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T he Rock Run men rode fast and hard. Marjani grimly kept up, fear for her brother a live creature gnawing at her insides.

Behind her, Fane maintained a loose grip on her hips. She was thankful now he’d insisted on coming. She’d never needed his calm, steadying presence more.

“Hey, Jani.” He raised his voice to be heard over the sound of drilling. He must be at the quartz mine. “Whassup?”

“It’s Ric. He’s not at his den. I think he’s going to New Moon.”

“Alone?”

“Yeah. I tried to get ahold of him, but he’s cut off all communication. And it’s deliberate. I can tell.”

“He didn’t give you a heads-up?”

She ground her teeth. “No.”

“Fuck.” They both knew that if Adric hadn’t told Marjani he was leaving, it was because he’d wanted to sneak out of town. Whatever he was up to, it was dangerous.

“And somehow Rosana do Rio got mixed up in it. I found Dion, Rui, Tiago and a couple of other Rock Run men outside Ric’s den. They looked ready to tear him apart with their bare hands.”

“His den? What the fuck?”

She explained how Rosana had apparently been kidnapped from outside Adric’s den.

Jace swore. “They don’t think it was Ric?”

“No. But it looks like it might’ve been Luc. His scent was all over Ric’s backyard.”

“Hell.” Jace’s tone matched the sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. “So Lady B’s a part of this? But what the fuck would she want with Rosana?”

“Good question. But Cleia traced Rosana to southern Maryland. I’m on 95 south of Baltimore, along with Dion and his men. Fane’s with me.”

“On my way.” The sound of drilling faded as he made his way to the surface.

“I’ll keep you updated on our location, but figure on going to Virginia. And Jace? Call Zuri, tell him what’s up. Until he hears otherwise, he’s in charge.”

“Cat’s balls, Jani. Give me the hard job, why don’t you? Zuri’s going to be royally pissed if we leave him in Baltimore.”

“He’ll just have to deal,” she returned in a hard voice.

“He’s chief of security. With Adric and me both out of the city, he’s in charge.

And if the night fae catch Adric, we’ll be at war—he’ll have more than enough to keep busy.

And Jace? No secrets.” The clan had had their fill of that during the Darktime, and even since.

“Tell Zuri to let everyone know what’s up.

Ric’s going in there for me. Every den needs to decide once and for all if they’re with the two of us—or against us.

If not, they should leave now, or I will personally kick their asses out of Baltimore. ”

“Understood.”

Fane leaned forward to mutter in Marjani’s ear. “Tell him to send Evie and Kyle to Baltimore. They’re not safe in Grace Harbor alone.”

Marjani nodded. She relayed Fane’s message, adding. “If she asks why, tell her the healers will need her.”

It was the one argument guaranteed to get Evie back to Baltimore. If it came to war, the healers would be stretched to their limits, and Evie’s ability to add her energy to theirs would be desperately needed.

“Already planning on it. Horace is with me—he’ll make sure they get there okay. You heard that?” he asked the cougar fada.

When Horace said yes, Jace instructed him to shut down the mine and send everyone back to Baltimore, ASAP.

Marjani heard the rumble of Jace’s motorcycle coming to life. “I’m right behind you,” he told her, and ended the call.

The city fell away. The highway was lined with trees, giving the impression they were in the country, but she knew it was an illusion. This section of the East Coast was a string of towns one after another, with a continuous stream of traffic traveling the I-95 corridor.

“Don’t worry.” Fane squeezed her waist. “Adric will be okay. Your brother’s bloody hard to kill.”

She growled. “He shouldn’t have gone without me.”

“Mm.” Her mate wisely refrained from pointing out that she’d gone to Iceland without Adric for the very same reason—to protect him.

She heaved a breath and cast Fane an apologetic smile over her shoulder. “Thanks for coming.”

He shrugged. “I know the court better than any of you. Besides, I spent sixty turns of the sun with the fae. I might even be able to help. Envoy, remember? I was one of the ice fae’s top negotiators.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

He wrapped his arms more securely around her waist, his hard-muscled body warm against her back. Despite her worry, her cat gave a little purr of contentment.

