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“They gave their human lovers lilac wine, and flesh that should’ve aged became ageless, and magic that was once imperfect became perfect. Two species became one.”

“I don’t understand,” I say. “Why keep this a secret?” It’s not like I have anything against lilac wine now that I know about it.

“Maybe I didn’t want to know your opinion. If you wanted to be immortal, it would mean you were okay forsaking all those things that make you so delightfully human—things I happen to love.”

Awwww.

“But if you didn’t want to be immortal, it would mean you expected me to stand by and watch you age—watch you die.”

His gaze scours my face, deepening with sadness. Because Iamaging. Without the lilac wine, I will die long before he ever does.

“So you thought slipping me the wine was a better idea than getting my opinion on the matter?”

See, this is why couples need to talk about things. Healthy option versus unhealthy option here.

“If you notice, I have slipped younothing,” he says.

“But you’ve considered it,” I counter.

“How many things have you considered? Does consideration make it wrong?” His lips brush my cheek.

I swallow. “What stopped you from giving me the wine?”

He pulls away a little, frowning. “The same thing that stopped me from taking you away the night of your prom and making you mine forever. I have enough broken humanity to know it’s wrong and enough self-control to fight my innate nature.”

“And what’s your innate nature?” I say, my words whisper soft.

“To take what I want, when I want, and to apologize to no one for it.”

Yeesh.

“You want to know a secret?” He doesn’t wait for me to answer. “Only if you drink the lilac wine will our bond be complete. Only then can we freely share our magic.”

Chapter 34

This lilac wine is sounding better and better the more I hear about it.

“Remind me again why you don’t want me to drink the wine?” I ask.

Des gives me a small smile. “It doesn’t matter what I want. I waited eight years for you, cherub, and now you’re here, warming my bed and weaseling my secrets out of me. This is more than enough.”

“Why would Mara give lilac wine to me?” I ask, now curious about the Flora Queen’s motives. It’s obvious enough that she’s no fan of mine, so why give me such a gift?

Des tilts his head. “Let’s strike a deal: I’ll answer your question if you’ll answer one of mine.”

Everything just has to come down to a deal with the Bargainer.

“Fine,” I say. It’s not like he can’t just take a bead and force the truth out of me anyway.

I feel a subtle shift of magic in the air as Des binds me to the agreement.

His smile spreads before he tucks it away. “To answer your question: Mara probably had several motives when she gave you the lilac wine. She’d want the room to see her being generous to a human and accepting of our bond—that’s just good for politics. She was also making a point that you’d be more accepted if you were made to be more like us. And finally, she was probing our relationship for weaknesses.”

“Why would she do that?” I ask.

“Leverage,” Des responds. “It’s quite easy to control people once you understand them.”

It’s dizzying, the layers of schemes fairies are pursuing at any given moment. Just when I think I might understand such creatures, I hear something like this. I couldn’t even keep such intrigue straight in my mind.