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“Join us, and my armies are yours. I don’t fear a sorcerer, and neither should you.” In a softer tone, he added, “You’re one of us. No other court will accept you, but we will.”

Every instinct inside her screamed to say yes, to accept his offer at once. But then she thought of her looming bargain with Hadeon.

“Hadeon will want you to consider mercy,” she said. “To direct your spirit of vengeance to stop the Twilight Court queen from hurting the fae in her search for immortality or starting another war.”

If you don’t spare the Twilight Court, Hadeon will keep me from allying with you.

“Consider mercy for the Twilight Court,” she said as Arden opened his mouth to speak. “And I’ll consider my role amongst the shadow fae.”

For a moment, Arden cast his gaze at the far wall, nodding as though deep in thought.

He crossed his arms behind his back as he took one step forward and then another.

Without turning around, he gestured toward the cave entrance.

“Perhaps you’ll think differently when you speak to Hadeon, yourself. ”

Fear sliced down her center as a dozen shadow fae warriors dragged Hadeon into the cavern. His gloved hands were bound in front of him, and his face was covered in bruises. There was a gag in his mouth. Dark eyes stared at her with a ferocity she’d never seen before.

It was then she registered that Breckett and Jessamine stood beside the warriors. Their hands were bound, and they had gags in their mouths as well.

Arabella noted the faintest shake of Jessamine’s head.

“Why are they tied up?” Arabella demanded.

“Breckett told us of Hadeon’s plan to leave the Abyss—without us,” Arden said, his voice laced with venom. “The erox and the enchantress are restrained as a… precaution.”

Arabella’s eyes narrowed.

Arden knew as well as she did that Breckett could escape at any time he wanted with his ability to shadow jump and his invisibility powers.

It would be easy for him to evade the shadow fae.

But perhaps he was complying with them in hopes of securing their good will—and escaping the Abyss with them.

If what Arden said was right, he’d aligned his fate with theirs.

But Breckett wouldn’t know that Arabella was the key to getting out of the Abyss.

“I would have preferred that you told me about the map, yourself, but we can move past that,” Arden continued. “We are new to you. You didn’t grow up amongst your kind as you should have. In time, you’ll learn to trust us.”

She leveled her gaze on Breckett.

Once the erox had been pissed at her for acting on her own.

But now, he’d done the very same thing—acting without her.

Had Jessamine approved? Breckett knew that letting the shadow fae back into the fae realm meant demons would be unleashed.

Arabella didn’t disagree with his actions.

She wasn’t even certain what she intended to do.

But she wanted to understand his reasons.

“I want to hear from Breckett his reasoning,” she said.

Arden nodded to one of the guards, who lowered Breckett’s gag.

She didn’t look away, didn’t flinch, as she said, “Why?”

“Outside of the fact that Jessamine and I can’t keep Hadeon at bay by ourselves for long,” he said, his eyes full of fierce determination.

“We need an army to defeat Magnus, and I refuse to go home without one. Not when he could rip my free will from me at any time.” A muscle pulsed in his jaw.

“The real question should be—why are you hesitating? They’re offering you everything you wanted.

Could it be that you don’t want to rescue Elias after all? ”

She flinched as though slapped. “Of course, I do.”

“Then what else is there to consider?” he demanded.

Fists clenching, she opened her mouth to reply, but Arden spoke, pulling her attention back to him.

“There’s one other thing you should know—about your mother,” Arden said.

“Myla was a prisoner in the Twilight Court for hundreds of years. The king had captured her at the start of the fae wars and kept her as his personal assassin.” He turned to Hadeon, who’d been forced to his knees by the shadow fae warriors.

“Isn’t that right, Hadeon? You knew Myla personally . ”

Lines formed between Hadeon’s brows, but he didn’t shake his head or try to deny it.

The room grew quiet as her heartbeat drowned out all other sounds.

She’d known that her mother had been captured and held captive in the Twilight Court. And logically, if Arabella was in her thirties, her mother would have been alive in the recent past. That meant Myla would’ve been in the Twilight Court at the same time as Hadeon.

She shook her head.

Why hadn’t she thought of that? She should’ve put the pieces together.

“Has he told you about the potential cost of immortality?” Arden continued. “His mother is pursuing immortality for not just herself, but her entire court. Which means the cost will be even greater—especially with a spell of that magnitude.”

Belatedly, she realized her mouth hung agape, and she snapped it shut.

Arden nodded. “I see he hasn’t told you.

It’s no wonder it’s been a challenge for you to trust the fae when you’ve been exposed to the likes of Hadeon.

He shared with me over a private dinner just what the cost could be for immortality.

But you don’t have to believe my word. You should hear it from Hadeon, himself. ”

One of the guards reached for the gag in Hadeon’s mouth. The motion felt like it was in slow motion.

“Don’t—” she began, but it was too late.

“I’m calling in our bargain,” Hadeon said the moment the gag fell from his lips. “Take Jessamine and I out of the Abyss and no one else. Strike down anyone who gets in our way.”

An electric charge pulsed through her like a single heartbeat as the bargain’s magic settled over her.

Arden’s eyes drew wide. “You had a bargain with him?—?”

