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Here’s to hoping I do a little better tonight.

I shake out my hands as I begin to move, heading for the door. Des’s form flickers, disappearing for a moment only to materialize directly in front of me.

His intense eyes lock on mine. “You know I trust you, respect you, and above all else, love you. But gods give me grace, Callie, I will have a reckoning with you if you go rogue on me.”

Ye of little faith. I only did that once, and that was the time the “foe” Des and I faced was Temperance “Temper” Darling, my best friend and sorceress.

“I’m not going to gorogueon you, Des.”

“Just so we’re clear.” Reluctantly, he steps out of the way, and then the two of us are exiting his rooms.

The floor shivers as we stride down it. There’s a rumbling in the distance, like a storm coming to call, and the air carries the faintest hint of something cloying and foul.

“What is that smell?” I ask Des as I follow him through the castle. Our immediate surroundings are far too quiet.

“Dark magic,” he says over his shoulder.

I raise my eyebrows. “I cansmellmagic?”

That’s … not normal.

“Fae magic,” Des specifies. “And, yeah, apparently you can.”

Alriiiight. I guess I can roll with that.

Footfalls pound up the hall. Des’s wings flare protectively, but the individuals that turn the corner are some of Des’s royal aides.

“Where’s Malaki?” Des demands, clearly interested in talking strategy with his general.

The aides look at each other, perplexed. “Haven’t seen him,” one of them says.

“Check the sorceress’s rooms,” I say. Temper undoubtedly has Des’s general chained to her bed.

I’m not the only one with a taste for fairies.

The Bargainer runs a hand through his white hair. “How many soldiers are stationed here on Somnia?” he asks one of the aides.

“Eight hundred and fifty. There are a few hundred more on the other islands. The rest are stationed at the Borderlands or on peacetime leave.”

Des rubs his mouth. I know what he’s thinking: we’re outnumbered. There are easily over a thousand sleeping women beneath this castle. If they’re out for blood … they’re going to overtake us.

“Call in as many reinforcements as you can,” Des orders. “Send all Night soldiers to the palace. The previously sleeping women are going to try to take the castle. We can’t let that happen.”

I glance out the nearby row of arched windows. Bursts of light are flashing across Somnia like the bulbs of a camera. With them come screams. So many screams.

The aides incline their heads, and then they’re off, storming back through the castle to carry out the Night King’s orders.

I note that none of his men tried to linger and guard him—nor did they try to sequester him away to wait out the battle. In that regard, fairies are different from humans. Or maybe the battle-tested Des, with his war cuffs and his darkness, is just different from other leaders.

The Bargainer begins to stride down the hall again. “Get those daggers ready, cherub,” he says over his shoulder. “We’re going to face the women head on.”

I reach for my weapons with shaky hands. It’s one thing to spar with Des, another to prepare for true battle.

My skin shimmers as the siren bleeds into me. With the change comes a vicious sort of confidence I was missing a second ago. I pull out my blades, the etched phases of the moon glinting along the length of the metal. The daggers are a familiar weight in my palms.

Deeper in the castle there’s a rumble, followed by an explosion. Then more screams.

Besides Des’s aides, we see no one. That, more than anything, has my claws sharpening and my wings manifesting. We’re hunting predators.