What did you do? (Infatuated fae #2)

19. Present Day

19

PRESENT DAY

Caly

S everal days had passed since Mendax had reappeared.

And I had been jumping out of my skin at everything since. Every time I smelled a fire or a candle being extinguished, I became a lunatic, trying to protect whoever was around me at the time. Chef Samuel, unfortunately, thought I was unbalanced, but I certainly didn’t blame him. Twice during breakfast in the kitchen, I tried to coerce him and Eli to break through the window and climb down the exterior of the castle to get to safety—induced by the smell of mulled cider burning in a cauldron on the fire.

Walter, though, had apparently been given strict instructions to stick by me. Luckily everyone believed him to be my new rat companion.

It was one of the best feelings I could think of, to have Walter around. Besides just being an unbelievable friend, he also knew Mendax better than anyone, and there was a chance he could be the only thing capable of helping me keep Eli alive. On more than one occasion, he had helped calm my mind about what was happening between Mendax and me.

Even with basically being a brother to Mendax and hating the Seelie fae, Walter was there for me. From the moment I had met him as Brown Rat in the Unseelie dungeons, I had felt a deep friendship with him. I’d never had someone I could lean on so fully and openly and know they were going to still be there. Even Eli now felt like a stranger to me sometimes. He’d changed so much since I’d last seen him, and though once an innocent crush, it now felt like we were opposing poles of neodymium magnets, being attracted to each other. It just felt so…permanent now. Of all the things I thought I would do once I became a part of Seelie, marrying and ruling wasn’t one of them.

My worries only continued to grow. In a house full of fox shifters, I still couldn’t understand how they didn’t pick up on another shifter right under their noses. Walter reassured me several times that he was such a pure-blooded shifter, it would be impossible for anyone to tell, shifter or not. He also guessed that could be another reason he and I were so close. Walter said that even though the broken heart inside of my chest had only a crumb of powers, it was still there and drawn to his pure blood.

I still hadn’t spoken to Queen Saracen yet. I was planning what to say. I needed to tell her that the game was over—a part of me was avoiding her for fear she would somehow find out about Mendax being alive, and the other part of me was avoiding her because I needed to figure out my next move before I went to her. Another part of me was avoiding her because I knew she would want to discuss the ceremony in which I’d get my heart put back together again, and then she was going to test me to see if I still possessed some of Mendax’s power. Well, with him still alive, I knew how that was going to go. She’d make me marry Eli in front of everyone, and together, we would leave the ceremony as king and queen of Seelie—if that was even possible when you were bonded to an Unseelie.

I wasn’t ready for any part of it.

What would happen if they restored my heart and nothing happened? What if it killed me? I heaved out a breath at the thought. At least I would be with my sister.

I would talk to Saracen only once I had figured out what to do.

I swallowed, and it felt like cut glass sliding down my throat. I knew she would kill me, which would kill Eli, and then she’d probably figure out a way to actually kill Mendax. I needed a plan that would keep Mendax, Eli, and myself all alive. I also had to get my heart back before she found out about everything and it was too late to get it back.

This would all be over soon—it had to be. I was so, so tired of this.

“You better snap out of it before we get to the hills,” Princess Tarani barked as we continued walking up the path and through the forest.

I glanced to my right, shaking my head free of all of the thoughts running through it that I couldn’t seem to sort out.

When I had tried to tell Eli that Mendax was back again, he had refused to listen, claiming it was Queen Tenebris who had attacked the guard at the portal. I knew he wanted to protect me, but it wouldn’t do us any good if Mendax was traipsing around the castle, just waiting to be found out—or worse, waiting to kill them all. I hadn’t seen him, but that didn’t mean anything. One rarely sees the ghost in their attic, but they know he’s there. Mendax still didn’t know about my tie to Eli.

I had told Walter everything last night but swore him to secrecy. It felt like I’d been wearing a thousand pounds of armor and finally got to remove it for a few minutes.

Something pressed against my arm, and I jumped nearly a foot in the air.

“Wow, you’ve really been on edge the last few days, Cal. I promise the threat is taken care of. I wouldn’t be taking my two favorite girls riding if I thought it was dangerous,” Eli said as he let go of my arm.

“I’m still certain the threat is closer than ever,” I said, glaring at him.

Tarani looked between the two of us, doing her best to figure out what was going on.

