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W hen Fane awoke that evening, his fever had broken and he felt much better, although weak as an infant.

Night had fallen. The cavern was dark except for a small fire with Marjani crouched beside it, grilling some kind of white fish on a small metal grate. She’d put her T-shirt back on, but her feet were bare. The pool shimmered beside her, the water black in the dim light.

He fingered the thin wool blanket covering him. Where had that come from? He pushed the blanket down to his waist and propped himself up on his forearms.

Marjani immediately crossed to him. “How do you feel?”

“Better, thanks.” His voice came out as a croak. He moistened his dry, cracked lips. “But thirsty.”

“Hang on and I’ll get you some water.” Picking up a ceramic cup, she filled it in the pool and brought it to him.

He drained the cup in a few gulps and then turned it in his hand. It was ceramic, the kind the locals kept for everyday use, with no handle and a speckled gray glaze. “Where in Hades did you get this—and the blanket?”

“I made a quick trip outside while you were sleeping. I found a stream to fish in and a little hut with bunk beds and some basic supplies.”

He nodded. “The locals rent them to hikers.”

“I wish I could’ve left them something in return, but my backpack is back at the court.”

He set the cup on the floor and sat cross-legged, the blanket on his legs. “You’re fucking amazing.”

“It was either that or go hungry,” she said with a shrug. “And I’ve been in worse situations.”

“Yeah, I imagine you have. You’re a soldier, aren’t you?”

“I was.” A shadow crossed her face. “I mean, I am .”

He’d upset her, the last thing he wanted to do. He pushed the blanket off his lap. “I need—”

“Of course.” She helped him to his feet and pointed to a small tunnel behind the pool, where he found the hole she’d dug for wastes. When he was done, he tossed some dirt into it and washed up in the pool.

She was crouched by the grill again. His stomach rumbled at the fish’s mouthwatering scent. As he lowered himself onto the cavern floor beside her, she divided the fish into two portions and handed him a plate.

His hands were shaking with hunger. He gripped the plate and gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

“You have to eat with your fingers.”

“No problem.” The fish tasted as good as it smelled. He quickly downed the first couple of pieces, then forced himself to slow down. It wasn’t much, but it filled him. His stomach seemed to have shrunk.

He set down his plate. “How long was I out, anyway?”

“Two days. It’s around midnight right now.”

He gave a low whistle. “No one came looking for us?”

“I heard the goblins the first night, but I haven’t seen or heard anything since.”

He contemplated the glowing charcoal embers. “The king wants you, then. He wouldn’t have sent the goblins after me.”

“Why not?”

“He knows I can’t go far without his consent. It would break the geas .”

“Why did you? Accept the geas , I mean.”

He moved a shoulder. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. My mom had just died, and I didn’t fit into the human world anymore.

I was a fisherman in Newfoundland—had my own boat with a crew of two.

But people were starting to notice how I never seemed to age.

Then I found out I had a fae Gift. My dad’s an envoy, too.

You’d like him—everyone does. Give the man a bottle of wine and a box of crackers and he can make a party.

He wasn’t home much, but when he was, life was so damn fun. ”

Marjani rested her chin on her knees, the light from the fire burnishing her profile a rich gold. “Sounds a lot like you.”

“I’m afraid so.”

Arne had flitted in and out of Fane’s life just as Fane had Evie’s. Try and talk about anything deep, and Arne shrugged it off with a laugh. His motto was, “Life’s too short and time goes by.”

Fane blew out a breath. “Anyway, I’d always looked up to my dad…

would’ve done anything to be like him. I was late to come into my Gift, but as soon as Dad found out I was a wayfarer, he brought me to Iceland and talked the king into giving me a chance.

Turned out I was good at it. Hell, how many people would turn down an offer to be part of a fae court? ”

She shrugged.

He shot her a look. Because Marjani had turned Sindre down—multiple times.

“The king did his damnedest to tempt you, didn’t he? And you just kept telling him no. You know how much I admire you for that?”

“Don’t.” She made a sharp movement with her hand. “I’m—I’ve made some bad choices myself.”

“Yeah? Well, this was the mother of all bad choices.” He gave a humorless laugh.

“Hell, I was like a fucking kid with my nose pressed to the window of a candy store. The fae are—the fae. Rich, glamorous, sexy as hell—and they wanted me. Fane Morningstar, a fisherman from Canada. The women, well… ” He swallowed against the bitter taste in his mouth.

“But to them, I was just a shiny new plaything. No pureblood would mate with a mixed-blood like me.”

