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The very air seemed to hold its breath.

“Yeah, yeah,” Skye said to no one in particular. “I can take a hint.”

Muttering the foulest curse he knew, Skye continued moving forward. For better or worse, he knew where he was now. Knew where he was meant to go.

It was a struggle to relax his grip on his sword, to push down that instinctive urge to run as he continued to move forward, down the hallway and through that door into—the throne room.

The place where this journey had begun.

Like everything else he had encountered, the room was resplendent. Shafts of warm, butterysunlight streamed through the windows, and roses coiled around ivory columns, each perfect petal somehow delicately edged with gold.

Skye turned in a circle, his eyes darting first to that great golden throne gleaming up atop its dais, then to the three massive chandeliers tinkling high overhead.

Where are you, Taly?

She was close by. He could sense it in the way the bond thrummed, almost whispering in his ear.

A door slammed, and Skye whirled, raising his sword and backing up as the sound of footsteps echoed from the hallway. Someone was approaching, but it wasn’t Taly. The stride was too long, the footfall too heavy.

A figure loomed in the doorway, and Skye recognized the broad shoulders and gold-plated armor well before he heard that all-too-familiar voice drawl, “Well, well, well—what do we have here?”

Skye’s blood ran cold. “Vaughn,” he said as the yellow-eyed shadow mage stepped further into the room. “What areyoudoing here?”

Vaughn didn’t answer as his eyes slid over the room, a muted sense of awe evident in his expression.

Skye eyed the sword at the man’s waist, the line of daggers strapped to his chest, some streaked with what looked and smelled like fresh blood. Was it Kato’s? He had said he was going to make up an excuse. Keep them busy.

Shards, where was his brother?

“You followed me,” Skye said. Ivain had been right not to trust this man. But what did he want? Why was he here?

“We were worried when your brother said you were going off on your own,” Vaughn said gently.

Bullshit,Skye thought, retreating another step towards the throne. Vaughn blocked the main doorway, but he knew that most of these throne rooms had a door behind the dais—just one more security measure.

“And where is my brother?” Skye asked, trying to buy time. Vaughn was older, a brawler. He had focused his training on the physical attributes of shadow magic—prioritizing raw strength at the expense of everything else. He was a living weapon crafted of flesh and bone rather than crystal and steel, and if it came down to a fight, Skye would lose.

“Your brother is back at the camp,” Vaughn said lightly. As though they weren’t inside a palace that shouldn’t exist. As though he hadn’t followed him here in secret.

“I gave an order not to be disturbed,” Skye pointed out. “One I’m sure Kato passed along.”

“I do not follow your orders, boy.”

Skye gave up another slow, cautious step, quickly schooling his features when he felt the distinct sigh of water magic itch across his skin.

Fuck.

Of course, Vaughn didn’t come alone. Asher was, after all, a water mage, and the only one in their party capable of tracking a shadow mage without giving himself away. Even a simple glamour could obscure sound and scent and sight, making him and anyone standing in his radius effectively invisible.

Which meant that both Carin and Asher were likely standing behind him now, concealed behind a veil of water magic. And though Asher would beeasy to take out—he was weaker, slower—Carin could be a problem. She was a shadow mage. Not as strong as Vaughn, but still formidable.

Skye kept his eyes pointed straight ahead. This was a trap, and Vaughn was the distraction. If he gave even the faintest hint that he’d figured it out—this would be over before it had even begun.

“So if you don’t follow my orders—” Skye began, letting his magic fan out, feeling for the edges of the water glamour. Just behind him and to the left, and Vaughn was still advancing—herding him. “—then who holds your loyalty?”

Vaughn chuckled darkly. “That is none of your concern.”

“I’m afraid I have to disagree with you there.” Skye glanced over his shoulder, pretending to trip as he looked for the ripple of water magic he knew would be there.