The sun beating down on my bare arms burned my skin as the three of us continued along the path. Eli had been determined to get me out of the castle, claiming that my anxiety was from being cooped up too long. He knew I was an outdoorsy type and found something in nature I couldn’t find anywhere else.

“How much farther are we going?” I wished I had brought a light jacket to protect my arms from the sun. When Eli had told me we were going to the pits to collect horses, I had no idea we would have to walk so far.

“What’s the matter? Tired already? Boy, if the Ancestors could see their prized secret Artemi now,” she said with a smirk.

“Knock it off, Tarani. I brought you along so the two of you could get to know each other, become friends,” Eli said, wisely moving between us.

“Thanks, but I don’t need friends like her.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, moving to get behind Tarani. Ever since arriving in Seelie, Tarani had done nothing but push my buttons, and I had had enough.

“It means no one wants you here. You’re just her puppet anyway,” Tarani bit out, stepping into me to put her nose into mine.

Had she not been jeopardizing my stay here, I would have really liked her bite.

“Enough!” shouted Eli as a blaze of gold emanated from his skin. His golden wings flared out from his back. “ I want her here, and we all know Mother wants her in the family—probably more than she wants you, Tarani.” Eli winked at his sister to soften his words, pushing back in between us.

“Trust me, I know. It’s only because she will be the only Artemi not to ascend in history, and the Seelie will dominate the other realms,” Tarani snapped.

“Look, Tarani, it’s no secret that I wish for Caly to be my wife and a part of this family one day, and if Mother has her way, it will be soon, whether you want it or not. Either way, you will not speak of her like that in front of me, unless you want to be expelled from the castle with the Fallen,” Eli boomed at his sister.

My belly flip-flopped hearing him say he wanted me as his wife. It sounded just like I had once imagined it would.

Tarani glared through narrowed eyes, looking like she was ready to shout back, but instead of responding, she closed her mouth and stormed off into the forest.

“I’ll go back to the castle. You go get her,” I said. “She’s just being protective of you.”

“It’s fine. She just needs to cool off a little. She knows how to get to the hills on her own. We’ll meet her there once she’s calmed down,” Eli said, taking my hand in his.

Oh god.

What if Mendax was watching? If he saw Eli touching me, he would kill us both.

I pulled my hand free and gave a tight smile when Eli looked at me, puzzled.

“Eli, you know we can’t really get married,” I said with an airy laugh.

“Why not?” He guided us under a large oak, into the shade, giving my skin a much-needed break from the sun.

“I’m not going to accept that deal with your mother. At the ceremony to get my heart back, the smoke will still come. Mendax is still alive. He and I are bonded, and that’s why I still have the smoke. That isn’t going to change once my heart is repaired. I’ll form a new plan to get my heart back from her, but I can’t marry you. I need to find another way. I can’t hurt you,” I said as I traced my fingers over the deep grooves of the oak’s bark.

“You hate the idea of marrying me that much?” he asked, looking surprisingly wounded. “Cal, I love you. I always have, and I always will. Having our lives tied together doesn’t matter to me when I was never going to leave your side anyway. I would do anything for you. Let me take care of you,” he whispered.

My eyes could have bugged out of my head. It was as if my teenage fantasy was coming to life—except…

“It’s not that?—”

“He really is here, alive, isn’t he?” he asked as he grabbed my arm and turned me around to face him.

“Yes. I told you he was.”

“And that is why then?” He began pacing in front of me. “You cannot love him. He is evil! How could someone as good and sweet as you love a monster like that?” he shouted.

“That!” I shoved my finger at him. “That is why I could never marry you. You stopped being my best friend over ten years ago! A letter here and there doesn’t keep things the same. You don’t even know me, not really.” I switched places with Eli and began pacing while he stilled. “How could you? Because I don’t tell you anything about who I really am.”

“That’s not fair, and you know it! I was barred entry after what happened with Commander Von—after I found out what he was doing,” Eli said.

“Don’t put this on me. I never told you to fight him and get yourself banished! I was handling him just fine on my own,” I spat out.

“From where I stood, he was the one doing all the handling,” he snapped back. “I’d have killed him if mother hadn’t sent him to Malvar.”

My chest tightened remembering the day Eli had shown up to surprise me, and instead found my trainer taking certain liberties with me. I barely remembered, I had become so good at flipping a switch and going numb. Sometimes I think it might have been the best training I received from him; other times, I wondered if I had ever turned the switch back on.

