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Help Kalen. As if there was anything I could do against a group of storm fae. But I couldn’t leave him out there to fight them alone, especially if he was wounded. I needed to draw the enemy away from him. Just for a few moments. Long enough for him to heal.

“Come on,” I pleaded with the horse, who didn’t so much as blink in my direction. And then I had an idea. “He needsourhelp.”

Midnight looked at me.

“That’s right.” I nodded. “We ride out there into that fucking storm and distract those assholes long enough for Kalen to heal. And then they’re dead.”

He whinnied, stomping his massive hooves, and then he shifted to the side, as if inviting me to climb onto his back. I hauled myself up, grateful that some of my strength had returned to me. I was going to have to ride like light through that storm and hold on with everything I had in me.

“I’m trusting you,” I muttered to the horse before leaning forward to shove at the door. “I know you like the buck people off and—”

Midnight charged into the raging storm, knocking the door off its hinges. I yelped and gripped his mane to keep from tumbling off onto the rain-battered ground. Wind and ice still churned through the city, but the strength of it was nowhere near what it had been at the start.

Bending forward against the storm, I risked a glance around. Three storm fae were converging on Kalen, who knelt on the ground. Blood dripped down his back and his shoulders curved forward as his head lolled to his chest.

Something in me cracked at seeing him like that, and furious tears filled my eyes.

“Oi!” I shouted at the trio. “Leave him alone!”

The three storm fae jerked up their heads, and their gazes fell upon me. I shuddered. Midnight jerked sideways, galloping away from the center of the town toward the thickening mists. But the quick glimpse I’d caught of the storm fae had rattled my bones.

Their eyes were hollow and as bright as ice. They had silver hair that cascaded around their broad shoulders. A symbol was branded on each of their necks—a symbol that made my soul ache. I didn’t know what it meant, but I could feel the darkness of it reaching toward me. There was something wrong with those storm fae, more than just the god’s boost of power that had been helping them trap us here.

And I needed them to hunt me.

The shouted cries from behind told me they’d taken the bait. If they’d come here for me, so that they might ally themselves with Oberon, they couldn’t risk letting me get away. Holding on tight, I leaned into Midnight as we charged through the mists. A blast of wind hit me in the back.

“Come on, Midnight,” I whispered into his ear. “Run like you’ve never run before.”

His hooves thundered against the ground, spraying sand and dirt onto my legs. Mist burned my eyes, and the world transformed into a field of shadows and darkness. I could hear the hooves of the enemy echoing close behind, but as I twisted to glance over my shoulder, I couldn’t spot them through the dense fog.

Good. That meant they might not be able to see me, either.

An arrow whistled through the air and punched Midnight’s rear leg. I screamed as he stumbled to the side. His cries of pain ripped through the night. I flew off his back, skidded across the ground, and rolled out of the way. My palms scraped against the coarse sand as Midnight crashed toward me.

As he came to a heavy stop on his side, he blinked at me through the fog. A pitiful sound escaped his throat. My chest ached, but as I began to reach toward him, footsteps sounded nearby. I sucked in a breath and stood on shaky legs, whirling toward the approaching attackers.

A storm fae on a silver steed rose from the mist. I angled my body in front of Midnight, my heart hammering so hard, I thought I might be sick.

The storm fae smiled, slowing to a stop only a few feet from where I stood. “King Oberon’s bride.”

His voice crackled like ice, and a powerful wind whipped toward me, tugging at my long braid.

I narrowed my eyes. “I’m no one’s bride, especially not his.”

“He believes differently. And what Oberon wants, Oberon gets. You’re coming with us.” The storm fae dismounted, his heavy leather boots thudding against the sand. A spray of dark mist washed over me as I stumbled backward.

I whipped out my dagger and pointed it at his chest. The storm fae merely smiled and pressed himself against the bloodied tip. Eyes flashing, he leaned closer to me, so close I could smell the rain on his breath.

“You truly think a mortal like you could harm me? That you could run from your fae king and never get caught? There is nowhere you can go in this world that he could not find you. You arehis.”

With an angry growl, I shoved my pitiful blade into his chest, but it barely did a damn thing, his leather armor protecting him. Not that it would have mattered. Even if the wood slid into skin, he would have healed, just like Oberon had.

The storm fae laughed, wrapped a hand around my neck, and lifted me from the ground. My feet dangled beneath me as he shook me hard. I sucked at the air, desperate to get in a breath, but he squeezed so tightly that all I could do was choke on it.

Fear tumbled through me. He clearly wouldn’t kill me, not when he needed to deliver me alive to Oberon. But he would make me suffer. He’d steal all the breath from my lungs, just enough to knock me out. And then I would have no way to fight back.

The world went dark in the corners of my eyes.