Page 35

“The sorcerer will be pissed,” Waylen said, once again not bothering to look at Arabella, Jessamine, or Breckett.

Kazimir nodded. “You’ve taken in a mortal he wants as well as a demon who stole something from him.”

Breckett’s eyes narrowed. “How did you?—”

Waylen waved him off. “It’s his job to know things.”

“It’s not ideal,” Hadeon admitted. “But we now have the map and someone who can read it.” He raised an eyebrow in Arabella’s direction.

Leaning back on the sofa, she crossed her arms. “Why do you want to find the shadow fae?”

She knew her body posture screamed one thing:Convince me to help you.

While she found it unlikely the shadow fae were still alive, Hadeon clearly believed they were—enough to risk seeking her out when Magnus’ army was close by.

For the first time since she’d met him, uncertainty flickered in Hadeon’s gaze. The scheming male who always seemed so certain, so confident in his every move, hesitated.

The fae prince shifted so that his elbows rested atop his knees as he eyed Arabella, then Jessamine, and turned back to Arabella. “Let’s just say I don’t like what the queen has been doing in the Twilight Court.”

“What does that have to do with the shadow fae?” she pressed.

The prince laced his fingers together. “I imagine they don’t like what she’s done either.”

Eyes narrowing, she considered his words.

There was one possible reason a prince would be making moves in the shadows to oppose the reigning queen.

“If this is some coup to usurp the throne, count me out,” she said, not bothering to disguise the disgust in her tone.

To her surprise, Hadeon tilted his head back and laughed—a deep, booming sound that was faintly musical. “I have no aspirations to rule the Twilight Court.” He ran a hand throughhis short black hair. “My mother is obsessed with immortality. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do to evade death—even at the expense of her court. After the erox denied her request to be turned, she grew more eager to achieve her ends.” He spared a knowing glance at Breckett. “And I suspect if I locate the shadow fae, they might be amenable to assist me in stopping my mother before she does anything she can’t come back from.”

“This is irrelevant,” Jessamine interjected. “The shadow fae were killed during the fae wars. Byyourcourt.”

The Twilight Court had led the combined fae armies against their shared enemy—the shadow fae.

“That little tale might not be entirely true.” A sudden fierceness brightened Hadeon’s eyes. “I have reason to believe some of the shadow fae escaped.”

Impossible.

There was no way the shadow fae not only escaped their fate but weren’t found for hundreds of years.

She shook her head. “Let’s pretend I believe you. You think this map will lead us to wherever they’re hiding?”

“The map leads to one of the underrealms, a place called the Abyss,” he said. “I believe that’s where Prince Arden of the Shadow Court fled with what remains of the shadow fae army.”

There were those who believed that the underrealms were the home of the demons. It was said that, long ago, someone opened a portal between an underrealm and the mortal realm, allowing demons through. Ever since, they’d feasted on mortals, and groups like the enchantresses had been formed to stop the demons from wiping humans out of existence. She had no idea if any of this held credence though.

Pursing her lips, she said, “Explain.”

“Prince Arden’s body was never found amongst the dead. Some of my mother’s generals remarked that the shadow fae army was smaller than they’d originally thought,” Hadeon said.“I’m wagering Arden is still alive and that he might be amenable to helping not just me but you as well.”

“Fuck, Hadeon, what are you up to now?” Waylen rubbed his eyes. Exasperation saturated his words—like he’d been exposed to Hadeon’s schemes one too many times. “Do I want to know who she is?” He flicked his fingers in her direction.

Her irritation flared. “She has a name.”

Hadeon turned to the water fae before his gaze settled on Arabella. “She’s an enchantress from a human village, the mate of a powerful erox, and a shadow fae-human hybrid.”

“She does smell different,” Kazimir said, chin lifting as though he were sniffing the air. “Not fully human.”