Page 23 of The Fae King's Labyrinth

“Do you want some food?” The pooka crouched next to her and offered a hard roll and a hunk of cheese wrapped in a very crumpled waxed paper.

She regarded the food for a moment as though weighing the decision. “No, thank you.”

“I have more fruit if you want that instead,” I offered as I pressed the water flask into her hand. “Feel free to finish off the water. I have more.”

Calypso shook her head as she brought the flask to her mouth. “I fear I’ve already accepted and eaten too much.” She began gulping down the water.

The pooka regarded me quizzically. I grimaced. We probably both suspected the same thing.

“The apple you ate did not bind you to any pact or spell,” I said quietly. “Neither does the water. I am not here to trap you.”

Calypso finished her drink and eyed me while wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, adding another streak of dirt to the soot marks covering her face. “Then what were you two talking about when you mentioned our compatible magic mightmake us inseparable? Is it because of this?” She lifted her arm and revealed the gold vine again.

“That isn’t a cause; that is a symptom,” I replied. Composing my features, I worked to suppress my raging emotions, chief of which was frustration.

“Just tell her, you old stick-in-the-mud.” The pooka snorted. “What is done is done. Best face her wrath now than keep hoping for reality to change.”

I grimaced. He had a good point. I didn’t want to admit it. “Our magic is that intertwined already?”

“Past untangling.” The pooka shot Calypso a sympathetic smirk. “You’re stuck with each other now.”

“How stuck?” She studied me and the pooka. “Geographically? Is he going to have to move into my village?”

“Him? In your village?” The pooka broke out into uproarious laughter.

“I am the Seelie king, Calypso.” This point would have to be immutable. I wanted to bend, to accommodate. She had been caught up in my curse and hurt like so many others. “My domain needs me, or my people will be undefended. You will need to come live with me.”

“In your kingdom?”

I studied her. How could I say this gently? How could I speak of a permanent connection such as marriage, when we were still strangers? It felt odd to even call her a friend when we knew almost nothing about each other. “Most likely within my castle.”

Her expressive eyes widened. “And if I say no?”

I couldn’t bear watching the hope fade in her face. I closed my eyes and wrestled with the urge to track down the Unseelie king and hurt him like he had hurt her, an innocent in this crazy mess. At the very least, I could offer her the truth. I opened myeyes to find her watching my face, fear and confusion darkening her lovely eyes.

“No choice,” the pooka declared from his collapsed position, lounging against the far wall.

“What do you mean?” she demanded. “What will happen if I just refuse? I walk home after we escape from here.”

The pooka shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen this happen before. But one thing I can promise is there will be negative side effects to any separation.” He narrowed his gaze at me. “For both of you.”

With a sigh, I glared at him. “I liked you better when you were complaining about losing your torch.”

“I didn’t lose it. I sacrificed it, and you owe me a new one.”

Before I could respond, a roar shook the passage, the sound chilling me to my core.

“What was that?” Calypso asked as she inched across the floor to press against my leg.

The pooka regarded me with wide-eyed horror. “That was definitely a dragon shifter.”

Seven

Calypso

“Dragon?” I inched closer to Azulin. I wasn’t sure he was particularly trustworthy, but something about him felt safe. And injured and vulnerable in this nightmare of a labyrinth, I couldn’t be picky. He had proven he valued my life enough to save it multiple times. For now, that would have to be adequate.

“There are no dragons.” The fae king growled, anger rolling off him in waves of prickling magic. “Only dragon shifters.”

---