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I narrow my eyes.

“Promise you’ll enjoy it, wife. I’m vividly imagining pressing you up against the side of our pool and licking that glowing water from between your—”

My skin is starting to glow, which is hugely embarrassing.

“Fine. But you’re going to tell me everything.”

“It began withSolstice.”

The two of us have stopped walking so that Des can explain himself.

“When I discovered that the Thief of Souls—Euribios—had wanted you to drink the lilac wine so you’d be vulnerable to his magic, I learned three things: One, the Thief was a clever bastard. Two, he wanted you. And three, it seemed that no fae was immune to his magic. He could put any of us to sleep the same way he had all of those soldiers; the only thing holding him back was his own scheming.”

My mind is racing, listening to this.

“I knew the Thief was waiting for the right moment to exact his plans—whatever they were—and I couldn’t let that happen.” Des’s eyes fall heavily on mine. “Not when I knew he wanted you.

“So I began devising a plan of my own, one that would save you and the Otherworld. I altered it as new information came in about the Thief. And once I discovered he was not just a god, butthegod of darkness, I knew that even my power was useless against him.”

And yet, somehow Euribios still died.

Des threads his fingers through mine. “I’m sorry that I didn’t confide in you, Callie. He was using shadows to watch us.”

Of course. If Des had told me his plans, the Thief would’ve learned of them, and the element of surprise would’ve been lost.

“My father’s prophecy—” he continues, “I knew the human it mentioned was you, so I knew that not only could Galleghar fall, but the Thief could be taken down with him.”

My brows knit. “How could you be sure the prophecy was about me?” I ask.

The corner of Des’s mouth curves up. “Shadows are not the only creatures who tell me secrets. There are pixies and diviners and all sorts of other fae that have secrets to share.”

So my mate learned I was destined to stop Galleghar. That truth sits heavy in me. I was fated to be a killer centuries before I was even born. I try not to shudder at the thought.

“At some point, it came to me. How to truly stop Euribios.”

He pauses dramatically.

I give him a devastating look. “And?”

He laughs. “You’re adorable when you’re impatient.” He pulls me close and wraps a lock of my hair. “I made two deals—one with the Thief of Souls—and another with the shadows. With the Thief, I agreed to willingly become his prisoner, so long as neither you nor I died.”

The Thief hadn’t been able to get his hands on Des until that deal. Not when the Night King made a habit of obliterating the fae the Thief controlled. So Des came to him and struck a deal that made my mate seem weak and desperate. And Euribios, in all his pride and power, believed it.

“With the shadows,” Des continues, “I promised to rid them of Euribios for once and for all if they were willing to deceive him.”

The shadows that wouldn’t speak of the Thief of Souls.

“That’s a big promise,” I say. “How did the shadows do it?”

“You mean, how did they trick the Thief?”

I nod.

“Power is sentient—it can make decisions for itself.”

Des and I knew that better than most. It was what kept us apart for seven years.

“The shadows are a part of that sentience,” Des continues, “and they are what Euribios derives his power from—as do I.