Chapter 22: Prince of Never: Chapter 21

Lara

For two long and tedious days I’m imprisoned in my luxurious chambers, guarded by a couple of fae stationed outside my door like solemn, unmoving statues. Only when I ask to walk the grounds, inquire where Orlinda has disappeared to, or demand an audience with Ever, do their lips curl into cruel smiles, their gazes fixed on the wall tapestry opposite my room as they repeat the same phrase over and over in bland monotones.

You are detained by order of Queen Varenus, Empress of the Land of Five, Sovereign of the Five Elements, and Ruler of the Seas of all Time. Prince Everend cannot aid you.

I’m incredibly tired of hearing it.

After lunch on the third day, I’m lounging in the window seat inspecting the silver falcons embroidered on my fern-green tunic when a clipped, gruff voice tells the guards to get lost. A huge sigh of relief parts my lips as I get to my feet. Finally, Ever has come.

Before I make it halfway across the floor, the double doors swing open, and he strides in, Balor at his side, golden armor flashing and eyes so wild and blue they make my pulse spike violently.

He comes at me like a tornado and wraps me in his arms, nearly crushing me to death.

“Lara,” he groans, squeezing tighter. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come sooner. The queen ordered me on a draygonet hunt, a ruse to keep me away from the castle. If I’d had any idea she’d locked you in here, I would never have left.”

“But what does she hope to achieve by keeping me in here? She can’t possibly believe I’m a threat to your plans to find your queen. I don’t imagine Elemental faery princes regularly find true love with dirt-poor waitresses. And my highest ambition right now is to get back to Magret and the gardens. That’s it.”

A frown crumples his brow. “You’d rather live in your servant’s cell than these chambers? That’s all you wish for?”

“Yes.” I wave my hand around the whimsical, extravagant quarters. “I don’t fit in here. It’s too much.”

Now here, of course, is the perfect opportunity to beg him to help me return home. I don’t want to be stuck in Faery forever. I really don’t. But, incredibly, the thought of never seeing Ever again seems worse than not reuniting with my family.

Behold the bizarre truth—I seem to have fallen in love with a cursed fae prince. I have no idea when or how I fell, but there’s no other explanation for the state I’m in, mooning about my gilded prison, reliving every single heated glance and scorching touch we’ve shared.

“How baffling you are,” he says, toying with my hair. “The ladies of the court line their daughters in front of me, hoping I’ll choose every one of them as concubines. I would rather be locked up with you for the whole turn of a moon than go hunting. Yet you choose toiling in the garden over my company.”

Balor barks, and Ever’s lips quirk as though he can’t quite believe what he’s saying. His warm palms frame my face, tilting my head up like a flower toward his brilliant golden light. “Lara, I wish I were mortal, and we could be handfasted, not for a year and a day, but always and forever.” A hypnotic mix of silver and blue flashes in his eyes as his head lowers and soft lips meet mine.

The gentle caress of his kiss asks a question, and I bury my fingers in his hair and answer with sighs, my body pressing against smooth metal layers of armor.

His arms tighten around my back before he breaks away, eyes searching mine. “Is it possible… despite our differences, do you ever dream of being joined with me in that way, Lara?”

I nod. “Yes. And I swear I’m not lying. I absolutely want that. I want you.” I pull his face to mine and attack his mouth with gusto. He stumbles against a wall painted with feast scenes, feathers, and flowers interspersed with vines coiling over a shiny, white and gold background.

It suddenly strikes me that the decorations on these walls are the opposite of the black and silver ones in Ever’s rooms, yet somehow connected. The same air symbols cover both, but the images surrounding them are different, his masculine and mine more feminine. I think these rooms are meant to house his lady when he finds her, where she’ll live while waiting to become the Queen of Five, co-ruler of Talamh Cúig. And Ever’s wife.

Groaning again, he pushes away and paces back and forth across the leaf-patterned rug by the main windows. “What am I doing wasting time talking of the impossible and kissing you? I need to get you out of this land to safety.” He stomps to the door. “Right now. We must go. Bring a warm cloak. We’re going to find a portal.”

“Wait. A what?” One moment, he’s saying he wants to be with me always, the next he’s trying to shuffle me out of his world forever. “Stop a minute. What’s going on?”

He strides back and gathers me into his arms. “Dana save me, I cannot stop touching you.” Breathing harshly, this time when his lips take mine, he presses me against a wardrobe, his sharp teeth grazing my skin, and my mind disintegrates. This is everything, all I need. All I want.

Hands grasping my thighs roughly, he lifts me, and my legs wrap around his waist with no care for the bruises his armor will leave on my body. When I bite his earlobe, it suddenly occurs to me to wonder why he’s dressed for a ceremony. Or a battle.

“Why are you in your armor?” I ask between urgent kisses.

