I pick up the slender, elegantly crafted dagger with a jeweled hilt. “Dad gave this to Caiden as a gift the day he was officially named the heir apparent. Caiden wore it on his hip every day. Then, at the end, when Dad was bed-ridden and near the end, he admitted that he was scared of death. So Caiden put his dagger in our father’s hands and told him he’d be fine as long as he had that dagger, and it worked, it gave him peace of mind.”
I set it back inside and trade it for the king chess piece, its polished black surface catching the light. There’s a small tag tied onto it with my father’s handwriting. “It says Tiernan gave this to him after winning his first tournament. That’s as good as any trophy since Tier never applied himself at anything other than chess and general debauchery until he met Fiona.”
She chuckles. “I look forward to meeting your brothers and their mates someday.”
Warmth spreads in my chest at the thought of introducing her to my family. “You’ll like them, they’re good people.”
“I’m sure I will. What’s this?” She picks up a carved wooden stag, the lines were crude and details sparse, but the surface was smooth and the shape good enough to tell what it was.
“I carved that as a winter solstice gift for him when I was fourteen. That red spot on its back is from when I cut myself working on it. It was my first and last attempt at whittling.”
“It must have meant a lot to him,” she says, offering it to me.
I run my fingers over the surface, feeling the grain of the wood and remembering the nights I painstakingly worked on it. “I didn’t even know he still had it.”
“I know you said he didn’t have much time for you when you were younger, but he obviously loved you and your brothers very much if these are the things he treasured most. That’s something, at least.”
She’s right. These items, seemingly small and insignificant, are cherished memories that my father kept close to his heart. Placing the stag back in the box, I feel closer to my father now more than I ever have.
“There’s only one problem.” I realize the same thing as she says it. “There’s nothing else in here.”
“Unless it has a false bottom. My mother has a jewelry box like that. You just have to find— There.” I pinch the small velvet tab that blends in with the lining and lift it up to reveal an identical glass vial to the one we found at the Bellagio.
“Bless baby Brigid, we did it!” Taryn grabs my face and plants a loud smack on my mouth that makes me laugh. Her excitement is contagious and helps to shake off the heavier emotions from a minute ago. I arrange all my father’s treasures back in the box and close the lid as Taryn uncorks the vial and slides the rolled-up parchment into her palm. “It’s still pretty early. Maybe we can find the final location tonight yet.”
“Thanks for finding that for me.”
Startled, we whip around to find the exit to the chamber blocked by the last person we want to see.
The godsdamned King of the Light Fae.
TWENTY-TWOTARYN
Edevane stands in the doorway, his shoulder-length blond hair gleaming and his emerald-green eyes sparking with malevolence. A smug grin spreads across his handsome face, revealing lethal fangs.
Finn steps in front of me, feet braced apart, fists clenched at his sides, and a menacing glint in his golden eyes that promises death if he’s challenged. “You take a single step in her direction, and I swear to the gods, I’ll rip your fucking head from your body.”
My brows shoot up in surprise at the melty feeling in my chest. I would rather die than ever let a male fight my battles. So why do I think it’s sweet that Finn just threatened dismemberment for looking at me wrong? Shaking myself out of it, I sidestep the giant to stand next to him, as his equal. He glances down at me, seeming to consider something briefly. Then he gives me a slight nod and returns his attention to Edevane.
“I’m not here for her. I’m here for what she’s holding.”
My breath catches in my lungs as I close my left hand tighter around the tiny scroll.
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Finn says. “We came down here to pay respect to my father.”
“Nice try, but I watched the two of you fumble around the atrium for a good ten minutes trying to solve the clue you found at the Conservatory.”
Narrowing my eyes, I shoot invisible daggers at the fae. “I knew that was you. How were you able to find us through our shield glamours?”
Edevane’s lips twist into a smug grin. “A magician never reveals his secrets, Your Highness. Now hand over the next clue. I have a spear to find.”
“Like hell you do,” I grate out. I summon a swirling ball of violet fire with my right and thrust it at him with a rage-filled shout.
