Page 24 of What did you do?

I couldn’t have cared less. Zef was Artemi, and as such, could ascend to Moirai and preside over the veil with the other grandchildren of the gods. He thought he was better thaneveryone. It was no wonder the Artemi had gotten themselves wiped clean off the realms.

I hated Zef.

As he was the god that created all shifters, I couldn’t help but wonder if he had something to do with my not being able to shift.

“How is your tea, dear?” I asked with a little more bite than I meant to.

“It’s lovely. Bring Eli up here, would you? He wouldloveto taste the berries in it,” the king mumbled.

“Oh, I’m afraid he’s resting. I’m taking him on his first trip to the human realm tonight.” I smiled as I watched him take another large gulp of the tea.

“The human realm? Oh my. Do be careful. I know Unseelie can no longer cross, but I’ve heard the Smoke Slayers can. From what Zef tells me, all hell broke loose at the Unseelie palace today. Such an unpleasant lot they are, murdering their own family, such vile nonsense.” He shook his head, causing the purple tea in his cup to tremble.

He had done it. Thanes had killed Queen Tenebris and that little nitwit of a son.

Pure euphoria coated my insides. I could have sung. In one swift motion, I moved to the seat next to my husband and tipped the cup more deeply as he drank, emptying it in his mouth as I leaned an elbow on the back of the seat.

“Oh my, good heavens,” he chuckled as he pulled the empty cup away and set it on the small table next to the sofa.

Already his normally tan skin had taken on a pale, waxy sheen. The heavy wrinkles under his amber eyes were moist with sweat. Tiny beads of sweat lined his reddish-blond hairline.

“Is it warm in here?” he asked. “I suppose it will be safe enough in the human realm, if it’s safe enough for Zef…” He trailed off. His bloodshot eyes snapped to the scroll still hovering in the fireplace before catching mine. “Oh no…”

He clumsily moved toward the blaze, realizing he hadn’t sent the scroll away with the fire yet. Just as he reached for the scroll, he fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

King Felix struggled a moment to sit up, looking to me in alarm. “You…you must send the scroll away. Zef entrusted me… I-I have to watch over them,” he said as the poison did its job and he struggled to breathe.

He had a sickening gray pallor now as he leaned back against the sofa, clutching at his chest.

Wait, what did he just say?

“What do you mean, Zef entrustedyou with watching over them? Watching over who?” I asked.

“I’ve… Get the healer. I’ve been poisoned.” His head lolled to one side as he began to cough. “Burn the scroll, Saracen. It’s a matter of life and death. There are more Artemi. Zef has them hidden… Wait…my—my tea,” he whispered as his fading mind struggled to put the pieces together.

My handsome fae husband looked up at me with so much hurt in his eyes, I nearly felt bad.

I grabbed the scroll from the fireplace and sat down next to him. “It will be better this way, Felix, I promise you,” I whispered into his ear as his breathing slowed. “You wouldn’t want to see what’s about to happen to this realm. I’ve joined forces with the Unseelie King Thanes. We’ve created an unstoppable army. We will rule the Seelie, the Unseelie, and the human realm before we take the Elven and Hanabi realms. Soon all the realms will bow to me.”

“How could… The kids… Swear to me that the kids…will be safe, Saracen…swear to me!” He struggled to keep his eyes open.

“I can’t do that,” I whispered with a frown.

I’m not sure why I had thought it would be hard to watch him die. It wasn’t.

It was invigorating.

His last breath sputtered from his chest with a low, rattling sound. I unraveled the thick, tan scroll, letting out a lungful of air myself.

Unit 1 No. 11 Upper Morn St.

Donegal Town, Pennsylvania

Human realm

Calypso, Jennifer, and Adrianna

Interesting.

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