“You have no idea what I’ve had to become.” I stopped pacing, having lost all the steam from my rant. The Seelie prince walked a few steps from the shade to stand in the sun, turning to face me with a hard look in his eyes as he reached between his shoulder blades and grabbed ahold of the neckline of his shirt.

“I’m sorry I didn’t know you were Artemi sooner, Caly, but even if I’d have known, I wouldn’t have told you. You’re not from this world. You don’t understand how dangerous it is for an unascended Artemi to be found. There is no way you can understand my reasoning. You have no idea how much I fought my mother on taking your heart when I thought you were a human. Now, I think it was the probably the best move, for your safety. I’d never even known you could take half of an Artemi’s heart. Before he passed away, my father was best friends with your father. I believe that’s how mother knew to save you before Queen Tenebris could get to you.”

He finished pulling off his shirt, and for the first time since we were kids, I saw his bare chest.

“But the truth is, you don’t really know what I’ve become either.” Eli’s large, golden wings stretched wide behind his firm body. Streaks of deep, brassy gold covered him. There were barely more than a few inches between each of the lightning-like marks. Texture in the gold shone through, brightening under the sun’s rays. Seelie bled gold. These were scars.

Eli’s chest and back were covered.

I struggled to contain the violent ocean of pure rage that coursed through me. My teeth creaked against the force of my jaw. I would slaughter whoever had done this to him. Add them to the fucking list.

I moved behind him to see that his broad back and shoulders bore even more marks than the front. My fingertips carefully skimmed over the scars on his pectoral muscle, then followed the vein of gold to another branch of scars that stopped just below his neck. My eyes blurred with hot tears. Eli had gone through all of this without me here to help. Whoever hurt him would experience a pain so severe it would need a new name. “Tell me who fucking did this to you, Eli. They are dead,” I thundered.

“Mendax, the crown prince of Unseelie did this to me.” Eli’s honey-colored eyes held mine. “The man you choose over me. He is responsible for these marks.”

“What?” The air was punched from my lungs.

What had I done?

“The Smoke Slayer and I have had more than our share of battles. Many of them at the commands of our mothers…many of them not.”

He stepped into me, and my palm heated against his tan abdomen.

“Neither you nor I know what the other is actually capable of, do we? We’ve both kept things from the other. It doesn’t mean anything now. I have been in love with you since the day I met you, when you told me you hated me,” he chuckled softly. “I will be anything for you. I love you, Calypso, and if I need to fight the Unseelie prince for you, then he should be warned. Every battle we’ve endured prior will be nothing compared to the lengths I am willing to go through to ensure you are happy and safe—with me.” He bent down to press his warm, sun-kissed lips against mine.

It felt like summer. Like rolling down a grassy hill and laughing until your belly hurt. Like the feeling you got when the first rays of spring sunshine danced across your melancholy winter mind. The kiss was so light and gentle, filled with feelings and tenderness I’d never felt from anybody before.

Nothing about it felt wrong or shameful. For the first time since my mom and sister died, a bit of warmth spread through my cold insides, blanketing the dark, angry parts of me with the feeling of home.

Eli moved his head back to end the sweet kiss but stopped with his lips separated only a breath from mine, his eyes still closed. As if he couldn’t physically move away from me.

“Feuhn—Kai—Greeyth,” he whispered.

Eternal love and friendship.

My mouth would have lifted in a genuine smile, but for a moment, I forgot how to move, so instead I looked at him for a few seconds without my walls or masks.

“Your lips feel like happiness and sunshine,” I muttered. I didn’t want to move for fear I would lose the feeling.

“You taste like sadness. Or a rainy day that doesn’t know light should be in the sky,” he whispered against my lips. “Allow me to be your umbrella, Cal. Let me keep the rain from touching you ever again.”

We stood still for a few beats before he stepped back, folding his wings and replacing his shirt. My very confused, ashamed eyes trailed over my best friend’s lean, flexing muscles.

Suns. What was I doing? I had fucked the Seelies’ greatest enemy not long ago. The very same man who had scarred my best friend’s body like an old cutting board—and I had wanted it. Shame drowned any good feelings. I had thought about leaving with Mendax after I got my heart and telling him everything, stupidly thinking he would be perfect to help me with what I still needed to do. What the fuck was I doing? Mendax was evil, Eli was good. I needed to be good.

Mendax was lust, danger, and passion, but with Eli, I could be different. Everything could work out so perfectly—even better than I had hoped. I could finally get my heart back and be happy.

