Centuries ago, a fairy deep in love spurned by a lover turned black and lay down in the forest to die. When the moon rose, she took pity on the lovesick Fae.

Wake up. Wake up and live. Never do such a silly thing as this again.

But he lay unmoving, black skin graying, drawing ragged breaths.

You do not understand, he argued, we were so happy .

The moon watched him until her own light nearly dimmed. Finally, she confessed, But I do understand. Look to the east. Do you see that dreadful circle there? Many say he chases me, but understand, it is I who chase him. And as I’m cursed with one path, a path he pushes me on, he ensures I never meet him again. But no matter, she lied, because I do not love him anymore. I’ve learned to love other things.

Her words, though distant and soft, touched the ailing fairy’s heart. He dragged in a weak breath, begging, What other things? What can I love to stop this pain?

Destruction .

The cold night vanished, bringing a blistering and boastful sun to creep across the grass. When it reached the near-dead Fae, the sounds of wings came with it.

Someone landed. For a long while, the black fairy perceived nothing. The stranger did not move.

Finally, it closed the distance between them, stepping with no urgency in his stride, and knelt.

“Oh?” he said. “A foolish fairy. You weren’t supposed to exist anymore.”

The hand to eased under the night fairy’s head was cold to the touch. But he was limp as the stranger examined him.

“I suppose I should let you die. That would be a better end. Is that what you desire?”

Though fleeting, the moon still cried out, Death would mean they don’t have to remember us. They don’t have to regard us! Do not die. Let them suffer at seeing our triumph. I do not love him! Remember this. For I hate him now. I sink his civilizations and bring the tide to swallow his precious men. I will have my revenge forever more. As should you.

Shivering, the black Fae, with his dying breath, begged, “Allow me my revenge.”

“Revenge?” The stranger considered those words and answered with a laugh, “How convenient. Because revenge is my specialty. I am the Fairy King, and I will grant your life once. And only once.”

He jammed his hand into the black Fae’s chest, took hold of its heart, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Here,” the Fairy King said, “and now you are mine. Never love again. And you need not ail. You will be my magus. Fashion me a weapon, one to aid us in our revenge.”

Marva drew in a deep breath and the shiver receded. The memory played in her mind like a beautiful dancer spinning in revelry.

The Fairy King. The Fairy King.

When her eyes flew open however, she bore witness to a curious expression. It was not the mischievous gray eyes of the Fairy King, but rather, the worried blue of the hunchback.

Something else was strange, Marva realized, when she sat up and saw…she was free.

“What? What has happened?” She froze upon noticing that—he could see her. but that wasn’t all. She was their size. “What has happened!”

“Calm,” Wyrn soothed. “Your wings are just bound. The moment you calm, you can unbind them and return to your true form. This is only to help us communicate.”

A great deal of his face burned red—he’d been hit.

“A rock,” he answered her scrutiny.

Marva opened her mouth to inquire from where but what she saw of the ground below her told her enough. Uneven soil, crushed grass; there’d been a fight here, a very big one.

And in that struggle…Prince Sorem had forfeited his right to a Jvalan prisoner.

“Here,” Wyrn said, holding something to her, “this belongs to my wife. Wear it.”

Marva’s movements were slow, but she did as she was told. Unlike other fairy colors which faded to match the people of the town’s human form, hers did not. She was still dark-skinned.

Wyrn held out a hand and helped her up. Once she stood, albeit unsteady, she felt reborn.

Her eyes slid to focus on Matax who watched at a distance, arms folded. Though she stared at him, she told the hunchback, “I’m sorry about your wife. I hadn’t wanted it to come to this. And I would have stopped him if this louse hadn’t tried to kill me.”

Upon seeing her steady, Wyrn backed away. His expression was grim. “You’re a night Fae. You see the human heart. Tell me, will…will he try to hurt her physically?”

Marva swung her head around to meet his gaze. With this, she could offer some assurances. “No. I selected him because his heart was weak, but not bleak. Only…sad. He’s not a cad like his cousin. His sense of justice is warped but he honestly does believe his actions are just.”

With a nod, Wyrn raked his fingers through his hair. “He’s taken her home. We must hurry.”

Marva raised a hand to him. “Wait. I must warn you of the company you keep.” She thrust a hand out at Matax. “That is the Fairy King’s cohort and he’s stolen something from us. Something I must retrieve.”

The chuckle making its way to them came with a boast. “Ah, so I was right in guessing that was what you came for. What was it again? Shoes? Gems?”

Appalled, Marva barked, “A child! You stole the magus’s child, creton!”

But no surprise flashed in his eyes, proving that he’d known all along but refused to take this seriously.

With a toothy grin, Matax shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned forward. “Oh. That? Yeah.” He whispered, “I threw it away.”

Silence fell over the morning once active with the bugs’ chatter. “What?” Dread filled Marva with each second that smile grew. This bastard was serious.

“I threw it away,” Matax repeated. “Into the Lake of the Forgotten.”

The very name had Marva stepping back. She searched the grass for a solution. “No. It’s…. Then it’s truly gone.”

Wyrn’s voice broke through the panic. “I found the baby,” he said.

All eyes gravitated to him, even Matax’s.

“What?” Matax growled. “What did you say?”

