It was dawn when they awoke again, entwined together, wrapped in each other's arms. Light flared against the drawn shades in pulses of color.
Tarian sat up quickly, startling her. He untwisted his legs from around hers and swung them over the edge of the bed. In a moment he was striding, nude and glorious, to the window. He pulled up the shades and looked out, turning his head to the right and flexing his whole body.
"It looks like the Celestials are taking care of the darkrend problem," he murmured into the din.
She pulled back the sheets and met him there. He turned, leaning his shoulder against the wall at the side of the window. With his other hand, he drew her in so she could see, her back against his front, his palm spread against the bare flesh of her belly.
Just across the clearing, in the sparse trees of the area, the darkrend struck at the sky with its huge claws. Even without sound she could recognize its roar trying to freeze its prey. Or, in this case, his attackers.
Against the lightening and changing colors of the sky, pink tinging the pale blue, beautiful, winged shapes dove and spun around the great beast. Explosions of light hit off its great head or hulking shoulders, knocking it back or forcing it to hunch down. They spiraled toward it in pairs or groups, slicing into it with their weapons and their magic.
She stood there, transfixed. Riveted. The beauty of their movements, of their wings, absolutely entranced her. They were efficient in their viciousness and deadly in their strikes.
The creature raged at them, slashing the air. The Celestials dove to avoid its claws, never ceasing their strikes. Full dawn blazed by the time the beast went down, the twisted tormentor no match for the protectors of the wylds.
The silence felt heavy in the wake. Like the sound had deadened not just outside the room, but within as well.
She turned back to find Tarian staring, his eyes hard but hollow. He looked frustrated but also…forlorn. She studied him harder, wondering about those conflicting emotions.
He glanced down at her, and his expression cleared. "That's the darkrend taken care of. We're free to—" His gaze shot back to the window. His whole body tensed, and he moved quickly, running his hand through the air. The sound from outside rushed back in, wind shaking the leaves, wings beating against the sky. He'd taken down the ward.
Confused, she looked back out and started. Three Celestials were coming their way, their long, straight hair blowing back from their faces, skin so smooth it looked like she was viewing them through a soft focus lens. Their clothes were elegant and refined, declaring sensibility and nobility even though two of the three were heavily splattered in a strange, greenish goo. The creature's blood, maybe, or a defense she'd never seen.
"Get away from the window!" Tarian barked, and magic shoved her back.
She reached out to brace her hand on the wall.
He'd stepped into his pants and now donned the tunic he'd worn last night.
"Come here. Quickly." He beckoned to her, and she complied. "Here." He draped her garment over her head and helped her into it before bending with her and directing her under the bed. "Hide. Quickly. Do not show yourself, no matter what. I'll cover you with magic to hide the stamp of the crystal chalice."
"I thought once we were beyond the Faegate, we were safe here."
"I am safe here, as a fae. You are a human who doesn't belong and who slashed a few wings and punctured a few Celestial bodies. They won't be as inclined to give you impunity."
She slid under, grabbing her panties as she did so. He moved toward the door, though she was only able to see his boots and then his ankles. No sooner had he reached it, a knock came.
The door swung open, allowing in a blast of chilly morning air fresh with the scent of blooming flowers and crisp green flora.
"What is it?" Tarian asked in a cold voice laced with authority.
"Pardon me, your—" The female voice cut off, the tone going from apologetic to utterly confused. Her voice then hardened to commanding. "What is the nature of this outpost?"
"It is a lawfully established way station belonging to the Obsidian Court, brokered by me, Tarianthiel Drystan Windryker, stationed prince of the Obsidian Throne, bearer of the five seals and carrier of royal, unseelie magic. If you had been doing your duty and scouting the land as you ought, you would've known of this place ages ago. But at least you finally brought down the darkrend, hmm? One only needed patience, it seems. That creature had obviously been twisted for some time. Out of balance. It destroyed one of my buildings. I'll be seeking compensation from your Dusk Sentinel. Now, don't trouble me again. I have important matters to see to."
Daisy's world bled of color as silence met Tarian's response. One of the Celestials offered a crisp retort, but Daisy's ears had started ringing. A prince? She'd been captured by a fucking prince? No wonder his power level and magical ability were off the charts. No wonder he had the mindgazer magic. He was at the top of the kingdom's hierarchy.
Her status as a toy, as a pawn in his political games, took on a more dangerous edge. He wasn't just a player. He could rig the game.