“Armor?” His head jerks up. “Damn the Elements.” He slides me down his body until my stockinged feet hit the stone floor. “What am I doing? I have lost my mind. There’s no time for this. I must get you out of here while it’s still possible. Put your boots on. Do it now.”

“But I don’t want to go, Ever, not yet. You and I, we’re only at the beginning and—”

“No, this is the end. There’s no other choice. If you don’t leave now, you will surely die here. My mother has somehow learned of the tattoo on your skin.” Because I told her about it. “And it won’t be long before the Merits hear of it, too. In fact, she’s probably already scheming to hand you over to El Fannon. And, worse, there is the one who started this curse—Aer, the wind mage—truth be told; out of everyone, she is the greatest danger to you.”

Crossing my arms, I move to the window, my attention snagged by the violent sky layered like black slate above the ruins of the old castle. “What does my tattoo mean?”

Outside, the wind howls, branches scraping glass and stone. “It’s no concern of yours. Forget it.”

“I won’t forget it. I want an answer.”

The fire spits and crackles as he paces through the gray light, a scowling vision of silver and gold. Finally, he stops in front of me. He swallows, gaze dropping to my throat. “Where is your necklace?”

“The queen took it.”

The flames in the fireplace blow out as a gust of wind rattles through the room. Anger sizzles hot in his eyes, making him tremble, the set of his mouth grim. For a moment, his eyes close, and I hear knuckles crack, fingers forming fists at his side.

“You bear the mark of the foretold queen, the one who will stop the poison. Your skin is etched with the garnet dragonfly.”

I laugh. “That’s just stupid. I could never be a queen of the fae. I’m human. I’m used to serving people bacon and egg bagels, not ruling over them!” Hysteria rises inside me, a feeling like the entire world is crammed inside my brain and about to explode out.

Maintaining a blank expression, Ever is silent.

I step closer. “I can’t be her. Can I? It doesn’t make sense.”

“I do not know for sure.” He winces slightly. He’s not quite telling the truth.

“But you don’t think I’m her, do you? Surely, you don’t believe it just because I’ve got a dragonfly tattoo. Millions of girls have them.”

He shakes his head as he frowns past my shoulder, but it doesn’t look like he’s answering no.

“Ever. Look at me. Do you think I’m the girl you’ve been looking for?”

He covers his eyes, takes three slow breaths, then lets his hand drop.

“Ever…”

Our eyes meet and clash. “Yes. I believe you’re her. You’re the girl I’ve been searching for.”

“I can’t be,” I repeat, in complete denial. “I’m not a faery. You didn’t find me under that crystal tree thing you visit every month.”

“That doesn’t matter. A long time ago, a human, the first Black Blood prince’s queen sat on our throne.”

“What? Does that mean you’re part human, too? Is that why you hated me so much at first?”

Above the howling wind, my heart pounds hard. I try to swallow, but my mouth is dirt-dry.

“No. My line is descended from a later king whose queen was fae.” He takes my shaking hands in his. “And I know you are the one because I could never feel this way about another. You are she.”

“But how?”

“I don’t know. How does rain fall or magic work? Why does one soul seek another, or love exist amid war and famine? I propose that anything is possible. Who are we to say something isn’t?”

Three luminous sylphs appear on the balcony outside my room, their bodies shimmering, and mouths open in distress. “Look, your spooky friends are here, and they don’t seem very happy.”

Flicking them a glance, he swears under his breath. “This isn’t a good sign. They only come when danger threatens.”

“What kind of danger are you in?”

“Not me. You’re the one who’s—”

Three hard knocks, then the door bangs open and Raff enters with the mire fox swinging from his leather spaulders. Spark wears fetching leather armor, too, and has salamander-shaped amber jewels hanging from her long, furry ears. She shrieks at Balor like he’s the devil’s own hound, and I remember that he kind of is.

“Settle down, you rascal,” Raff tells her, gaze fixing on Ever. “There you are, brother. I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I have troubling news. Mother has sent Lord Stavros to the Merits. He left at dawn. She plans to strike a bargain and release Lara to them to do with as they will.”

“Seven hells, did I not tell you she’d do this?” Ever glares at me as I drag boots from under my bed, shove them on, and lace them quickly. “Raff, go now to Ether and tell her to meet us as at the Moonstone Caves. Take Taibsear with you, then find Aer. You must keep her distracted by any means and for as long as possible. Then send my falcon back to me when Ether is on her way.”

Raff nods and bolts from the room without another word.

Ever stuffs me into a cloak, then guides me into the hall. He produces a whirling ball of light from his fingers to illuminate our path, and then with Balor taking the lead, we disappear through a doorway hidden behind a tapestry.

After some time spent picking our way down narrow passages, we come to a cobweb-covered hatch in the ceiling which we climb through, emerging in the stables right next to Jinn’s stall.

