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Eli had effectively blocked the king from my view. That did nothing to muffle the roar of laughter.
When the king’s laughter subsided, he said, “You didn’t tell her?” He motioned to Eli. “He fled from home when it was time to choose his bride. He’s been in your world for years, hiding from his duty. The prince knew that when he returned home, he would be staying here permanently. You, dead witch, can return to your world of steel and violence. The heir to my throne will be right here where he belongs. Finally.”
I stared at Eli’s uncle with a mix of rage and fear. I was fairly sure that attacking the king ofElphamewas a terrible idea. Even if he wasn’t Eli’s uncle, he was a powerful creature, and I was in his domain—and unarmed. I felt a ball of fury squirming in my gut. Magic drew together, urged me to strike.
Apparently, my temper was not improved by my increase indraugrnature.
“You cannot demand that he stay, punish him because he was being a decent person.” I reached for the sword that was not there and fisted my hand in irritation. No hilt. No gun butt, either. My hands had only air to grasp—or the absurd nightdress I was wearing. I wasnota skirt person and definitely not a medieval nightdress person. I was jeans and steel swords, boots and bullets. I could go with barefoot or even naked. Unarmed always seemed stupid.
At least I wasn’t truly defenseless, thanks to my magic, but I would rather have my gun or sword. Sometimes the threat of violence was enough. I would love to be able to make a few threats and leave. I didn’t think the consequences of attacking the king would be great.
“The half-dead and the dead are not welcome inElphame,” the king pronounced. “You must leave.”
“Pulse. I have one,” I said mildly, my hand touching my throat. I may have been injected with venom from thedraugr,but I was, in fact, alive.
“My nephew has returned due to your murder, but you must go back to your world, Geneviève of Crowe.” The king smiled as if he was being kind. “And Eli must take the next step in his journey.”
“So, I go, and he stays?”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to punish him for saving my life?” I asked in an increasingly agitated voice.
“Being inElphame, in your view,is a punishment?” The king gave me a look of disdain. “No unnatural creatures, save you. No need to work. A devoted, beautiful wife to fulfill his every need. How is this a punishment?”
Despite everything, the king ofElphamesounded genuinely confused. He motioned to the glorious landscape outside the house. “Our land is fertile, healthy, free of invaders.”
“Uncle. . . the worldtheresuits me. Our land is beautiful, but I want to know my mother’s world as well.”
I reached out and squeezed Eli’s hand.
The king’s gaze dropped to our clasped hands. “I see.”
“Uncle . . .”
The king pivoted and left with no ceremony, no further word, and I felt like I’d just fucked up. I tried to pull my hand away from Eli, but he stopped me. He laced his fingers with mine. “I knew the price, Geneviève. I could not endure losing you to death.”
“You don’t need to stay here,” I whispered. “What will they do?”
“Burn my ancestry from the land. I will not do that to my mother or father,” Eli said as he folded me into his embrace. “My father’s soul rests in my hands. My mother was human, one of those humans my people once stole. Traditionally, when we saw a mortal we wanted, we left a bag of twigs and rocks behind as a ‘changeling.’ My mother was such a stolen mortal. My father’s memory, his honors, will be vanished. Never spoken. My family’s tree will be razed.”
“Oh.” I felt awed that he was telling me such things and horrified that he carried such a weight.
“My grandfather went to your world and chose a bride. My father did, too.” Eli continued to explain as he led me out of his house and into the meadow beyond. “They found their true loves, and they stole them.”
“So you would? You’dstealsomeone? I’m sorry. Never mind.” I squirmed away, as much for asking as for the look he gave me.
Eli’s expression was implacable. That never boded well.
“Geneviève, in fae-human marriage, the human is bound to the fae lifespan. My mother lived much, much longer than any human could, but when my father died, she expired simultaneously.” He stared at me as if there were layers of meaning I ought to understand, but all I could think was that I was grateful that my mother outlived my bio father—although technically he was already dead prior to conception.
“What if they aren’t married?” I plopped down on the ground. My parents weren’t wed, and I was grateful for it. “What happens to the kids? Do they stay here no matter what?”
“Any child of such union, carries the fae ancestry almost entirely. A fae child is fae.”
“So, the quarter-fae in our world—”
“Lying,” Eli said coldly, as if lying were the most heinous crime ever. “You are fae, or you are not-fae.”
