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The magic of the bargain might keep her from killing him until she’d fulfilled her favor, but she’d find a way to make his existence a living nightmare.

As the warriors disappeared, she pressed her back against the cave wall and tugged on her braid.

Did she dare to risk waiting for Arden to return? She had no idea if the hunters went into the mountains or desert, and it was possible it could take hours for them to come back.

Could she summon the Everdark on her own? The greater demon had claimed that he’d been watching her for years. Whatif his presence hovered around her now? It had helped her to get into the Abyss. Perhaps he was close by.

Closing her eyes, she let her mind slip into the awaiting shadows.

She stretched out her senses like she had in Elias’ castle when they’d been looking for the map and cast it like a net around her.

Instantly, she recoiled.

There was so much power in the mountain and around it. The existence of the mists alone was an assault on her senses. It was a constant flow of power from a rotation of shadow fae who filtered their magic into it.

There was far too much power for her to pinpoint anything.

Growling in frustration, she paced back and forth at the cave’s entrance.

Unbidden, her mind wandered to her dream of Elias.

He’d been naked and covered in blood, and his features were ragged as though he hadn’t slept in weeks. A knife was plunged into the center of his chest. Immediately, she’d reached for it, desperate to pull it out. But no matter what she did, it remained as though it was embedded in stone.

And when he kissed her…

Damn her if it didn’t feel like he was saying goodbye.

She needed to save him, and now.

Taking a steadying breath, she cast her mind out again. Power assaulted her senses, making her dizzy, but she didn’t stop.

I just need to go down,she thought.If I can locate the tunnels into the deep, perhaps I can find the Everdark.

She let the magic all around wash over her—the hybrid fae-demon children, warriors with magical artifacts, hides of demons that were still infused with dark magic, and magic wielders using spells in their caves. All the while, the power ofthe mists swelled in the background, blasting her like a blizzard carried on the northern winds.

She staggered, struggling to remain upright. The power was too much. But she didn’t stop. She couldn’t. Stretching out her senses as far as she could, she eventually felt a single dark heartbeat in the deep.

There you are.

Then she was striding into the dark. She moved down more tunnels than she could count until the air grew thin and her breath plumed in front of her. When she descended into a darkness that even her shadow fae senses couldn’t penetrate, she knew she’d found the Everdark’s stronghold.

She didn’t stop to find a torch. Instead, she pressed ahead, using her hands along the walls to feel her way until, eventually, she rounded a corner.

The impenetrable black receded to the room’s corners, and she realized she’d made it.

She stood in the shadow fae graveyard.

When she spoke, her words echoed like a drum in the deep. “Release my magic.”

The impenetrable darkness in the recesses of the room shifted as though awakening.

Inky black sloughed off crevices in the stone, slipping into other shadows as it moved down the walls and across the floor. Slowly, the black gathered until a dark cloud formed above the stone altar.

Welcome back, granddaughter, the Everdark said into her mind.I knew you’d see the appeal of my offer.

“How is it done?” she demanded. She didn’t care about his games or goals. Not right now. Not when her mate was near to breaking.

So impatient, the greater demon rumbled.How very human of you.