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I t had been a long time since Fane had been subjected to one of Sindre’s punishments. He’d forgotten how much it hurt.

And the king was a master at dragging out the torture.

His feet went cold, and then hot, as if they’d been plunged into an ice bath. Then they went numb. The ice crept up his body as Sindre sucked energy from vital molecules.

It was like being buried alive. His heart and lungs slowed. He couldn’t move or speak.

Panic galloped up his spine, and he couldn’t even beg for mercy because his fucking vocal cords wouldn’t work. He stood there, frozen in place, hoping he wouldn’t lose his balance and topple to the floor.

Just when he thought that this time Sindre meant to kill him, the king waved his hand and the ice melted.

Now the real agony began as his frozen limbs came back to life.

First, his hands and feet pricked like a thousand needles were being driven into them, then the nerve endings lit up like he’d been set on fire.

He put his hands on his thighs and bent over, sucking in oxygen and shaking so hard his teeth clattered like castanets.

“Come.” Sindre held out a hand to Marjani.

Fane jerked up his head. “No,” he rasped as the king teleported her out of the room, followed immediately by Blaer. “You bloody bastard.”

The terms of the geas bound him to obey Sindre’s direct orders in return for his generous pay—he was a millionaire in the human world—but the king hadn’t thought to forbid Fane to follow. Probably figured he wouldn’t dare.

What could he do against two fae as powerful as Sindre and Blaer? But he couldn’t just return to his room without trying to help Marjani. He felt enough of a coward as it was.

Pushing himself upright, he staggered to the door and leaned against the jamb, lungs heaving.

Gods, he’d never hated himself so much as when he’d confessed to Marjani that he’d been spying on her.

That was the problem with a geas . You never knew when it would turn around and bite you in the arse.

Back when he’d made the agreement with Sindre, it had seemed like a good idea.

He was forty years old and his human mom had just died.

He’d been making a living as a fisherman in Newfoundland.

His dad had set him up with his own boat, and he had a crew of two, men he’d grown up with.

But already his friends had started to comment on how Fane never seemed to age.

And he’d itched to see more of the world.

Then he’d discovered he had this Gift for moving fast…and disappearing. When he’d shown his dad, Arne had invited him to the ice fae court to meet Sindre, saying, “The king can always use another wayfarer.”

A fae king’s envoy? Fane had jumped at the chance. Hell, it was an opportunity most men would’ve killed for—and Fane felt a little as if he had.

Only the man he’d slain was himself. As the king’s envoy, he’d seen things that had made his blood curdle.

He’d never directly harmed someone, but no one would call him innocent. With each decade, a bit more of him died, until he was becoming as jaded as a pureblood.

But he’d be damned if he’d let Marjani get sucked into this world.

Think. He pressed a hand to his pounding head.

He couldn’t ignore a direct command from Sindre, but the king hadn’t ordered Fane not to help her. So he had to get her away from the king before he could invoke the geas .

The black-haired guard opened the door for Fane. A Portuguese river fada, he was under a geas , too, along with his Irish mate. The Irishwoman came up on Fane’s other side.

“Go after her,” she hissed. “Before it’s too late.”

Fane lurched into the hall and started toward the east tower.

There was no way he could use his Gift to race to Marjani. Even a slow walk was agony, each step spiking pain up his legs. He gritted his teeth and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

The maze was suddenly in a forgiving mood; or more likely, Sindre was too distracted to play his games. Instead of hindering Fane, the path led him straight to Blaer’s tower.

By the time he arrived, he was covered in a cold sweat.

The three flights loomed before him like a steep mountain.

He clutched the banister and started climbing.

By the second landing, his heart felt like it was about to explode out of his chest. He halted to catch his breath, and then grimly continued up.

The thick oak door was shut tight. No chance of sneaking in.

The hell with it, then. He shoved it open.

Marjani stood between Sindre and Blaer, staring at the new fada. Fane’s stomach twisted. She looked so small and defenseless between the pair of tall, blond fae.

Blaer flicked him a speculative glance, but Sindre’s gaze was locked on Marjani, his lean face hungry. Like she was a special treat, one he intended to savor for long hours.

Nearby, the black wolf lay on its side, eyes closed and tongue hanging out of its mouth, panting softly.

But Marjani only had eyes for the rangy earth fada crouched in the cage next to the black wolf’s.

