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F ane had lost his bloody mind.

That was the only explanation. He’d worked hard to make his way in the ice fae court, even though he was only a quarter fae. Earned some respect.

Was he going to throw it all away on some fada he’d just met?

He looked at the somber assassin striding alongside him. Apparently the answer was yes.

The wolf shifter was in Blaer’s tower on the castle’s east side. Fane chose to walk back the way they’d come, avoiding Sindre’s tower to the north.

The maze had remade itself overnight, forming new paths, but since Fane was at the court with Sindre’s permission, it opened a passage for him, somehow sensing where he was headed. Fane was used to it, but Marjani glanced from side to side, clearly trying to recognize landmarks.

“Don’t bother,” he murmured. “It’s always changing.”

They passed a small pack of fur-clad goblins. Marjani stiffened. The goblins sniffed the air suspiciously, pig-like noses twitching, but when they couldn’t see anything, trotted on.

They took another few turns before coming upon twin fae lords—Sindre’s nephews—blocking the passageway as they murmured to each other in Icelandic.

When Fane was in stealth mode, no one could see him, but he’d adjusted the magic so that he was visible to Marjani and vice versa. He watched her eye the twins, gorgeous in flowing white shirts and black leather pants, their pointed ears poking through long, wavy blond hair.

Most women would’ve been stunned speechless at the twins’ unearthly beauty, but she merely nodded at the small space between the two men and the wall, and mouthed, “You first.”

He couldn’t help grinning. Perplexed, she tilted her head in a very feline way. He winked and slid through the gap, Marjani right behind him.

A few turns and they were at the east tower. There they had a piece of luck—the door was open. They walked inside.

Blaer might be equal parts ice fae and night fae, but the night fae was dominant.

The large circular room they entered could’ve been decorated by a vampire.

A brass chandelier brooded over the center with tiny fae lights flickering where the candles should have been, and a mist curled over the black marble floor.

The walls were covered in red wallpaper flecked with black velvet, and the furniture dark and ornately carved.

Marjani exchanged a look with him, part amusement, part horror.

Setting his mouth to her ear, he pointed at the spiral staircase to the left. “The room with the fada is at the top of the tower.”

Together, they walked noiselessly up the three flights. But at the top, their luck didn’t hold. The door—a thick oak with steel handles—was shut tight.

Fane muttered a curse. He and Marjani might be invisible, but if a door opened, anyone in the tower would guess a wayfarer had just entered.

He placed an ear to the wood. Beside him, Marjani did the same. When he heard nothing, he lifted a brow at her. Maybe her shifter senses had picked up something he hadn’t.

She shook her head. “It’s quiet,” she whispered. “I don’t think anyone else is in there.”

“Stay behind me,” he whispered back. “If I have to, I’ll show myself and make up some story. But you can’t let anyone see you.”

He waited for her nod and then eased open the door.

The top floor was one large room. The skylights had been covered with some kind of magic, so that dim, constantly moving shadows slithered across the floor.

From his position behind the door, Fane could only see the black wolf’s cage, but he knew the room held a kitchenette, a couple of plush black couches—and five 10-by-15-foot iron cages. Bright, shiny cages.

In its pure form, iron was a bright white metal, and Blaer’s magic kept the cages from rusting.

Somehow those gleaming cages seemed even worse, like a cold, sterile laboratory where unspeakable things went on.

Blaer didn’t even give the imprisoned fada the dignity of a private bathroom, just had a rudimentary toilet and sink in each cage and straw scattered on the floor.

In the nearest cage, the big black wolf lay listlessly on a sheepskin.

He had to be in agony, surrounded by iron like that.

To a fae or fada, even cold iron burned like fire.

The sheepskin provided some protection, but the surrounding iron would slowly drain the wolf’s energy.

And each time he touched one of the bars, it would sear his skin, seeping into his veins until his entire body was inflamed.

As the door opened, the wolf lifted his head a few inches, then let it drop back to the sheepskin. His coat was dull and falling off in patches, his eyes rheumy.

Shame filled Fane. Whatever the wolf may or may not have done, this was just wrong. He didn’t even want to tell Marjani that Blaer referred to the room as her “zoo.”

The earth fada slid past him into the room. He kept a grip on her arm so that she remained invisible.

An open switchblade appeared in her hand. An iron switchblade.

“Remember your promise,” he told her. “You get a look only.”

She nodded, her gaze on the sick wolf. A shadow slid over him, creeping across his patchy fur like a ghostly creature from another dimension. Marjani’s face was expressionless, but the arm beneath his hand vibrated with suppressed tension.

The black wolf’s nostrils twitched. Marjani shook off Fane to move closer.

“Corban,” she said. The single word held a world of hate.

The black wolf forced himself up on trembling legs. Mad gold eyes narrowed at her.

“I came here to kill you.” Her tone dripped with scorn. “But now I just pity you. Killing you would be a kindness you don’t deserve.”

Her cousin’s lips peeled back in a snarl. Fane couldn’t tell if he was warning them off—or laughing at them. A thin stream of saliva dripped from a corner of his jaws.

Marjani stopped a few feet away from the cage.

“You think I don’t know why you sent that message to Adric?

He”—she jerked her head at Fane—“thinks you couldn’t have done it without help, but I bet it didn’t take much to convince you.

Because you’d love to have Ric here, wouldn’t you?

But it didn’t work. You got me, instead.

” She compressed her mouth. “Goddess, you’re an ass.

The clan would never have followed you. They don’t want more of Leron.

We’re making something different. Better. ”

Corban shuddered. His quartz flickered weakly.

Marjani fingered her own quartz. The purple amethyst shimmered blue, and Fane had the feeling she was sending energy to the other fada. But why?

“You’ve lost,” she said, low and hard. “Die with dignity.”

A growl rasped from the wolf’s throat. Then he lowered his head in defeat.

She released the quartz. “Damn you,” she said in a shaking voice.

“We have to leave.” Fane crossed the room and grabbed her arm.

Then they both froze at the sound of voices on the stairs below.