Page 17

MY brEATH CAUGHT in my throat, but I didn’t have time to demand more information because Jasper and Oliver were pulling me through the Aberdeen’s doorway.

Maxen was there in the secret doorway room of the fortress when we stepped from the void. He looked up when we appeared, and I guessed he’d been pacing in anticipation of our arrival.

“It went well at the Aberdeen?” he asked, his face tense.

I gave a curt nod. “We got what we were looking for. But if you know where Finvarra is, we need to go after him full force. The Chalice of Dagda will have to wait.”

“Yes,” Maxen said. His gaze shifted to Jasper. “You’re up for the trip, I presume?”

“Aye,” Jasper said, patting a sheath on his belt. “I’ve got a blade with Finvarra’s name on it.”

I’d nearly forgotten about Gae Buide, the lethal yellow knife Oberon had loaned to Jasper. It was a magical weapon that killed if a wound was inflicted with it, even just a nick. But it couldn’t harm the wielder, as long as he kept a hand on it.

Adrenaline began to cut through the drain of paying Morven for his information. “Where is Finvarra?” I asked.

I was practically salivating at the prospect of an opportunity to draw my sword. It’d been too long since my last decent battle. It would do me good to fight a real enemy. Maybe it would help wash away some of the bitter taste of my recent struggles in the fortress.

“The Daoine realm,” Maxen said.

Oliver’s hands flexed into loose fists. “How sure are you?”

“I don’t have eyes on him, but based on what his former companion told us, I would bet all I own that he’s there.” Maxen gave a short laugh. “We’ll have to think of an appropriate way to reward Eunice.”

“We will, if we get him,” I said. “We need to gather a hunting party.”

“Agreed,” Maxen said. “Any ideas, besides Jasper?”

“I’m going,” I said quickly. I shot a look at my father. “Don’t try to talk me out of it. I’m not sitting here polishing the crown while others are out doing the real work.”

Oliver’s face tightened, but he didn’t try to dissuade me. “I’ll go.”

If it were anything less important, I would have insisted he stay in the fortress, but we needed our best to go up against Finvarra.

“We need someone who knows the Daoine Sidhe realm very well,” I said. “And if he or she can wield a sword or some other weapon, all the better.”

“I propose two additions to our team,” Jasper said.

We all turned to him with curiosity.

“Bryna Marcourt. And Drifte, one of my mentors. You met him.” Jasper’s eyes found mine.

“The raven shifter who took us into the cave?” I asked. Recalling the strange man with the solid jet-black eyes, I suppressed a shiver.

Jasper nodded. “He won’t wield a sword or any other weapon, but we’ll do well to take him along. He knows Daoine ways, and he knows the realm.”

“He won’t have a problem betraying the Daoine or being part of a mission to kill the Unseelie High King?” Maxen asked.

“Drifte is Daoine in blood only,” Jasper said. “He answers to no king or queen.”

“And you want to take Bryna? As in my half-sister?” I gave him a doubtful look.

An amused smile ghosted over Jasper’s lips. “Aye, that very Bryna.”

“For the love of the gods, why?”

“There’s more to her than meets the eye,” Jasper said. “She knows her way around most realms, and she’s incredibly resourceful.”

“We can’t afford to have anyone along who needs protecting.” I was trying not to sound whiny, but the thought of having Bryna along considerably dampened my eagerness for the mission.

“You don’t need to worry about her,” he said. “She was trained in knife wielding by a Sylph blademaster.”

That shut me up for a second or two. I inclined my head in acquiescence. I trusted Jasper’s judgment. “Okay. Drifte and Bryna are in, if they’re willing.”

Jasper turned to Maxen. “Where’s the nearest door outside? I’ll need to send messenger ravens to them immediately.”

Maxen went and poked his head into the corridor, hailed a waiting page, and asked her to take Jasper where he needed to go.

“Do we know anything about Finvarra’s specific location?” I asked, combing my memory for any facts I could dredge up about the kingdom.

