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Outside, the staircase cut this way and that in a switchback down toward the shore. Balconies were alight across the palace. I even took note of Mira’s mother and father on one, standing close and grinning like they could not get enough of each other.

I peeled my attention away and aimed it at the shore. When the water’s edge was twenty paces away, I took out my pocket watch and lifted the cover.

“Shit.” The hands pointed directly at the palace.

The Ever King was at risk.

“He’s here,” the sea witch said, signaling for me to round a boulder.

On my next step, a blade slipped beneath my chin. The sea witch teetered at my side, all at once her gaze unfocused and cloudy.

“Many thanks.” A gruff, low voice rumbled from the shadows. I saw his wide shoulders in the light first, next his bearded face.

Djur.

From the darkness, more of his clan stepped forward, Lena at his side. His wife was wholly focused on the young sea witch. Damn the hells, she’d locked the girl in some sort of trance.

One nod from Lena, and Aeika, the bastard who’d first found us on the sea, went to the young witch. He did not pause, did not hesitate before sliding his blade over her throat.

“No!” I shouted, watching the girl fall backward on the sand. Hands snatched my arms, halting my attempt to reach my blade. They pinned my back to the boulder.

Djur approached, a smug sort of sneer on his lips. “Sea fae. I hoped it would be you we found. The one who stole our spoils from us.”

“Spoils.” I spit in his face. “My folk are not spoils.”

Djur wiped his palm down his face, chuckling. “You have a decision to make, sea fae. Come with us, replace what we lost, or we go searching for the pretty one. We can still find a use for her, even with your traitor gone to the gods.”

Mira.

“She’s not here. She returned to her clan.”

“Ah, sea fae, you do make me laugh.” Djur clapped a palm on my shoulder, digging into my flesh. “If what you say is true, then I wonder why we have seen her in that very palace these last few sunsets.”

Shit, shit, shit. They’d been here for days. Why the hells did they wait to strike?

Coldness—sharp and cruel—flowed in my blood. Survive. Protect. It was an instinct, a need, and it would serve me now.

I leaned closer to Djur’s wretched face. “Touch her and the gods will hear your screams through the gates of the Otherworld.”

Djur’s grin faded. “Then your choice will be simple, sea fae. Both you and the pretty fae welcomed us to your lovely kingdom.”

“We never welcomed you.”

“You did,” Djur said. “As you dined at my table. You both invited us to the kingdom of the Ever, and we always take the willing.”

Damn the gods. Sander’s theory about their limitations was true. There was a vague memory of Mira insisting the folk of Eilifur visit us in the Ever Seas. I’d done the same, not thinking anything of it. Not even being sincere.

I narrowed my eyes. “That is how you got through our wards?”

“Your witches tried to ward us out, but your welcome is stronger. Now, we are here. Perhaps we’ll stay and select a few powerful fae from your loved ones. We won’t take many. The gods punish greed with poor harvests, you see. Unless you comply, of course.”

“No one would trust you. My folk know to watch out for you,” I snapped. “You’ll be dead before the dawn.”

“Lena is skilled with spells of the mind.” Djur gestured at the sea witch. “With enough time, she might be able to craft a spell cast that makes us appear as sea fae. We know how to bide time well enough. But I prefer if we make this simple. You, instead of the folk you hold so dear. One more is all we need for a complete harvest. The choice is yours.”

One more? Like Mira said, they needed one more man. Seemed a certain amount of blood was necessary.

“We could take the pretty fae either way, brother.” Parek stepped forward. “We’ll find more fae, and her body will be useful then.”