Page 195 of Quicksilver

It was unbelievably comforting to know that this remained the same between us. He could still talk to me in my mind, and I could still talk to him. Of all the things that had changed so dramatically in the past few days, the bond between us seemed to be the same as it had been before.

The corners of his mouth twitched the tiniest bit—the faintest suggestion of a smile. He kept it as he entered the room properly and placed a light kiss on my forehead.

“Are you going to tell me about my parents, or are you going to start undressing each other? Because I can leave. I don'thaveto, but I can,” Carrion said.

“Please leave, Carrion,” Fisher said flatly. “I'll come and tell you everything I remember about them later, but for now, I want to be alone with my mate.” He said it with such pride. My mate.

Carrion left, grumbling under his breath, and the room suddenly became much smaller. We were alone.

“Are you sad you don't get to call me Little Osha anymore?” I asked. Gods, what a confusing feeling. I was thrilled that, thanks to Zareth, a part of me was Fae now. I was less thrilled that a part of me was a vampire now, courtesy of Taladaius. Trepidation built inside me, growing more unbearable by the second, but Fisher hung his head in a very boyish way that made my insides squeeze.

He looked up at me from beneath his dark brows and smirked. “Human, Fae, or Vampire. It doesn’t matter how long you live, Saeris, you willalwaysbe most sacred to me.” His smirk faded, though. “Did I do the right thing?”

I hadn't been able to answer for myself back in the labyrinth. He'd had to make the decision for me. And what a monumental decision it had been. After I refused to let him heal me with his soul, it was no wonder he was looking at me right now like he was worried I was never going to speak to him again.

This...washuge.

I wasn't myself anymore.

I was the ward of a god, and not just any old god. By proxy, Fisher kind of was too. There was so much I still had to tell him. I had no idea how he would take the news when I explained everything that had happened to him during those brief minutes I spent talking to the God of Chaos, but I got the feeling Fisher was going to have questions. A million of them.

For now, the world was brighter. Sharper. There were threads of shining power in Fisher's eyes when I looked at him. And there was a burning ache at the back of my throat that was getting harder to ignore.

Wait...

There was magic in Fisher's eyes.

But...less quicksilver.

I gasped, stepping out of his arms, and Fisher cleared his throat, looking a little abashed. “I was wondering if you'd notice,” he said.

“Wondering if I'd notice! Wha—how?What happened?”

“Te Léna found a way to dampen the quicksilver's effects. I've been seeing her for months, trying to get it under control, but her sessions were growing less and less effective. And then Iseabail said that she could help. Those two make a pretty good team. Te Léna helped to quiet the quicksilver, and Iseabail’s been teasing it out of me. I'll have to have a million sessions. It’ll take a long time, but it should work.”

“That's incredible! That means...” I was too nervous to say it.

He wasn't going to lose his mind.

We still had Belikon to deal with. And Madra. I still intended to find my brother and Elroy. There were a million other issues we had to overcome, but...

One foot in front of the other,Fisher rumbled, just for me.Let's make it through today. And then tomorrow. And then the day after.Thatone will be particularly interesting.

Why? What's happening the day after tomorrow?

He looked faintly worried as he took me by the hand. “Well. There's this.” He took me to the curtain and drew it back slowly. The sunlight that had burned my eyes and my skin earlier was gone now. It was like peering into a black hole, staring out of the window. But then I saw the flickering lights of many, many campfires in the distance. And the pale silver ribbon of a river cutting through the black landscape.

The Darn.

We were on the wrong side of the Darn.

We wereinsideAmmontraíeth.

“In the Fae courts, the crown is passed down to a regent's heir. But if the regent is murdered, the crown is claimed by the one who slew them. The vampire court has only ever had one king. Malcolm never named an heir. He planned on living forever. He never conceived of the possibility that someone might kill him...”

My head was already shaking no. I retreated from the window. “Absolutely not. Fisher, I'm not even a full vampire. I'm half-Fae!I can't!”

“Tellthemthat. As far as the vampire court is concerned, you're to be coronated. In two days' time, you officially become the new queen of Sanasroth.”