The Daoine Sidhe realm was Unseelie-aligned and governed by a triumvirate. The three co-rulers typically represented the three major Daoine shifter categories—avian, marine, and reptilian. There were no mammalian Daoine shifters. Kelpies, seahorse shifters, were their own unique Seelie race apart from the Daoine.

“I believe we do,” Maxen said. His sapphire blue eyes gleamed. “Rumor has it the ruling triad has planned a grand fete starting tonight that will last three days. They’re not officially saying what the celebration is for, but they’re bringing in beautiful female companions from other kingdoms. The featured menu item is squid from the Kelpie realm. And guess what the featured beverage for the event will be?”

“Elvish red wine,” I said.

Maxen’s mouth stretched in a little grin. “The Daoine court has reportedly ordered two hundred casks of it.”

I tipped my head back and let out a short laugh. “Two hundred? That’s nothing short of blatant. Nobody likes Elvish wine that much.”

“I know,” Maxen said. “Thank the gods for the hedonistic ways of the Unseelie, right?”

We shared a brief smile, but he quickly broke eye contact.

“Finvarra will be somewhere in Palace City, then,” I said.

Each Daoine ruler and their respective families and courtiers occupied one of three palaces arranged in a triangle, collectively referred to as Palace City. It sat at the heart of the Daoine kingdom.

“I expect so,” Maxen said.

I rubbed my hands together. “I need maps.”

He picked up a tablet, swiped and tapped it with his fingertips, and the monitor on the wall directly ahead of me lit up. “Here’s all we know about that region.”

Maxen spoke in generalities about Palace City and the area immediately surrounding it. I stood back and studied the diagrams for a few minutes. Oliver was a few feet away doing the same.

“How close to Palace City can we come through?” I asked.

Maxen winced and shifted his weight. “That’s a problem. The only doorway we’re privy to is many miles from the palaces. And it’s guarded round the clock. While the Stone Order never had any specific quarrel with the Daoine, the triumvirate never considered ours a valuable relationship and so didn’t grant us access to more valuable doorways.”

Shoot.

“What about concealing our identities?” I scrunched my mouth to one side, thinking. “We could see if Melusine would be willing to go and use her obfuscation magic to disguise us.”

Maxen shook his head. “Oberon isn’t going to let her go. At this point, he doesn’t want her expending effort on anything except protecting his castle.”

Jasper returned, and I turned to follow him with my eyes as he joined us. “How much notice would a small flock of Great Ravens attract in the Daoine realm?”

His eyes locked on the maps splashed across the wall. “They can be stealthy enough to make a quiet entrance.” He turned his golden gaze to me. “Thinking transportation once we’re there?”

“Not just that. We need to pop in undetected, and the only doorway we know sigils for is under guard.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Jasper said. “Drifte can help us avoid detection as well.”

“So he’s willing?” I asked.

“Aye.”

That was fast. Jasper must have had some kind of direct line to the raven shifter.

Oliver crossed his arms and pushed his weight over to one hip. “Who exactly is this Drifte you keep speaking of?”

Jasper faced my father. “He’s a raven shifter who’s formed an arcane kinship with his animal form.”

Oliver’s eyes narrowed. “One of those creatures that’s more animal than human?”

I started to take a step forward, sensing the conversation could begin to unravel. We didn’t have time for arguments. But Jasper responded before I could.

“I suppose you could say that.” Jasper’s tone was mild, but he kept steady, direct eye contact with Oliver. “He has bonded deeply with his raven and feels most at home in that form. But I’ve known him half my life. He mentored me when I was becoming a Grand Raven Master. He saw the coming storm of the Tuatha’s return earlier than most, and despite being more animal than human in the view of some, he cares deeply about Faerie.”

I watched Oliver’s expression closely while Jasper spoke. It darkened at first, but when Jasper revealed the bit about being a Grand Raven Master, my father’s brows pitched in surprise and respect flickered in his deep-set eyes. A small measure of relief eased through my shoulders, but I knew better than to assume Oliver wouldn’t be watching Drifte with suspicion.

“And Bryna?” I asked, trying to move things along.

