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Was there anything Sindre didn’t know? Fuck trying to talk her way out of this. She might be a strategist, but she had the feeling he was five moves ahead of her.

She slipped her iron dagger from her boot. “Look, just let me leave and—” At a sound behind her, she broke off and whirled around, backing up so she could keep Sindre in sight.

The big, long-haired guard sprinted toward her, an iron dagger in each hand. She gripped her dagger and took a fighting stance.

The king flung up a hand. “Stop. I’ll handle this.”

The guard halted, and then with a jerk of his chin, sheathed his daggers. But he remained in the tower, standing beneath a twisted gray tree with his arms folded over his broad chest.

She turned back to Sindre. “I swear I’m not here to mess with you or any of your people. That fada you have in the cage? He’s my enemy. I’m not here to release him—in fact, I came to kill him.”

“And if I’d like you to stay here at the court for a few days? We get so few fada visitors.”

“A few days? And then I can leave?”

The king’s mouth curved. “It’s a deal.” He held out his hand for Marjani to shake.

Behind him, Fane gave a tiny shake of his head.

She licked dry lips. Fane had deceived her—and yet, for some damn reason, she trusted him to help her to the extent he could.

“What, exactly,” she asked Sindre, “are the terms of this deal?”

The king brought his hand back to his side. “You owe me, Marjani Savonett. You will stay for as long as I desire.”

Crap, there was her full name again. At least he didn’t know her true-name, the one given to her by her parents. But she still felt a pull to obey him.

“I owe you? How?”

“You spent the night in my castle. You ate my food, drank my ale.”

Fane made a small movement. “That was my food, willingly shared. She ate and drank nothing of yours. And she stayed in my room.”

“But I own you,” Sindre returned.

Fane’s eyes flickered. But he just replied calmly, “Room and board when I’m at the court are part of the terms.”

Marjani’s gaze darted between the two men. Was it true? She didn’t actually owe Sindre anything?

The king’s mouth compressed. He strolled past her, hands clasped behind his back. She stayed in place, gripping the dagger and turning with him in a strange little dance.

He halted. “Name your price. Cash. Land. Precious stones.” He flicked his fingers, and a handful of diamonds the size of walnuts showered onto a round marble table.

Marjani’s jaw slackened.

“Well?” Sindre demanded.

She wrenched her gaze from the glittering pile. “I’m not for sale.”

“No? Then take it and give it to your brother Adric. He’s done his best, but it will be a long time before your clan recovers from the Darktime.

And meanwhile, you live in your cramped city dens instead of running free as your animals.

You have so few young—one or two live births a year at most. If something doesn’t happen soon—or if Adric dies—your clan won’t survive. ”

“Damn you,” she breathed. Because it was true. Every word of it.

And together, those diamonds were probably worth more than the entire clan made in a year.

She fingered the dagger’s ivory handle. “Stay here at the court. What does that mean?”

“You’ll be my guest. No cages, I promise.”

“And how long is a few days?”

“That’s negotiable. A turn of the sun, perhaps more.”

“And my duties?”

Suddenly, Sindre was right in front of her. He ran a finger down her cheek. “Take the diamonds. I promise you’ll enjoy yourself. And your brother will thank you.”

She sent a last look at the diamonds and backed up. Because she couldn’t do it, not even for the clan. And Adric wouldn’t thank her. In fact, if she sold her freedom for the clan, it just might break him.

“I said, I’m not for sale.”

“As you say.” Sindre snapped his fingers.

A black-haired female with an Irish woman’s creamy skin appeared with two crystal flutes balanced on a silver tray. She crossed the floor with a supple grace that reminded Marjani of a fada, although she didn’t smell like a fada.

In fact, like the big guard, she had no scent at all. And why did the guard look so familiar?

Sindre took the crystal flutes from her tray and offered one to Marjani. “Champagne?”

She shook her head. No way was she going to take even a single thing from this man. “No thanks.”

With a shrug, he took a sip of champagne, and then set both glasses back on the tray. The woman set the tray on a side table and then gathered up the diamonds, placing them in a drawer that opened in the trunk of one of the leafless trees before going to stand next to the big, expressionless guard.