Fane brought his face as close to her as their helmets allowed. “You need to remember something, love.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re not alone anymore.”

Dion went with his gut and aimed straight for New Moon.

Three hours later, they entered the forest surrounding the night fae court. They slowed their motorcycles to a crawl. A look-away spell pressed at them, but he drew on his internal GPS to keep moving forward, even when the pressure grew so strong it was like slogging through invisible quicksand.

Rui somehow picked up Rosana’s scent. “This way.” He jerked his chin at a narrow gravel road.

They bumped down the rutted lane until they reached a clearing. Rui engaged his kickstand and swung off his bike. He crouched, nostrils flared, to scrutinize the prints in the moist earth.

“Rosana was here,” he said without raising his head. “Along with the wolf and Adric. And a night fae—a mixed blood, I think. Lady B?” He glanced up at Dion.

Neither of them had met Lady Blaer, although they knew from Dion’s brother Nic that she was a night fae/ice fae mix.

Dion inhaled. “That’s my guess.” Beside him, Tiago grunted assent.

Marjani pushed her way through the other men to his side, her mate following. She drew a slow breath. “That’s Lady B, all right. I’ll never forget her scent. And the other two are definitely Adric and Luc.”

Rui circled the clearing, still in a partial crouch, gathering further scraps of data. “Adric’s trail leads out of here—I believe he was following the wolf.” He pointed down the narrow road. “But Rosana’s scent ends here, along with the fae.”

Dion’s stomach constricted, the small hope that they’d reach his sister in time crushed. “So she teleported out of here with Rosana.”

“To New Moon,” Marjani added.

“That’s what I believe, sim . But if she’s behind their wards, we can’t know for sure.”

“ I know.” The cougar fada’s hand went to where her quartz rested beneath her leather jacket. “At least, I’m sure Adric’s there.”

“You can’t contact him?”

She hesitated, shook her head.

He took a step forward. “What aren’t you telling us?”

“He cut off contact with me. But I could still feel him, up until a couple of hours ago. Then—nothing.”

“And that means?”

“He’s behind a ward or—” She compressed her mouth.

“Or what?” he demanded.

“Dead.”

Morningstar scowled at Dion and wrapped a lanky arm around his mate’s shoulders.

“So best guess is, Adric’s inside the court along with Rosana.

That’s good news, right? She’s not alone—and neither is he.

Because if there’s one thing I know about the night fae, two people together can fight their emotional assaults better than any one person alone. ”

Marjani nodded, firmed her chin. “What now?” she asked with a penetrating glance around at the dense forest.

“I’m going to contact my mate.” Dion stared into the trees, his gaze unfocused. “Cleia, minha reina ? Can you join us?” To them, he said, “She’s on her way.”

While they waited for the queen to arrive, he told Marjani, “Rui is going to track Adric and Luc to their last known location.”

She nodded. “I contacted Jace Jones, too. He’ll be here in an hour or so.” To Rui, she said, “Fane and I will go with you.”

“I can show you the approximate location of New Moon,” Morningstar offered.

“Thanks, but we know,” Rui replied. “I’ve been inside the court myself. But don’t tell the prince.” Rui’s smile was thin. “He wasn’t aware he had a fada guest.”

The shark fada had taken the form of a smaller fish and entered the compound through a stream.

Morningstar flicked up a single dark brow. “I see.”

Rui turned his hard green eyes on Marjani. “Ready?”

“As soon as I shift.” Returning to her bike, she removed her clothes and shoved them into a saddlebag, and then shifted to a sleek cougar with startling turquoise eyes.

Before they could leave, Cleia ’ported into the clearing. One glance around and her full mouth compressed. “You tracked Rosana this close to New Moon?”

He jerked his chin in assent. “It appears she was kidnapped by an earth fada under a geas . We have to assume she’s inside the court.”

Her beautiful face set. “It appears I need to have talk with Prince Langdon.”