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“ H ere we are.” Quinn said quietly, no longer holding the boastful pride from moments ago.

Looking up, I scrutinized the moderate sized white building that sprawled in similar width and height as all the others.

There was no fanfare about the building itself. Indeed, it looked much like all the other buildings we had passed. Large breezeways, colorful gold shimmering fabrics in the open windows, vines growing from a garden rooftop, and directly in front of us, the entrance of a large scaled oval teak door.

“The king lives here?”

Eshe huffed in front of us and motioned me to follow with an irritated wave, the large oval door swung open. “The king has no need for extravagance. I am sure this is difficult for your kind to understand but our king lives amongst his court. Not above them in a pretentious palace. ”

“How magnanimous of him.” I said dryly, responding the whispers of dormant shadows beckoning me to step inside. Instant relief from Finlandia’s brutal heat flooded through me as I stepped into the lair of my enemy and I shivered at the cool air kissing my overheated skin.

Despite the many shadows that lay in waiting here, eager for my call, I felt vulnerable entering the shifter king's home, and it was distastefully humbling. Two things I utterly disliked but was more than willing to feel so long as it meant Riella stayed safe.

I bit at my lip, if I told them I knew the so-called golden one , would these shifters accept me or immediately slap me in irons and refuse to help Riella in the process?

Scowling and releasing my lip, I realized even if I did tell them, I had no way of reassuring them if he was alive or dead. No—Riella would be much better off if I held my tongue. Which meant I had to rely on my impeccable charming personality and dishonorable general status.

My scowl deepened.

“This is the reception hall.” Quinn said softly next to me sensing my displeasure. “The king is not in at the moment or he would have been here to welcome you to Finlandia.”

Damn shifter senses picked up everything I was feeling even if it was interpreted wrong.

I snorted. “Of course he would… welcome me .” My lip curled up with silent humor and I tilted my head at the large room holding little to no decor. Colorful rugs, the only warmth to the otherwise white interior, designated sitting areas where large comfortable looking leather chairs sat.

Five corridors flanked around us—my exits. Three in front of me and one on either side…I had no idea where those closed doors led but they were heavy with dark shadows. I flexed my power, watching the room darken, and smiling when I heard Quinn inhale sharply next to me.

Eshe was not as startled and she sent me a growl letting me know exactly what she thought of my power play.

“Cease your power games shadow fae and come along. You’re lucky you're not in chains for your stunt earlier.” She waved me on to follow her up a flight of stone steps. “The master healer is this way.”

“You were already planning on putting me in chains anyway, shifter.” I looked down at Riella and swallowed back any other retort as I followed Eshe up the stone steps. It didn’t matter what the shifter said or did as long as Riella received the care she needed.

“Master Riss!” Eshe called out.

“Quit your hollering and stop standing there like a numpty Eshe. Send Mistress Dark and the faeling in at once! There is no time to waste!” Came a deep enchanting voice down the hall.

I didn’t even bother to wait for Eshe’s approval and smiled at her sweetly as I passed.

“In case you didn’t know, shifter, numpties are defined as stupid and ineffectual beings.

Seems fitting to me.” I gave her my back and stepped into a warm sunlit filled room with a vaulted ceiling accented with large wooden beams.

Sprouting from the walls were several large roots that outlined a row of oval shaped beds adorned with pillowy fabrics that looked like soft clouds.

Shelves above them were of the purest of glass I had ever seen and encased within were various supplies, from herbs to tools, and even more of the soft cloud-like linens.

And there …in the center of the room, standing majestically tall and otherworldly handsome was the master healer.

Intelligent sky blue eyes matched exactly with the flowing robes he wore.

They narrowed in a catlike slant marking him as an ancient, one of the first fae created by the goddess' hand.

Which meant his calm, studious demeanor was only the surface layer to the extremely dangerous power he held at bay inside.

Despite this, his presence was that of a warm embrace and my shattered soul calmed within his healing chambers.

Cautiously he approached me, his eyes glittering intimately and with purposeful calculation.

“Mistress Dark.” He nodded his blonde head towards me, causing his long unbound hair to cascade around the sharp angles of his ancient face.

“I am Master Riss, the king's healer to Finlandia. But above all I am a healer to all fae, the goddess has always willed it so. Please bring the faeling forth and place her on one of the beds. You both will be safe here. I promise.”

Guided by instinct and the calming power from the tree root bed closest to the window of a sun filled alcove, I laid Riella down on the pillowy fabrics.

The roots immediately shifted to incubate around her petite stature and despite my wariness, I trusted this power more than I did my own.

There was something indigenous to its source. Pure and cleansing .

I drew up the cloud linen over her, the softness like a warm caress on my skin, and then released the shadows that shielded her naked body.

Needle-like pain shot through my arms the moment I released her, having gone numb from carrying her for so long. Cradling them to my body, I gritted my teeth at the sudden discomfort.

