“The Dark Goddess, Melantha.”
Dread gripped me in an icy fist. “That’s why you banished her from Midnight. She discovered your secret.”
“Discovered? Who do you think crafted this spell?” He twisted the ring around his finger, then clenched his fist. “After the deed was done, I knew I had to be rid of her. So I called upon the darkest magick from the darkest Midnight fae witches at my disposal—Keradoc’s witches, who were more than happy to perform such services for the man they believed to be their master—and banished her. Despite her promises to the contrary, she’s too vindictive to ever trust with something so important. I couldn’t risk her exposing me.”
“Yet you’re tellingme? What makes you thinkIwon’t expose you? Use this as leverage to get me and my guys out of Midnight?”
He crossed the space between us again and grasped my chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting my face up toward his.
In a soft whisper laced with warning, he said, “Let us not pretend we don’tbothknow the answer to that.”
I blinked up at him, my body heating at his touch, at the softness of his breath against my lips, at the firelight dancing in his violet eyes.
“So tell me,” he continued. “Now that you know my deepest, darkest secrets, where does the little thief I’ve captured, imprisoned, and forced to do my bidding stand?”
“You’re… you’re seriously still giving me a choice?”
“I am.”
“Then I stand with Midnight,” I said, more resolute than ever. “With Evander of Midnight.”
The dank air felt charged and heavy, Evander’s gaze blazing right through me, his grip firm on my chin, his mouth so invitingly close…
And then he released me, yanking the torch from the wall sconce and marching toward the door. “We leave in six hours. I’ll collect you from your suite at that time. Be packed and ready—we donothave time to dally.”
“You’llcollectme?” I laughed, pushing past him and stalking out the door. Just past the threshold, I crouched down and scooped up the rest of his weapons, strapping them onto my chest with practiced ease. “Let’s get two things straight about our upcoming adventure.”
Evander glared at me, his jaw rigid, but he couldn’t hide the new spark of light in his eyes. “What things, witch?”
“One? You don’t collect me. I collectmyself. And two? I’m not going on this crazy-ass mission with you alone. My guys and I are a package deal, just like I’ve been telling you from the start. So you’d best talk to Oona or whoever else is on your payroll and tell them they’re going to have to run your drugs themselves, because from here on out, we’re a team. You, me, Elian, Hudson, and Jax.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but I cut him off, pressing the blade of his fancy-ass dagger to his throat.
“Oh, did I say two things? I meant three.” I beamed up at him, and in my most saccharine-sweet voice, I said, “Don’t piss off a Scorpio blood witch when she’s the one holding all the weapons.”
26
HUDSON
Another night in Midnight, another bullshit mission for its self-appointed commander.
Usurper, more like.
I believed Haley about Keradoc being Elian’s brother. About therealKeradoc rotting away in a cell, and all the fancy fae mojo that went along with that particular setup. Now that we knew the whole fucking story, a lot of the missing pieces had clicked into place.
Didn’t mean I trusted the guy, though. Which was precisely why none of us were about to let him take off with Haley into the Razorbacks in some fucked-up ploy to win over the hearts and minds of the crazy-ass fae that lived there.
That point was non-fucking-negotiable, but thanks to our demanding little witch, Keradoc didn’t fight us on it. For better or worse, she seemed to have the fake warlord wrapped around her pretty little finger.
Now, I shouldered my pack, keeping my eyes peeled for any signs of danger. Specifically, the asshole gargoyle kind of danger—I’d worry about the feral fae later.
“You doing okay, Gargs?” Haley asked, gazing up at me as we walked along the trail. Keradoc—sorry,Evander—had taken point, with Jax and Elian bringing up the rear, all of us on foot. Mares in the mountains would’ve drawn too much attention, and that was one thing we didnotneed on this journey.
I was in my human form for now, but that was just so I could be closer to my girl. The moment I got a whiff of trouble, I’d shift.
I ran a hand over her head and smiled. “Just keeping a lookout, babygirl.”
“You’re nervous. I can feel it.”
