Page 106 of Blood of the Fairest

Both of these dreamboats, actually.

Ignoring how warm my face feels, I meet Eris's gaze in the reflection of Wulf's axe.

"So…I guess this is goodbye."

"It doesn't have to be. Stay," the iridescent model says so quietly I almost don't hear him over the sound of the waterfall. "Even just a little longer, please stay."

I swallow. "I know it might seem like I'm breaking our agreement, but Wulf is going to help you escape the⁠—"

"Escape seems hollow to me now, if you are no longer on the other side of this glass."

That's just how he's feeling in this moment. It'll pass. I've only been in this world a short time, so I'm sure Wulf and Eris will both move on quickly once I'm gone.

Hopefully Snow White and the others will, too.

It's weird. I don't belong here, but I get the strongest feeling I'll always wonder how these fairytale characters are doing in this strange, distant world.

"I'll miss you, too. A lot," I admit before I take a deep breath and turn back to the faerie in the cage. "Okay. I'm ready. Beam me up, Scotty."

"Scotty?" Malivant repeats, insulted. "How is it even possible that you still have not retained my name in your nebulous memory?"

"Relax. I just mean I'm ready for you to send my soul back to my world."

He makes an impartial sound. "Perhaps I would, if I knew how."

…what?

No. This isn't happening.

Anger is already crawling into my veins at the suggestion that I've been had.

I try to keep cool as I make a sound like a wrong answer buzzer. "Let's try that again. You do know how, and you absolutely fucking will, because you told Eris that you could send me back if I freed you."

"Is that what I said? Evidently, I lied," Wrath drawls without one iota of shame.

Another whooshing sound in the cage sends air sweeping over me, stirring loose strands of my hair. Several red-tipped black feathers and dead rose petals go airborne before they sink slowly, just like all my hope.

"I possess no ability to send souls to other realms, nor do the other faeries," he says. "I doubt even the Crones themselves hold such a grand power. However you came to be here, your soul will not leave easily."

Eris swears softly—but when I glance at him, I realize he's not mad on my behalf.

He's relieved.

That only pisses me off further.

But the worst part is, I feel so stupid.

Stupid for falling for this faerie's trick. Stupid for not remembering how I ended up in this world in the first place. And royally stupid for befriending Eris when that beautiful dickhead told me from the start that he had ulterior motives.

As usual, I'm the only person I can rely on. The only person who can keep me safe.

Frustration and anger mount quickly inside me, intensifying and solidifying into⁠—

"Such striking wrath." Where Malivant seemed bored a moment ago, now he sounds fascinated. "Certainly more satisfying than that lost soul's pitiful display. I wonder what great suffering in your past refined your rage to such a delectable depth. Only the wrath of the greatly wronged can develop into something so rare."

"You would know, since you're an expert at greatly wronging people," I seethe. "Was torturing me in the queen's place just not enough? You had to use me and lie to me, too? You selfish, opportunistic son of a bitch."

"Spare me the melodrama. Falling for a fib is a small price to pay in exchange for having a faerie as an ally. At least now, you might have my aid in a pinch, should I be in the mood. All you must do is speak my name aloud—assuming you manage to remember it."