But Wyrn ignored him and instead set his focus on Marva. “I have the child. I know where the child is, and I’ll return what is rightfully yours. But first, I must rescue my wife. She cannot go to Rowil; that is the absolute last place she’s allowed. And from this destruction, I can see she put up a fight.”

“Oh yes,” Matax attested. “She went kicking and screaming.”

Wyrn fell silent. He turned his entire body to Matax, a warning in his eyes. “What? You were awake?”

Matax scoffed. “The underworld was awake with the fight she put up. Yes.” At Wyrn’s mounting rage, he reminded him, “Yellow fairy here. I can do no wrong.”

“Matax,” a soft voice called from behind him.

The fairy didn’t turn so Jeze stepped closer. “Matax. This isn’t fun anymore. You said not helping her would be best. Are…are you saying you lied?”

No longer grinning, Matax stood fully once more. He focused on Marva then Wyrn before letting out a laugh.

“This is just a test to see—”

A light shot from Wyrn’s hand. When it dulled, a spear solidified .

“I’ve just about had it with you.”

Matax raised his hands in surrender. “What have I done? I told you where to find the unicorn you were after. Hadn’t I? I even stole that dwarf’s money to ensure he’d take new customers since his business was closed for the season. Come now, Jaffo. I think I’ve been rather accommodating.”

Wyrn’s heavy breathing grew. His expression calmed when Jeze stepped before Matax, shielding him with her body.

“Don’t harm him. Please. He’s lied to me as well. He said cutting the dwarf’s beard would bring luck. But…but it just brought sadness. I’m sorry, Jaffo.”

At the standoff, Marva turned her attention to Wyrn. “I shall be needing that child, sir. And then I’ll be on my way. And I’d rather do it quickly, Prince Sorem is no deviant, despite his sycophant ways. So your wife’s virtue is safe—”

“It’s not her virtue I’m worried about.” Wyrn explained, “the Princess of Rowil is forbidden in that kingdom. They will shoot her dead. I must retrieve her and now.”

Lie or truth, it didn’t matter, Marva couldn’t let this pass. She folded her arms to convey as much.

“You’re best to listen to him, bright eyes,” Matax said, sounding guttural as he focused on her fully for the first time. His use of that nickname had Marva’s hands falling to her sides. He did remember her. “And you’d better do it quickly,” he said, “because I’m not the one making you sick.”

“What?” Marva swirled those words around in her head, scrambling for a coherent meaning.

Matax plucked them one by one and put them together. “Yes. I knew you on sight. Hell, I felt you coming. I welcomed it. And no, I hadn’t known these fools had found that child, but I knew one of you would come eventually. You would come eventually. The magus would use the very last of his strength to send one fairy through the realms, the one responsible. The one who would be free upon arrival because the baby would be gone.”

Hands shaking, Marva clenched her fist. He spoke as if he’d done any of this for her benefit. “Do you expect a thank you?”

“I expect nothing. I do not care what happens to you, your kind, or that miniature version of you lot. I did what I had to in order to save who I wanted. And this time, I did what I had to in order to save her yet again. Because you forget one thing. A night Fae to a night Fae, is kin. And I need only two things to ensure that. A declaration of love, and sorrow.”

He reached around to hold Jeze’s chin and guide it to him. When he kissed her lips, she shed a tear.

“And let this lie not go in vain. Because for stealing what they hold dear to them, they’d take what I held dear to me. So I had to do this. I’m sorry. But you need only tell me you love me to change.”

Jeze broke his hold and stepped away. “What?”

“We can transform yet again. This time to night fairies and be absolved of all crimes. Even the ones committed here.”

Feet shaky, and probably not for those damn boots, Jeze took a trembling breath. “I believed you. You said we’d have fun. That we’d make the princess happy. Now you say leave her to die.”

“She’s not dead.”

“She will die! I can’t take more of this.” Jeze’s lips trembled. “Following you into the dark and never coming back out of it whole. I can’t.”

Matax’s gaze was unbending. “The process has started, and you can turn away from it if you choose, but the moment you do, we are but the moon and the sun; our paths will never cross again. Think of what you risk.”

“It’s what you risk. I’m not leaving the princess to die.”

At the defiance, Wyrn sighed. “None of us are. We’ll get her.” The spike in his hand had since vanished when he told Marva. “And I swear, I will return the child to you. But we must, must get to Rowil immediately. They’re both in grave danger.”

“That’s not my fight,” Marva argued. Matax was terrible and cruel, but he’d been right. If the child had perished or was otherwise impossible to find, Marva would have her freedom. Now, with it still very much alive, she was stuck. She could not abandon it with intent. “Even if I wanted to help you, I cannot.”

“Oh, but I think you must.” Matax folded his arms. “Do you think it’s mere chance that your charge became infatuated? Oh no. When I passed by this moron with a night Fae in a cage, I made sure and sprinkled a bit of persuasion around, to enhance her appeal. Knowing he’d do the one thing all men did, something stupid. Such as…give pieces of himself in exchange for power?”

Marva’s blood ran cold.

“And the reason fairies don’t do that is…because it becomes ‘ shared ’ between the human. You’re taxing your powers. That’s why you feel that slow death. So, if Sorem dies without returning your power…what will that mean for you? Because out of the two of them, this Jaffo or that princess, trust me, she’s the dangerous one. There’s a reason she can’t go back to Rowil and you’re about to find that out the hard way.”

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