Chapter 22
Daisy
They’re pushing us back, Gorlan said in alarm, one of only two Fallen allowed to join Tarian inside. They’re trying to separate us from you two. They’ve never done this before.
We’re at the end of the line, Tarian said in an internal, monotone voice. I’ve found their chalice. I’m drawing up instructions. The moment they don’t need me, they won’t have any reason to keep me alive.
What about the gods? Daisy asked, feeling a chill roll down her back as she internalized the pain before letting it flow away again.
This court forsook the gods a long time ago. Besides, they agreed to take me in. They didn’t specify how long they’d keep me.
The chill turned into a whole-body tremble.
Stick to the plan, Tarian murmured, his gaze locked on the princess’s while she stared at Daisy. I know what he intends. I know the timelines, give or take. I have not been idle. Stick to the plan and we’ll play them at their own game.
That was all well and good, but Daisy didn’t know the fucking plan. She loved chess, and she’d hoped to play with Tarian, but now she was on the outside looking in while supposedly a big player.
Your piece is surviving, he said, very unhelpfully. You’ve done amazingly so far. Keep it up.
Help him, Faelynn said to just Daisy from somewhere behind. Maintain your courage. He cannot take on this court alone.
She was walking up with him, wasn’t she?
He threaded his fingers between hers tightly as they kept going, and Daisy looked away to the side, still not making eye contact with anyone, but not deferring to the princess. Apparently, her entire existence would focus around winging it.
“Stupid human,” she heard from those watching them pass. Over and over they muttered it, or something like it. And she smiled at the name. Not a Chester, but a human in general. Magical people would have been so annoyed to be lumped in with the likes of her.
“What is this?” the princess hissed. Her words sounded like a thousand snakes singing a chorus. Dark, forbidding magic slithered over Daisy’s body to match the sound. A horribly acidic smell like sulfur wafted up.
It used to be an earthy smell, Tarian thought. Even the smell gives away the rotting nature of this magic.
Everything in Daisy recoiled. It definitely didn’t feel natural, that magic.
Her hair stood up on her arms and prickled on her scalp.
Still, she kept from looking at the royal figure, instead pulling up her free hand and checking out her nails.
She popped one into her mouth, chewing on the end as she scanned a pair of weird fucking shoes that really shouldn’t exist. The shoemaker needed to be dragged over to a well and tossed in until he could come up with better ideas.
Tarian laughed, not covering it this time. The sound was light and carefree, like he’d been freed of this terrible place.
I have, he murmured. Through you.
That was a stretch because they were marching toward the undertaker, and if they made it through her, they’d be greeted by the prison-robbing rapist next. What a fucking family.
“Princess Elamorna, hello.” He tugged on Daisy’s hand, and she finally dragged her attention in that direction.
She didn’t look at the princess, though. Oh no. She was a stupid human, after all. She had to play her part.
She looked up at Tarian to see what he wanted. The gold in his eyes had settled but still moved around the pupils, no black to be found. The black hadn’t returned since they’d first made love.
…made love…
The words echoed in her mind, and she knew Tarian was echoing them back to her, teasing her.
I’m just being tasteful, she groused.
His smile was sweet and intimate. He winked at her, making the princess wait.
The princess didn’t take it well.
The hiss reverberated throughout the corridor and off the ceiling. Needles dug into Daisy’s flesh, and slick fingers pried at her head, burrowing deep into her mind.
Daisy winced and pulled herself in tight, hiding her thoughts from everyone in case the princess was stronger than Daisy’s diamond dust or her amateur mental shield.
She thought about nulling the onslaught, but if the royals were readying to get rid of Tarian, they might have more knowledge than he suspected.
One hint and she might run the risk of revealing herself as the true chalice.
A surge of magic welled up. Daisy felt the tingle of Tarian grabbing some of the power she’d accrued, and then it was whisked away, his training ten times smoother with that contraption than hers had ever been. He clearly had plenty of experience.
Black magic sparkling with gold sliced through the air. It danced and played around Daisy, burning away whatever the princess had done. She took a deep inhale as the pain cleared.
