Page 107 of What did you do?
“Take out the guards and get Sidney and Edin out of here. Get them to safety,” I said softly, feeling the flame inside me die before anything productive could come from it.
Tarani chuckled. “They don’t need help getting out. They were stationed here with the intent of being close to the castle when the time came to overtake it.” She gave a nod to Eli. “Which happens to be right now.”
“Walter and I found your heart, Caly, but it’s spelled. It will only be unbound by your own flesh and bones. Even with our tie, I could not pull it from the magic that guards it.” Eli smiled at the shifter. “It let Walter get way farther than me. I guess the tie can only do so much.”
“The Fallen will help capture Mother, and because I am her daughter, they have reluctantly agreed that she will be moved to a prison where I can hold her, instead of killing her, but we need your help and your word that once your heart is restored, you won’t use your powers against the Fallen,” Tarani said, chiming in.
“Fine. You have my word,” I said, turning to face the red sky.
“Caly, once we get your heart, you’ll…you’ll be able to do a lot more than you think. You could really change things here for the better,” Eli said softly.
My plan can still work…The thought niggled at me like a worm. It was something I had sworn I would never do, and itmeant hurting Eli. I knew poor Eli would marry me and make me a true Seelie royal…
“Caly…once my mother is gone from the castle, Tarani will be announced as the new Unseelie queen by the Fallen. They have chosen her to rule those who are choosing to stay in Unseelie,” Eli said sadly. “Until we can establish that we are a peaceful realm once again, I will likely be under a lot of…challenges…and…” he rambled on, running his hands through his golden hair.
“He wants you to be his queen,” Walter said with a smirk.
I inhaled sharply as my mouth fell open. No! He couldn’t do this to me. I couldn’t do this to him. Butterflies danced in my belly. Maybe I could change the plan somehow. Maybe there was some way we could be married and he would not get hurt.
“It’s just that we are forever tied, Caly. It is unbreakable, whether we like it or not, and well, I will be nowhere near as strong as you, but you cannot ascend because you are tied to me anyway, and I know you chose Mendax, but…” Eli stepped close to me, the vision of Prince Charming.
“It would say a lot that you stood with the Fallen,” Tarani began.
“I’m not a mascot. Have none of you considered that I might not be very powerful once my heart is restored?” I asked as I wrinkled my brow in frustration.
“Artemi are unmatched in power, Caly. That’s why the Smoke Slayers killed most of them and went extinct, except for those who ascended to the Ancients. At least as far as we know,” Eli said.
My heart skipped a beat as it plummeted to my stomach. “The Smoke Slayers are the reason the Artemi went extinct?Theyare the reason the Artemi had to be hidden?” I whispered.
“To be fair, Artemi are the reason the Smoke Slayers also went extinct…well,nowthey’re extinct as far as we know.” Walter bit his trembling lower lip.
“Don’t be anybody else’s gun, Puddle, trust me. Be your own,” Sid muttered.
“Why do you call me Puddle?” I asked.
Sid’s tan throat bobbed as he swallowed roughly. “Because when you first arrived, you reminded me of a puddle: still and gloomy. You can never tell how deep or shallow a puddle is just by looking at it. All it takes is a bit more rain and the puddle becomes a pond, then a lake. It grows when everything else drowns.”
“That’s quite the glorification of a—” I started.
“I saw it in your eyes—the same fight I went through when Thanes turned me into a monster. You just have to decide what kind of monster you’re going be—the kind that makes puddles with their tears, or the kind that drowns the ones who caused them. You’re a weapon no matter what, just like us. You just have to decide who the wielder is,” Sid said.
“What happens to Unseelie now?” I asked as I looked back at Walter, wondering how he felt about the Fallen taking over.
“I will return to help Tarani in Unseelie as soon as this is sorted out. With both Mendax and Tenebris gone, there is no one else to claim the throne. I believe the Fallen’s intentions are good and that it’s time they finally had a realm or two to call home,” he said with a nod to Sid.
“Stay with me in Seelie, Caly,” Eli pleaded as he gripped me by the shoulders.
“No, I can’t. I have to go to?—”
“Marry me. Not because my mother ordered it and not because I’m begging or because it will make you a queen. Marry me because you love me as much as I love you.” He loweredhimself to the floor and planted one knee as his warm eyes filled with emotion.
“I’m sorry.… Is he doing what I think he’s doing? In a prison?” Edin chimed in, sounding disgusted.
With horror, I looked to Walter, who only shrugged in answer. This would be the most monstrous and horrid thing I had done yet. I would deserve to rot in Tartarus…but the next part of my plan would happen.
“Yes,” I whispered. “But let it be known to all that I loved Mendax with every beat of my mangled heart. He may have been the villain to most of you in this room, but he loved me in ways I couldn’t comprehend—in ways I didn’t know a person was capable of loving—even if it was shown in a way most wouldn’t recognize. No doubt shouldeverenter the mind of anyone here how much I reciprocated that love. Even if I was unable to show it.”
Everyone gave a short nod.