Apparently, Breckett and Jessamine hadn’t revealed that fact to the shadow fae before they’d been restrained.

Unbidden, Arabella drew upon darkness throughout the room, letting it infuse her. With a single step, she moved between shadows.

It was as natural as breathing.

It was as if her demon powers being locked away had prevented her from fully embracing all of her shadow fae magic. And now that they’d been unleashed, anything she willed was a breath away from reality.

She reappeared in the shadows beside Hadeon, blasting back the shadow fae warriors surrounding him with a torrent of black. With a flick of her fingers, she’d unsheathed one of her blades and cut Hadeon’s and Jessamine’s bonds.

Arden shouted somewhere behind her, calling to his guards.

“Get us out of here,” Hadeon said as Arden’s shadows surged. They had a heartbeat before his magic would descend upon them. And even if Arabella’s power was stronger than his, he had years of experience and training.

“The syphen,” she began, gesturing to where Breckett had rolled away from the guards—and outside of Arabella’s reach.

Even as she spoke, she knew there wasn’t time. Especially if Breckett gave her chase and leapt between shadows or turned invisible.

But the magic of the bargain clamped around her chest, keeping her from leaving Hadeon’s and Jessamine’s sides.

“Now, Enchantress,” Hadeon hissed.

“Hold on tight,” Arabella said, stretching out her arms.

Jessamine grabbed Arabella’s hand. Hadeon hesitated for a moment before his fingers latched around her wrist over her jacket.

Immediately, Arabella’s stomach turned, and she nearly retched on the floor.

Then she stepped between the shadows into the tunnels.

Behind her, she cast a solid wall of black at the exit tunnel, locking the shadow fae and Breckett within it.

It wouldn’t last long, but it would give them a head start.

Moments later, they’d moved hundreds of feet up the tunnels and had returned to the main passages.

“Get us to the base of the mountains,” Hadeon whispered. “I have provisions stored for us there.”

Of course, he did.

Several heartbeats later, they were outside the mountain.

Jessamine pulled the gag from her mouth. “I’m sorry. Breckett disappeared after you left and told me to stay with Hadeon. I should’ve suspected?—”

Arabella shook her head. “There isn’t time to discuss this now.”

A strange electric current pulsed through her, demanding she fulfill her portion of the bargain, urging her forward.

Hadeon grabbed four packs from where he’d stashed them at the base of the mountain under a pool of starlight. He tossed one to Arabella and another to Jessamine before shouldering two.

“You’ve been planning this,” Arabella realized.

“I like to be prepared for all eventualities,” he said.

As he strode before her, she spat at his feet. “You’re damning the shadow fae to remain in the underrealm.”

Unless she found a way to return, they’d be trapped here. And she had a suspicion Hadeon would try to keep her from going to the gateway in the western tundra.

Hate as hot as the sun’s surface filled her veins, and she felt black filtering over her gaze, sharpening her sight. He’d damned the shadow fae to live in the Abyss, perhaps indefinitely. He’d also eliminated the chance of saving Elias with the only army willing to face Magnus.

His gaze raked over her, lingering on her dark nails with tips as sharp as a blade’s edge. “I see you’ve unlocked your magic.”

She didn’t deny it. “I did what I had to—to save my mate.”

“Surely, you can see how dangerous it would be if demons were in the fae realm,” he said. “Would you make the fae suffer the same as your home?”

“It’s a fate I wouldn’t wish upon anyone,” she said. “I’d also never wish an eternity in this place for anyone.”

“Get us out of here alive, and I’ll speak to my mother. I’ll convince her to help save your mate and Shadowbank.”

Something inside her hardened.

If he’d offered this to her before, they never would have entered the Abyss. But he hadn’t taken her concerns seriously when she’d requested his help. It wasn’t until she was a danger to him that he truly cared about the safety of Shadowbank or her mate.

“You’re only offering this because I can kill you the moment we step through the gateway,” she said, her voice cold.

“You should be thankful I spared your friend when she could have easily been left behind.” He grabbed Arabella’s jacket and pushed her toward the desert. “Get that map out, Enchantress. Or should I say Demoness?”

Stumbling forward, she glared at him with every ounce of hatred she felt.

But he was right. The shadow fae would be flooding out of the mountain soon.

Would Arden be able to stop them? He knew she couldn’t hold the gateway open for the shadow fae even if she wanted to.

Not with her bargain with Hadeon and the wording he’d used.

Unless Hadeon is dead.

If the prince wasn’t alive, would that nullify her bargain with him? She could only hope.

“I’ll never forgive you for this,” she hissed through the hate filling her heart.

For a long moment, his eyes shifted between hers. “This isn’t what I wanted. But it’s what I must do to protect my home.”

Then they ran through the desert. She would have leapt between the shadows, but she had to save her strength in case any demons appeared. Not to mention, using magic would draw the attention of any demons nearby. It would be the same for Breckett and the shadow fae if they tried to shadow jump.

She slowed her steps as much as she dared as they ran over rolling hills of sand. All she could do now was hope Arden and his warriors could catch up to them in time.

Otherwise, she’d take Hadeon and Jessamine through the gateway—and leave the shadow fae behind.

Trapped in the Abyss forever.