Dex was waiting outside the bathroom door for me. He was leaning against the wall staring at the floor until I came out. He pushed off the wall and came to me so quick he was almost a blur. "Are you okay?" He placed his hands on my shoulders. His eyes bore holes into my face with how intently they were staring at me. "I'm fine." I shook his hands off my shoulders. "Don't worry about me.""Haven't I told you that I'll decide what I worry about. He was hurting you, Ember. He made you bleed." Dex sounded so concerned for me. I wonder if this brought up any dark memories for him. I sometimes forget he's grown up being abused. "I'm fine, Dex. Honestly. It healed. It's fine." I tried to smile at him. The pain I felt in my heart was making it hard to give him a sincere one. "It's not fine." Dex muttered. He was still really concerned, but anger was stirring in him. "I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise." He whispered sadly at me. I furrowed my brows, confused at his words. "I promised I

I looked at Dex's outstretched arm unsure if I should take it or not. As I stared at it, I heard Toni's laughter. Anger rose in me. Why was he laughing if he's with her? I searched for them, seeing Toni smiling in a group of fairies with the Queen clinging to his arm for dear life. She was smiling up at him and my chest tightened with jealousy. Toni did something at that moment that had my blood boiling. He tucked a loose strand that had fallen out of her bun, back into place. What the actual fuck? Filled with a new found rage, I grabbed Dex's arm and followed him out. We passed by the group that Toni and the Queen were in and I heard Toni's low growl. I grinned, feeling a little triumphant. That feeling quickly faded as I saw Dex's face. "I'm not a plaything to make Toni jealous, Ember. If you want to spend time with me, then I'm all for it. If you just took my arm because you want to get back at Toni then find someone else." He deadpanned. Well damn. My face fell, feeling a little

Toni's P.O.V."How'd we get here?" I looked at Nina, confused by the large wall like bushes around us. Were we in a maze?"I needed some privacy so I took you here. Are you feeling alright dear?" She asked, patting me on my cheek. I backed a bit, not liking her touch on my face. "Yeah, can I go now? I need to find Ember." She gave me this wicked smile that curled my stomach. This woman was dangerous. "You're free to go now. Thank you for tonight, Toni. You don't know what you've done for me tonight." She gave me a wicked grin. I couldn't place it, but it felt like there was a hidden message in those words. "I'd rather not do it again. My place is next to Ember." She smirked at me. "I wonder if she feels the same way?" She shooed me away with that and I gladly left. I searched the garden for Ember, but couldn't see her. It felt like the crowd had died down now, but that's pretty quick for a party. Nina had just dragged me away from Ember, how could the party be ending right when i

Ember's P.O.V.Once I knew Toni and Dex were gone I turned my wrath back to Nina. She controlled Toni into sleeping with her. She had me believing that he cheated just to play with us. To keep this tension building between Dex and us. She did this to entertain herself. My body felt on fire with rage. I have never felt such anger before. "You're going to give me what I came for now and then we are leaving." I growled at her. "That's not the deal." She smirked at me. "Too fucking bad. It is now." I snapped. "That's not how this works." She was so sure she held all the power here. If she only knew how wrong she was. I entered her mind. I will beat her to a pulp here. I don't need to start a war by giving her subordinates evidence that I hurt their queen. Her mind was dark, a black void with a small girl in the center. She had white hair and golden eyes. She was small and crying. This was not what I expected. "Hello?" I called the small girl. She turned frightened. "Who are you?"

We finally made it back to the kingdom. I was going to send Dex home, but he was looking around the kingdom with such curiosity. I couldn't send him back when I saw his amazement. It was really adorable, like a child. "Come on, we need to give these to my mom." I held up the siren song and the queen's fairy dust. "Let's not mention the aftermath of the siren song, okay?" I didn't feel like getting in trouble. I also didn't feel like getting an hour-long lecture. I didn't want mom trying to come up with fixes either or having to worry any more than she already has to. "Why? She might be able to find a way to remove the siren mark." Toni seemed upset that I didn't want to tell her. "She doesn't need to worry about that right now. I'll tell her after we get Ash back." I cupped his face in my hand, comfortingly. I didn't want him to think that I was choosing to keep the mark. I could see from the corner of my eye that Dex's head fell slightly. Was he sad? I'll get rid of the mark as