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Forget about what you know of the Thief of Souls, Desmond, what unusual occurrences have happened to Callie?Monsters love leaving their calling cards. I should know.

There was the ripped up mattress, the dream that was so obviously notjusta dream. And then there were the visions that the casket children had shown her—visions of cages and an antlered creature.

That’s all I have.

It’s going to have to be enough.

I start with the antlered beast. There are many horned fae in the Otherworld, but only one with any distinction—

Karnon Kaliphus, Master of Animals, Lord of the Wild Heart, King of Fauna—and lately, the Mad King.

He just might have enough power and lunacy to fit the bill.

Shit, but am I really assuming the Fauna King is behind the disappearances?

Those who are moon-touched are capable of much. The question is, could Karnon be capable of the evil wrought by the Thief of Souls?

Surely one of his subjects would’ve said something. Surely, if he were truly guilty,someonewould’ve noticed something damnable by now.

Cannot afford to ignore this possibility.It’s the best lead I’ve got. For Callie’s sake, I have to assume the worst of Karnon.

But if I’m wrong … not only will I be no closer to finding her, I might have a war on my hands. That’s what happens when you attack kings.

War for Callie if you must, but find her!

As swift as the night, I leave the dungeons of Somnia and make my way to the Fauna Kingdom. Being the king of a rival kingdom, I’m required to announce my presence in my fellow ruler’s territory. I don’t bother.

If I’m right and Karnon’s behind this, then his soldiers are behind it as well. No one keeps a secret this big all to themselves.

I join with the night sky, sweeping across the Kingdom of Fauna. I’m no longer a man, no longer a body with arms and legs and a face. I’m hardly a thing at all. More like sentient darkness.

The shadows are ever quiet here. I feel it then as I never have. Old magic. Powerful magic. The kind not written down in books. Perhaps it’s not that the shadows won’t share their secrets; perhaps it’s that they can’t.

If Karnon is the one wielding this kind of magic, then I’ve vastly underestimated him.

Before I head to Fauna’s capitol, I scour what I can of the land, looking for any trace of Callie. I come up with nothing.

Just as I thought.

There’s a chance that she’s simply not here in the Kingdom of Fauna, but there’s also a chance that she’s in a protected area of the palace, where wards prevent me from entering.

All the kingdoms have pockets of space that are spelled against me and the other rulers. This way, rival kings and queens can’t just waltz in and learn their most closely guarded secrets.

I dissolve into the darkness outside of Karnon’s castle grounds, and there I linger. Things are almost painfully normal. Guards make their circuits around the perimeter, Fauna nobility come and go. I follow several of them back to their homes, waiting for one of them to slip up, but none of them do.

You were wrong, Desmond. She’s not here.

Callie could be in another kingdom—even another world—enduring cruelties I can’t fathom.

I’m considering leaving my post when strange magic wafts through the darkness. It’s so faint I almost miss it. With it comes the urge to coalesce back into my form. Reluctantly, I do so, my body manifesting in a tree downwind from the palace.

I feel the magic stir again, this time concentrating over my heart. I draw in a shocked breath, my hand pressing against my chest.

Gods above, Ifeelher.

My mate!

Callie’s essence is a song, something I imagined sirens might sing to wayward men. Only it resonates inside me, calling me to her.