"A prince, yes," Tarian said softly, crouched next to the bed. He flattened to the floor so he could look in at her. The door had been shut, the Celestials apparently appeased and on their way. She hadn't noticed. "A lofty title for someone who is little more than a thief for that court."
"So am I, but I don't have a crown to affix when I go to work."
He didn't crack a grin. So serious. So somber. "You should."
She shook her head before resting her forehead against her forearms. Her situation seemed so much bleaker.
"You said the Obsidian Throne was set to be inherited by rotten, strategizing children. The scourge of the realm."
"Yes. And it holds true."
"Yet, to have that title, are you not one of those children?"
"I was not born into this title. I was given it. Trapped with it. Taunted by it. My power granted me admittance, among other things. I am not in line for the crown. They would not suffer my sitting on their throne. I am exactly as you thought, Daisy. A powerful thief with a title to open doors. An errand boy for royalty. A crook. A murderer. A jester who doesn't tell jokes, but who is one. I am their blunt tool, and they titled me for the pleasure of their disdain."
"And the king and queen?"
"They are no parents of mine." The viciousness of his tone washed cold down her spine. "Come on," he said. "It's time we go."
A heavy weight lodged in her stomach as she climbed out and slipped on her panties. His gaze was cold, like ice. Hard. No amusement showed through his steely gaze, no teasing laughter in his flat voice. Right now, he looked the noble royal he claimed to be.
She slipped on her boots and followed him without a word. Without a thought, really, if that were possible. The others joined them next to the ruined hub, debris scattered every which way. She looked where the darkrend had been felled, but no beautiful, winged fae filled the sky. They'd done their job and left.
No one spoke out loud or to her at all. Tarian grabbed her hand, his soft touch the only thing reminiscent of the man she'd gotten to know in the last few days. The one who had never physically hurt her—the one with a tender side and who was prone to tease and quick with a witty reply. The one she'd wanted deep inside her last night, a stark contrast to this prince headed back to his court. Maybe he'd been right to refuse her. He'd shown her an act of mercy. Maybe he'd done her a favor.
It is the last favor I will ever do for you, he said into her mind, that hard tone cracking just around the edges. The last I can do for you, Daisy. Forget the man you've known these last couple days. That man is about to be put aside. Has to be, if I hope to survive. In his place will be a monster. A master manipulator. Your tormentor. I will do it so it looks like fun. So it looks like I enjoy it. I'll do it for an audience. And I will be convincing.
Shivers coated her body, but not from the words. He'd said many things since she first reconnected with him on that ledge. Some true, many not. Right now, it was his dull, hard, dead tone. His lack of humor. His hopelessness. He was tucking away his personality so he could fill whatever role was expected of him—a role he loathed, with fae he despised.
They stopped beside one of the shanties, this one the largest of all, almost like a hulking black barn. Lennox and a female she hadn't seen before pulled open the doors. Inside waited great, winged beasts with shaggy hides, wide backs, and four legs. One shook its great head like a horse might shake its mane.
The others filed into the barn and immediately started to get the animals ready. They'd be flying to the kingdom, it seemed.
"Why me?" Daisy blurted, the question having always been at the fringes of her mind, always nudging her thoughts—but, with everything going on and their struggles to survive, not having room to be fully brought out and analyzed. "Surely you could find another toy. There are a million magical people better suited to royal games and political maneuvering. I actually have a list back home. I'll give you the ones you can be satisfied in killing. There's a bunch of real assholes in the magical world. I'm nothing. I don't even have magic. I won't be much of a contender against fae in a royal court. Anyone would do. Why me, the weakest of the magical world?"
He turned so his back was to the barn and animals. Regret filled his eyes. "You are so much more than anything the human magical world could ever offer."
"Is it because of the crystal chalice?"
"Yes," he whispered. "It was always about the crystal chalice. You are tied into this because of it. There is no escape, not for either of us."
"But…" She shook her head frustratedly. "I still don't understand why it has to be me. Anyone could've found that thing. Someone else did, as a matter of fact. You killed him, but his friend was harboring it. Why not take him? I basically stumbled upon it—because of you, I might add."
His hands closed around her upper arms, calloused and warm. His deep green gaze delved into hers. "I found that thing. It is not an object, Daisy. It is a human. It is you."
"Wha—" She swallowed. "I don't understand."
