“What is it?” I asked, not caring how ignorant it made me seem. Faeries could not lie.
Caladwyn’s smile widened. “It is the home of my forebears — an ancestral treasure.”
I turned his answer over in my head. Deep down, I knew it was foolish to bargain with Caladwyn, even if I couldn’t understand why. I had no idea why he wished to bar me from an Otherworld palace in some faerie city. I’d have a better chance of reaching the moon. Why bargain against an impossibility?
Unless it wasn’t impossible.
A horrible thought occurred to me then. Perhaps Caladwynknewthat demons had slipped into the mortal world. Maybe he was betting on the possibility that the faecould use whatever opening in the veil had been created to return to their homeland.
Even if that were the case, I reasoned, I had no need to visit the Otherworld — let alone some faerie palace. It was a bargain I could afford to make, particularly if the alternative was having to fight my way out of here and possibly still not escape with the cipher.
“If I agree to your terms,” I said slowly, “then Kaden and I may leave here immediately without fear of harm — from you or any of your guests.”
Caladwyn’s eyes glittered, and he bowed his head in acquiescence.
I swallowed. “Fine. I will not set foot in the Quartz Palace.”
“Then the cipher is yours, huntress.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, I felt the bargain’s magic engulf me. It wasa suffocating, oppressive power, the likes of which I’d never felt before.
Prickling tendrils of magic wrapped around my mind, my body, my soul. They tugged and squeezed and thrashed within me, and I slammed my hands down on the desk to brace against the onslaught.
Ash and iron coated my tongue, and the force of the magic brought me to my knees.
I couldn’t breathe. My fingertips were white where I gripped the desk. My muscles strained uselessly against the enchantment shackling my very will.
Eyes watering, I stared up at the golden-haired fae to see if he was being bombarded by magic. Caladwyn remained standing — eyes closed, his flaxen hair rippling as if caught in a light breeze.
Finally, the magic released me from its grip, and Icollapsed against the desk. My body ached. My mind felt numb, and every shaky breath made me feel as though I were inhaling shards of glass.
Seething with anger, I looked up at Caladwyn. The fae merely opened his eyes and cracked a satisfied smile that made my blood run cold.
I didn’t know how and I didn’t know why, but I could tell from the look on his face that I had sealed my fate.
Chapter
Sixteen
My stomach was a tangled knot of dread by the time I staggered into the misty garden, clutching the cipher to my chest. It was small enough to fit into my outstretched palm but surprisedly heavy — much heavier than any mundane object should have been.
It was as if the magic within had its own weight. Or perhaps I was just feeling the weight of the bargain I’d struck with Caladwyn.
I’d fled with the cipher the moment the bargain’s magic had released me. It had seemed too risky to return to the ballroom, but now that I stood out among the whispering willows, I realized I had no idea how I was going to let Kaden know it was time to leave.
I needn’t have worried. As soon as the thought popped into my head, I felt the familiar hum of his magic along the back of my neck.
I wheeled around to find him standing a few yards behind me. His glossy raven locks gleamed in themoonlight, and his black velvet jacket was still immaculate. He certainly didn’tlookas though he’d been in a brawl with another male.
A warm flush creeped up my neck as Kaden’s eyes roved over me. They seemed to smolder with some unspoken promise, and my lips tingled at the memory of our kiss.
But then his gaze landed on the cipher, and those stormy eyes widened in surprise. “You got the cipher.”
“You sound surprised,” I managed. I still felt slightly numb, and my voice came out all wrong.
“I’m more impressed than surprised.” Amusement twinkled in his eyes, but then his expression turned serious. “We should go,” he said. “Before Caladywn realizes it’s missing.”
I swallowed, but it did nothing to relieve the scratchiness in my throat. “That’s not going to be a problem.”
