Page 175

M arjani, Fane and Jace were on a hill, the compound’s grounds spread out before them, the low, vine-covered buildings barely visible through the pouring rain.

Up until now, the shadows had been doing all the fighting.

Now, Marjani saw night fae warriors for the first time, engaged in a fierce battle with the sun fae, Cleia at their center.

Fiery explosions of silver, copper and gold vied with bursts of dark purple, green and blue as the two sides hurled fae balls at each other.

The sun fae were holding their own, but they were outmatched, four or five night fae for every one of them. Shadows surrounded the sun fae’s circular formation, creeping closer with every second.

Dion, Rui and Tiago were nowhere to be seen, no doubt searching for Rosana, but she glimpsed Zuri and his wolves slipping in and out of the trees, harrying the night fae.

But no Adric.

She closed her eyes and went deep into her quartz. She didn’t have an alpha’s ability to locate a clan member through their quartz, but Adric was family—her only brother.

But the darkness swallowed the connection like a stone dropping into a black bog. Her chest closed up. She’d been so sure she’d be able to find Adric once she got inside the wards.

She gripped Jace’s arm. “Where is he? Can you feel him?”

A muscle worked in his jaw. He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Jani.”

“Let’s try the prince’s lair.” Fane pointed to the building nearest to the pond.

They started down the hill at a jog. The heavy rain had turned the grass into a muddy, slippery mess. If Marjani hadn’t been a cat, she’d have face-planted halfway down.

As they neared the warring fae, Cleia raised her arms. The black sky lit with a burst of gold. Bright sparks streamed out from the center as if she’d set off a firework. The night fae screamed and slapped their hands to their faces, shrinking back into the shadows.

Marjani, Jace and Fane were temporarily blinded. Fane grabbed her hand and Jace glued himself to her other side. Together, they felt their way forward, skirting the battling warriors.

“Holy Mother,” Jace muttered as another bright burst lit the night.

“Yeah,” said Fane. “The queen’s a one-woman war machine.”

They were back in the shadows again. No obstacles this time, just a deep, unrelenting black. There was a hunger to the gloom now that reminded Marjani of the Darktime. A chill slid over her like a snake brushing past her skin.

Fane squeezed her fingers. “Use the charm.” A pulse of love came through their bond.

She nodded, and with a whispered fuck you , lifted the charm and ran directly into the shadows’ dark heart. As before, they parted seemingly at random, forcing her into a zigzag run. She soon lost track of the prince’s lair.

She kept going because halting wasn’t an option—that’s how the night fae won. If she stopped, she’d lose first hope, then the motivation to keep moving…and then despair would set in.

Minutes passed. Her heart was in her throat. Was it midnight yet?

Hurry, hurry, hurry.

She darted left, then right. Cold and miserable from the monsoon-like rain, but determined to find her brother or die in the attempt.

Hurry, hurry, hurry.

Miraculously, a path opened before her, its white pebbles gleaming.

She couldn’t sense Adric, and yet she knew this was the right direction. She pelted down the path.

Heart pounding, mind chanting: Hurry, hurry, hurryhurryhurry...

She slammed into a ward. Pain jolted through her. She reeled backward into a tree and leaned against it, sucking oxygen.

Her quartz twanged, the crystals humming with joy at reconnecting to the alpha’s quartz.

Adric.

She’d found him, and he was still alive—but she was trapped on the wrong side of this fucking ward.

The air in front of her shimmered, and right before her eyes, a portal opened. A Marjani-size portal.

The hair on her nape lifted. She eyed it suspiciously. Still, what choice did she have? She pulled the dagger from the sheath around her neck and inched forward.

Footsteps pounded up behind her. She raised a hand, signaling Fane and Jace to halt as she peered through the opening.

What she saw there made her entire body ice.

Adric was on the ground in front of Prince Langdon. Several black-garbed night fae had pinned him down while others loomed nightmarishly over him. Rosana do Rio had her back to Marjani, her hands stretched out to Langdon. Nearby, a dark fire flickered.

Marjani shot a glance over her shoulder and then gulped as her brain caught up to what her nose had already told her. Fane and Jace were no longer behind her. Somehow, in her mad dash to reach Adric, she’d lost them—and picked up Lady Blaer and Luc instead.

Luc grabbed her arm. “Play along,” he muttered, and stepped forward with her through the portal. “Your highness. Here’s the fada that murdered your son.”