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“She’s going to become a distraction so you can escape,” Pelysian said.

“No. I’ll use my power.”

“She knows the limitations of your power.”

The one person who had always been loyal without anything in return. The closest person I’d ever had to a… friend.

Loyalty should always be rewarded. It was the one thing my father had taught me that I still believed.

“She’s throwing her life away,” I snapped. “Stop her.”

“It’s too late.” Pelysian’s voice was mournful. “She knows I am here, and she knows we are trapped. Prepare to run.”

A stone rolled down the bank, coming close to one of the guards. He froze.

“Show yourself,” he demanded.

The branch of a tree snapped. The guard launched himself up the bank, moving faster than I could have imagined. Several other guards immediately deserted their posts, giving chase.

Pelysian was already pulling me away from the mine. I sprinted, cursing Nelia as her screams pierced the night. I’d told her to leave.

But she’d known. She’d known I’d need a distraction, and she’d sacrificed herself.

A smart sacrifice. My life was, after all, worth more than hers. Still, I would have preferred to think of her living the remainder of her life as a wealthy woman somewhere safe. A fitting reward for her loyalty.

I stumbled, and Pelysian pulled me to him, practically carrying me up the bank in the opposite direction of the guards. They would search this forest in an attempt to find anyone who might be with Nelia.

A thud sounded, and as if compelled by some strange power, I turned. Nelia’s body rolled down the bank, coming to rest near the entrance to the mine. Her head sat oddly on her neck, her eyes staring blankly—almost accusingly—at me.

Pelysian shoved me down into the underbrush. My hands shook, an endless rage slithering through every inch of my body.

Nelia wasmine. And Sabium’s men had taken her from me.

I met Pelysian’s eyes. They were darker than usual, filled with grief. I hadn’t known he was close to Nelia.

It seemed there was much I didn’t know.

“These are called consequences, Your Majesty,” he said bitterly. “I told you not to come here. You refused to listen. Now, stay here while I find our horses.”

MADINIA

Kaelin Stillcrest was a tall woman who walked with the swaggering self-assurance of a fae male. Usually, I would have admired her for that alone.

Unfortunately, there was little else about her to admire. I watched her for several long moments as she snarled into the face of a pale man who did nothing but nod, his knuckles turning white where they clutched his crossbow.

When she turned, she swept her gaze from my head to my feet, sizing me up. I gave her a bored expression as she stalked toward me.

“Who are you?”

“Madinia Farrow.”

“And what do you want?”

I gave her a dismissive look. “I’m here to see Vicer.”

One of her men moved as if to go find him, and Stillcrest lifted her hand, stopping him in his tracks.

“And who exactly are you to come here and demand to see my people?”