"The crystal chalice was always meant to be a person. A thinking, talking prism by which the other chalices react. In every human generation, there are millions of people who might ascend, but only when all the criteria are met does there become a crystal chalice: a non-magical human, enhanced by man, with the blessing of the gods. In your case, a dedicated trainer enhancing your natural abilities, and a godly gift of blood magic, freely given. When that human dies, a great many more possibilities are born, and one of them is eventually realized. On and on, death and rebirth, forever. Only the gods can stop the endless cycle."
"But what if more than one is realized? Can't you use one of the others?"
"By the decree of the gods, only the first can ascend. There is only ever one crystal chalice at a time. One prism."
Her gut twisted. She felt sick. She dared not even think about how she'd gotten here, but it popped into her mind anyway. As before, he spoke the truth that she was unwilling to show to the light.
"Your mother figure tried to save you, but she doomed you instead. It is not her fault. The gods made this so. Most crystal chalices never end up in this position. I toiled to find information about it all."
"So then, I got really unlucky with timing."
"Story of your life, right?" His grin was slight. His eyes lost their twinkle almost immediately. "When I found you first, I was surprised to learn you didn't have the godly magic. I thought maybe the pull of you meant you were what I sought. But then when I saw you next…the prophecies had been fulfilled. The crystal chalice had been formed. You had completed your transformation. I found you before the diamond chalice, though—the object you tried to destroy. The final object I needed. So I kept track of you. Played games to test you. When you set your hand upon the diamond chalice…"
"No, I—" She kept shaking her head. This was not making any sense. It was completely preposterous.
His tone softened. Turned gentle. "The chalices don't light up for me, Daisy, or for anyone else. The objects don't hum. Not unless you are present. I know what they are by sight alone. You ignite their ability. For you, they buzz. They hum and glow. They come alive. The first time I felt the buzz was on that ledge, when it was tucked into your bra."
Her brow lowered. "No, they do that with other people. When other people pick them up, it happens. I've seen and heard it."
"Because you were present. The crystal chalice was present. The other chalices are useless without their prism."
She tried to back away from him, her mind reeling. "I'm not magical. They tested me to be sure. You're probably thinking of that diamond stone thing with the hole in the middle. That's the chalice."
"That is your amplifier," he said without hesitation. "Each type of magic has a corresponding chalice that works best with it. Water creatures will lean on chalices corresponding to the sapphire gem. Fire creatures veer toward the ruby. Spirit with amethyst, and so on. That's how our kingdoms align. The chalices mirror Faerie. Your amplifier is the diamond."
"But diamond…" Was the throne of the High Sovereign. The Celestials.
"Yes," he whispered. "With your diamond chalice, and the other chalices arranged around you representing Faerie, you can boost a fae's power level—mine, in this case—to impossible heights. You can make me as mighty as a god. You can help me free this whole realm of the High Sovereign's royal influence."
He paused, and her brow lowered. "Free" the realm…and then take over the humans? Like fucking hell she'd help do that. If he was telling the truth, she had the power to destroy the crystal chalice after all. She had the power to destroy herself, and she would if she was the reason her family was in danger.
His nod was slight, and his lips quirked up at the corners. "Yes, I thought as much. I know you better now, and so I know I can not only trust you with this, but that you'll help me." His jaw was set in determination. "I never intended to help the Obsidian Kingdom's king and queen over the fringe. It was an excuse to give me freedom in my search for the chalices. For their prism. Your realm was never in danger from me. But it is still in danger. I mean to strengthen the fringe. To build it back up. To first free myself of the Obsidian Court, then use the heightened magic to restore the balance of Faerie. When the time comes, you will fulfill your destiny and help me. I'll be cleaning out the filth and remaking it anew with my crystal chalice. The diamond is your amplifier…and you are mine."
"And your claims of breaking me?"
Regret once again filled his gaze. "Unfortunately, the amount of power that will run through you is that of a god. No mortal can handle it, or so the archives say. If you help me, you will safeguard your family and Faerie…at the cost of your life. There is no other way. I must sacrifice two beings to save many. It is not only my duty. It is my destiny. Our destiny. As I said…there is no escape for you or me."
Her brow furrowed as she continually shook her head. This seemed too massive for her to grasp. Too foreign. She couldn't comprehend how magic could restore balance in an entire realm. Balance, as if that were a tangible thing. It didn't compare to the human lands. That she'd ever heard, anyway.
