“Tell me again,” Cally whispered, her fingers tracing the worn edges of the photograph she’d carried through two worlds. “Take me instead,” she’d begged Jareth that night, the night everything shattered. As if any other love could possibly compare to what she’d had with him. “Then why didn’t you tell me?
” she’d asked Henry, her son, who’d grown up with a father-shaped hole in his heart. Henry was quiet for a long moment before answering. “All my son sees is that his father is still missing, Mira. ”
“What if I’m failing them both?
” The question haunted her every waking moment. “What if he’s not? ” Mira countered, her voice gentle but firm. “But I don’t understand how you’re still so certain,” Cally admitted, frustration bleeding through.
“What if he chose to stay with her? What if after all this time he adapted, moved on? ”
Mira had explained it simply, the way she explained everything. “Our world and the fae realm exist alongside each other, just layered like two pieces of fabric pressed together.
”
Gold. Cally had found the gateway, the ancient magic responding to her touch. Cally said immediately, “What if the gateway only works one way? ” But even as the doubt surfaced, she crushed it.
Any chance at all to reach him, she was taking it. Mira studied her face for a long moment, then sighed in defeat. “If I don’t at least try, Henry will never forgive me. ”
“I see there’s no changing your mind, then,” Mira conceded.
“While I’m gone. ”
Chapter two began the moment she stepped through. Even in stillness, the ancient trees seemed to murmur secrets in a language Cally’s wolf could almost understand. She and Mira stood before a massive oak, its trunk wider than three men standing side by side.
Magic, old and vast and entirely foreign, hummed beneath the bark. The metal grew hot in her hand, then blazing, then it melted into the wood, vanishing as though it had never existed. “Both of you come home,” Mira had said. But Cally was already committed.
No. No, not tonight. She pushed forward, determination burning through her veins. Enough.
She’d had enough of waiting, enough of wondering. As if he had any right to judge her choices, as if his opinion mattered at all. She hadn’t come this far to be turned around by some stranger’s disapproval. And while Cally walked and walked, with each step came the growing certainty that she was hopelessly, utterly lost.
No, not an oak. The tree should take her deeper into the realm, toward wherever Bellatrix’s palace waited. But instead, there was that oak again. No, not a man.
Not entirely human, anyway. No doubt about it, everything about him screamed other with an intensity that made Cally’s mortal eyes struggle to focus. “That’s between me and her,” she said, her voice steadier than she felt. “Clearly.
” The fey studied her for a long moment, then he smiled, a predator’s smile. “If you fail, if you leave this realm without your king, then you owe me one favor. ”
“How exactly do you plan to challenge Bellatrix for your king’s return? ” he asked.
Evander stopped walking, staring at her for a long moment, then he laughed, a sound that echoed through the trees. “She even specified that he wasn’t allowed to tell me about it for the duration of the 10 years. ”
Cally snapped, immediately defensive. “Tell me.
”
“How exactly did your king break the terms? ” Evander’s voice was mocking. Cally snorted. “Only because deep down it was something he wanted.
”
Evander waved that away like it was irrelevant. “No, no, child, you’re not following. ”
“Stay close,” he warned, and they moved deeper into the fae realm. Clearly she’d been wrong about him.
She wanted to run to him, but she forced herself to stay still, her heart hammering against her ribs. The murmur started immediately. Fae nobles leaning toward each other, eyebrows raising with interest. “The contract terms specified that any child conceived within the first 10 years of marriage would belong to you,” Evander announced, his voice carrying through the court.
The fae court was paying attention now, genuinely interested. “You claim Jareth broke the contract by conceiving a child, but if he didn’t consent to the act that created that child, then he didn’t truly break the terms. ”
Bellatrix’s composure cracked, just for a moment. Then she turned back to Cally, composure sliding back into place like a mask.
Bellatrix continued, her voice silk and poison, “if we’re questioning consent, then perhaps we should question the entire foundation of your marriage bond. Or was it simply fated mate biology forcing him into something he never actually chose? ”
Evander murmured, sounding genuinely odd. But Cally didn’t let the doubt take root.
“Then you’ve proven the marriage was never real to begin with,” she said instead, “which means Jareth never truly belonged to you at all. ”
Cally watched them stare at each other. The tension between them thick enough to choke on. “Do you accept my terms?
” Bellatrix asked, her eyes glittering with challenge. Cally rejected that thought immediately. She wouldn’t let fear rule her now. “Excellent, then let’s begin.
”
“Let the first trial begin. ” Bellatrix stood at one end, and on the other, near the fae nobles, Jareth remained where he’d been standing, still watching with that same detached politeness that made Cally’s chest ache. “And the time limit? ” Cally asked, steeling herself.
“Begin. ” Bellatrix’s voice was cold as winter. “Oh, I forgot to tell you,” Bellatrix added, her smile sharp. “7 years where we lived in the same castle, ruled the same kingdom, existed in the same space while maintaining careful distance.
”
“I don’t understand. ” Cally’s mind raced. “First trial complete,” Evander declared, his voice cutting through the murmur of the court. “The terms are met.
”
“And the terms were met,” Bellatrix acknowledged, her voice tight. The tension between the pair thick enough to cut. “Then do it for yourself,” Evander said, his eyes fixed on Cally. “Prove that your claim on him has any validity at all.
”
Cally spat, “if only to prove you wrong. ”
Three figures appeared before her. Identical in every way, same appearance, same voice, same scent. “Take all the time you need, but when you choose, you only get one chance.
”
“Begin,” Bellatrix said. Cally studied them, her heart pounding. Then she moved, touching the one on the left. “Found you,” he said simply, and she knew she’d chosen right.
“Because your copies are based on what you’ve observed of her, what you know, what you’ve seen. But they’re based on surface observation. I know all of Cally, every detail, every tell, every tiny thing that makes her herself. ”
“Never,” Jareth confirmed.
It was torture and salvation both. “Oh, this should be good,” Bellatrix purred. “One of you may leave, return to your realm, to your child, to your life, free and unharmed. The other stays forever.
”
“I’ll stay. ” Cally’s voice didn’t waver. “That’s why I should stay,” Jareth countered, stepping forward. They’d both refused, both chosen sacrifice.
Wasn’t that proof enough? “We’ve both chosen to stay,” Cally said, turning to face Bellatrix. “I should stay,” she said to Jareth, her voice soft. “Even if I left, he could call in his favor, trap me somewhere else.
”
“She’s certainly not prettier than me,” Cally added, forcing lightness into her voice, “and it’s not like she has any magic. ”
“Not at all,” Jareth replied, his eyes finally warm. “Because it would be really embarrassing if you had feelings for me after all that,” Cally said, a smile tugging at her lips. “Well,” Jareth began, and he’d gone completely still.
“You may go, both of you. ” Bellatrix’s voice was barely a whisper, her eyes fixed somewhere in the middle distance. Cally should have grabbed Jareth and run before Bellatrix changed her mind. But she paused, watching Evander and Bellatrix.
If she and Jareth left now, these two fae would continue their dance of denial for another century. Bellatrix was also determinedly looking anywhere but at him. “Since you have each other now,” Evander said immediately, his smile gone tight. He pulled her into his arms so violently they both staggered, and she buried her face in his chest, breathing him in.
They held each other as the sun set over their kingdom. Two people who’d fought across realms and years and impossible obstacles to be exactly here. Had it really only been two days? Never.
She’d never let him go again. Their story had a happy ending after all. I hope you enjoyed this part two.
