Page 118 of What did you do?

The evening sky was as dark as it got in Seelie, with deep reds and oranges sulking above the treetops.

“She will pay, I promise you that. But not with her life. Not everything needs to end in death.” Eli’s tall frame stepped toward me. The charming fae put his hands on the sides of my face as his emotion-filled eyes poured into mine. “You don’t have to hold on to the evil side of you any longer,” he whispered. He leaned down to lightly brush his lips across mine.

My own lips pushed into his, tasting his sunshine before I pulled away, caught off guard by the tenderness I felt in the kiss. I pushed back into him before he could move. It felt like the whole world—and all of my pain—blurred into the background.

“I want to marry you, Eli,” I whispered. “As soon as we get into the castle, I want to make it official.”

I loved him, and our lives were literally tied together already, but mostly I wanted to do this because it was the only way I could ever see my sister again.

He smiled so hard, even the creases of his eyes made new smiles when he leaned in closer. “You have a heart of gold, Wife.” He pressed a kiss to my lips, then my forehead. “Once we are married, all of this darkness will be gone from inside of you. Iwill doanythingto make you happy,” he said as he pressed his mouth to mine in a sweet kiss.

“Married or not, my darkness and I will still come inside her,” added a deep, gravelly voice I would recognize anywhere.

Malum Mendax.

29

PRESENT DAY

Caly

Like an apparition, he limped up from the castle’s path. His black armor barely held on to his body in most places. Bloody scratches and bruises covered his dirty face and body. His broad, muscled chest rose and fell with labored breaths, and his defined jaw clenched with effort as he stopped next to Walter.

“Mendax!” Walter rasped, throwing his arms around the giant fae.

Malum fought a smile and lost, patting his brother on the back with a wince before pushing him away.

“You’re alive! Where have you been? But…Aunt Tenebris? Is she…?” Walter asked, his face hopeful.

“No,” Mendax said as he turned his stare to mine. “Mother is dead, and I nearly was too. The Fallen vultures invaded after the Seelie army left.”

I couldn’t think enough to form words. There in front of me stood the man of my dreams and nightmares. How many timescould one person play dead? Perhapsheshould have been given the nickname ofpet.

“How did you—?” Eli asked, sounding dumbfounded and irritated.

Mendax moved his eyes to where Eli’s hand gripped my waist.

“I have quite the number of deceitful, non-law-abiding friends in dark places.” He tipped his face to Walter. “I was in Eromreven before I went to Itäre. Eletha guided me.”

Eli seemed taken aback. “Oh, sure, you were in Eromreven. Just relaxing in Eromreven?”

“You saw Eletha?” Walter said with obvious interest.

Mendax smiled and cocked his head, ignoring Eli to stare at me. “He owed me.”

“How was she? How did she look? Did she speak of anyone?” Walter asked, suddenly more flustered than I’d ever seen him.

Eli’s gaze went to Walter, shocked.

“You just went and hid in the underworld’s playground? You made friends in Eromreven and just left, did you?” Eli said in disbelief. “Sounds horrifying.”

I tried to remove my hand from Eli’s chest, but he clapped his hand over it and locked eyes with Mendax.

“Unless you’re of the dark, then it’s not so bad,” Walter countered with a smile. “It’s the other realms’ version of heaven and hell. The dark finds peace in Tartarus, while the Seelie who stayed on the path of good rest in the paradise of the Elysian Fields.”

“Unless you are a Seelie royal, in which case you are guaranteed admission into the Elysian Fields no matter how bad or evil you are,” I chimed in unexpectedly.

Mendax watched me with interest. “Yes, and it is the same for the Unseelie royals,” he replied. “They are automatically grantedadmission to Tartarus, no matter how good they have been.” He stared straight through me while everyone else just watched.

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