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‘They’re not fighting because of you,’ she said with a careless shrug. ‘They’re fighting because of them. Not your problem to worry about.’

I was getting pretty damn sick of that line. ‘Fine, but it’s still a problem, and Iamworried.’

She muttered something about us poor sods with morals, and didn’t offer any other response. We arrived at the cave in high-strung silence, Beyla’s impatient looks not half as hurtful as Creon’s utter lack of looks.

I’ll be taking it for the truth.

The knots in my guts pulled tighter. Until I got a moment alone with him – until I figured out what exactly my answer was to his thinly veiled ultimatum – I’d have to be very damn careful with my words.

‘Alright,’ Beyla said, her nod at me her only greeting. ‘What is the plan?’

The plan was made in two minutes and boiled down to a simple “let’s go find them and take them down”. No one seemed to have the patience or peace of mind to work out a more nuanced approach.

By the time the alves faded us one ridge away from the Cobalt Court – which was judged the most likely destination for the newly arrived fae – I still hadn't fully grasped the reality of this new threat. Three quarters of my mind had stayed behind on that dark beach, struggling to make choices I didn’t want to make. The muttered conversations between the others largely slid past me, as did most of our surroundings; had any fae jumped out from behind a eucalyptus tree with malicious intent in that moment, I may have been too slow to save myself.

Thankfully, no winged silhouettes leaped at us from the shadows.

Habit and instinct were all that kept me moving, around a low hill and then up the last slope that separated us from the cliff that held the castle. The ruins looked even more desolate under a quickly darkening sky. With my gaze on the ragged stone walls and the crumbling towers, I failed to notice our targets for a moment or two – the small group of fae standing at the foot of the cliff, chatting carelessly to each other. They lit their torches as we approached, unaware of any watching eyes.

I swallowed a bitter twinge of regret. Couldn’t we just leave them alone? But no, they would find the traces of my attempts to break through the Mother’s shield, and worse, the one fresh apple that had made it through. More than enough evidence of what I was able to do.

Which meant they had to die.

I wanted nothing more than to crawl into my bed in the Underground and hide below my blankets for the next five years or so.

Tared and Beyla had quietly drawn their swords as we walked; Creon’s blade already lay in his hand. A hundred feet left between us. Ninety. Eighty. It was almost a miracle they still hadn’t noticed us, fully absorbed in their conversations and whatever chores they had to finish for the night …

A littletoomuch of a miracle, really.

‘Wait,’ Naxi hissed behind me, her voice quiet but urgent. ‘Something’s wrong. They’re tense as bowstrings. This is not—’

And as if they’d heard her, the group of fae parted.

The manoeuvre was perfectly coordinated, a clean split through the middle followed by a swift motion backwards, like a flower unfolding its petals. Suddenly the haphazard flock had become three rows of battle formation, torches a straight line of flames. Swords and daggers glinted in the firelight. Hands pressed against black and red shirts. Eyes found us, all thirty pairs of them, staring us down as if gazes alone could wound.

I froze in place, my thoughts solidifying back into the here and now so abruptly I winced.

‘For fuck’s sake,’ Tared hissed as he ground to a halt as well. ‘Should we get out?’

‘Wouldn’t help,’ Lyn said, her voice small. ‘They already know that we’re here and why. If the Mother hears …’

Tared cursed again but didn’t move, fingers tightening around the hilt of his blade. On the left edge of my sight, I could see Creon move towards me without sound. Yellow flickered between us, and the texture of my black dress changed ever so slightly, turning a plush velvet.

On my right, Beyla drew her second sword, her lips a wafer-thin line. ‘Do we attack?’

‘Let’s see what they do first.’ Lyn didn’t turn to look at us as she spoke. ‘I’d like to know if the Mother sent them herself, because in that case—’

She didn’t finish her sentence, didn’t need to. If the Mother had sent these fae to the Cobalt Court, even their deaths would not conceal the fact that we had been here. We’d have to be swift, very swift, to get as many of the bindings out as we possibly could.

I pressed my nails into my palms and whispered, ‘What are they waiting for?’

Behind me, Naxi squeaked.

For one moment, I thought it may have been her demon senses again, noticing some looming menace before any of us could. Then I saw the movement among the ranks of our opponents, wings and torches edging aside as one solitary figure made her way to the front of the formation.

One distressingly familiar, tall, black- and golden-haired figure.

Oh, gods.