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F ane woke to find the thin light of dawn spilling through a crack in the cavern ceiling. But what had awakened him was the tug of the geas .

His heart sank. Guess Sindre knew he’d recovered.

A chilly white mist formed in his palm. Blue writing unfurled against it and then faded away: Return to court. If the fada is with you, bring her, too.

He drew a long breath. Such a long-distance command didn’t have the same power as when Sindre addressed him directly, but he couldn’t ignore it.

He turned to Marjani—but he was alone on the cavern floor.

He lifted up a little and saw her creeping fully dressed toward the exit, her boots in her hands. He felt a sharp hurt that after the night they’d shared, she’d sneak out without even saying goodbye. But how could he blame her?

The geas tugged harder. He dropped back on the floor and clenched his jaw, resisting. Let her go. That way, he could truthfully say he didn’t know where she was.

Gods, it had nearly broken him to hear her story last night. The things the woman had survived. It was amazing she was still walking around.

Just before they’d fallen asleep, she’d curled into a ball on her side, wound tight as a watch spring. He’d followed, wrapping his body around her.

Somehow, he’d vowed as his eyes drifted shut, he’d save her from Sindre and Blaer.

Now he glanced at her again. Maybe he could use Sindre’s order to help her? Because he knew she was going back to the court to save that damn friend of hers—and the king would be waiting. That maze of his would snap shut on her like a wolf’s jaws.

He sat up. “Wait.”

She whipped around as he snatched up his clothes.

Her eyes blazed cougar-blue. “Let me go, Fane.”

“You’re going back, aren’t you?” He zipped up his jeans and sat down to put on his shoes. “To save your friend.”

“I’m not going to answer that. You’re under a geas , remember?” She stepped into her boots and leaned over to tie them.

He winced but persisted. “He might have escaped.”

“Then where is he? He’s a wolf. If he got away from them, he would’ve followed our scent.”

He blew out a breath and tried another tack. “You need me. You can’t get through the portals without me.”

“I did it once.”

“And the goblins almost captured you.”

She finished tying her boots and straightened up, arms crossed over the pert breasts he’d kissed just a few short hours ago. “Goodbye, Fane,” she said in a hard voice. Then she scraped a hand over her shaved head. “Have…a good life, okay?”

She slanted him a crooked smile that arrowed straight to his heart—and slipped into the tunnel.

“Damn it, Jani.” He strode across the cavern and inched his way after her.

She bared her teeth at him. “Stay the fuck away from me. Or is this a way to get back on the king’s good side?”

His jaw set. “Look, you want back in, and I have to return—so why don’t we work together? I’ll escort you into the castle, and then you can give me the slip. That should give you a chance to do whatever you need to do.”

“No fucking way.” She kept going.

“Bloody-minded woman.” He followed her as she made her way back to the surface. When the passage narrowed, this time he bent his knees so his shoulders wouldn’t get stuck, and squeezed his way through.

When they emerged from the boulders, the rising sun washed the sky a pale pink and gold. To the north, Sindre’s magic hid the castle from the human world, but as a member of the court, Fane could see it hunched on the tundra, dark and brooding.

He grabbed Marjani’s arm. “Please don’t go back there.” He desperately tried to come up with an argument that would keep her safe, but he had nothing.

And the geas had sunk its talons deep now. If he walked in any direction but toward the castle, it would get stronger until he literally couldn’t take another step except in the way Sindre wished him to go.

Marjani’s eyes changed to blue frost. She bared her teeth. “Let. Me. Go,” she said in a guttural, barely human voice.

Wariness slid up his spine. He loosened his grip, uncomfortably aware he was dealing with a woman who could change into a large, predatory cat. But some stubborn part of him refused to believe she’d attack him.

“At least promise you won’t take the king’s bargain.”

Some of the brown seeped back into her irises. She set a hand on his cheek. “I can’t promise that. Luc is clan, one of my brother’s lieutenants. But more than that—we grew up together. I won’t leave without him. Not when it’s my fault he’s here.”

“The hell it’s your fault. He’s an adult; he makes his own choices. And I’d bet if he was here right now, he’d tell you to save yourself.”

“Maybe. But…” She moved a shoulder. “He’s in love with me. I knew he’d follow me, but I just had to prove I could do this.”

Something dark made his fingers tighten on her arm. “Is he your mate?”

“No.” Her gaze flew to him, startled. “I…don’t feel the same.”

That was something, at least. He blew out a breath. “Look, I have to go back anyway. At least let me get you safely inside. But we have to hurry. The best time to slip through the portals undetected is at dawn or dusk when the guard changes.”

“No. Now let me go.” She looked pointedly at his hand.

He hesitated, knowing he should let her go and yet unable to. And the awful thing was, he wasn’t sure how much was him and how much was the geas .

“Goodbye, Fane.” She wrenched herself from his grip and took a step back, her eyes sad but determined.

He opened his mouth and then shut it again as the truth struck him like a boot to the gut. She didn’t trust him. And she was right, because he wasn’t sure how far he could go before the geas made him betray her.

Sorrow stabbed through him. His throat felt too thick to breathe.

In accepting the geas , he’d lost her before he’d ever even had her.

He curled his fingers into his palms to keep himself from reaching for her. “Go, then,” he said through numb lips.

She set off for the castle at a jog. He watched her go with the hungry eyes of a man who’d lost everything, including his self-respect.

Suddenly, she stilled, slim body taut, her eyes trained on a slight rise a hundred yards away. She’d never appeared so catlike.

His scalp lifted. “Jani? What is it?”

She slashed her hand downward. “ Quiet .”

A high-pitched, excited shrieking came on the wind. Goblins.

What the fuck? Why would the king order Fane to return and then allow Blaer to send her little fiends after them? But there was no time to ponder that.

He raced across the grass, scooped up Marjani and turned to run back to the cavern. But they were surrounded, the small, fur-clad beings hurtling at them from every direction.

“We have to fight.” She twisted out of his arms. “Here.” She shoved the dagger into his hand and stood back to back with him, her switchblade ready.

“Hell.” He looked from the dagger to the goblins racing across the tundra. “You think I know how to use this thing?”

“It’s iron. Aim for the eyes. The poison will slow them down.”

“I have a better idea.” Gripping the dagger, point out, he reached back with his other hand, looped his fingers through Marjani’s belt loops and made the two of them invisible, a shadow on the tundra. “They can’t see us now,” he whispered.

“Works.” She kept her eyes on the goblins, who had slowed to a creep, chittering in puzzlement to each other.

Marjani lashed out, stabbing the closest ones in the throat. Unable to see her, they fell at her feet, dead. Even Fane managed to take out a goblin that had practically run straight into his dagger.

The rest fell back, muttering to each other.

Fane and Marjani stilled, scarcely daring to breathe.

But they were surrounded by the dead goblins’ bodies.

Even goblins—who weren’t the brightest creatures on the planet—could deduce where they must be.

With a gleeful roar, the remaining goblins piled on.

Razor-sharp teeth sank into Fane’s arm. Black claws raked over his face. Behind him, he heard grunts as Marjani’s blade found a few more of their attackers.

But ten more goblins took their place, dragging Fane to the ground. Marjani was torn from his grip. He lost his focus, and they both became visible again.

He glanced up to see Blaer had ’ported onto the boulders. The blond hair whipping around her face didn’t hide her smug smile.

Then a rock smashed into his temple and everything went black.