Instead she latched on to the one thing she did grasp. "Sacrifice two beings?"noveldrama
His eyes hardened. The burnished gold around his pupils flared gold before dying back down. "Yes. You…and myself."
She put her hand on his chest. Despite the situation and all he'd said, her heart ached. "You?"
He was quiet for a long beat. "The history leading to this moment is long and complex. It comes down to this:
"With my birth, I stirred the gods. An experiment gone badly, we'll say. Through no fault of my own—just by being born—I created a fissure within the High Kingdom. I created the rift within the royal family. And when there is rift and instability, the gods sense a game. They seek greater entertainment. To that end, they meddle. Oh, how they meddle. They create favorites and pit them against the favorites of other gods. We are pets, really. Pawns. My existence created the desire for treachery within the royal house…and the gods exploited it. That treachery—a betrayal—saw me to my grave. But on my deathbed, as I was watching the beautiful colors of dusk wash me away, Equilas came to me—"
"Equilas?" She remembered him using that name but had never asked more about it.
"Equilas, Goddess of Balance. One of three sisters in the Trinity, the most powerful of the gods in Faerie. She sits on the High Seat in the Divine Collective. She pulled me from the abyss and reset my path. But first, while I was delirious and desperate for one more breath, we made a deal."
Shivers arrested Daisy. It seemed the fae had learned how to make deals with humans from the gods themselves. And by his tone, it sounded like the gods were no less cunning and ruthless, not even with their children.
He nodded. "I am bound to this destiny. I was tasked with finding the crystal chalice and restoring the balance of Faerie, regardless of the obstacles. Regardless of the degradation and horrors I was thrust into. I am a pet of the Obsidian royals…and a pawn of Equilas. A puppet, some think, beholden to the gods while being crushed under the boot of the Obsidian Court. Exiled from my home and lands, and my friends with me, until I can reset what my birth imbalanced. I'm being blamed for the sins of my parents, but still, I must atone. That is my life, Daisy. That is my destiny—what I'm up against. Why I need you. For if I can escape my imprisonment in this filthy kingdom and use you to reinstall balance, I will ultimately have to sacrifice myself for the good of the realm. I am entertainment for gods right now, but eventually, I am hope for the realm. We both are. We must be the dawn to end the starless night."
Cold washed through her at the resignation in his eyes. She wished she could read his mind to find out more. His birth had disrupted the royal family? A birth out of wedlock, maybe? That would be a human reason in the olden days, at any rate. But that was hardly an experiment. Maybe something like the son rising up and overthrowing the father, like what used to happen a lot with Demigods…
"That was the fear, yes," he said softly. "It wasn't a desire in my heart, but I had the power to do it, and so it was assumed that I eventually would."
The cold froze her solid, and her whole body stilled. His gaze was deep and imploring.
"But that would mean…" She let the words trail away as she went over everything in her mind again. All he'd said, what it had to mean. "You're not…"
"In the Obsidian Court, I was given this title as a mockery of my rightful station. I was trapped into that court with the five obsidian seals. They tempered my magic so that I couldn't rebel, forced the rules—the curse—onto me, erased my name and existence from the memories of everyone but the Obsidian Kingdom royals, and bled their magic into mine to strip it of its luster."
"Bled their magic into yours?" She remembered the spectral brilliance that was his glamor, with the warm orange, amber, lavender, cerulean, and golden hues. Then his magic as it had danced and played around her, sparkling and gorgeous, like the sky at dawn. It was only when he used larger degrees of his power that she saw the black cut through or take over. Even then, sometimes it still shimmered with gold.
Another memory flashed through her mind, this time of wings. Delicate dragonfly wings big enough to lift a man. A fae, actually. The colors were the same, dawn-like…or dusk-like, one and the same. Like his glamor. Like his playful magic.
No, not a fae. A beautiful Celestial.
"Your mind moves so quickly," he whispered, stepping toward her. His tone was warm, oh so gentle. Grateful. "I am always so impressed."
She couldn't stop blinking rapidly. "No. You can't be. You don't have wings."
"They are banned from me. Wings represent freedom, and I have none."
"But how? How did they do all of that?"
His look was sardonic. "Why, with the help of Equilas, of course. She will use me for the good of the realm, but as she does, she will revel in my struggles. They all will. Some will invent ways to make my suffering greater for their own amusement. They are ever so bored, the gods—they desire entertainment almost as much as they need our worship and devotion. Sometimes…they get greedy for the former. As I said, I am a pawn. Titles mean nothing to me now. They are empty brags of birth."