Sindre strolled closer, his gray eyes glinting like sun on ice. She stared into them, mesmerized.

Why fight him? She wasn’t mated. It might even be fun… And he was so fucking beautiful.

Fane cleared his throat. “Excuse me. Frog in my throat.”

But the spell was broken. Sindre scowled, and she realized he’d tried to ensnare her with a glamour.

Inside, the cat angrily swished its tale.

“What about power?” the king asked. “You’re strong. Smart. You must’ve wondered why your brother is alpha instead of you.”

Her mouth moved in a soundless no, but she couldn’t make herself utter it out loud—because it would be a lie. She had wondered. She’d been at Adric’s side from the start. They acted almost as co-alphas, making most decisions together. But the final say was his.

Sindre pressed his advantage. “You could be alpha instead. Your power would be such that your brother would willingly follow you. In fact, you could allow him to remain as alpha of your home clan and rule over all the earth fada clans. Think about it.” Soft, seductive tones.

“All you have to do in exchange is stay with me for a little while. No cage—I promise. And then you’d be free to go home and take your place as the most powerful earth fada in the world. ”

Her palms were sweating. She tightened her grip on the dagger. Yeah, she was tempted—who wouldn’t be?

But deep down, she knew Adric made a better alpha than she ever would.

He wasn’t just strong, he was a natural leader.

She might be the one with the Gift of strategy, but he had both vision and the ability to gain people’s cooperation.

The clan followed him because they believed in him, trusted that he had their best interests at heart.

And he’d earned her loyalty a hundred times over.

“No,” she said in a clear, strong voice. “I have all the power I need. Just let me go.”

Sindre stared at her for a moment that stretched on and on until Marjani’s nerves screamed with the tension.

“All right,” he said at last. “I have one last offer for you.”

A hush fell over the room. At some point, the snow had stopped falling.

Her gut tingled uneasily. This was it. The offer he’d been leading up to, the one he expected to clinch the deal.

But what could he offer besides wealth and power?

For some reason she glanced at where the man and woman waited by the tree. Their faces were expressionless, the perfect servants. But she could’ve sworn they were urging her to say no.

Fane spoke. “Your highness?”

“What?” Sindre growled.

“Pardon the interruption, but as you know, the woman is the Baltimore alpha’s only sister. It wouldn’t do to make an enemy of him.”

The king brushed that away with a wave of his elegant hand. “But does he want to make an enemy of me?”

“Still,” Fane said. “Lord Adric won’t let this go. He recently did a favor for the sun fae, and the queen might ally herself with him.”

Actually, that favor had been done over six years ago, and the sun fae had paid Adric well. But Marjani wasn’t stupid enough to point that out.

Sindre seated himself on the couch again, his arms stretched along the back like the wings of a large bird of prey. “But if our guest agrees, then how could he possibly be upset?”

Fane opened his mouth to argue, but Sindre cut him off. “Let her answer.” His pale eyes turned on her. “I can gift you with a protection charm that would make you impossible to kill. No one could even touch you without your permission. Think about it. No one could hurt you, ever again.”

She swallowed sickly. “What do you know about that?”

A shrug. “I hear things. Knowledge, after all, is power. Think about it. You’d never be afraid again.”

She stared at him. To never feel afraid again. Never to feel helpless. That would be a gift indeed.

Temptation sucked at her, seductive as Sindre’s glamour.

Because those feral river fada had stripped her bare in the worst possible way. They’d tricked her into drinking an aphrodisiac, a powerful magical drug. She’d started out fighting them, but in the end, she’d lost all her pride and begged for more.

Suha had explained it was the fault of the aphrodisiac. The drug made you crave sensation—the pleasure of sex, the bite of pain…

“You survived, honey,” the healer had told her, over and over. “That’s the important thing. No one could’ve held out against the dose they gave you.”

But Marjani couldn’t shake the shame. That she’d lost control, begged her rapists for more…she, a soldier and Adric’s second-in-command.

“No.” She backed toward the exit, dagger out, hoping no one saw the tremble in her hand. “I can protect myself.”

“Can you?”