She touched his leg. “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s not all bad. It’s a good job—interesting, and the pay is fucking awesome.” His mouth twisted. “Most of the time I don’t even have to hurt someone else to do it. And when I do, I tell myself that if I don’t do it, someone else will. The king has a half-dozen other envoys.”

She took her hand from his leg and straightened up. “That’s an excuse. Your actions shouldn’t depend on anyone else.”

“It’s not so black and white.”

“For me, it is.”

“Well, that’s the difference between you and me, isn’t it?

” He picked up a piece of gravel and tossed it into the pool.

It landed with a plunk and sank below the dark, steaming surface.

“I can tell you one thing, all the excuses in the world didn’t make me feel better about spying on you. A woman I’d come to like. A lot.”

She took his empty plate and set it on top of hers. “But you did it anyway.”

“Yeah.” He briefly closed his eyes. “I owe you an apology for that.”

“Would you do it again?” A quiet question in the shadowy cavern.

He took a deep, pained breath. “Probably. Under the terms of the geas , I can’t disobey a direct order from the king.”

“Then don’t bother saying you’re sorry. Because then I have to respond that it’s all right. And it’s not. You tricked me, Fane.”

He nodded, accepting that. “I’m sor—” He halted and then tried again. “At least let me thank you for taking care of me these past two days. No one would’ve blamed you if you’d left me outside for the goblins.”

“I didn’t do it for you,” she returned. “I did it for Evie. She’s clan now, and you’re her dad.”

“Ah.” He fingered another piece of gravel. “Well, thanks anyway.”

“Okay,” she added grudgingly, as if he’d argued with her. “Maybe I did do it a little bit for you. That doesn’t mean I didn’t think about leaving you—because you’re right, no one would’ve blamed me. But you were so sick, and I knew it was because of me.”

“You should have left. You need to get the hell out of Iceland. The king is all powerful here. Even the humans obey him.”

“How? They’re probably watching the airport, and I don’t have enough money to hire a boat.”

He shook his head. “And you won’t leave until you find out what happened to your friend Luc, will you? No, don’t answer that. That way if the king asks, I can honestly say I don’t know. But the goblins are nocturnal. They hunt at night.”

“So you’re saying I should wait until morning before I leave.”

“Yeah.”

She nodded—and then slanted him a look that made him instantly hard.

He swallowed. “Jani?”

“I shouldn’t want you,” she said, almost to herself. “I was so fucking angry at you when I found out you’d been playing me all this time.”

“I’m sorry. So bloody sorry.”

“But these past couple of days, I had a lot of time to think.” She stared into the fire. “You did try to warn me. Told me I should leave Iceland, more than once. And you wouldn’t have been so sick if you hadn’t tried to interfere between me and the king.”

His fingers tightened around the gravel. “I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. And your friend Luc agreed. He wanted you out of there.”

That earned him a growl. “If Luc had his way, I’d be safe in his den, having his cubs.”

“You?” He made small, disbelieving sound. “He doesn’t know you very well, does he?”

“No. I mean, he does know me. But he can’t help himself. He’s a fada male—he wants to protect his mate—even if it drives me insane.”

“All men want to protect their mate. Just like women want to protect theirs.”

She looked at him, arrested. “See, that’s what Luc doesn’t get. That it goes both ways—for me, anyway.”

“So what now?”

“I don’t know.” She looked down at her hands, loose in her lap. “I came to Iceland to kill Corban. After that…” She shrugged and trailed off.

His chest constricted. He’d guessed right; this was a suicide mission.

“I care.” He tossed the gravel aside and dared to reach out. When she didn’t pull away, he traced a finger over the fine bones of her jaw.

She stilled. “You—what?”

“I care what happens to you. Very much.”

She drew a slow breath. “It would just be for tonight. After that, we have to split up—go our separate ways. The geas means I can’t trust you.”

“Okay. Sure.” He would’ve agreed to anything about then. Hell, if she’d asked him for the moon, he’d have grabbed a ladder and started climbing.

“There’s something you should know.” Her throat worked. “It’s…been a while.”

He held his breath, afraid to say anything. This woman wouldn’t be pressured. She’d have to come to it her own way—or not.

She rose to her feet, cat-supple, and washed the plates before setting them aside to dry. When she turned back, her irises were slivered with turquoise.

And then she flashed him a smile, the first true smile he’d seen from her.

His heart kicked. Her smile was broad and warm and even more beautiful than he’d pictured.

“The water is a perfect temperature,” she murmured.

He opened his mouth to reply. But the words died unsaid as she raised her arms, pulled off the T-shirt and black bra, and let them drop to the ground.