“Come on, we should meet up with Tarani. I want to make sure she got there okay. I’ll explain how you trick your horse on the way. Tarani’s probably already gotten hers.”

“Sorry, what?” I said, certain I’d misheard him through the myriad thoughts that pounded away in my skull. I stepped away from the shade and back into the blazing sun and winced as soon as the light hit my eyes.

“There will be shade once we are at the hills,” Eli said sympathetically.

As we walked, my mind flickered back to Walter, at the castle where I had left him. I knew that his goal while we were gone was to try to figure out why he kept sensing Artemi powers in the back corner of the throne room when there was nothing in there but creepy murals of an eerie, empty battle and thrones.

“How much longer until we arrive?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“The forest of the hills will begin shortly,” Eli replied.

I got the distinct impression that he was avoiding telling me any more about the hills than he had to. “I still don’t understand why we have to go into the forest to capture a horse. I happen to know the castle has a paddock full of horses. The Unseelie had skeletal unicorns in theirs. They were incredibly cool.”

At the mention of Unseelie, Eli shot me a look. “That is exactly what I’m talking about. In Seelie, we respect our horses. We prove to them that we are worthy of their strength and loyalty. The Unseelie simply capture and cage anything they decide they want.”

He had no idea how true his statement was.

We pressed on as the forest grew denser and more beautiful, with bright, flowering trees and pines.

Looking ahead on the path, I understood exactly why it was referred to as the pits.

“Let me guess, we’re here,” I said as I stared down into the wide-open pit that seemed to have appeared from nowhere. The spongy, green moss around the edge of the hole camouflaged it, making it virtually impossible to see. Glancing around the shaded forest, I saw no other holes in the ground.

“Yes we are here, and watch out—the pits move. They usually don’t show this far out, but it looks like they are being temperamental today,” he said. His jaw tightened. “We need to find Tarani. Stay by me. You won’t see them if they appear in front of you, and if they even cause you to lose your balance, they will be relentless,” he said before he moved in front of me.

As we continued through the forest, I moved to the side, feeling stupid for letting him shove me behind him. I had eyes. I was able to see a hole the size of a house just as well as he could.

“You hear that? What is that?” I asked Eli.

He turned around, his eyes as wide as saucers. “Shit! That’s Tarani!”

We took off into the forest, my short legs struggling to keep up with Eli. Tall trees with bushy tops appeared to move as we ran. Were we running that fast? Or were the trees really moving?

A deep rumble started, vibrations buzzing up my ankles, making my whole body quake.

“Come! You have to move quicker, Caly!” Eli shouted just as a pit the size of a minivan opened right in front of me, nearly taking me down with the rubble and dirt that it swallowed.

I leaped to the side just as there was another shout off in the distance, this one more panicked.

Tarani was in trouble.

“Go without me!” I screamed at Eli, praying he would leave me behind and go to his sister.

“I’ve done that before. I’ll never you behind again,” he stated as he ran back several feet, trying to get to me.

“Fucking go, Eli! Stop trying to rescue me every five seconds and go get your sister. I can make it out of here on my own,” I hollered. “Stop treating me like I can’t do anything.”

“Fine, stubborn ass. Keep running and don’t stand still, or they will sense it and open under you. Go back out the way we came!” he shouted.

Eli was panicking as he spun back and forth between me and his sister’s screams before letting out his own gruff shout. His golden wings spread with a sharp thrap before he took off running in the direction of her voice. Mystified, I watched as my best friend rose gradually into the sky. Eli could fly.

I had had no idea he could actually fly.

Of course I knew he had wings. Beautiful, sparkling wings that I could picture a god or archangel having, but I had never thought they could actually carry his weight. Still a science nerd at my core, it felt terribly wrong. The weight should have been too uneven, and how did they just seem to disappear into their skin when they were not in use? Mendax’s wings of smoke did the same thing. Magic made no sense.

I realized I had stopped running and was standing in the still forest—precisely what I had been instructed not to do.

I made a mental note to ask him more about his wings. Maybe Eli would humor me and let me run a few tests on them, for the sake of placating my curious mind. I knew he would. He would do anything for me. Sadness gripped my chest, thinking about how much he would hate me soon.

Another shrill scream sounded, shaking me out of my thoughts.

Was that a growl that came after?

This time the shriek came from my left—not the way Eli had flown.