"So you're…you're a…?"
"My birth name and title is Tarianthiel Drystan Windryker, Prince of the Diamond Throne, High Sovereign and Sworn Protector of Faerie, Guardian of the Fringe, Keeper of Balance, Brought Forth with the Dawn, Commander of Dusk, and Blessed with Ancestral Magic of Sevens. I added more titles as I completed each stage of my training, but you get the gist. I had such pride in them all, and now…they are useless. I am a ghost. My memory was stripped from the minds of the people I love. I did not die…I ceased to ever exist. My king—my father—and my court do not know me. My brother, who nearly succeeded in rooting me out of the royal line of succession, has no idea of his betrayal. My brethren, the Celestials, with whom I trained, drank with—now they try to kill me on each fringe crossing. All but ten of my friends—who allowed their wings and social standing to be stripped by Equilas so they might help me—don't know who I am." He paused for a beat. "Who I was. It was made clear that there would be no help for me. You are my only way out, Daisy. You are my only means of salvation. A human—who must play the games of the court against magical fae—is my only hope. On my end of things, the deal wasn't a great one…"
She was struck mute. She hadn't been able to process the whole chalice thing, and now this? This was way beyond her. She'd need a cup of coffee and a quiet room for a few hours to make sense of any of this. It was all too massive in scope to take in. To comprehend. A Celestial? This was only a fraction of his magic?
A Celestial?! They were nearly gods themselves, fierce and beautiful and terrifying. Then again…wasn't that always how she'd viewed him?
"Have no fear," he murmured, sliding his thumb along the edge of her jaw. "You'll forget all I've said in a few moments, like everyone else. It will be plucked from your mind by the magic trapping me. Soon I'll go back to being a hollowed-out, princely assassin and thief, the mockery of a filthy, out-of-balance court where evil continues to flower and corrupt and twist the minds and magic of its inhabitants."
She remembered all his memories from Celestial training—how much he knew about their kind. How much he revered the position and the value he placed on their duty to protect the realm. Those were his values. That was his way of thinking. It now made so much more sense why he'd make any kind of deal at all. Why he'd fight, and toil, and hold himself above the rest so he could accomplish what he needed to in order to save his beloved Faerie.
He'd be doing this, deal or no deal. She didn't know him well, but she knew that much. She would do anything to save her family, and he was the same, except his family was the whole of the realm.
She let out a slow breath. "This is a lot to take in."
"As I said, you'll forget. I am exiled from my home and trapped, but I have my Fallen. I am not alone, or maybe I would've gone mad, as the Obsidian royals desperately try to get me to do. But yes, I have a duty to these lands. I will help these people. It is my birthright."
Some fucking birthright.
She shook her head for the millionth time. A god saved him, only to trap him in horror, expecting him to then save the realm? To sacrifice himself to do it? What kind of fucked-up donkey show were these dipshits running here? If a god had done that to her, she'd desecrate a temple or two. If the court mocked her for it, she'd fuck up the whole place so they'd be trapped just as much as she. Fuck 'em, there were other ways to play the game besides hunting down relics and hoping a magic-less human could get you out of a deal gone wrong…
A smile worked at his lips. So adorable, he thought softly.
"But yes, that is the nature of our gods," he added. "They delight in torment. They give you a boon and expect repayment in blood. Faerie is worth it, though. You'll see. Within the brutality exists the truly magical. Even if it were a shithole, though, your family would be worth the sacrifice, would they not?"
Her gut twisted as she remembered what it had felt like to touch that diamond orb. What it had felt like when she'd been next to him at the door of the shanty, feeling the magic run through her. She very much believed him. If she was forced to hold on to that diamond orb, the effects would rip her apart.
But what was the alternative? Regardless of his issues, the Faegate was letting more fae and their magic through. If the Diamond Throne had unrest—and with meddling gods looking for entertainment, that would continue—that would get worse. It would endanger her home. It would put her family at risk, just like she had already.
She let out a slow breath, trying to still the nervous fear running through her body.
"How do I know you aren't lying to me?" she asked.
"I told you, I cannot lie to you now." He opened his mind to her, letting her feel the truth of his claims. His determination and his pain. His mortification at the life he was forced to live in the Obsidian Court and how he hoped to right that wrong. She could also feel the niggling fear deep down, something like what she was feeling right now. He didn't know if he could accomplish his destiny, as he thought of it. He worried his failure would damn them all. We are all mortal with the right wound.
