What did you do? (Infatuated fae #2)

31. Present Day

Caly

“ S top it. I don’t want it,” I said, refusing the armor that Eli tried to shove over my arms.

Both men had decided, because I was human, I should be wearing armor. Their armor. That was heavy and built for a six-foot-five fae.

“Take it. We don’t even know where we’re going. It’s too dangerous for a mortal in the fae realms,” Eli said patiently.

“I’ve been a human in this realm the whole time,” I tried. Honestly, I was just happy he was speaking to me. I knew he was extremely upset with what I had done—all of it.

“Take mine like good girl, Cal,” Mendax rasped with smoldering eyes as he tried to push his Unseelie breastplate into my arms.

The warm glow of the pyre in the distance cast a spooky vibe over the shadowed forest.

“I don’t need or want your heavy armor,” I said, backing away.

Mendax took up the space behind me, placing his hands on my hips just before his firm chest pressed against my back.

Eli glared at Mendax, then stepped in closer at my front, blocking me in. “You need to take this damn armor so we can go somewhere and figure out how to break your bond.”

“How to sever your tie,” Mendax enunciated as he pressed more of his muscled body against my back.

“Well, then you need your armor too, since if you die, I die,” I said, moving from Mendax toward Eli. “What am I supposed to do, wear them both?” I scoffed. They were being ridiculous.

“You know their armor is weak and flimsy, just like their men,” Mendax purred at my ear. “Take mine. It’s always hard for you.”

Eli rolled his eyes but decided to use this to his advantage.

“No matter what happens, I will be here for you. Anything you need from me.” Eli leaned against me, his thighs pressing against mine. “I will protect you, armored or not.”

Every nerve in my body was overwhelmed with the sensation of both fae sandwiching my body between theirs. The smell of smoke and fresh citrus lingered as Eli’s hand brushed over my hair. At the same moment, Mendax moved his free hand up and over the side of my neck, leaning down to whisper in my ear.

“Go on, Cal. Take it.” His deep voice poured through my brain like hot soup.

“Do it for me.” Eli’s thumb grazed my bottom lip. “Let me know that you still love me.”

My body shivered and thrummed, filled with a new energy.

A body now covered in black and gold armor.

Eli smiled down at me, beaming as he gave my arm a squeeze.

Most of my vital organs and weak points had been covered by a mix of both men’s armor. “Really?” I barked as I rolled my eyes nearly into the back of my head.

Both men grinned at each other like little boys who had hidden a spider in my hair.

A thunderous crack let out above us, and the skies darkened around the edges, revealing that the clouds above were moving closer.

One wispy-looking cloud glided down smoothly before splitting open.

We all stared in curious wonder as a black peregrine falcon flew from it, silently gliding down until it hovered just above me, opening its talons and dropping something.

My hands opened, more as a reaction than anything. I caught what I thought was a wand of glass as I watched the bird in awe.

“Should we grab it?” Mendax asked, but it was a useless question.

The falcon had already flown off, entering the crack in the cloud with a sharp cry.

I looked down at what it had given me and realized it was a rolled-up glass scroll.

Glancing wearily at Eli, I pulled at the smooth glass, not expecting it to move and being shocked when it opened into a note with black cursive scrawled over it. The letters were too hard to read against the dirt and moss of the ground, so I lifted it to the sky, where I could read it easily, and was left with no doubt that was how it was meant to be read.

Calypso Petranova ,

Good day. You have been summoned before the Fates in requisition of Ties and Bonds with breach to laws 14.2 and 370.003.

Failure to appear before the Fates will result in the application of death to all parties forthwith.

Further instructions will be located in the Lake of Sheridon.

On behalf of the Fates,

Zef

a.k.a. Your Father

“Well, what does it say?” Eli asked.

“It’s from my father,” I said, handing him the letter, numb.

“Well, it looks like you got your invitation to Moirai after all,” Mendax said as he moved to my side.

“We are going to Moirai…” I trailed off, stunned.

“No,” Eli sighed. “It looks like we are going on a scavenger hunt to the Lake of Sheridon before we face the Fates…and your father,” Eli stated.

“My father…”

“Has summoned us to face our judgment before the Fates,” Mendax said.

“What—what will happen then?” I asked, doom souring my stomach.

“They will choose which one of us will die,” Eli responded as he looked to Mendax. “And sever the bond.”

“Break the tie,” Mendax growled back at Eli with a look that told me we’d be lucky to even make it to the Fates without him killing Eli.

“Surely there’s another way,” I said with a laugh.

They both turned to me, deadly serious.

“Fae law isn’t like laws of the human realm. It is written in magic. It is unbreakable and unbendable. There is no getting out of this. By the end of this, either Aurelius or I will be dead,” Mendax said seriously.

Everything turned solemn and momentous all at once.

“I-I will get the opportunity to kill him,” I mumbled as I stared at the glass scroll.

“Finally, right?” Mendax asked.

“Uh, what? Yeah…finally,” I replied.

“Then we should go,” Eli said. “Settle once and for all who gets Caly.”

Our journey began as we walked away from the forest and back toward the path, our backs still warm from Walter’s pyre.

“I will do anything not to lose you,” said Eli, moving to my side.

“Me too,” Mendax stated, glaring at Eli. “Anything.”

Reading Group Guide

Queen Saracen is not who she has made herself out to be to Caly. Why do you think Saracen is so intent on controlling Caly? What made her so evil?

It turns out that Prince Mendax is alive and wants Caly back. If you were Caly, how would you feel about this turn of events? What do you think Caly wants more: to be invited into the Seelie Court or to be with Prince Mendax?

It is noted that Calypso is Artemi at the beginning of this book. How does this affect her status in Queen Saracen’s court? Could it mean something different for her relationship with Mendax?

Eli likes Caly far more than she suspected he did. Do you think she is torn between him and Mendax? What does she see in both of them?

Walter and Caly have a very close friendship. Why does Walter mean so much to Caly? Do you think his bond to her powers influences his friendship with her?

Saracen is the person who killed Caly’s mother and sister. Why was this necessary in her mind? When it is revealed that Caly has always known that Saracen killed her family, why do you think Caly held off from killing her for so many years?

Mendax is desperately in love with Caly. What do you think has made him so enamored with her? Do you think she feels the same way, even though she tries to push him away?

Mendax is taken for dead after Queen Tenebris is killed. How does this affect Caly? Does this show her the depth of her true feelings for him?

Caly is much stronger than most people believe her to be. Why do you think so many people, even her friends, repeatedly underestimate her?

Mendax is alive at the end of this book, and it comes out that Caly is indeed human. Why does this make him love her even more? How do you think Mendax and Eli will get along now that they are both bonded to Caly?