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There was no missing the bitterness and the hurt in his words, and she had to try not to flinch at the vehemence in his tone.

She dared to ask, “Who came up with this narrative?”

“Someone who wanted an enemy to unite the fae against,” he said.

She frowned. “What would Queen Genoveva gain from uniting the fae courts?”

He turned back toward the tunnel, speaking over his shoulder. “Ask Prince Arden. Perhaps he’ll be interested in rehashing fae history.”

A deep hurt was woven into every syllable as he spoke. It wasn’t just the shadow fae’s genocide, though that was an atrocity all on its own. There was something about the other fae courts—how they’d turned on the shadow fae—that had created a wound in Colton. She wondered if he’d had friends in the other fae courts. Friends who hadn’t defended him when it counted.

Without another word, she followed Colton into the dark.

Eventually, the tunnel opened to a massive cavern several stories high and was as long as two residential homes in Shadowbank side by side. There was a pool on one side. Steam rippled from the surface, and there were branching sections of the pool that she thought might lead into anothercave somewhere beyond the wall. But most of the room was completely open, and the distant walls sloped gradually downward.

It lacked furniture or something that would denote the room had a specific purpose. If she had to guess, this must be where they held large gatherings or perhaps where the warriors trained.

A male kneeled beside the pool, his hand outstretched over the water.

Hearing them enter, he straightened, turning toward them and lowering the mask over his nose and mouth.

Like the day prior, Arden wore leather armor that was identical to what Colton and the other warriors wore. If it wasn’t for the warriors’ deference and an air of authority about him, she would have had no way to identify this male as a prince.

He again wore his hair in a single braid down his back. But most striking of all was his dark eyes that seemed to swallow the light around him.

“You’re here. Good.” Arden nodded to Colton. “Thank you for bringing her.”

Colton bowed before retreating the way they’d come.

“How did you find your accommodations?” the prince asked as he turned back toward the water.

She strode to his side, following his gaze.

The pool’s steam swirled, filling the air with a moist heat that had her relaxing for what felt like the first time in an eternity. Shoulders drooping, she felt her muscles going pliant. For a moment, she longed to close her eyes and forget everything. But the looming dread hovering at the back of her mind pushed to the forefront, and she forced herself to focus.

“We’re grateful for your hospitality,” she said. “We were ill-prepared for a long journey across a desert.”

One corner of his lips lifted. “An understatement, perhaps.”

She smiled. “Perhaps.”

“What is it you hope to learn?” he asked, his eyes following trails of steam.

She considered her next words.

Somehow, she needed to convey her need to control her magic without revealing her heritage or that she had the map. At least, she couldn’t reveal either of these yet. She also needed to forge an alliance. But first, she had to determine whether she could trust these fae.

All the while, she intended to keep an ear to the ground to see if she could glean any more information about how to get out of the Abyss when the time came.

It didn’t matter that the shadow fae hadn’t found a way out. She was going to forge a path back to the fae realm even if the map was useless and she had to build a way by herself with twigs, sweat, and sheer stubbornness.

“I want to learn to control the shadows,” she began. “I need any edge I can get… So I can rescue my mate.”

He turned to her then, brows arching toward the cavern ceiling. “Mate?”

She nodded.

“Mates are exceptionally rare amongst full fae. Even more so for demi-fae.” He nodded as though having just come to a decision before turning back to the water. “And Hadeon told you of the Abyss.”