“As I was saying before the princess rudely interrupted us,” Tarian said to Daisy, not having looked away, “we must look at the princess when she is greeting us, little toy.”
When he finally turned to the princess, her eyes had grown wide with disbelief and worry. She wasn’t used to his having that much power.
“You must excuse her,” he told her lightly.
“Such stupid creatures, these humans, but so incredibly pleasing. I never thought I’d desire anyone again, let alone be pleasured.
It seems I just needed someone outside of this court, especially after you and your minions tried, and failed, to produce those results, hmm? ”
The princess lifted her chin defiantly, but it was clear he’d shaken her. “Why did you bring it here? We have no need for those things in my court.”
He tsked at her. “But it isn’t your court.
It is your father’s court, and he has no desire to pass it to you.
As to why I brought her here—didn’t you hear?
This is my champion. Isn’t she the most delightful little human you’ve ever seen?
I found her on my travels and, after charming her as only our kind can, brought her back for sport.
I figure by the time I tire of her, one of the other champions will have killed her. ”
He draped his arm around Daisy’s shoulders, and she practically purred as she nestled into his side, playing along. She angled up her face and pouted when he didn’t give her a kiss.
“Now, now.” He booped her on the nose. “This isn’t the time, remember?
Not until I give you the command to pleasure me.
” He looked back at the princess, and his voice dropped an octave in warning.
“If you handle my toy again, either with magic or physical touch, I will mutilate one of your favorite toys. I cannot kill you, but I can kill everyone you hold dear. Remember that.”
A moment later, the princess subtly jerked, as though another message had been delivered privately.
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, and she stepped to the side like she didn’t have a choice. Tarian straightened his broad shoulders, his arm still looped around Daisy, and walked forward. It looked like he owned this court and everyone in it. The Celestial prince had come out to play.
Siphon magic whenever you can, he told her as they walked through the double doors and into a huge and lavish room.
Keep yourself full of it. There’s no telling when I or the Fallen will need it.
Hide your thoughts whenever you are outside of my chambers without me.
Do not go near the shadows—any shadows—and do not go anywhere alone.
The predators are salivating, snapping their jaws at our necks.
There’s no telling what is in store for us.
Time passed incredibly quickly. After they sat down, nobles started pouring into the space. It was clear the princess had been waiting to make a display with her trophy. When it didn’t go as planned, she’d probably retired to lick her wounds and plot how to kill Tarian and torture Daisy.
The dimly lit area had a dark, gothic-looking interior that would normally greatly appeal to her.
It had vaulted ceilings with various arches along the sides, decorated with ornately carved stonework housing seats and couches within.
A large, circular window existed at the back above an empty stone dais shimmering with blue-silver light.
A grand chandelier hung as a centerpiece above the open area in the very middle, where court members walked in twos and threes, each holding a crystal glass of liquid.
Unfortunately, all the beauty and finery were ruined by the unsettling feeling that slithered in the atmosphere.
Reddish light mingled with the blue in the rest of the room, and deep black shadows crouched in the corners, occasionally rippling as something within shifted position. Fae or beast, she couldn’t tell.
Suddenly, voices hushed. Fans started waving quickly, covering excited or expectant faces. The lighting on the large stone dais changed color, turning blood red. A shock of acidic magic curled throughout the room, and a large throne appeared in the center.
Daisy leaned forward from her place beside Tarian on the couch in his appointed location. From there, she could see the whole of the dais and most of the high-profile gentry beside it.
A dramatic and striking array of obsidian crystals jutted from what looked like sculpted obsidian.
The crystals differed in size, looking like a crown but creating the back of the throne.
The base seemed to be one piece, a wide chair supporting finely carved obsidian arms on either side.
Beside it, a gray fog lightly curled into the air.
He moves it from the throne room to here and back again, Tarian murmured. As well he should. That thing was a work of art, perfectly setting the tone of power and authority. A king needed his symbols.
What about the queen? she asked as a blue spotlight shone down from a spot ten feet above. There didn’t appear to be a source from which the lighting originated.
She mated into royalty; she wasn’t born to it. She’s a figurehead, mostly.