Edevane flicks his wrist like he’s swatting a fly, and the fire ball changes course. It blows a hole in the side wall, the force of the explosion throwing me into Finn. He steadies me, then lunges for the Light King with a roar. Another casual flick sends Finn flying across the cavern and crashing so hard into the back wall that the cement buckles and cracks. When he falls forward onto his hands and knees, blood leaks from his head and trails down the side of his neck.
“Finnian!” I rush to his side but he’s already shaking it off and pushing to his feet.
“I’m good.” He tilts his head to each side to crack his neck, then rolls his massive shoulders back.
I whip my gaze in Edevane’s direction. “Your magic,” I say, seething. “I can feel traces of mine in it. How the fuck did you do that?”
“Oh, that? There are more than just a few traces of you in here,” he says, sweeping his hand down the front of his body. “All those times you were knocked out in my facility, we were taking your blood.”
I think back to the times I woke up after being unconscious, trying to reconcile what he’s claiming. A needle mark would’ve been small enough to heal before I could see it. But a massive loss in blood would explain why I always felt so weak afterward. Fear at what this means grabs me by the throat, preventing me from screaming at him like I want.
“Unfortunately, I have to keep replenishing after using too much magic, but that’s why I made sure I have a huge stockpile of it. Once I had enough for what I need, I decided to tip off your brother and his new friend here with your Armas. I wasn’t going to let you go, but I didn’t care if they managed to break you out either. I was curious if they could.”
Edevane looks at Finn. “Nice work using Garvey, by the way. He had no choice but to help you; that was clever. I still killed him, obviously, but I forgave him first. I’m not a complete monster.”
Finn’s hands clench into fists at his sides. “That’s debatable.”
Edevane chuckles like Finn just told a joke. “Anyway, I’ve spent the past year learning how to use these glorious Mystic powers of yours, Princess. It was downright messy for the first few months, as I’m sure you know, but I’ve more than gotten the hang of it now.” He tilts his head and pins me with a knowing look that turns my veins to ice. “Jealous?”
“Of a second-rate, wingless royal with no real magic of his own? I don’t fucking think so.” I glance at Finn. “No offense.”
“None taken,” he answers, keeping his focus trained on the enemy. “Get the fuck out of here, Edevane. You don’t belong in this city, and you sure as fuck don’t deserve to breathe the same air as her.”
Edevane folds his arms over his chest and leans against the doorway with a bored expression on his face. “I’m not going anywhere without what’s in her hand. You know now that you can’t win. Give it to me, and I’ll be on my way. I’ll even leave you alive. Cross my heart.”
You can’t win. The truth of his words makes my insides tremble. I can’t even process what it means for him to have siphoned my magic, but I know it makes him incredibly dangerous. I have precious few seconds before what’s in my hand is no longer in our possession. But if I’m right, then this is the clue that leads us to the Spear of Assal. And if Edevane gets it before we do, he’ll have the power to destroy Faerie. And my mother.
I have to do something—anything—to prevent that from happening. And I have to do it using lesser magic. Come on, Taryn, think.
Finn tries a different tack. “Even if we gave it to you, it wouldn’t do you any good. She said she hid it in Faerie, remember? You told me that.”
“True. I believed it was in Faerie because my grandfather believed it and wrote about it in his journal. She made him think it was in the Darks’ original Temple of Rhiannon, but it’s not there. That’s when I decided to see what you were both up to, and lo and behold, we were on the same quest.”
Finn tenses beside me but I don’t dare take my eyes off the snake in front of us to check his reaction. “How would you know the spear isn’t there? You can’t get into Faerie any more than I can.”
The Light King’s smile never quite reaches his electric green eyes. “Again, we’re back to secrets. You have yours—or had, at any rate—and I have mine.”
I’ve finally come up with a plan. It’s a long shot but right now it’s the only one we have. Silently, I start reciting an incantation in my head and pray I have enough time for what I’m attempting.
Finn glares at Edevane. “Keep your secrets, asshole. We’re not giving you shit.”
The amusement falls from Edevane’s face. “Did I give you the impression you had a choice? That was my mistake. I’m simply giving you the option to be reasonable and maybe make it out of here alive. But I’m good with the alternative, too.”
My left hand is heating up, giving me hope this might actually work. I just need a little more time.
