.”
“Ren,” Lark muttered, weaker this time, as he slumped forward. “Don’t.”
Ariadne whirled on him, landing a savage blow with her fist to his stomach. He doubled over, coughing blood onto that polished russet marble. I looked at my father. He shook his head so slightly that I almost missed it. Panic gripped me as Ariadne squeezed her fist again and Lark cried out in pain, though there had been no audible bone breaking this time. It was almost worse, not knowing what she was doing to him, but knowing how bad it must be.
