The throne room had gone silent, but Cali only saw Jareth. Eight years since she’d touched him, and now he stood before her, thinner, wearier, his silver eyes lacking their old fire. Bellatrix had announced a final trial—one of them could leave, free and unharmed, and the other would stay forever. “I’ll stay,” Jareth said instantly.
“No,” Cali countered, her heart pounding. “I’ll stay. ”
They argued for Henry, for each other, each refusing to accept freedom at the other’s cost. Evander, the half-fae who’d guided Cali through the cursed forest, watched with lazy amusement, pouring wine as the debate grew more desperate.
“Neither of us will sacrifice the other,” Cali finally declared, facing Bellatrix. “We’ve both chosen to stay. Isn’t that proof our love is real? ”
Bellatrix’s face hardened.
“No. ”
But something had shifted. An opening appeared when Cali realized Bellatrix wasn’t as indifferent as she pretended. “You have feelings for him,” Cali said softly, nodding toward Evander.
The fae queen’s composure cracked. Evander froze, his ice-blue eyes locking onto Bellatrix with sudden intensity. Jareth added, almost sympathetically, “You spent our entire relationship talking about him. ” The truth spilled out, decades of denial unraveling in the crystalline palace.
Bellatrix finally admitted she cared more about Evander than about the king she’d stolen. The admission shattered her need to keep Jareth. With a flick of her wrist and a reluctant smile, she let them go. The world inverted.
Colors screamed. Then Cali’s feet hit solid ground—the castle courtyard, their home. Jareth pulled her into his arms so violently they both staggered. They held each other as the sun set over their kingdom, two people who’d crossed realms and years to finally be together.
The next morning, they stood in Henry’s doorway. Henry blinked awake, his face transforming when he saw his father. “Papa? ” The word was barely a whisper.
Jareth dropped to his knees. “I’m home, Henry. I’m so sorry I was gone so long. ”
Henry launched himself into Jareth’s arms, sobbing, and Jareth broke apart too, eight years of grief pouring out as he held the child he’d sacrificed everything to protect.
Cali sank down beside them, wrapping her arms around both. Her family, finally whole. Their story had a happy ending after all.
But getting there had taken an eight-year search, a dangerous bargain, three impossible trials, and the courage to believe that love could survive anything.
