Greta and the Goblin King

Chloe Jacobs

This book is a work of fiction.Names, characters, places, andincidents are the product of theauthor’s imagination or are usedfictitiously. Any resemblance toactual events, locales, or persons,living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2012 by Chloe Jacobs.All rights reserved, including theright to reproduce, distribute, ortransmit in any form or by anymeans. For information regardingsubsidiary rights, please contact thePublisher.

Entangled Publishing, LLC

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Edited by Heather Howland

Cover design by Heather Howland

Ebook ISBN 978-1-62061-003-9

Print ISBN 978-1-62061-002-2

Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica

First Edition November 2012

The author acknowledges thecopyrighted or trademarked statusand trademark owners of thefollowing wordmarks mentioned in

this work of fiction: Boy Scouts ofAmerica.

For Carlo. Always.

Mylena’s curse will only be brokenonce the evil

that the disgusting humans sent

here is purged from our world.

If we have to align ourselves withthat very evil in order

to accomplish this, then so be it.

- the Goblin King of the WesternCounties of Mylena

Chapter One

When she’d set out to track the foulbeast hunkered down in the cavernahead, Greta hadn’t counted on galeforce winds and an ice stormengulfing three goblin territoriesdescending like a bitter, frozenplague to torture her.

She should have. A blinding

blizzard was nothing less thantypical Mylean weather, and afterspending four years stranded here,she definitely should have expectedit. The cold had long ago penetratedher thick coat and the layers ofwool and soft cotton, until it seemedmore like days than hours sinceshe’d felt the welcome of a roaringfire in the hearth, but her comfortwould have to wait a while longer.A young goblin boy had gonemissing from his home in thevillage. She refused to believe he

was dead already.

With a weary sigh, she squintedthrough a break in the canopy ofgloomy evergreens, gauging theamount of fury left in the turbulentsky. The shadows falling across theblanket of craptastic white stuffwere still long, but at least shecould see her hands in front of herface again. She had to have been onthe ghoul’s trail for at least threehours by now.

Three hours of non-stop fun.

She approached the cave entrancecarefully. After scoping it out froma safe distance, she circled backand came at it from the side.

Her stomach twisted as she thoughtof the kid suffering inside, but theimage that came to mind wasn’t of afrightened goblin child. Instead, shesaw a human boy from another timeand place. Drew.

Shaking her head, she squared hershoulders and kept moving.Blizzard or not, she needed to bring

the goblin home alive if she wantedto get paid, and the creature whotook the boy had ensconced itselfand its prize deep inside the cave.

A noise. Distinctive from thenatural groaning of tree limbsweighed down by snow. A crunchbehind her as someone took a stepcloser.

Damn. She’d miscalculated,assuming no one would havefollowed her while she wasfollowing the ghoul.

She spun as a familiar flash ofamethyst rushed her in the not-quitedark. Before she could duck androll, a thick, muscled arm slammedacross her chest and shoved heragainst the cave wall so hard theback of her head scraped rock.

With a speed and strength that hadbeen drilled into her daily for fouryears, Greta brought her knee up.Her attacker evaded but wasn’tquick enough to avoid her headbuttto his lying face.

“Danem Greta, stop.” Isaac gruntedand frowned down at her. Shesneered at his use of theconventional form of Myleanaddress. Not that she wasn’t used toit, but coming from Mylena’s shinynew goblin king—who was only alittle older than her seventeen years—it felt like a veiled insult insteadof an expression of respect.

With a hard swallow, she took inhis appearance. His fur-lined cloakgaped open at the throat, and black

hair streaked with deep purplecurled at his neck. He had a squareface and sharp features, although hischeeks were pale and smooth in thedark of the forest.

Like most goblins, he was tall andwide, built like someone had simplychipped away at a hunk of granite. Itwasn’t hard to imagine him in afight to the death for the goblinthrone, no matter how young hewas.

He rubbed his abdomen with a

pinched expression. “What did youdo that for?”

Because I knew it was you? “Oddlyenough, I don’t enjoy being attackedfrom behind by strangers.”

His startling violet eyes locked onher. Lying eyes. Manipulative eyes.Eyes she’d been seeing in her sleepfor too many nights. He chuckledlow under his breath. “Ah, but I’mnot a stranger to you, am I?”

She fought against the deep cadence

of his accented voice and themischievous grin that curled hislips, reminding herself it was all anact. Their entire relationship wasbased on tricks and lies, and Gretawasn’t going to fall for them again.

“But since you mention it,” hecontinued, “which one of us is outlurking in the Goblin Forest in themiddle of the worst storm all year?”

She rolled her eyes. Sure, if hewanted to press the issue, this wastechnically the Goblin Forest and he

was technically the goblin king. Shewas trespassing.

Technically.

Not that she cared about such minorthings as legal boundaries. Notwhen it came to doing her job.Especially in a territory run by anarrogant goblin whose biggest claimto fame was that he happened to bethe youngest monarch Mylena hadever seen. “This can’t be the worststorm all year,” she said. “I’m surethe one that slammed us a fortnight

ago was just as bad. Are there everany conditions in Mylena other thancrappy?”

He grinned and his face wastransformed. Suddenly, he was theboy she’d met that evening atMaidra’s who smiled at her andmade her feel accepted for the firsttime since…well, since she foundherself trapped here. As the onlyhuman in a world where her kindwas reviled and any suggestion oftheir presence created a furious

outcry for blood, acceptance and thepossibility of friendship were thingsshe’d never expected to experience.

But she didn’t want him to be thatboy again. He should go back tobeing the goblin king. At least thenshe knew where she stood—as faraway as possible.

“I wasn’t aware you felt so stronglyabout the weather, Danem,” heteased. “Perhaps it irks you becauseit is one thing that remainsirritatingly beyond your influence.”

