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My trembling heart lodges itself in my throat. My mate is mighty, but he’s fighting the one man who might be his match. And unlike his father, Des’s wings are broken.

I hear the two leviathans roaring as they fight, the world shaking with claps of their power as their magic meets.

Never have I felt so useless as now, staring up into the sky.

“He’ll be fine.”

I jolt as the Green Man steps out from the dark woods, his green skin glowing softly in the moonlight.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, edging back a little.

I came into the forest looking for answers. So far, I’ve only been met with questions.

He comes right up to me, reaching out to stroke my dimming skin.

“You are utterly singular,” he says, his finger moving over the scales that dust my arms. His eyes flick to mine. “I find I’ve become quite…enthralledby you.”

I step away from him, grimacing a little. “Where’s Mara?” I ask, looking over his shoulder.

Something about this situation is off, but what?

“Mourning her beloved trees,” he says, not taking his amber eyes off me. “I admit, I was utterly titillated when you struck down those oaks.” He shakes his head. “That brute human logic of yours does indeed stir things up around here.”

The Green Man reaches for me again. I slap his hand away. That earns me a nefarious smile. “The one wife I couldn’t have, the one soul I couldn’t claim,” he says.

My skin goes cold. “What are you talking about?”

“Did you miss me while I was away?” He begins to circle me. “I’ve looked forward to chatting with you since our last little encounter in the Fauna Kingdom.”

Chapter 50

I walked Des and myself into a trap. One I can’t figure out.

Des’s father is back from the dead, and the Green Man claims to have memories he shouldn’t.

The Green Man smooths down his shirtfront, looking at his body. “This bloody sot diedlongago.”

I swallow, beginning to back up.

“Deep in the forest, the Green Man met a stranger who wanted to harvest the mostpeculiarfruit.” The Green Man—or whoever this guy really is—laughs. “The weakling sought to strike me down.” He flashes me a sly smile. “But I am a hard thing to kill.

“He died, I lived, and I indeed harvested the most magnificent fruit.” He lifts his hands, gesturing to the bloody trees around us.

Hewas responsible for the disappearances?

I’m itching to reach beneath the hem of my dress and grab my daggers. Slowly, my hand moves to my skirts. I hike the material up slowly.

Keep him distracted.

“How did you hide this from Mara?” I ask.

No wonder the Flora Queen was utterly uninterested in her mate. Whoever this man is, it doesn’t sound like he’s the true Green Man. Which means she’s been living with an impostor for who knows how long.

He laughs. “You mean her bleeding trees? She thought they were dying of rot—which they are—and she sought to hide it from her kingdom. Little known fact: sacred trees die when Flora rulers are too weak to sustain their kingdom. She feared she was losing her hold on her reign.”

I continue to gather the fabric of my skirt in my hand.

“And Karnon?” I ask. “How did you infiltrate his kingdom?”