The combined smells of horse sweat, manure, and hay tickle my nose as Jinn whickers softly. Ever strokes the horse’s neck, handing him a carrot to chomp on. Then he hikes me up into the saddle and tightens various straps and buckles.

“It looks like you’ve prepared for a fast exit,” I say as I point at the bulging saddlebags.

“Yes. When I learned you’d been locked in your rooms, I wasted no time. I need you to be safe, Lara. It is the only thing that matters now.” He vaults into the saddle in front of me. “Hold on tightly.”

I wrap my arm around his waist, metal armor cool against my cheek. “Where are we going exactly?”

Feeding off our fear, Jinn dances sideways anticipating trouble and getting ready to gallop away from it.

“Behind the ruins of the Black Castle, there’s a cave that was once a portal to the human realm. Ether will be able to open it. She won’t want you to be taken by the Merits and killed.”

“Killed?” My spine snaps straight. “Who said anything about being killed?”

“You’ve been living with my people for almost a month now. It amazes me how little you know of us.” He adjusts the reins and clicks his tongue. “Go, Jinn!” And we fly out the stable doors and through the empty courtyard, heading for a line of distant trees. The Black Forest.

Ominous dark clouds hang overhead, strange indigo bolts of not-quite lightning sheeting the sky. The wild wind whips my burgundy cloak behind us like a sail, and my pulse hammers as I try my best not to fall off Jinn’s back. But given the punishing speed at which we’re traveling and the bone-numbing cold that’s frozen my fingers into weak, useless claws, I think it’s inevitable I’ll soon be bouncing along the ground on my butt.

“Please don’t let it rain, Ever. I’ll definitely slide off!”

“I’m trying my best,” he yells over his shoulder, voice distorted by the icy breeze.

Dark shadows race over the grass alongside Balor as Jinn gallops through a gently undulating green landscape, the forest getting closer with every hoofbeat. A final fast canter down a craggy gully and then up the other side of the bank before we’re entering a thick copse, our pace slowing. Leaves fall from the tree canopy above, tangling with tiny red berries in our hair, and twigs crunch and snap below us.

Even though branches tear at my clothes, spiderwebs stick to my face, and I’m in apparent mortal danger, I still find the forest magical and beautiful. Memories swirl of the last time I was here, dancing with Ever in a starlit clearing, my heart full to bursting as electricity sparked between us with every look, every touch.

It felt as if we were at the beginning of something rare and fragile. Something special. Now I cling to him as I flee for my life, wondering if I’ll ever see him again after today. Funny how your whole world can tear apart in an instant. Three times in my life so far, it’s happened to me. The day Mom died. The night I walked into that alleyway to help a bachelorette with a cut. And here in this very forest when I danced with a faery prince and fell for his silver words and golden smile.

Our breath puffs out in clouds of white as we trot upward, taking short cuts instead of the main paths, then burst through the trees into another meadow, the cliffs of the Emerald Sea and the castle ruins visible in the distance.

A loud screech splits the air. I look up and see the three sylphs traveling like purple-winged sentries just ahead of us and above them, the seven órga falcons fly.

Laughing, Ever points to the birds. “Taibsear is with them. That means the High Mage is on her way.”

Jinn’s hoofbeats echo over the sound of crashing waves as we pass through the castle’s old stone courtyard, then follow the boundary of crumbling walls to the entrance of a cave set into the black hillside. From its wide mouth comes a musky, briny smell. A shiver runs down my spine as Ever dismounts, then pulls me to the ground beside him.

“Do not be worried. This is a good place. I can keep you safe here while we wait for Ether. Come inside.” As he beckons me to follow him into the cave, Balor growls, then barks a frantic warning. Ever grips my arms, his gaze serious but not alarmed. “Ether has arrived. Wait here a moment while I check that all is well.”

Ever presses a kiss to my forehead, then leaves.

Because I hate being told what to do, instead of staying put, I follow him down a path that comes out at a rich swathe of bright-green grass, the arena where the Samhain tournament was held. Balor has followed too.

“Hey, pup,” I say as he sits at my feet, vicious-sounding growls rumbling from his chest. When my eyes adjust and the figure standing in the swirling mist becomes clear, I see why he’s unhappy.

The mage who waits in the center of the ring of hazel trees wearing a dress of shimmery silver feathers, her fists clenched at her sides, isn’t Ether. It’s her horrible sister Aer, the curse bringer and possibly the only person Ever truly fears.

“Prince of Air,” she calls, her voice raw like a battle cry. “Come down if you dare.”

One moment, Ever is stepping gracefully off the rocky outcrop, and the next, his body dissolves, turning into a smoky vapor that reappears in the space of two heartbeats in front of the mage. I blink and the smoke is gone, and in its place Ever stands remade, an unearthly prince. Terrifying. Lethal. But still the fae ears pointing through his golden hair make me think of his smile whenever I stroke them—sweet and hot. How I long to see that smile now.

