Page 72 of The Unseelie Wish

“There you are, my songbird…”

That voice. She knew that voice.

The nightmare she had endured crashed back to her like a bolt of lightning. Shooting up, she cracked her head on something hard.

“Ow!” The figure over her recoiled, pressing a hand to his chin. “I was worried about you, too, thanks.”

She wiped her eyes, furiously trying to blink herself awake. It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t. Had it all been a dream? When she could focus, she tried to take in everything around her. She was sitting in Izael’s boat that he used for a bed. The weighted blanket she had mistakenly thought she was underneath was, in fact, coils of his tail.

Izael.

“You’re—” She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. He was still rubbing his chin grumpily. “You’re?—”

“Bruised, now, thank you,” he muttered. But his annoyance quickly fell away as the façade cracked. He smiled, giving up the game. “I’m alive. As are you, songbird.”

“But—but how—” She had died. Hadn’t she? Hadn’t he?

“You made your wish.” He leaned in, kissing her cheek. “And wishes are sacred in this world.”

She could still hear the music around her. Panic clutched her heart. Nothing had changed! They were right back to where they started! “But—Valroy?—”

“Cannot wield you against the treaty.” He smiled dreamily, kissing her cheek again.

“But—”

“You haven’t noticed. Look at your hands, songbird.”

Brow furrowed in confusion she looked down at herself. And pulled in a breath of surprise. Her hands were a pale purple. Her fingernails were black and slightly pointed. Just like they were when she was wearing the glamor he made for her. Why was she wearing it now?

Izael scooped her up in his arms and slithered down the tree before she had the chance to ask the question. Before she could gather up what was left of her wits, he stood her in front of his mirror. “Look.”

She stared at herself. Her hair was still a deep, nearly black shade of purple. Her arm was still tattooed. But her eyes were violet, and faintly glowing. From her temples curled two delicate horns.

“I am going to have fun with these.” He grabbed hold of one and pulled her head half an inch. “You come with handlebars now!” Izael cackled.

She shook him off before turning to face him. “Back up. Just back up. What’s happening?”

“You wished for us to be together.” The smile never left his face. And in his eyes, she saw love and adoration. He stroked his fingers across her cheek. “Abigail decreed that despite my recent demise, our contract was not yet void. That with your dying breath, you had lost our game—and your soul was mine. But it could not go to a lifeless form. You brought me back.”

“And—and—” She held up her hands, staring down at her palms. “I…I’m Unseelie.”

“We can be together. Just as you wished. My brilliant, beautiful songbird.” He wrapped an arm around her lower back and pulled her flush to his chest. “Imagine how rough I can be with you now…what fun we will have together.”

“Slow down, you horndog.” She pushed back on his chest, though she couldn’t help but laugh a little. “I need a moment to process.”

“Fine. Then I will run you raw.”

Alex turned back to stare at her reflection in the mirror. She was an Unseelie fae. The world around her—now that she had a moment to see it—had changed. Not in its form, but in the way she perceived it.

“Now that you are fae, Valroy cannot use you against the Seelie. Your power simply adds to our own.” Izael rested his hands on her shoulders, taking in her reflection as well. “Abigail argued to make you Seelie, but I pointed out that you would despise being a vegetarian. You are meant to be one of us.”

That made sense. She really would be a terrible Seelie. Shutting her eyes, she let out a wavering breath.

She was alive. He was alive.

They were Unseelie.

And they could be together.