The click of high heels sounded behind her. Marjani spun around as the bodyguard moved to intercept the newcomer.

“It’s Lady Blaer,” said Sindre. “Let her in.”

The guard inclined his head. “As you wish.” He ushered in the fae lady with a flourish just this side of mocking.

“My lord.” She crossed to where Sindre sat on the couch and placed an air kiss on each of his cheeks before turning to Marjani. “So you found the other fada.”

The other fada? Marjani glanced at Fane, but he seemed as puzzled as she was.

“You’re trying to strike a bargain with her, aren’t you?” Blaer’s black gaze moved over Marjani.

An icy sweat trickled down her vertebrae.

“And if I am?” Sindre said.

“Perhaps I can help.”

“Be my guest.”

Anger flared in Marjani. Typical fae, discussing her as if she weren’t there—as if she were somehow less than them. Well, fuck you, too.

A growl vibrated her chest. Inside, the cat tried to claw its way out. She was tempted to let it, but first, she needed more information.

Blaer’s eyes narrowed. “It was you in my tower earlier, wasn’t it? If you’re here to free Corban, I might take you in his place.”

Marjani stared back stonily.

“Not him, then.” The fae woman nodded—and went for the jugular. “But what about the big brown wolf?”

Marjani’s heart skipped a beat. “What big brown wolf?”

“I didn’t get his name. Yet.”

Marjani’s stomach hollowed. Please don’t let it be Luc.

She’d been half-expecting him ever since she landed in Iceland. When she hadn’t seen him, she’d figured Adric had held him off, that her brother had trusted she could handle this herself.

She should’ve known better.

Blaer’s pink lips stretched in triumph. Meanwhile, Sindre looked on detached, like they were pawns on a chessboard being pushed around for his amusement.

Marjani’s fury spiked. Inside, her cougar spat and snarled. Luc might not be her mate, but he was a friend. A good one.

“Look, bitch.” She stepped closer to Blaer, crowding her. “It’s one thing to cage a man who’s turned his back on us. But mess with the brown wolf, and you’ll be sorry. We’ll hunt you down.” She touched her dagger to Blaer’s stomach where the poison from the iron would do the most damage.

“Is that a threat?” the mixed-blood fae hissed back.

“Yeah.” She let the cat blaze into her eyes. “It is.”

“But your clan tried that already, remember? When Sindre hired you to find me. Your brother sent Corban after me, and look how that turned out.” Ignoring the dagger, Blaer leaned closer. “Do. Your. Worst. Fada .”

“Blaer, min ,” Sindre interrupted. “You don’t have my permission to bargain with the fada.”

“No?” Blaer slanted him a smile. “I’m only trying to help, my lord. She’s worried about that brown wolf. He’s a friend, maybe more. You could use him as leverage.”

“So I gathered.” He raised a blond brow at Marjani. “So what do you say? Will you trade your freedom for his?”

Her limbs locked.

The king’s mouth curved. He’d won, and he knew it.

She fingered the dagger. Sweet Goddess, she wanted to thrust it into his conniving heart. “I want to see this wolf first.”

“Your highness.” Fane again. “Let her go. This is beneath you.”

Without taking his gaze from her, Sindre flicked his fingers. Magic hummed in the air. She gasped as frost spread up Fane’s legs. He sucked in a breath and locked his knees.

Blaer watched with an avid expression, clearly feeding on his pain.

“Accept the bargain,” the king told Marjani. “Or Fane dies.”

No. Hell, no.

Fane was nothing to her. The man had been lying to her ever since she arrived. Maybe not straight out, but lies of omission were still lies. He’d let her think he was on her side when the whole time he’d been spying on her.

The ice covered Fane’s chest and crept toward his throat. He moved his mouth but the only sound he could make was a croak that raised every hair on her body.

His eyes met hers, desperate and yet stoic.

She swung back to Sindre. “Enough,” she gritted. “I said I’ll bargain with you. But first, I want to see this wolf.”

The king cast a pointed look at her dagger. Without taking her gaze from his, she bent and shoved it into its sheath.

“Happy?” she growled as she straightened back up.

“Very,” was the silky reply.