He rolls his neck, vertebrae cracking loudly, then swaggers toward the air mage. “You are the coward who hides away from our court. Why should I fear you?”

“Let me hear you say in all truth that you are not afraid of me, Prince of Five, heir to the Black Blood throne. Can you speak the words?”

“I wouldn’t call what I feel for you fear. Repulsion is a more apt word.”

“You think yourself clever, princeling. But I can see your human pet simpering at your heels, and I know what you plan to do.”

“And what is that?”

“You plan to send her back to the realm of mortals, to keep her safe, and then you wish to die queenless and in misery when the black poison defeats you.”

At her words, my breath snags in my throat. He can’t truly be planning to just let himself die, can he?

Ever shrugs as though they’re discussing something inconsequential—the weather or the sweetness of a recent crop of sugar peas.

Above, the falcons swoop through black clouds rolling across the sky. Aer snarls at them.

“Of course, there is another way, a way to save your own life, lovely prince, and protect both Rafael and the mortal. All you need to do is take me as your bride instead of her. Choose me. Break the curse. And I shall let her pass safely through the portal.”

“I’ll never do that. My father, my brother, they’re both dead because of your bitterness. Your jealousy. I’d rather die.”

“Fine. Then I will give the girl to the Merits.”

Lightning slashes the sky, reflecting in Ever’s mercurial eyes. “Then your curse makes no sense. I found my destined queen. Should it not already be broken?”

“You are a fool, Everend. You need to be wed first. If you were already united as king and queen of the land, the black blood would lie dormant, only igniting again in your son’s veins at the time of your natural death. Whenever that may be.”

I step down into the arena, Ever’s shoulders stiffening as my boots thud against the ground.

“I’m human.” I pitch my voice lower, so I sound confident. Unafraid. “How can I be his fated queen?”

She stalks toward me, gold eyes glowing, then her icy palm lifts and strokes my cheek. Darkness licks down my spine.

“Don’t touch her,” Ever snarls.

Aer’s beauty is a weapon in itself, mesmerizing in its symmetry, her smile pink-candy-sweet. Limbs heavy, my pulse slows to a lull. Her eyes are soft and warm, gold like rich honey. She’s really very pretty. And she’s not so bad. Maybe she can be reasoned with after all.

Then my gaze flicks down, and I notice her necklace. Twisted claws of mummified birds’ feet, all types and sizes and each one horrific, hang from blackened leather. Fog lifts from my brain, and I see cruelty in her eyes, the color bleached, like dried-out dead oak leaves.

A noise escapes me—small and pathetic—the sound a submissive dog makes as it lies down to take a beating.

With a smirk, the mage pinches my chin, the pain watering my eyes. She glides in a circle around me and speaks in a cold, crisp voice. “It will be my pleasure to explain how you’ve come to be his fated one, human.”

Her expression says she’d rather squash me as she would an annoying insect. She begins her speech anyway.

“Ancient laws forbid our people from taking mortals against their will, unless of course, they happen to step into a faery circle. And, sadly, not many circles exist in your world anymore. When I met your mother, I saw an opportunity. She promised her mother’s daughters’ daughters to the sovereigns of our land should we want them, and I chose to make her pay her due.”

“Why?” I ask.

“Well, because it should be near impossible for a fae prince to love a human such as you—plain as a barn mouse and weak as a newborn kitten—I chose you to make him suffer. I gave him a fated mate he could never love.”

Which makes her an utter monster.

“Why would my mother brand me with the tattoo, the queen’s mark, if she wanted to keep me safe?”

“My sister Ether told her the dragonfly would protect you.”

A terrible thought surfaces. I lick my lips and ask the question I’m not sure I want the answer to. “I’ve never met my father, so I’m wondering… is it possible he’s one of you… is he fae?”

The air ripples with Aer’s laughter. “Absolutely not. I would never have chosen you if he were. Fae princes do not find love and happiness with pure-bred humans. Your intrinsic mediocrity is the reason you are here, plain one.”

“You declare our kind cannot love a human, yet it has happened twice,” says Ever. “Gadriel, the first Black Blood prince, and now me.”

What? I do a double take. Did Ever just admit to Aer that he loves me? This is all so confusing. If it’s true that he does, and Aer wants to punish him, her strategy in choosing me as his mate was all for nothing.

“And if Ever and I married?” I ask. “How would you gain from that?”

“He isn’t meant to marry you, you silly girl. Despite the hate he professes, he should prefer to unite with me instead of being stuck with a disgusting human,” she says, spitting venom as she turns to Ever. “But you aren’t meant to fall in love with her. You should despise the girl I’ve chosen and make me your queen instead. Do this, Everend Calidore Fionbharr, and I will break the curse forever. It will finish with you and never pass to your sons. To our sons. I vow this to you now.”

