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“You will become more fae than human,” he clarified. “It doesn’t happen to all demi-fae, but most likely, you will age and look like one of us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Fae can live for thousands of years. Certainly longer than the lifespan of an enchantress,” he said. “And your body willbecome more fae. I don’t just mean the pointed ears, but you will move like one of us.”

For a moment, she had no words. This new information settled in her gut like stones.

She’d prided herself for so long in her abilities as an enchantress, in her abilities to protect the people of Shadowbank who couldn’t protect themselves. If she was honest, she’d held fury in her heart against the fae—the very race who’d remained in their realm, behind their pristine walls or in castles, and never raised a hand against the threat of the demons in the mortal realm.

The demons who devoured all in their path.

To become fae… It was to become the very thing she’d grown to hate.

If I become fae, I won’t stop protecting those I love,she thought. It won’t change me.

But she’d already changed since using the amplifier and since her memories returned. She’d become more angry, more prone to impulses. How else would she change?

She thought of Elias, who’d risked everything to return her memories to her.

The male she loved.

The male who needed saving.

“It’s worth it,” she said, voice cool as the mountain stones.

Arden merely nodded. “Good.” He rose to his feet. “I’ll show you to your room, then?—”

“Tomorrow—” To her surprise, she grabbed the prince’s arm. Realizing what she’d done, she quickly dropped her hand. It wouldn’t do if he saw the gesture as a threat. “Please… I’d like to begin my training right away. Tomorrow.”

There wasn’t a moment to waste.

She’d give herself one day to rest, and then she’d throw herself into training and learn everything she could. Somehow,she’d find an edge that she could use against Magnus and his armies.

Lines formed between Arden’s brows, but he nodded. “Of course.”

Then he turned, and she followed the prince down the tunnels into the deep.

First, she’d learn to control her magic. As she learned from Arden, she’d determine whether he could be trusted. Then she would see whether she could convince Arden and the shadow fae to join her in the fight against a sorcerer.

Chapter Sixteen

ARABELLA

Arabella woke up to a world as dark as her thoughts.

A strange sort of panic swelled in her chest. She couldn’t quite identify the cause, but she had this sense that she was running out of time. For a moment, she wondered whether she’d dreamed of Elias again. But she couldn’t recall as her dreams slipped between her fingers like the sands of the Abyss.

She sat up from where she slept on the ground, pushing aside her pile of blankets and animal skins. Or at least, she pretended it was animal skins. The idea of sleeping on the carcasses of some furry demons made her stomach turn.

The shadow fae had given Arabella, Jessamine, Breckett, and Hadeon a room farther up in the mountain as their shared sleeping quarters.

Similar to the cave she’d sat in with Arden, this one had an entrance from within the mountain as well as an opening at the other end that overlooked the desert. There was a steep descent from the mouth of the cave, which carried a constant cool breeze. If they were to flee this place, she supposed they could try to climb down the mountainside. But from this far up, they’djust as easily fall to their deaths, tumbling thousands of feet to the base of the mountain below.

“What’s wrong?” Jessamine asked from where she’d been sleeping beside Arabella.

Beside Arabella, Breckett snoozed happily after Jessamine begrudgingly let him feed on her the night before. That had been after they’d been given a hearty meal of some kind of stew and waterskins.

“It’s nothing,” Arabella said, shaking her head as if that would clear the feeling of doom from her thoughts.