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I found it unfathomable how one person could hide so much, twist the truth or omit it so well that no one in the wider kingdom learned of all this, but I felt certain that was what had happened. Whether through curated conversation or some magical means, Roar, and maybe even his predecessor, had spun a web of deceit that baffled the mind.

“Close now,” the human said.

“Stay quiet then,” I hissed.

“I will not say a word, my lady.” For the first time, the human’s voice trembled.

I felt bad for scaring her, and yet, I did not apologize. Later, perhaps. For now, I needed only to remain focused. The others seemed to sense that because Caelo and Anna had not said a word since we’d seen the soon-to-be slaves.

Then again, Anna might be in shock. Was this how her mother had arrived in Isila? My heart clenched and despite my seconds-old resolve to remain focused, I twisted to find my best friend at the end of our line, her gaze downcast, tears streaking down her cheeks.

I hadn’t even thought to comfort her. What a terrible friend I was.

“Anna,” I called out softly.

She looked up, sniffled.

“I’m so sorry.”

She huffed a breath. “Make him pay, Neve. Make himpay.”

“I will.”

A large but gentle hand pressed into the small of my back. Vale’s. “We’re all with you.”

“I know.” I faced forward in time to see light flare up ahead.

“The portal is being used,” the miner breathed.

“Right now? That’s what the light was?”

“Yes.”

“Slow down then,” I ordered. “I don’t want Roar to hear us approach. And let me go in front.”

We were being quiet, but between the miner’s heavy steps and Anna’s uneven gait, there was some noise and Roar was fae. We had excellent hearing.

The miner fell back between Vale and Caelo, and I took the lead. When we reached the end of the tunnel, I held up a hand and peeked around the corner. A cavern about half the size of Frostveil’s impressive throne room opened before me. Immediately, I located a flash of long, copper red hair.

Roar, Warden of the West, and all-around arsehole, stood to the side of a portal as one by one, humans stumbled through to join a group of five. He grasped the young human woman’s hand, gave her a charming smile. She let out a laugh and the other humans, all female, tittered. They seemed to be a group of friends, and as I’d grown up with humans, I could guess that they were around my age.

Five other fae stood with Roar—four of them faerie guards donning the crimson and gold of House Lisika, and one unarmed, handsome faerie stood with Roar. Theunarmed fae male wore casual clothing that had to be from the human world. The humans appeared excited to be in the mine, and content to look around. One young woman peered down a shaft that led who-knew-how-deep into the mountain. I would bet the jewelry I’d taken from Queen Revna’s trove that he had lured these lovely human females here under false pretenses.

Humans did not simply stumble through portals into Isila. They had to come through either with a fae, or soon after a fae traversed the worlds. In the second case, it was usually a curious human following a fae through.

However, in this instance, I was sure they’d been baited.

I scanned the area. Torches illuminated parts of the cavern but left the vast majority in darkness. My eyes caught on a table and the basket of bread atop it. Rage simmered inside me, hot and fluid, making my blood pound in my ears. The table of food was probably lulling any sense of fear inside them, though it should do the opposite. If a human ate fae food, it meant that they’d be forever trapped in Isila.

I waved the human miner forward and pointed to where the woman still peered down the shaft. “How many of those shafts are there? And where are they located?”

“I don’t come back here much,” she whispered. “It’s far from the active parts of the mines—a remnant of when the dwarves claimed this part of the mountain.”

“Any help is useful.” I sensed she held something back.

“That one that the woman is looking down,” she said. “And there’s another shaft in the darkness, along this walland far, far back. Or so I’ve been told. They say it’s large and goes the deepest. Some say to an unstable system too. We miners steer clear.”

I kept that in mind and stepped out into the cavern. “You have some explaining to do, Roar.”