He was naked save for his quartz. Deep scratches and bites marred his teak skin—the poor bastard must have been caught by the goblins—and his face was bruised, his eyes swollen shut.

Marjani bit her lower lip. “Oh, Luc.”

At her voice, the man started. “Jani?”

“Yeah.”

He pulled himself up to his full height, glaring at Sindre and Blaer from beneath swollen lids before looking back at her. “You’re here.”

The king set a hand on Marjani’s arm, but she shook him off to move closer to her friend. To Fane’s surprise, Sindre allowed it. But then, he was a canny man, and patient when it suited him.

She shook her head sorrowfully. “You had to follow me, didn’t you?”

Luc’s bloodied mouth turned up in a lopsided grin. “You knew I would.”

She blew out a breath. “Yeah. But I hoped I was wrong.”

“You’re all right?” The fada moved as close to the iron bars as he could without touching them. “Those motherfuckers haven’t hurt you?” His fierce look included all three of them: Sindre, Blaer and Fane.

“I’m fine. But you…”

The fada’s hard face softened. “Don’t worry about me.” He reached for the bars and then stopped himself from grabbing them just in time. His hands fisted.

“Let her go,” he growled at Sindre. “You’ve got me and Corban. I’ll agree to anything you say if you just let her go.”

Blaer’s dark eyes glowed, lapping up his fear and anger.

“No!” exclaimed Marjani. “Don’t make any promises. Let me handle this.”

“Actually,” the king said, “Marjani and I were about to make a deal.”

“Like hell,” Luc snarled. His claws slid out and his teeth lengthened so he looked barely human. “Let me out of this fucking cage. Fight me like a real man.”

“Is that what real men do?” Sindre asked, interested. “Fight?”

“You win.” Marjani whirled to face him. “Let him go. I’ll stay here in his place.”

“Jani, no!” The fada rammed a shoulder against the cage’s iron door.

It seared his skin with a sickening hiss, but he did it again and again before giving up to stare helplessly at Marjani.

Red stripes from the bars marked his shoulder and arm, and the stomach-turning odor of burnt flesh filled the tower.

“ No .” Fane was across the room before he’d realized he moved. He grabbed Marjani’s arm. “Bargain with him. Make him set a time limit or you’ll be here the rest of your life.”

Sindre’s brows pinched together. “You become tedious, Fane. Step away from her.”

He clenched his fists—and then obeyed. Because he had to.

“Bargain with him,” he muttered one last time.

“Come, your highness.” Marjani crossed her arms and tilted her head to one side. “Surely you don’t think a fada can best you in a bargain? What are your terms?”

“A year and a day—in my court.”

Her eyes narrowed. “How long would that be in my world?”

Good. She was using that intelligent brain of hers.

“About ten turns of the sun,” the king replied.

“And what would my duties be?”

A smile curved Sindre’s lips. “To entertain me.”

“ No .” Luc’s snarl tore through the room. He slammed against the cage over and over, uncaring of his seared and bruised flesh.

Marjani’s chin jutted. “I won’t be your whore.”

The king inclined his head. “If anything happens, it will be with your full cooperation.”

For some reason, that made her freeze. Her lips went white around the edges. “You’ll swear to that.”

“I will.”

Suddenly, Fane couldn’t bear it. Sindre had dark tastes—and ways of ensuring an unwilling person’s cooperation. A year and a day with him would age Marjani in ways she couldn’t know.

He dragged in a breath. The hell with it. He’d break the geas . He couldn’t live with himself if he stood by while Marjani bound herself to Sindre.

Then Blaer stepped forward and grabbed the quartz around Marjani’s neck. Marjani’s hand shot out, gripping the fae’s wrist.

The two women stared at each other. Marjani’s lip peeled to show a single sharp canine. “Let. It. Go.”

Blaer squeezed the milky chunk of rock and shot Sindre a triumphant grin. “You don’t have to bargain with the animal, my lord. She’ll do anything I say.”

Sindre shook his head, but remained silent as Blaer tightened her grip on the substitute quartz.

“You’re in my power now, fada,” she said gleefully. “Drop to your knees.”

Marjani stared back. Blaer’s brow creased.

Marjani exploded into action, tossing Luc a stiletto at the same time she jerked her head back, ripping the quartz from Blaer’s hand. A moment later she was airborne. Her booted feet struck Blaer’s chest. The fae staggered backward.