“She’ll be here within the hour,” Jasper said.

I gave him a wry look. “Really? Did you fail to mention I’d be involved?”

Jasper’s full lips twitched with suppressed amusement. “Nope. And she still agreed. Miraculous, isn’t it?”

I snorted.

“We can expect Drifte soon as well.”

Drawing a deep breath, I turned back to the maps on the wall. “Can you zoom into the palaces?” I asked Maxen.

The image shifted, and I took a few steps closer. “Any ideas about how we’ll figure out Finvarra’s exact location?”

“We’ll have to do some scouting, I expect,” Maxen said behind me.

Maxen, Oliver, Jasper, and I spent the next twenty minutes talking through different scenarios.

“I’m particularly concerned about how we’ll get close enough to him,” I said. “And then after, how we’ll get out.”

We pondered those problems in silence for a moment.

I tilted my head and slanted a look at Maxen. “What about Eunice?”

His brows knit together. “What are you thinking?”

“What if she asks for audience with Finvarra? She can truthfully say they had a falling out and she’s there to speak with him. The implication will be that she wants to make amends.” I paused, my mind whirling, and licked my lips. I knew she had no desire to return to Finvarra, and she couldn’t lie outright. She’d have to speak around the truth. “Jasper could accompany her, posing as her chaperone. He’ll have to be well-disguised, of course.”

“I like it,” Jasper said slowly.

Oliver made a soft grumbling sound of doubt in the back of his throat.

“She’s eager to be of assistance,” I said, ignoring my father. “And her skill set is distinctly different from any of ours.”

Maxen’s eyes widened. Jasper arched a brow.

“That’s not what I mean,” I said, planting my hands on my hips and casting withering looks at both of them. “She knows Finvarra well, and she understands how to navigate the people close to him. She’s had to survive as little more than a slave in the company of powerful people. It requires a brand of finesse that deserves our respect.”

“I worry that our party is growing too large,” Oliver said.

Before I could respond, the latch on the door released. A lithe woman with long blond hair strode in.

Bryna stopped near Jasper, jutted a hip out, and planted her hand on it. “I heard the word ‘party,’ but this looks more like a wake.”

I smothered a sigh in the back of my throat. “Hello, Bryna. I trust you know everyone here?”

She cast an unabashedly critical look around the group. Her eyes stopped at Oliver and she tilted her head. “You, I haven’t formally met. You must be Petra’s father.”

She stepped up to my father, the top of her head barely reaching his chest, and thrust out her arm, offering to shake. After a moment’s surprised hesitation, Oliver’s huge paw engulfed her hand.

“Oliver Maguire,” he said.

She nodded. “Bryna Marcourt.”

I wasn’t sure why, but seeing the two of them shake hands gave me a funny sensation in my middle. It felt like some sort of odd family reunion, except Bryna and I despised each other and she and Oliver weren’t in any way related.

“We appreciate your help and your speed in getting here,” Jasper said.

His eyes sparked warmly at her, and her sharp-edged expression softened under his attention. She inclined her head and then looked up and clapped her hands once.

“Okay, what’s the plan?” she asked.

I turned to Jasper. “Should we wait for Drifte?”

He shook his head. “Let’s lay down our strategy. If Drifte sees how we can refine our approach, he’ll let us know.”

I turned to my half-sister. “Here’s what we have so far,” I said, and gave her the rundown of how we planned to get into the Daoine realm and have Eunice get Jasper close to Finvarra.

After I finished, Bryna cocked her head and pushed out her bottom lip, considering. “Not too bad, but it’s not good enough,” she said finally. “Trying to get Eunice through the layers of people likely to be keeping the riffraff away from Finvarra is a stretch. She could get sent away at any point, and then what? Plus, it would waste way too much time. We need a shortcut.”

“Okay. Any ideas?” I asked.

A slow, devious smile stretched the corners of Bryna’s mouth, and her lids lowered partway. “Oh, yes,” she said, drawing out the words.

I returned her grin, and for a moment forgot how much she grated my nerves. “Do tell,” I said, lifting my palm in invitation.