To even use Daisy as a chalice, he first had to free himself from the Obsidian Court. He wasn't sure he could. He'd need her help to do it, and she was incredibly unqualified. She wasn't arguing about that assessment, either. The other issue was that any fae could use the crystal chalice. She could help anyone boost their magic. The second they knew what she was, they'd seek to kill him and use her for themselves. Given they wouldn't put the time and effort into learning how, they'd kill her while trying. The death would be grisly, and she wished she hadn't learned that last bit.
"So, fuck, this is just a really shitty situation all around, then," she surmised flippantly, pushing away from him and turning. Looking out at nothing. Letting her mind wander.
He thought this was a long shot, from start to finish, which was just a little funny in a dark, "I hate my life" sort of way, because she had a lot of experience with long shots—leaving her care home when she was too young to look after herself, helping keep a roof over their heads, keeping Mordie alive, and the big one…helping one Demigod overthrow his crazy dad with half as many forces and a sliver of the experience level. She'd been down this road before. She had faced, and helped beat, insurmountable odds. Every time, she'd done it to help her family. This time would be no different. Hell, maybe this time she'd be their savior.
Suck on that, Mordie. Your no-magic sister is going to save the magical people's fucking day. Go ahead and tell Lexi I swore, too. I'd welcome a punch in the face right about now. It would feel better than the thought of what's in store for me.
She sighed. He'd absolutely hate this for her. It would tear him apart. But she also knew he'd step up right beside her if he were here. He'd walk into the twilight with her without looking back. Any of her family would. In the same situation, each and every one of them would step forward.
"If I help you," she said, "I want your guarantee that it will strengthen that Faegate. That it'll keep my family safe. I want to strike a deal."
They didn't leave for another hour, hammering out the particulars. But once they did, she felt the gravity of the situation. She felt the uncertainty of the games yet to come.
Only one thing was left.
"So this feeling between us…" she said. "It is magic. Right? It's because of the chalices and everything?"
His eyes roamed her face before settling on her lips. "I thought so at first, like I said. I thought it was meant to help me find you. And maybe that's true. The gods do love to play their games. They made the fae in their image, cunning and vicious and ruthless, most of us. What better joke than to entice me with something I will eventually have to destroy and watch me struggle to do it? Regardless, this feeling, this need, is between you and me. It is ours. Our torment, maybe. The price I will pay for hurting you. The price you will pay for desiring your tormenter. I can envision their giggling about it now." He put a hand on her cheek. "It might be magical, but it is solely ours. No other fae feel it the way we do, even though they have just as much of a connection to the chalice as I do. So, if it was the gods, it was meant distinctly for us. Just you and me. It is our gift…until it turns into our pain."
She didn't know if that was better or worse.
His smile was slight. Neither do I. Maybe we'll be happy in knowing that it is.
"What is definitely magical, however," he said, "is the…link you have with the wylds. I intend to restore balance with you, and the wylds must feel that, in the same way that the darkrend feared it. You'll notice it was only interested in you, the darkrend. The rest of my Fallen were at their windows, looking on, and though it noticed them, it didn't seek them out. It only sought you. This realm feels your presence. You are more than a mere Chester now, little dove. More than even a magical human. In this realm, you will hold the power of a god."
Yeah, but…a power she couldn't use herself. What good was that? A power that would destroy her. The old adage "be careful what you wish for" could not be truer. Could she have a do-over and grab the necromancer magic, maybe?
She shivered, but lifted her chin. The chessboard was set. He needed to free himself of the Obsidian Court, and he needed her help to do it. Fine.
She held out her hand. He took it in confusion.
"Teammates again, it seems," she said.
His brow cleared. In his travels, he'd somehow missed the human custom of "shaking on it."
"Yes. We work together. We trust each other. We survive. For a while, anyway."
"I still intend to be the one to kill you in the end, not the other way around. Just so you know. I have vengeance to claim. I hold a grudge."
"I'd expect no less," he murmured, tracing his thumb across her skin. "The fates chose perfectly in you. Life pressed upon you, but could not break you. Your past would've destroyed most, but in you, from the pressure emerged a glimmering, shining diamond. Who knows, maybe you will best this power after all. If there is anyone who could keep from breaking, it is you, little dove."
"And if there is anyone who can swindle the gods, it's going to have to be you."
Yes. And now…the games must begin. The fate of Faerie is in our hands.