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“Then thicken the shadows. Conceal everyone. When he arrives, I want to be the only one he sees.”
Riley must figure out that Rys is dead serious because she doesn’t even question his orders. “You got it. Nine?”
“I’m right here with you.”
The shadows immediately start to gather around Riley. With Nine using his own strength, he helps her pull them in before scattering them toward me and Jim.
I crouch down low, kneeling at his side so that they don’t need to push as many shadows around to hide us.
It gets hazy, the dark becoming even more black. Peering out into the clearing, I can’t find Riley or Nine any longer. I just see Rys, standing by himself, his hands tucked beneath his cloak.
The shadows cover us just in time. Right as I’m dropping down to my knees, leaning over Jim so I can protect him while he’s this vulnerable, I feel the air shift a moment before someone appears right at the edge of the nearest empty trees. He didn’t approach. No. The shadows led him right to where we are.
Just like Rys expected.
Did he expect this?
Because, when the Unseelie moves close enough that I can see who he is, I realize that I’m a fucking moron for not realizing who the Samradh guard would be.
“Ah, Dusk. What brings you here?”
“Drop the pleasantries. I’ve got no use for them. Where’s the human?”
“Samradh let him free. He never should have been imprisoned in the first place. I won’t give him back.”
“The male?” Dusk’s chuckle is so dark that it makes my heart nearly skip a beat. “Keep him. If Nyx wants him back, then he can retrieve him himself. But me? I’ve come for the girl.”
Oh, shit.
What are the odds he’s looking for Riley and not me?
Rys obviously is thinking along the same lines. “What girl? I see no one here. Do you?”
Smart fae. He doesn’t see anyone because Riley’s shadows are covering us. And, if Dusk answers, he won’t be able to lie. So, either way, we’ll know whether he has the skill to look through her shadows or not.
Dusk shakes his head. “No, but she has to be nearby. I know you. Human lover.” There’s that nasty sneer that I’ve never forgotten. “Nyx saw the human girl with the male when he captured him. Once I realized you were the Seelie lurking in the Cursed woods, I knew it had to be her. Elle. And I want her.”
“For what?”
Don’t freak, Hel. Just because Rys didn’t immediately tell Dusk to shove it, everything is going to be okay.
No way he’s going to hand you over to Dusk… right?
Right.
I clench my jaw shut, trying to keep from making any noise that would let Dusk know that I’m here.
His silvery gaze is locked on Rys, but if I make even the slightest sound, he’ll figure out we’re bluffing.
“Why? Because I claimed her as mine.”
“I’ve already claimed her. Elle of the Iron was always meant to be mine. So, unless you want to challenge me, I suggest you accept that and go.”
I never expected the guard chasing after Rys to be unarmed. Once I knew it was Dusk—and, honestly, I should’ve figured that out way before he appeared in the clearing—I knew that he’d be wearing his sword. I’m not even a little surprised when he immediately reaches for it.
Slowly, wearing a sly grin that makes me want to hurl, he starts to draw it out of its sheath. “You touched her when you knew that I wanted her. For that slight alone, traitor, I’ll enjoy taking your head.”
I gasp.