Logically, I knew that I shouldn’t wander off into a forest I was unfamiliar with, especially one with creatures I knew nothing about. I glanced around. The humid air was heavy with the aroma of woody earth. Everything was peaceful—bright-green moss and grass, pink and yellow flowers I didn’t recognize. It was beautiful in a way that you couldn’t imagine being real.

I stiffened immediately, hearing the high whine again.

I knew better than anyone that if something dangerous appeared beautiful and calm on the outside, it was far more twisted and devious than anything that looked spooky and ominous. Those that hide their darkness under a mask of beauty and good are filled with the worst kind of evil—the kind that will betray and trick you once you trust it.

Feeling the ground beneath my feet tremble, I bolted to my left.

I felt a pull in that direction. It wasn’t in the hopes of saving Tarani—honestly, it’d be easier for me if she died now.

I would be fine. I’d continue running while I paid close attention to the ground.

When the pits opened, it was silent aside from the crumble of the dirt and roots caving in on themselves. Even the birds of the forest were annoyingly quiet when it happened. No squawking and flying off—they just watched from the trees.

I nearly plummeted into a small pit before I fell backward, throwing my weight behind me as hard as possible. I rolled away from it, panting as I pressed against the nearest tree.

Fuck, that was close. Maybe Eli was right, and I shouldn’t be out here.

The pit closed slowly. The ground sealed over with fresh, spongey moss as if it had never happened at all.

Holy hell, they closed. Did that mean if you fell, you were eaten up by the forest dirt?

A tree nearby creaked loud and long. Several in the distance groaned and creaked almost as if in answer.

I peered around the other side of the tree that I leaned against. My fingers touched the dark, textured bark. It was beautiful, but not a tree I recognized. I would ask Eli if I could go through the castle library. I desperately wanted to learn more about nature in these realms. For all I knew, I was about to climb up a creature right now.

I pulled myself up the lowest branch, feeling the stretch and pull of my unused muscles. I continued to climb until I was able to look out and see a good distance.

Pits of all different sizes pocked the moss-carpeted floor, exactly where I had been about to run. I never would have seen them.

A low growl and a yip echoed through the trees again. My eyes finally found a large hole at the edge of my vision. Dirt and rocks crumbled along the inside edge. Something was unsuccessfully attempting to climb out.

Tarani.

I cracked off a small stick from the branch I was crouched under and held my hand out, my pointer finger following the direction of the pit with Tarani. Firmly, I pressed the small stick’s round end onto the top of my hand until indents were left in the same pattern of the pits I could see along the forest floor. It would serve as a pit map, but it would only remain accurate if I was fast and made it before any closed or more opened.

Shimmying down the rough bark, I was incredibly thankful I had worn leggings under my sundress as I dropped to the ground and pointed my finger in the direction of the pit. My confidence increased as I dodged several pits and successfully made it to the large hole at the end of my hand map. Sweat dripped down my back as I skidded to a stop just at the edge of the hole and dropped to my knees.

The pit was shaped like a cone, the top wide and spacious, but as the pit deepened, it grew narrower, until the pointed base of the steep hole came into view, nearly a quarter the size of the opening.

“Tarani!” I called as I peered over the edge of the pit.

Deep, deep down, in the very small base of the pit was the most beautiful red fox desperately trying to climb up the dirt wall of the pit and falling back with a yelp.

“Oh my god.” My eyes caught movement at the opposite side of the base.

A humungous grizzly bear was crouched, watching Tarani climb and fall.

“Tarani!” I shouted again, causing both the bear and Tarani to look up. “What are you doing? Shift into your fae form and use your wings to fly out!” I yelled, wondering why she hadn’t done it already.

I glanced around the sky. Surely Eli could hear us? He could fly down and get her out easily.

Snarls and growls rose from the pit, drawing my attention back down. Tarani had fallen too close to the bear’s area and it had gone for her.

“He looks like he might be an adolescent. Just give him space!” I shouted. This was not going to end well for her. Black bears were excellent climbers, shy, and generally quick to retreat when threatened. But this wasn’t a black bear.

Tarani was in the pit with what looked like a massive grizzly. They were not good climbers and were incredibly aggressive when threatened. Unless she pulled out some serious powers soon, she wasn’t going to make it out alive.

“Shift, damn it!” I screamed at her. I don’t even know why I cared. I didn’t want to like her. One more fucked part of the plan.

