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F ane stared into Marjani-the-cougar’s turquoise eyes. It hadn’t been easy to follow her, but it didn’t take a genius to deduce she’d head north toward Strandir and the ice fae court.

He’d shadowed her in Reykjavik as she searched the city. Hovered nearby as she ate lunch alone on a bench, an island of solitude in a sea of tourists. She’d stared out at the water, face bleak, dark eyes haunted.

And damn if he hadn’t wanted to sit beside her and try to tease her into a better mood.

He knew a little about what had put that bleak expression on her face.

Something bad had happened involving the local river fada.

According to his source, the men concerned were all dead.

So whatever had happened—and you didn’t have to be a genius to guess what a group of men might do to a woman—the SOBs had gotten what was coming to them.

She’s an animal, Fane. A mixed bag of genes breathed into life by Dionysus and his wild fae followers.

But she fascinated him, and he had time to burn. He had a day, maybe two, before King Sindre would expect a report.

That night, instead of returning to his own room at a fae-owned inn, he’d waited outside the hostel where she’d taken a room.

His patience had been rewarded when she slipped out early the next morning.

He’d followed in his SUV, using his Gift to conceal the vehicle, as the bus took her to the edge of town.

When she’d taken off as her cougar, he’d driven north, taking his time so he wouldn’t pass her.

But he’d lost her when she headed away from the road and into the tundra, only to catch sight of her again on the cliff. He’d parked and slipped closer—and damn near lost all the air in his lungs at seeing her lithe, honey-smooth body.

Now he squeezed his nape, wondering why he was sticking his neck out for a woman he’d never met. An earth fada, at that.

The cougar twitched her black-tipped tail. She had small, rounded ears and a white patch above each of those startling blue-green eyes. A plume of dark fur started at the inside corner of each eye and continued up her forehead as if drawn by a sooty finger.

In this form, she probably outweighed him, but he’d meant what he said. She was magnificent, all long bones and sleek muscles.

And trouble with a capital T.

“Do you understand?” He placed a hand on her shoulder, and for some reason she allowed it. Her fur was soft, like plush velvet. “You have to leave—today. The king has spies everywhere. You can’t trust anyone.”

She cocked her head in question, and he gave a mirthless chuckle. “That’s right. Me included.”

She rubbed her head over his chest—a quick thanks-but-no-thanks—and then gathered those lean muscles and loped off. North.

Bloody-minded female.

Well, he’d done what he could. If she wanted to run straight into a trap, that was her funeral.

He scowled and returned to his SUV. After taking his place behind the wheel, his hand went to his chest. Had Marjani been thanking him—or marking him?

He gripped the wheel and watched as her graceful body grew smaller until it was a dot on the horizon. The thought of that stunning, independent creature caged and at the mercy of the fae court’s whims made his stomach turn.

With a low growl, he started the engine and continued north. He’d return to the court a day early. As a mixed-blood, he wasn’t privy to the pureblood fae’s plans, but maybe he could learn something.

He’d become very good at keeping his head down, doing his job as Sindre’s envoy and ignoring everything else. It was the only way to survive as a mixed-blood at the heart of a fae court.

But he had a bad feeling that this time, he might not be able to.