Marjani was right there. She aimed a roundhouse kick at Blaer’s solar plexus, dropping her to the floor.

Sindre raised his hand, preparing to freeze Marjani.

Pulling her dagger from her boot, she darted forward and sliced his arm. Blood welled, soaking the white linen. Sindre’s breath sucked in. He eyed the slash in disbelief, and then lunged for Marjani.

She danced away in Fane’s direction. He grabbed her wrist and somehow managed to summon the energy to conceal them both.

Luc inserted the stiletto’s skinny blade in the cage’s lock. It released with a click.

“Get Jani out of here,” he said in Fane’s general direction as he shoved open the door. He leapt at Sindre, shifting in mid-air to a huge brown wolf. He slammed Sindre to the floor just as the king opened his mouth, probably to order Fane to release Marjani.

Fane hustled her toward the door, but she dug in her heels and tried to twist out of his grip. “Let me go, damn it. I’m not leaving without Luc.”

A cursing Blaer rose to her feet. Blood trickled from her mouth and her pale skin was bruised from her struggle with Marjani, but a powerful fae like her could heal in minutes from a blow that would've broken the ribs of a human.

Her gaze swung in Marjani and Fane’s direction. Dark tendrils slid over his skin. Despair filled him.

Give yourself up—you’ll never escape.

They had to leave. Now, while Sindre was occupied with fighting Luc and couldn’t order Fane to release Marjani. Because when it came down to it, he wasn’t sure he’d have the strength to resist the compulsion the geas put on him.

Marjani slashed at him with her dagger. “I said, let me go.”

He leapt back just as the blade ripped through his sweater, narrowly missing his stomach. His mouth dropped open. The woman had tried to disembowel him.

Fuck this.

He twisted her right arm behind her back and shoved her into the hall. There, he clamped both arms around her from behind, immobilizing her arms against her body, and raced down the stairs, Marjani fighting him the whole way. Twice, she nearly escaped, but somehow he managed to hang on to her.

He dashed for the nearest exit, and a few seconds later, they were outside the castle by a little-used portal. Still gripping her, he flicked his fingers and muttered the incantation, and then jumped through into the human world.

Unfortunately, to shut the portal required both hands.

As soon as he released Marjani, she leapt for the shimmering circle.

He rapped out the correct words and made the closing motion with both hands, wayfarer-fast, and then grabbed her by the waist and hung on until it contracted, leaving them on the outside.

Marjani rounded on him. “You asshole.” She crouched, her dagger raised. “Let me back in— now . I won’t leave without Luc.”

Jealousy twisted through him. What was the other man to her?

He dragged in a breath. “No.”

“No?” She growled and lunged at him with the knife, but this time he was ready and easily evaded her.

“No. The goblins would be on you the second you stepped through. Because you can bet Lady B is sending them after us. You didn’t make a bargain with the king, so as far as she’s concerned, you’re fair game. And she’ll have his blessing, because he wants you, too.”

She stared at him, both of them panting. High above, the sun peeked out from behind a fluffy white cloud. It was noon—a point in their favor. Goblins were nocturnal; Blaer would have to wake them, buying him and Marjani a little time—as long as they didn’t waste time arguing.

“Please,” he said. “Your friend—Luc—doesn’t want you there. You heard him. He told me to get you out.”

“Fuck that. You want to go, fine. I don’t need you. Just let me back in.”

He set his jaw. So bloody self-sufficient, she was. But a woman didn’t get so self-sufficient unless life had made her that way.

“How about if I promise I’ll help you get back in?

But not right now. You saw what the goblins did to your friend.

Their orders will be to bring you back alive, but Lady B won’t care if they beat the shit out of you first. Please.

Just come with me until we can figure out a plan. ” He held out his hand.

Marjani’s mouth compressed into a tight line, but she put her hand in his. “If he dies,” she ground out, “I’ll never forgive you. Never .”

Still weak and hurting from Sindre’s attack, he glared down at her. He’d just thwarted the ice fae king for her, putting his own life on the line, and all she wanted to do was put herself back in the king’s power.

And on top of that, now Blaer was after them, too.

It was a hell of a time to realize he was falling in love with the woman.

“At least you’ll be alive,” he gritted.