A gush of air parts Ever’s lips, and if looks could kill, the wind mage would be nothing but a pile of smoking ash on the ground. “That will never happen. Your obsession disgusts me. Why do you wish to be joined with one who despises you?”

“Because out of all the princes, past and future, you are meant to be mine!”

“I vow to you, Sorceress of the Seven Winds, it will never be so,” he says.

Thunderheads race across the sky, and with the brutal wind howling and tearing at my clothes, it’s a struggle to remain upright.

“Then I will have the girl.” Her palm thrust at my chest, Aer steps forward, and I brace for a bolt of magic, for pain, for death even.

Ever unsheathes his shining sword, at the same time spinning a squall in his other hand. Red leaves, feathers, and twigs gather in its rotating vortex, growing bigger until it surrounds him.

Unsure what to do with myself, I shrink against the rocky wall at my back. Balor stands guard at my feet, his fur bristling and red eyes glowing, and the sylphs swirl above like anxious nursemaids.

Aer laughs. “You think to use air magic against me, foolish boy? You cannot best me with the powers I’ve bestowed upon you and your people.”

“You mean the powers your sister Ether has given us? She is the spirit, the key to your own magic. All you’ve gifted the Land of Five is a curse. You are only capable of evil.”

“Perhaps you’re right, silver prince, regardless, you can’t defeat me. Have you forgotten I can call upon all five elements? You cannot possibly win.”

“But I can try.” Ever dips into a squat, then shoots into the air like a blazing arrow, his body twisting, turning, and spiraling until it’s engulfed in a thick black cloud. Heart pounding, I swipe chunks of hair away from my eyes to clear my vision, amazed at what I see. No, he hasn’t been swallowed by the cloud. Ever is the cloud.

The black vapor solidifies, morphing into an orange and silver animal about the size of a large stallion with the feathered head, wings, and body of an eagle, and the legs and tail of a lion. My armored warrior prince has turned into a terrifying creature straight out of ancient mythology—he’s a griffin.

The beast is spectacular, but the fact I’ve slept in a bed with it makes me sick with shock. I suppose Ever did warn me at Samhain that I might not want to see this. And now I understand why.

With a blood-curdling screech, Aer launches herself after him, her skin blackening, leathery wings sprouting from her shoulder blades as she hurls through the air in dragon form. The seven falcons give chase, their sharp beaks tearing at her scales when they attack, keeping her from reaching Ever. Flames blast from her snout—dispersing the falcons. The griffin soars from the clouds and strikes her like a winged cannonball.

In a riot of flapping wings and bone-chilling shrieks, they tumble and roll together, disappearing above the clouds, silver feathers floating into the wild sea below. As I wring my hands, all I can think is, that in his current form, Ever wears no armor. His body is completely vulnerable.

Rain pours. Lightning flashes. Squinting, I scan the sky and, finally, they reappear. The griffin has Aer, who is no longer in dragon form, hanging by her long golden hair. His wings stretch and flap as he carries her out to sea. This is good. Hopefully, he’ll dump her in the ocean, and we’ll never see or hear of her again.

But then forked lightning shoots from her outstretched hand, changing into a burning spear as it sinks into the griffin’s unprotected chest. A horrible cry of pain ricochets across the sky. Ever veers back over the arena, his claws release, tumbling the air mage to the ground. She lands on her feet, as graceful and smug as a cat who’s just ripped into a mouse and is preparing to toy with it.

I watch in horror as Ever spirals downward, flickering between his fae form and the creature’s, a trail of blood streaming in his wake. He lands with a sickening thud in the dirt, an otherworldly prince decked in full armor. And badly wounded.

“Ever!” I stumble toward him as he flies onto his feet and sends me backward onto my butt with a rush of energy from his palm.

“Sorry,” he mutters, hair whipping his face as he labors each breath. He presses his hand over ripped leather at his stomach where a deep wound gapes, but still the blood keeps pouring.

Aer laughs. “You are badly injured, Everend. Why did you waste the last of your power just now moving the human to safety? You must know she will never be safe, and now you are useless. You may as well give up.”

“I will not,” he snarls, thrusting both hands at her. A sharp tang of ozone fills the air, and I expect to see lightning or hail shoot from his palms. But nothing happens. “By the Elements…”

He shakes his hands hard and tries once more. Again nothing. Cursing, he draws his sword and advances on Aer, mouth a grim line. Each step is clumsy. His limbs shake. Blood pours from his body. But still he fights.

Smiling, Aer throws a bolt of power as Ever’s blade slashes her silver dress. Flames surge, flickering like snake tongues from her fingertips, forcing him backward. He spins his left hand, another attempt to deploy his magic. And, again, nothing happens.

“Lara, run,” he yells, launching another sword attack on the sorceress.

Hair billowing, she grits her teeth, fingers drawing intricate patterns in the sky until a snow-globe-sized whirlpool of water twirls in her palm. Ever frowns and stumbles backward as she tosses it at him. It surges and grows, swallowing him whole. Drowning him.