She looked up, and I saw the fear and pleading in her eyes. Was she unable to shift for some reason?

She hit the opposite wall with a soft thud as the bear slashed at her with his long claws. Her fox form slid down the dirt wall to lay in a lifeless heap on the ground.

“Tarani!” I bellowed. “Get away from her now!” I snarled at the bear.

To my surprise, it looked up at me. Its brown eyes were filled with sorrow as he hunkered down once again, on the opposite side of Tarani.

“Eli! We’re over here!” I screamed into the forest, cupping my hands around my mouth like a megaphone.

Just leave. Go back to the castle , I thought. This is retribution being served up on a silver fucking platter.

I grumbled as I punched the dirt next to me. None of this was working out like it should. I was too weak with Tarani and Eli. I flipped over on my belly and let out a shaky breath, letting my feet dangle over the edge a second before pushing myself into the pit. I clumsily slid and rolled to the bottom, nearly crushing Tarani’s lifeless fox form as I fell next to her.

“Wow,” I mumbled under my breath.

The bear was huge from up there, but huddled on the other end of the small space, he seemed absolutely giant. I had assumed he was a grizzly, but seeing his larger-than-normal body reminded me that I didn’t know a thing about the fae’s creatures beyond bits and pieces that I’d heard; it meant nothing that they looked like things I was familiar with. For all I knew, it could shoot fire out of its eyes.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Eli’s voice thundered down into the hole.

I looked up to see his handsome face leaning over the bright opening. “Tarani! What hap—” His eyes landed on the bear next to us.

“Of course you’d show up right after I drop myself down here!” I yelled at him. I ran my hands over Tarani’s fluffy body, checking for any damage that I might recognize.

“Is she?—”

“She’s okay, strong pulse. I think she just got knocked unconscious,” I replied, unable to stop myself from petting her soft, orange fur. She hated me and would probably try to murder me after she knew I had pet her like a dog.

So I rubbed her belly for good measure.

“What were you thinking? The pit could close any second! This isn’t the human realm anymore. It doesn’t matter if you killed a few incompetent fae for my mother. You don’t have any powers and are going to get us both killed being so reckless! Or did you already forget we are tied together? Probably forgot all about me again, as soon as you saw Mendax—who might I remind you, you couldn’t kill because you are as powerless as a human!” he screamed.

Deep down, I knew he was panicking at seeing both Tarani and I at the bottom of a pit that could close at any second, killing all three of us in a second, but his words sparked like a firecracker inside me. He had no idea what I’d managed without power.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice softening as he watched me take a step back to look around the pit.

“Getting out of here,” I replied flatly.

“I’m coming down. Move to the side by Tarani. I don’t want to anger the eval. It must be hurt, because there is no way it wouldn’t have killed you two already otherwise, especially you. I don’t know how you and I are both going to get out of this alive.” Eli glared at me. “Which means we both won’t.”

I had already lifted Tarani’s lean body and was in the process of draping her limp form around my neck, so I could grip her legs on either side of my chest.

Eval…what was difference between evals and grizzlies? I wondered.

“Stop. What are you doing?” Eli shouted. I could hear the frustration in his voice. He sounded like he was talking to a toddler who wouldn’t do what he asked.

Irritation created soft whorls of smoke that flowed off my arms.

The eval lifted its head and wiggled its large black nose to sniff at my smoke before it let out a growl so rumbly that it caused bits of loose dirt to drop from the sides.

Interesting. It didn’t seem to like the Smoke Slayer smoke.

“Caly!” Eli yelled.

I adjusted Tarani on my shoulders, stood to my full height, and locked eyes with the eval. His brown irises roamed over me, still inhaling the smoke that trickled off my arms and hands and tilting its head as if it was confused. The eval turned around and pushed its head against the dirt wall, leaving its large brown butt to face me.

Umm…okay.

Tarani was light enough. I could do this. Just like at the mall, where they had those yellow spiral wishing wells that I would drop my penny into and watch as it continued to circle around and around the bright plastic side, until it dropped down the bottom of the funnel, well, that’s what I was going to attempt. Only the opposite.

When an object moves in a circle, it must have an acceleration component perpendicular to its velocity. The magnitude of the acceleration increases, causing the speed to increase and decrease as you increase the span of the circle. Basically, I should be able to use centripetal force and run around the interior walls, eventually getting to the top. But this would only work if I could go fast enough and gradually rise at a steady pace.

