“Oh, nothing about them. They don’t exactly existhere. So there’s no reason for you to have heard of them. I’m merely making enjoyable conversation.”
My teeth grit. “Are you dabbling in the multiverseagain?”
“Constantly, darling.” Inexplicably, her voice takes on a British lilt. “Quite recently, I even plucked someone from this world and dropped them in another. For funsies.”
“Alice.”
“Hush.”
My mouth sews itself shut, and breath seethes from my nose.
“She’s in a much better place now. Lots moreshoulderfor her to love.” Rising, Alice slips from behind the counter, and the universe bends around whatever book she was holding—causing it to leave this plane of existence. The air her voice takes on next digs nails through my brain with its drifting, distant, pondering edges. “We’re all just stories in someone’s library…you know that, don’t you?”
If what she means is we’re all justplaythingsfor those more powerful than us, sure.
Alice sighs again. “I’m in a benevolent mood. Make your plea so I can get back to my very important business developing an otome game to pair with the anime and graphic novels I’ve had circulating for a minute…or perhaps I’ll return to that giant otter shifter series idea…hm, then again, mothman has waited oh so long…” Her attention slips from the present, then snaps back. “Well?”
“You already know why I’m here,” I say.
“Yes, I do. But don’t you think, given your general character traits, that you should practice communication skills whenever possible? Humility, too.Askfor what you want.”
What a polite way to sayI want to hear you beg. “Alice,” I mutter through gritted teeth, “I don’t want to be a weapon anymore. Please. Is there, or is there not, a cure for my eyes?”
Floating laughter leaves the sadist. “Acurefor what you are, Castor? Oh, you amuse me so. Is there acurefor Alana’s depression, or Alexios’s ARFID, or the poor werepups’ compulsive distraction, or perhaps Willow’s and Pollux’s socialineptitude? Is there, perchance, a cure for yours?” Cold, she approaches, and her fingers dance up across my cheek, linking in my blindfold. “You felt it last night, didn’t you? At Willow’s. A distinctotherness.” She pulls my blindfold free.
I keep my eyes closed even as more light finds its way through the skin of my eyelids andburns.
“You think changing what you are will let you slot seamlessly in place with them?”
“No,” I whisper, voice raw. “I don’t hope that I’ll ever feel like I’ve been accepted. I just want to see my mate. I want to be safe for her to be around.”
“Helpless. You want to be helpless.”
Air stings my lungs. “If that’s what it takes.”
“Ohh.” Alice’s tone darkens. “Interesting. Interesting, interesting, interesting…” she practically purrs. “What marvelous character growth you’ve been going through. You’d accepthelplessnessfor her sake?”
“Yes, I would.”
“Not an ounce of hesitation. Tell me, then, would you become human? Frail and weak and momentary? Would you give up ages with those you love so that you might see them in the minutes before you rot away?”
Magic weighs in the air around me, suffocating, and I know the weight of my words when they tangle with this woman’s.
She is something more rare, more powerful, moredangerousthan even a sandwoman. Limitations here, simply, do not exist.
I say, “No, I wouldn’t become human. As I am, Danielle accepts me. And I would not give up time with her even if I never get to see her face. She trusts that I won’t hurt her. She doesn’t fear this curse. I won’t be stupid enough to place everything I am upon ridding myself of it. If there is no cure, I would ask for a way to blind myself completely. Forever.”
“How excellent the way your resolve has matured. A different question, then, would you remain fae but sell your power for this cure? I’d leave you the ability to turn into a snake…but I wouldn’t even let you keep your fangs, and no other magic would be yours to command any longer. Would you take that deal, Castor darling?”
“In a heartbeat.”
“Who would protect your mate if you become powerless?”
“She is far from powerless already. She can protect herself, and those who have recently pledged their loyalty to us would die for her safety.”
A deep chuckle exits the frightening woman. “To think thatyouwould reach such a breaking point that giving up your illusion of control became an option…”
“I love her, Alice. I…” The warmth of last night scalds my flesh. “I think…I love them. I have come a long way to learn that the thing I have least been able to control is myself. If I hurt others when I am in control, then I do not need to be. No matter how terrifying that is, I will choose to love and be scared if that is what it takes.”