It’s a terrible sight, a strong warrior imprisoned in a churning, watery bubble. The soon-to-be liquid coffin cocoons his body, currents and bubbles swirling as he fights it, punching and throwing his body against the elastic walls. Then it rises off the ground, spinning him in slow, lethal somersaults.

“I wonder how long you can hold your breath for, Prince of Air? Not long enough to survive, I am sure. And what do you imagine I will do with your human when you’re not here to protect her? Rather than giving her to the Merits, perhaps I will choose a more interesting fate for her.” Aer’s hand slashes across her body, and Ever and the water crash to the ground.

With his weight resting on his elbows, he heaves and spits, glaring at Aer with a fury that should smite her dead. A war cry roaring from his lips, he lurches onto his feet and charges at Aer. Her hands fling out and the water is back, an instant flash flood contained in an elastic bubble surrounding the prince.

The water churns, rolling and buffeting him like a rag doll against its sides. This time, in his weakened state, I’m certain he won’t make it. He’ll die, and I’ll have to stand here and watch.

This can’t be happening. I won’t let it happen. Fear and anger such as I’ve never felt before boil through my veins, rising and rising.

“Stop!” My scream is high-pitched and long, and once it starts, I can’t seem to end it. My voice lifts higher and higher. I don’t need any breath in my lungs or oxygen in my blood. I don’t need anything except to make Aer go away.

Without thinking, I push my palms out in front of my body and rush at her. It’s not until I’m right up close that I realize she’s covering her ears and inching away.

Farther and farther.

Weak and cringing.

I can’t believe it. The air mage is afraid.

Then she’s crouching in the indigo-tinged light and begging me to be quiet, to leave her alone. But I won’t be quiet. I won’t stop. If she’s killed Ever, I’m going to end her right now. Forever.

I lunge. My fingers grip her throat, and I push her backward, falling to my knees. I quickly straddle her waist. I’m no longer singing my alarm, only panting harsh breaths in her wrinkly face. Wrinkles? What happened to her silky-smooth, perfect fae complexion? She’s as dehydrated as a prune.

“Don’t make that terrible sound again, human sorceress. Your magic leeches my youth, and that’s something I refuse to give up.”

What’s she talking about? I’m no sorceress, but if she believes I am, I’m not about to contradict her.

Suddenly, I hear ragged breathing at my back. Water drips next to my legs. Ever. He’s alive.

“Looks like you chose the wrong mortal to mess with, Aer.” He spits beside her hair, a crass gesture I never imagined I’d see from a high fae.

The órga falcons and the sylphs are back, swooping through the arena like swallows.

“Kill her,” I say, my words hoarse. “Please, Ever, before she can—”

“You know I can’t. She’s one of the Five, Lara. The kingdom falls without her power.”

“Allow me to deal with my sister,” says a disembodied voice. And, hallelujah, Ether appears from the mist, arriving in a blaze of silver, her fathomless black eyes wide and framed by a fluffy halo of white hair upon which sits a starry crown. “Better late than never, Prince Everend.”

Ever’s smile is a wonder to see. “Indeed. What will you do with her?”

She scowls first at the blood dripping from Ever’s gashed stomach. “After I heal you, I will bind her in service to the elves. If they show her more mercy than she deserves, then so be it. But her power to harm ends now.”

“No.” Aer tries to rise only to find herself slammed against the ground with a mere glance from Ether. “Sister, you cannot do this.”

“It is done.” Ether turns toward the castle ruins, beckoning into the shadows. “It is safe to come out.”

Raff comes forward leading a solemn tribe of moss elves. They gather around us, holding my hands and my cloak as the High Mage enfolds Ever in her arms. His eyes roll back in his head, and I hold my breath.

The world flashes white, black, then white again, and when Aer steps away, his bloody wound is only a long slash of puckered skin.

I go to his side, my arm encircling his waist. “I can’t thank you enough, Ether.” I swallow before continuing. “But I need to ask one more thing of you… can you somehow break or lessen the curse?”

Her white head bows, the stars in her crown sparkling. “I am sorry, Lara, for this is how the curse is written: If by another’s hand the chosen dies, then before their blood fully weeps and dries, black will fade to gray, gray to white, and white to never. Never was the darkest taint and never will it ever be. Or take the chosen for a bride, and the poison ceases deep inside. I’m afraid only Everend has the power to end his suffering. It is his fate to abide by these words.”

“But what do they mean? He has to kill me if he wants to end it?”

Claw-like fingernails tear my clothes, pulling me close. Aer. She’s on her feet and flanked by scolding, muttering elves. “That’s right, mortal,” she says. “Our prince will never be yours.”

“Silence your drivel,” says Ether, and Aer’s lips disappear, leaving wrinkled skin where her mouth should be. “I would never have opened the portal and brought Lara to our land had I known you planned to harm them both if you could not have your way.”

