I ACCIDENTALLY MARRIED A DUNGEON

"I’m here." Dune said softly, and straightened up. Sabrina drifted free of her body, hovering just above, and for a moment her legs caught against something unseen, some faint resistance she hadn’t expected.

"Something wrong?" Felix asked casually.

"Nothing." She pulled the rest of the way loose and steadied herself in the air.

From the darkness on the right, Joshua and Helen stepped forward, their edges already thin, flickering in and out like candlelight in a draft.

"Guess it’s about time, then." Felix smiled and crossed to them, lowering himself to one knee. "So. How about one last hug before you go? Can’t say it was a great time overall, but I’ll take it."

Joshua threw his arms around him without hesitating. "Thank you, big brother. For helping us."

"Anytime, kid." Felix ruffled his hair, then turned his eyes up to Helen. "And you, Lady Helen? If you’ve still got complaints saved up, now’s the time to spend them."

Joshua broke away and ran off toward Dune.

Helen let out a short scoff. "You have my thanks. For managing to kill us a second time."

"Hardly my fault," Felix said, "but I’ll take the thanks anyway." He leaned in and lowered his voice. "By the way, I heard you scream back there. Called out for Sabrina. Called her mother, didn’t you?"

"I did not." She turned her face away sharply and walked past him toward Dune without another word.

Felix pushed himself up, brushing dust from his knees. Sabrina floated in front of him now, and he offered her a tired grin. "You can stop scaring me now, you know."

She pulled him into a soft, careful hug instead. "Thank you. Thank you so much, Felix. I don’t know how I could ever repay everything you did for us tonight. I nearly killed you myself, and still you put your own life on the line for us."

"Now, now." He patted her back gently. "You don’t owe me anything for this. I was already getting paid for the job."

That earned a quiet laugh from her. "I remember. You did say things would be much better if I’d simply disappeared."

"I didn’t mean that personally though."

She pulled away slowly, an air of longing settling over her expression. "Still. After all this time, I think I would have liked the chance to be alive again."

Felix had nothing to say to that. He only watched as she drifted toward Dune, the two of them exchanging a few last quiet words he couldn’t quite hear, the children drawing in close on either side of her. There was nothing left in any of their faces that looked like regret, or guilt, or the long, bitter weight they’d carried through this house for decades. More of a sense of release, of the peaceful silence of stories allowed to fade at last.

Their shapes dimmed slowly, flickering once, twice, the light behind their edges thinning out into the dark until there was nothing left standing where they’d been at all.

Felix stayed where he was for a long moment, silent.

Dune came up beside him, tapping his shoulder once, asking without words if he was all right.

He shook his head slowly, then managed a breath. "Let’s go home."

"Yes." She nodded, glancing once at the empty space where the family had stood. "I’m all empty now."

The sun had started climbing by the time the client handed Felix his payment. He opened the pouch and counted through it.

"Only thirty?"

"That’s what we agreed on." The client nodded firmly. "You can’t ask for more than that."

"No, no." Felix pocketed the pouch quickly. "You told me the house was haunted. That the ghost was just a rumor. What I found inside was an entire dead family and some disgusting creature with eight tentacles trying to eat me. I nearly died about ten separate times in there. Thirty silvers doesn’t come close to covering that."

"I couldn’t offer more than this." The man shook his head. "It’s all my master gave me to bring."

"Your master. Who’s that?"

"Lord Karl Martinez."

"Martinez?" Felix glanced sideways at Dune. That bastard’s still alive.

He shook the thought off. Not my problem right now.

"Never heard the name before. Do you know anything about the Aldric family, by any chance?"

"Not much. Just that Edwardo did business with my master, and his wife used to visit us here and there."

Felix let that sit a second. "Thanks anyway. If you’ve got other work, ask around the guild hall, they’ll tell you my address."

The man nodded and turned to go.

"Wait, hold on." Felix called after him.

The man stopped. "What?"

"Here." Felix pulled a worn, folded paper from his pocket and held it out. "Give this to your master. Tell him the debt’s been paid."

—

Karl had just woken when the knock came at his door. "Come in."

The door eased open, and Gino stepped through, bowing his head. "The matter with the Aldric house has been settled, my lord."

"That fast?" Karl crossed the room toward him. "Who’d you hire for it?"

"A young adventurer named Felix. He had a girl with him."

Karl nodded slowly. "Good. You’re dismissed."

"Yes, master." Gino held out the folded paper. "The boy asked me to pass this along as well."

"What is it?" Karl took it, unfolding it slowly.

"He said, the debt is paid." Gino gave a small bow and turned to leave.

Karl frowned, confused, until he finished reading and his body went still. He recognized exactly what he was holding.

"Sabrina." His mouth curled into a faint smile, and a low, quiet laugh slipped out of him.

—

Felix stepped out of the room after a long, warm bath, a towel wrapped around his waist. He crossed to the wardrobe for a change of clothes. He pulled them out, turned back toward the mirror mounted on the door, and stopped.

His brow twitched.

He glanced over his own shoulder, catching sight of his back in the reflection. "What the—"

The clothes slipped from his hand. He stepped back, angling himself to get a better look.

A black tattoo marked his skin, a ring of swords circling around a single, large tree.

"When the hell did this happen?" His mind scrambled through the last few months, any reason someone would’ve marked him, any moment he’d forgotten. Nothing came up.

"Dune!" He raised his voice. "Dune, get in here! Now!"

A minute later she appeared at the doorway. "I am here."

"Come here. Quick."

She crossed the room and stood in front of him.

"Pull your clothes off."

"Yes." She undid her clothes without hesitation and stood naked. She noticed the change in his tone.

"Turn around. Show me your back."

She did.

There, matching, a black tattoo of her own, but different in shape. Flowers formed the outer ring instead of swords, sharp thorns curling inward toward the center, and at the heart of it, a small sprout just breaking through.

"How long have you had that?"

"Had what? I cannot see my own back." Dune answered.

"This." He steered her toward the mirror.

"This is the first time I have seen it." Her gaze shifted to his back. "You have one too."

"Yeah." Felix fell quiet, thinking deeply. Is this from the marriage ritual? What’s it actually doing? Swords, a tree, flowers, thorns.

"Stay still." He turned her slightly, then turned his own back toward hers, stepping in until they touched. He caught the reflection in the mirror and froze.

One of the swords in his tattoo was fading.