I heaved in a breath and ran diagonally, stepping hard against the wall just above the dirt floor and taking wide steps as I increased my speed. As I neared the eval, my steps faltered, and I began to fall, catching my balance just in time and landing in a crouch back on the floor where I had started. Was it too wide?

“I have to run right above you. Please don’t hurt us,” I begged the eval.

This had to work. I said a small prayer that I wouldn’t mess up, which would not only startle the giant animal, probably causing it to lash out, but the fall alone could kill the both of us…the trio of us.

“Caly, stop!” Eli shouted.

I needed to be faster and not let running above the eval make me nervous. If I could create enough speed, the total magnitude of the normal force would increase. With a larger frictional force, I could get us out, running around the edges of the cone as it widened.

I took off, letting Eli’s earlier words fuel me. I didn’t need him or Mendax. I didn’t need anybody, and I needed to remember that.

My ankle cracked at an odd angle while I struggled to get started around the circle. I changed my grip on Tarani, moving all four of her thin legs into one hand so I could balance better as we accelerated around the wall. If I couldn’t keep this speed, we would drop.

“What the—” Eli said as I got closer to the lip where he was crouched.

Finally near the top, my ankles throbbed and my arms quivered, but I flung us onto the edge, slamming against the earth as large hands gripped my wrists, helping to pull me up. The mossy edge of the pit slid against my tired body until only the tips of my tennis shoes dangled over. Hurrying for fear the pit would close at any second, I pulled my knees up, away from the edge, shoved Tarani’s body from my shoulders, and rolled over, panting.

“How did you—” Eli began.

I moved my eyes from the blue sky above to see Eli holding Tarani’s limp body, staring at me with an open mouth.

“Physics,” I grumbled, dropping my head back down for one more second before standing up. “Why couldn’t she shift? Couldn’t she have flown out?” I asked.

“Sometimes fate toys with us, and our animal form won’t allow us to shift. She must have been terrified. Evals are no joke,” Eli whispered.

He had lifted Tarani to hold her in a bright ray of sun that peeked through the trees. As soon as the sun touched her fur, it glimmered like each hair was full of magic. She moved her head to the side to soak in more of the strong sun.

My shoes compressed the deep moss as I stepped back to the edge of the pit.

“Okay, be ready for me. If this closes, I’m sorry for everything. Know that I loved you, even when you’re being an ass,” I said, sitting on the edge of the pit, dangling my legs back down.

Hands clapped over my shoulders and pulled me back. “What the fuck are you doing?” Eli barked.

“The grizzly or eval—whatever it is, I’m going to help get him out,” I said, shoving him off of me. It was stupid, but so was saving Tarani.

“What? You can’t do that. You can’t carry him out. He’s six hundred pounds at least! You will kill us both! And for what? An eval?” Eli gawked at me like I had grown a second head.

“I don’t think he’ll hurt me. I can sort of feel it. I think,” I said softly.

“You can’t feel anything, Caly! You don’t have any of your Artemi powers yet. They are tucked away safely in the castle,” he said while he rubbed his forehead. “Just because a lot of animals like you, doesn’t mean they all will.”

My jaw dropped. “You know where my heart is. You’ve known this whole time?” My throat tightened until I was barely able to finish the words.

“Yes, I know where it is, but that doesn’t mean I can get to it. You’re the only one who can get to it.”

“Why wouldn’t you help me get it then?” I asked. This is what happens when you love someone and trust they will keep you safe.

“I didn’t know that you were planning on stealing it back before our ceremony. You are though.” His eyes flashed. “You were planning to steal your heart and leave with Mendax, weren’t you?” He was shouting now, hurt and anger carving lines between his eyes.

“I wasn’t planning to do anything with Mendax, but why should I have to marry you in order to get my own heart?” I shouted back at him. “It’s my heart! I was told I would be considered a Seelie royal upon my arrival. No marriage required.” I watched the muscle feather as his jaw clenched and he took a step back as though I had wounded him.

“Forgive me. I was unaware you held such objections to marrying me,” he stated. “Perhaps then, once I put Mendax to death once and for all, it will lessen your struggle. After all, he’s in my realm, stalking my family,” he said with chilling calm.

I stared at him for a minute. I had been so worried about Mendax killing Eli, I had never once thought about the possibility of Eli killing Mendax.

How had this gotten so complicated?