Aer can only answer with muffled moans.

The tallest woman and leader of the moss elves bows in greeting. “Fairest Black Blood prince and his lady, valiant Lara of the human realm, we wish you much happiness and joy. Take heart, a new dawn always follows the darkest of nights. May your paths be always filled with light.”

Ever and I bow, and the elves drag a snarling Aer into the trees. As they go, they sing the mournful Fairy Boy, the song I performed for the Merits. How have they managed to learn it?

“Lara, are you well?” Ever kisses my forehead, and when I draw back, I touch my throat in wonder.

“Yes, but how the blazes did I do that?”

He smiles. “I knew your voice was magical, but I did not know its full power. It was extraordinary. You’re extraordinary. If it weren’t for you, I would be dead.”

I say to Ether, “You told me music is magic here in Faery. I didn’t quite understand that you meant it literally.”

She smiles but explains nothing. Damn perplexing faeries.

“Brother,” Raff says. “I’m sorry I failed you. When I left Ether, I could not find Aer in all her usual haunts. She was already on her way to you.”

“I thank you for bringing the High Mage in time.” Ever gives him a back-slapping man hug. “Forgive me, I must speak to Lara.”

“Then meet us at the cave when you are ready.” Raff gives me a soft glance, and he and Ether walk up the path toward the Black Castle.

“What does he mean, Ever? Ready for what?”

Words tumble out, rough and urgent. “I swore to break my queen, to kill her when I found her because I would do anything to avoid becoming king, and Aer’s miserable puppet she could torment forever. I swore it so I could free Raff from the same fate. But I cannot break you, Lara. I can’t do it.”

“You’re saying you care about me, but you want me to leave. That’s illogical. We can find another way to stay together.”

Around us, the wind buffets and roars, the fresh smell of rain tickling my nose.

“For us, there is no other way. You must return home where you’ll be safe. And the curse will live on as it must. If I could change this, I would.”

“No.”

“Remember the night you stayed in my chambers? The game I won, remember what you promised?”

“No. No, I don’t remember,” I lie. How could I forget? I remember every single thing he’s ever said to me.

“If I won, you promised to give me a word. This word is the debt you owe, and now is the time to pay it.”

I have no idea what the word might be, but I can only imagine what the manipulative prince has in store. It won’t have anything to do with what I want. And I’m not having any part of it.

Determined to hold my ground, I meet his gaze. “No. No way. I won’t do it.”

“You will.” Silver eyes flash and narrow to slits. “Do you want to know the word you must say?”

“Nope.” Pressing my palms to my ears, I turn away. I won’t look. I just won’t look at him.

He grips my wrists, pulling them roughly, and sound rushes back. “The word is yes.”

“Okay. Great, that’s easy to say. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. There you go—now you have it many times over. Debt paid. You’re welcome.”

“Lara, listen to me. Will you promise to leave this place and return to your human life?”

“Nope.”

“Lara. Give me what you promised. Tell me the word. Will you leave this place and return to your home?”

A charge zings through the air as he grips my shoulders, the temperature dropping several degrees. Snowflakes fall through the air, drifting on currents, then lace his lashes and hair. It’s beautiful. It’s also perfectly horrid.

I close my eyes and picture my bedroom, hear the sounds from the park next door. I imagine hugging Isla, the clink and clank of dishes, the smells of Max’s diner—spaghetti sauce and frying hamburger meat. Home. I should want to go, but I don’t. Instead, I want to sink into Ever’s arms, feel the bite of cold metal against my cheek, smell his clean, woodsy scent.

But he doesn’t want me to stay. I’m not worth the trouble with the Unseelie Merit Court and his mother.

A tear tracks down my cheek. Just one. It’s all I’ll allow. I brush it away and glare at Ever. I hate this. I hate him.

“Lara.”

Finally, I nod. “Okay, yes! Yes, you sneaky faery freak. I’ll go back to Blackbrook if you can find a way to get me there.”

He kisses me hard, his lips soft, his demands the opposite. Snow falls. I melt. We kiss as though it’s not there. We kiss as though nothing exists but the electric current that runs between our bodies, ours gasps, our sighs.

He speaks against my swollen lips. “If I had a pure heart that deserved you, right at this moment, it would be splintered and broken. The things I have done… you cannot imagine.”

“The very worst will be this, sending me away.” My palms squeezing his cheekbones, I draw back farther. “And you can lie! You said what I had to give you if you won that game would be for me. But that’s not true because I don’t want to go. So, in truth, it’s for you. Because of that promise, you’ll be rid of me.”

“You know I cannot lie. It’s impossible. This word I take from you keeps you living. Saves you from the Merits. It is for you, Lara, not me.”

“I don’t want to leave you.”

