And the shadow-readers—the Forgotten—withdrew, melting into the shelves as if fleeing.
“Something’s wrong,” Bitty whispered, her voice barely audible.
Before Ava could respond, the massive doors swung open silently, revealing a circular chamber beyond. Unlike the rest of the space, this space was brightly lit—illuminated by floating orbs of golden light that drifted near the domed ceiling.
The chamber was empty of shelves. In their place stood a single pedestal at the center, upon which rested…
Nothing.
The pedestal was bare.
“Thefuck?”Ava stepped into the chamber, confusion momentarily overriding caution. She marched right up to that empty pedestal. “No. No! It was supposed to be here. Itisstill here! I can feel it?—”
“Are you looking for this?”
The voice came from behind the pedestal, smooth and cultured and chilling in its casual arrogance. And casual cruelty. A figure stepped out from shadows that shouldn’t have been able to conceal anyone in the well-lit room.
He wore a dark blue sash around his waist that draped down to the ground, stitched in silver elegant patterns. His chest wasbare, revealing his broad muscles and winding blue tattoos that crossed down his arm. And over his left pectoral muscle was emblazoned the bold tattoo of a dark blue maze.
Hair, the color of the midnight sky, the same shade as his tattoos, flowed down around him and along his pale skin. A crown of silver sat atop his head. It resembled bones and the horns of deer, twisting together with vines and thorns.
Ava knew who he was on sight.
It was the bat wings, the huge and terriblebat wingsthat spread out behind him that really gave him away, though. The peaks of his wings were claws—she had missed that detail before. But now that she saw him in real life and not in illustrations, she saw they were almost like a second set ofarms.The claws at the peaks had long fingers with dangerous talons.
He was beyond beautiful.
He was beyond terrifying.
He was grinning at her like she was lunch.
And he was holding the second shard in his hand.
Somewhere, through the panic and the pounding of her heart in her ears, Ava wondered how big of a metal object she had to drop on the guy to kill him. Or if it’d just piss him off. Or how much trouble she’d get in just for trying.
The newcomer studied the broken piece of mirror in his hand, turning it over as if it were the most boring, insignificant thing in the world to him. “You must be the little Ava Cole I have been hearing so much about these past two weeks.”
“And you must be the Unseelie King Valroy.”
“My reputation precedes me. I do love it when that happens.” He grinned. A flash of sharp fangs.
Cool. He was an egotistical dickwad. An obviouslyevilegotistical dickwad. Ava stood perfectly still, holding Book in her hands. Bitty was cowering behind her, clutching her backpack like it was a life raft.
But he was an obviously evil egotistical dickwad who could probably make Ava’s life really,reallymiserable if he wanted. So for once, she decided to try to keep her loose cannon of a mouth under control. For as long as she could manage it, anyway. “I assume you’re here to…kill me? Or…? Curse me?”
“Hardly!” He laughed, placing a palm to his chest. “Oh, my poor little human, you truly have had the worst time of it, haven’t you? Trapped here with all these miserable bastards and madmen. No, no, my dear—I have come here to save you.”
“Save. Me.” The words fell out of her mouth like they were foreign to her. They really kind of were, they made that little sense in context. “I’m sorry, it’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that…”
“That you don’t believe me.” He shrugged with a smile, obviously not taking it personally. “And why would you? I am, after all, the bloodthirsty warlord that you’ve heard such wanton tales of horror about, I’m sure.” He passed the shard to the hand of his right wing, and crossed around the pedestal to approach her.
Ava stiffened but managed to keep from backing up in fear. “And you’re saying those tales aren’t true?” Holy shit, the guy wasimposing.Him and Serrik could teach a class.Inspire Terror And Look Fabulous While Doing It.
“Oh no. They are quite true.” Where Serrik was stoic and empty of emotion, Valroy had no problem smiling. Or showing just how much devilishness burned away behind it. “I simply have a very good reason for wishing to spirit you out of this abode of the pathetic and exiled.”
“Which would be what?” Ava leaned back, trying to do everything she could just to put some space between them.
“You know very well what.” He took the wrist of her right arm and lifted it up in between them, showing off the beginnings of her tattoo. “I have a very distinct interest in ensuring you stayas you are now, little Ava Cole. And that the spider’s fangs sink no deeper into your flesh. Or that its Web makes no marks upon you.”
