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When I stumbled over a root, I whirled my arms to steady myself. Snatching a fist-sized rock from the ground, I spun and hurled the rock at the spider’s eyes. The creature jerked back with a screech, and I sprinted away again.
As I reached the roaring river, the setting sun tinged the fog with a rose gold light. White water rushed over snags of driftwood and tumbled down a gentle slope into a clearing. A cool spray misted over me. When I searched the fog, I didn’t see any movement.
I followed the narrow path beside the river. Further into the woods, the forest hues shifted into vibrant, enchanted shades. Green leaves blended to maroon, then bright red, and the tree trunks ranged from indigo to midnight blue. As night fell, the light was darkening to twilight shades of violet and periwinkle.
I hurried along the edge of the river bank, over slippery rocks and gnarled roots. Night was closing in, theshadows thickening and lengthening around me. I sucked in a deep breath, trying to imagine how I’d navigate this place in total darkness.
Making my way down the path, I came to a massive tree that loomed out of the murk, the trunk a midnight blue. The branches of the tree arched over the river, the crimson leaves shot through with moonlight high above me. The huge tree blocked the path, thick roots twining down the slope to the river.
I slipped around the tree. Thick boughs shielded the moonlight, and shadows enveloped me.
I shivered, and someone caught me from behind, pulling me into the darkness, one arm wrapped around my waist in a vise-like grip and a hand clapped over my mouth. Fear surged in my veins.
I struggled, slamming my attacker hard with my elbows and trying to rip through his jaw with my horns. The scents of wet rock and soil filled my nostrils, and as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I realized I was being dragged into a cave.
Leaning down, my captor whispered in my ear, “Please be quiet, Ava.”
I recognized the deep, honeyed baritone of his voice, at once dangerous and alluring. The oaky scent of the Seelie king wrapped around me, skimming over the jagged edges of my fear. I was trapped in the steely grasp of the man who might want me dead.
The question still clawed at my mind: was he going to kill me? Because that was the job of a Seelie king.
“Ava.” His powerful arm pinned me in place. ”I need you to be quiet. Someone was following you.”
I went still, no longer struggling against him, and my muscles gave in. Slowly, I caught my breath, and he lowered his hand from my mouth. My heart still thrummed like a hummingbird’s. Fear, or simply the effect Torin always had on me? I wasn’t sure.
Whatever the case, he wasn’t letting me go.
“What are you doing here?” I whispered. “How did you get here?”
“I followed you through the portal,” he murmured. “And right now, I’m trying to save you from a demon.” Torin’s breath warmed the shell of my ear, and his muscled arm remained clamped around me. “He’s been tracking you.”
Had he not noticed thatIwas a demon?
My heart pounded faster. In my panic, I hadn’t seen the other Unseelie. “And why aren’t you letting go of me?”
“Because I can see that you’re an Unseelie, and now I’m questioning everything.” A razor’s edge slid through his silky voice, and fear skittered up my spine. “Were you sent to destroy my kingdom, changeling?”
My jaw tightened at the accusation, and I wriggled around to face him. Except he wasn’t letting me go—so I found myself staring right up at his piercing blue eyes, pressed against the wall of muscle that was his chest. His forearm remained locked firmly around my lower back like an iron bar.
“Sent on a mission to destroy your kingdom? Don’t be ridiculous, Torin.” It came out sharp and a little too loud, echoing off the stone. “If this was all part of a Machiavellian master plan, do you think you wouldhave found me in a bar drunk and covered in curry sauce?”
He arched a black eyebrow. “Lower your voice, changeling,” he whispered. “But if it wasn’t your intent, you really have done a remarkable job of destroying my kingdom. My throne is cracked. My power is gone. Faerie lays encased in ice, and I have no queen to heal it. Famine and cold will creep over my kingdom, and I am trapped in the Court of Sorrows itself, where I’m guaranteed a gruesome execution if I’m caught. It does seem a bit convenient for the demons, doesn’t it?”
Demons.There was that word again, coming out of his perfect mouth. But how could he possibly think I was a spy?
“There was no plan,” I said through clenched teeth. “I haven’t lied to you.” My voice trailed off. I was still trying to wrap my mind around this. “And I want the fifty million dollars you owe me.”
The corner of his mouth quirked. “You can’t be serious, changeling.”
“We signed a contract. As a fae king, you can’t break it.”
“You’re not a Seelie.The contract is void.”
I was still looking up at him, pressed tight against him. “That’s not a real rule, though, is it? It wasn’t in the fine print.”
“Is this really your concern right now?”
“Your kingdom will be fine. Just find yourself a proper Seelie wife. I’m sure you’ll manage.” I wished my tone hadn’t sounded quite so acidic. “But you still owe me.”