“I don’t want you to leave either. Besides Raff, you are my only true friend, someone who cares for me not because I am the Prince of Five. And I vow to you that as black and corrupt as my heart is, it’s yours and yours alone. I give it to you freely. When you leave, you must take it with you. But you cannot remain here.”

“What will happen to you when I go?”

“What happens to all beings—eventually, I will cease to exist.”

“When? In two hundred years? Twenty? Tomorrow?”

“Hush now. Do not worry for me. All is as it should be.”

“But if I stayed, would it be so bad to be king?”

“You don’t understand. Aer will never allow us happiness together. Ether has her tethered for now, but she’ll find a way to get at you. And the Merits will try and destroy you before I can make you queen, and then I shall be another Court of Five heir destroyed by the curse. It will pass to Raff and repeat for all eternity, again and again. At least let me have the peace of knowing you will always be safe in Blackbrook.”

“Well, please don’t curse me to live there forever.”

Our breath white clouds in front of us, we hold each other tight and meander back to the mouth of the cave, taking our time.

I hug Raff goodbye. “Tell Magret I’ll miss her?”

“I will,” he says. “Be safe. I do not think this will be the last we’ll see of each other.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Ever steps forward and embraces me, pressing his forehead to mine, our breath mingling. “Goodbye, sweet Lara. You would have made a formidable queen and filled your king’s heart with endless joy.”

We clasp hands, squeezing hard. I don’t want to let go.

“Lara, it is time,” calls Ether, her body glowing white and lighting up the cave.

I let Ever’s fingers slide through mine and look past his shoulder. The falcons drift through a purple and silver sky. Balor sits beside Jinn, both are still and quiet, their intelligent eyes taking everything in.

One last, greedy inspection of Ever, soaking him up, the broad shoulders now hunched in sorrow, his hair a mess, his pouting top lip, silver eyes burning and hungry. I wish… I wish he could be mine forever.

Swallowing the words creeping up my throat: I love you, I step inside the cavern of smooth black tourmaline. Moonstone stalactites drip from the ceiling, and on the other side of a rippling pool, a thick curtain of water cascades down, infusing the earth-scented air with a fresh zest.

“Come now, Lara, hurry.” Ether stands on moss-coated rocks near the pool, her arms raised. Out of nowhere a chariot appears drawn by two amber-colored horses. My head spins, my vision tunneling. I feel drunk. Nauseous.

“Wait. Mom marked me with the garnet dragonfly because of you. And now you’re helping me get home, why?”

“The threads of fate are woven tight. How else would he have recognized you, child? You are going where you need to go. Trust me.”

“One more thing. Will something like a hundred years have passed while I’ve been gone?” Everyone I know might be old and gray. Or worse. Dead.

“Only six months have passed in your world—the glamor I placed on your loved ones holds. They will be surprised to see you, yes, but they won’t question why you went or the exact details of your travels. Your choir work with Brazilian street children in Sao Paulo went very well, apparently.”

“My choir…?” I shake my head imagining the strange tale woven into the minds of my friends and family. “Good grief, you people are alarming.”

“Yes. We can be.” She smiles as if I’ve complemented her. “Enough talk. The portal is open, Lara. Alight with haste. Your transport will not wait forever.”

My transport won’t wait forever.

Forever.

Wait for ever.

For. Ever.

Ever.

I’m really leaving. I’m going home. Adrenaline spikes through my blood. “I can’t leave him,” I whisper desperately.

“You can and you must. How else will he be able to follow? Keep faith, Lara, and go now.”

The curtain of water vibrates, the spray spreading goosebumps on my skin as I climb aboard the golden contraption and flick the reins with shaking hands. The carriage plunges into the pool of water, rocking and rolling precariously. Maybe this is all a terrible trick, and I’m going to drown.

As the waterfall hits my skin, it burns like acid. Heart shuddering, I look over my shoulder into Ever’s anguished silver eyes. The Prince of Air stands at the edge of the water, hands outstretched as though he’s about to leap across the pool and rip me from the carriage.

“Ever!” I cry, wishing he would just hurry up and do it, drag me off this thing and pull me against his chest. Make me his queen. Become king. Surrender to the curse.

The last thing I hear before icy water rushes over me and I disappear behind the waterfall, is the muffled sound of my name.

“Ever,” I scream as the blackness takes me, lifts me, spinning the chariot in circles through a terrifying landscape of nothingness. Black, only black. And up, up, always upward until my brain splinters and disintegrates.

Don’t lose consciousness.

Look around. Search for clues. Search for ways back to Talamh Cúig. To Ever.

Before I succumb to the darkness I think: Keep the faith. Keep the faith.

And then as my eyes roll back in my head: Ether said he will follow.

He will follow.

Body limp and spinning through darkness, my mouth moves, no sound coming out.

But when? When will he follow?

A second later, and I’m gone.

I cease to exist.

I am nothing.