I turned my eyes back to the pit. Now more than ever, I needed to be around an animal. It sounded stupid, but it reminded me of my sister, and it was the only time I felt any peace. Right then, I would risk a mauling for that kind of calm.

Sliding my legs over the edge of the pit, I tried to flatten my back against the wall, in the hopes of using a playground-slide position as I slid down. Unfortunately, a large rock grated against my spine, forcing me to coil and tumble until I fell to the bottom.

“Calypso! No!”

Before I could stop him, Eli had dived into the pit, spreading his gilded wings to hover above me. The eval rose, filling the crowded space with its large frame and letting out a growl so forceful, spit flew from his open jaw.

“Eli, go back with Tarani. If she doesn’t wake up soon, another pit could open under her. I can handle this,” I said, standing up to brush the dirt off my leggings and ripped sundress.

“You think I’m going to leave you here?” Eli said, swooping over to grab my waist. “You have no defense. It will kill you! It’s not a puppy!”

“You are going to leave me here because I chose to do this on my own. I have already proven time and time again that I am not even a little helpless, so stop thinking that I am, and trust me. As my best friend, would you ever want me to marry someone who doesn’t believe in me?” I said, angling myself between him and the eval.

Eli closed his mouth, pressing his lips together tightly, obviously attempting to filter out the millions of things he wanted to say. “Fine,” he bit out as his eyes darted over my face. “But only because I know that if I simply grab you and fly from here, I would be no better than Mendax, and when I do kill him for everything he has done to you—and believe me, I will—I want you to understand that he and I love you in much different ways.”

He removed his hand from my waist after a light squeeze and flapped his wings. “The instant you ask for my help, I will be waiting,” he whispered before he kissed my cheek.

The eval snarled and charged at him just as his wings flapped gracefully and he rose to the top.

Nervously, I moved back as the animal’s brown eyes focused on me. Don’t fail me now, Adrianna, for the love of Aether in the Elysian Fields, do not fail me now.

“I won’t hurt you, I promise,” I said softly as I took a step toward the bear. “You have to trust me though. You are much too big and heavy to carry, so you are going to need to run like I did around the sides in a circle until we reach the top,” I whispered, taking another step. “I will go behind you and push if you can’t move fast enough. Can you even understand me?” I questioned, feeling a little stupid for trying to have a conversation with a scared otherworldly creature.

I couldn’t explain it, but I knew that it was the eval that had led me to the pit, not Tarani.

The walls started to vibrate slightly, knocking small pebbles and dirt off the sides. The pit was going to close.

“Caly! It’s too late! Leave it behind!” Eli shouted, standing at the top with his wings spread. He couldn’t help it—he was going to try and get me before it closed.

“Follow me now! We don’t have time. Whatever happens, do not slow down!” I shouted at the bear.

Retracing my previous steps, I ran up the wall a few feet and began to pick up speed. I glanced back to find he was already following behind me, right on my heels. “That’s it! Follow my speed!”

I couldn’t believe it. He was bounding after me on all fours. Somehow, I knew he understood me. I could feel the dust of his thoughts—not very strong but enough.

The walls of the pit shook as they began to close in. The vibration was making it hard to keep my footing, but the circle tightening made it easier. At last, I made it to the edge where Eli stood.

I leaped onto the bank just as before, but before Eli could grab my hands I turned back to the pit. The monster of a bear clawed at the edges of the pit, but it was closing in around him too tightly. He couldn’t pull his weight up.

“Help me!” I pleaded.

Grabbing ahold of the thick folds of skin and fur at the eval’s neck, I pulled with everything I had.

Eli was at my side in an instant, pulling up at the bear’s back.

With a final heave, the eval managed to get its footing against the back wall and pushed itself up, as all three of us rolled farther from the closing edge.

“What the—” Tarani said, standing in her human form to stare at us all panting.

I had somehow rolled on top of the large bear. He—I could feel it was a he now—gently pushed his huge paws against me, pulling me into an embrace and licking my cheek, nuzzling into me happily.

“Oh, now stop that. No need to get all gushy. You’re welcome,” I giggled, lightly swatting his nose away.

I relaxed against his fur to pet his giant head, feeling closer to my sister than I had in a long time. I missed her so much.

He wiggled his large head into the crook of my neck happily. Had he been a dog, his tail would have been wagging.

My gaze rose to see Eli and Tarani gaping at me.

“Apparently she has more Artemi powers in this part of her heart than we had thought,” Tarani mumbled.