When a large hand grazed my skin I jolted back, shocked to see the healer standing before me, having not seen nor hear him move.

Blue eyes stared at me with empathy. “You have carried her a long way. Allow me to relieve you of the pain that you have shouldered.”

Nodding slowly my assent, I felt the healer’s power surge through me instantly and it was like being blanketed by a warm cloak smothering any pain that had wracked my body since coming here.

I licked at my dry lips. “Thank you.”

He hummed and handed me a glass of water that instantly appeared in his hand. Taking it, I drank it down deeply before handing the glass back.

He smiled at me and then nodded at the faeling. “A good choice, this bed. Those roots are called Prime. They were cut from the Source. The first tree of Faerie.”

I nodded, understanding why the power felt so familiar. A prime tree also grew within the shadow fae lands. “You grew up within the groves, where the ancients rest, as my mother did.”

He moved silently to set the glass down on his desk and turned back to me. “I did. Although, I most likely will never see it again in this lifetime. Eve was an exceptional fae and leader. I am sorry for your loss of her and for your people.”

I inhaled sharply. I had never had anyone recognize the loss of my mother or my people.

I buried that pain and stared straight into the healer's kind sky blue eyes.

“They are dead and nothing can change that but Riella is not. I intend to make sure she does not share the same fate. Will you help her? The faeling? I do not have the ability to pay you for services, but I can offer you a life debt and services of my own.”

Master Riss raised an elegant blonde brow.

“I am an ancient fae, Remnant Ezra Solaire Dark, daughter of Eve, I know your worth more than any other alive. A life debt from you is a grand gesture.” He shook his head as if disappointed.

“But I highly doubt a trained warrior and killer is of any use to me nor should you be bound to me in such a way.”

I shrugged, attempting to shake off the unease his words created. “I am what I am.”

He smiled brightly then, his primal beauty difficult to bear.

“Yes, a lesson to be had then. I do hope you learn to believe in those words. There is no need for such a life debt, forta . Of course I will help the faeling, as is my duty but also my calling.” His brow arched again.

“But also, I will help you as a friend. Goddess knows you need one. I pray that your services will never be needed by me but know that, seeing how you are my friend now, you will assist me should that day come. Today is not that day, fortunately. Now sit, forta , before you spout more nonsense from that elegant mouth of yours.”

My eyes widened at his endearment. Forta meant brave girl in ancient fae.

His smile widened. “Sit forta .” A branch extended towards me from the bedside.

Slowly I sat down. “Her name is Riella.” I smoothed my hands over the dirty white fabric of my dress.

The master healer nodded and billowed out his robes before sitting himself lower on a similar branch on the other side of the prime root bed.

“Yes, I caught that. A beautiful name.” He placed his hands gently on Riella's forehead and chest. The fluttering of her dark lashes were the only indication that she registered his touch. “Quinn did well treating her symptoms.”

A throat cleared from the doorway and I gritted my teeth seeing the shifter Quinn standing there. “Thank you, Master Riss.”

“I said this because I knew you were there and …I am proud of you. You have something to tell me. Come over and speak then.” The master healer’s studious gaze stayed on the faeling, not bothering to look up as he evaluated her with his power.

“Yes of course.” Quinn cleared his throat again before walking over to us and bending to speak quietly into the healer's ear.

I narrowed my eyes at them both, unable to make out the soft whispered tones.

The ancient hummed and nodded in agreement, then closed his eyes.

“Quinn tells me he believes there is something blocking the child from fully transforming out of her water fae form. He is…halfway correct. There are powerful wards here, power the likes of which I haven’t seen in a very long time.

They are blocking a transformation …of what I do not know yet.

Do you have any information about why that is forta? ”

I kept my stare steady on Master Riss. “No, I do not know why .” I chose my words carefully. I didn’t know why Riella had wards upon her but I did suspect that they were Sanguine in nature.

The healer grunted. “So be it then. I will have to break them to fully heal her. I am not sure what the repercussions will be once I do. Do you still wish to proceed?”

I scooped up Riella’s small hand and squeezed it. Shocked to find it clammy and cold. “Will it harm her?”

The master healer shook his head, eyes still closed and focused. “I do not know but as an experienced healer I will do my best for her to be as comfortable as possible during the process.”

I bent, my hair falling over my face like a dark curtain, shielding me as I kissed the child's small hand and whispered a prayer on her ashen skin. Rising, I chewed on my bottom lip. “I am not entirely sure this is my decision to make. What if we do nothing?”

Master Riss hummed again. His slanted blue eyes opened and slammed directly into my own. I felt it like a vice squeezing my chest.

“She will fade and then die.”

Sucking in a sharp breath, I managed to meet the healer's intense gaze. “Then do what you need to save her.”

The ancient tilted his head in thought…after a long pause he nodded to himself. “Let us begin.”