If the weather really were the onlything out of her control, shewouldn’t have much to worry about.But after being torn from her familyand everything she knew at the ageof thirteen, thrust into a hostileenvironment where food andwarmth were luxuries someone likeher could not afford, and forced tohide her true identity, Greta hadended up with a whole host ofissues. If she ever made it backhome, some lucky shrink was goingto have a field day trying to figure

her out.

“I have legitimate cause to be here.I’m on a job. Why don’t you let medo it?”

With a shove, she tried to getaround him but he pushed her backagainst the rock. Not hard enough tohurt, but enough to make a point.“Unless you want to alert the ghoulin there to our presence, quitfighting me so we can handle thesituation together.”

“Aren’t you too important to betalking to me? Go home. You have aresponsibility to stay safe andprovide for your people now.”

His teeth ground together. “Whydon’t you let me worry about mypeople and what they need.”

Her shallow breaths exhaled in afine puff of vapor that twirledaround his, becoming one beforedissipating into the frigid air. Gretafinally nodded and his grip on herarms relaxed. She twisted and

knocked her elbow up into hisabdomen. A petty move, sure, butshe wasn’t above immature displaysof annoyance when the situationcalled for it—or maybe even whenit didn’t.

He grunted as she darted aroundhim and clasped his wrist in a quicktwist behind his back. She used themomentum to push him face-firstinto the rock. In the shadows, hisoversized incisors peeked from thecorners of his mouth. He twisted his

head to the side to look at her.

Her knife was at his throat beforehe could blink, going a little waytowards salvaging the pride that hadbeen damaged when he managed tosneak up on her. “Maybe you’veforgotten, but I don’t play nicelywith others.”

His arm tensed under her grip, andhis gaze flickered to her mouthalmost hesitantly. “On the contrary,I think the two of us would playvery well together.”

The warm rush of mortificationflooded her cheeks. “You may thinkbecause you can spy on my dreamsyou have some kind of claim on me,but it’s never going to happen,” shespat. “Not in any way that countsout here in the real world. Let’s justget that straight right now.”

The light in his eyes flared. “Youhave such a peculiar way ofspeaking,” he said. “I rarely haveany notion what you’re talkingabout, but I could listen to your

voice all day long.”

She’d adamantly held onto herhuman expressions and mannerismsover the years. It was a little likehanging off the edge of a cliff,desperately scrabbling for everycrumbling handhold. She did itdespite knowing it further isolatedher in this world, because thelonger she stayed here, the moreafraid she was of losing herselfcompletely.

It was already happening. She

remembered less and less about herlife before Luke, one of Mylena’smore reclusive wood sprites, hadfound her in the snow that long-agonight and took her in. The peopleand places from that former life,even the person she’d been…it hadbecome a foggy blur that slippedaway a little more every time sheclosed her eyes.

Greta lowered her blade andsheathed her dagger in the customleather sleeve fitted to her forearm.

She barely noticed the sleeveanymore. It was simply a part ofher, like her freakishly tall body,big nose, and long blond hair—hairshe kept plaited to hide her humanears from prying goblin eyes.

Locals in every county liked togather around their tavern hearthson stormy nights and tell tales abouthow humans were responsible forthe endless winter, and turned thedaughters of the Great Mother—Mylena’s two moons—against

them.

All of it was crazy mythology, ofcourse. But it had forced a younggirl who’d found herself stranded ina strange land to hide her true selffrom everyone.

He straightened with a shrug,reminding her that the goblin kingtopped her in both height andbreadth by several inches. Shewasn’t small, but next to him, anAmazon would look like a dwarf.

“Have you finished ogling me?”

His audacity made her grumble.“Don’t you ever get tired of beingso full of yourself?”

“Don’t you ever tire of being socontrary?”

“Jerk.”

“Interesting sentiment, sprite.”

Greta barely stopped herself fromadjusting her braids over her ears.

No, there was no way he couldknow. She’d be dead by now if hehad somehow discovered hersecret.

He watched her closely. “As muchfun as this has been, you don’t wantto waste any more valuable time, doyou?”

Resigning herself to the fact that hewasn’t going to go away, not withone of his own being held insidethat cave, she crossed her arms.“Come along, then. As long as you

realize the bounty is mine,” sheadded.

His smile disappeared and helooked about as serious as she’dever seen him. “I don’t care aboutthe coin, Danem. I’m only here tomake sure the boy gets out alive.”

“Let me do my job and he might.”She didn’t bother telling him that thethought of the helpless goblin childbeing held by that monster wasalmost more than she could bear.That it hit too close to home, made

her stomach lurch and her headpound, and even if there’d been noreward, she would have still comefor him.

“Of course.”

His tone hardened with the turn oftheir discussion and she watched asall the responsibilities of hisposition fell back onto hisshoulders. The night they met, he’dseemed so animated as he sharedhis passion for inventing gadgetsand his dreams of traveling to

exciting places. She’d beenmesmerized by him, and not onlybecause he was the only boy who’dspoken to her—besides Luke—forwhat felt like, well…ever.

It was hard to reconcile that spiritedboy with this dour person whoseemed consumed by obligation andduty. Then again, everything thatnight had been for show. He’dprobably just been laying his trap,setting her up.

She’d fallen for it in a big way.

“Fine. Good,” she said, annoyed bythe jolt of pain the memory of thatnight always brought on. “Makesure you don’t get in my way.”

His lips pressed together in a thinline as he looked her up and down.“Agreed. You are the professional.I will yield to your judgment.”

Satisfied the high and mighty lord ofthe goblin realms would at least tryto play by her rules, she braced onehand on the cold stone and steppedforward, narrowing her attention on

the opening in the cavern wall. Shestrained to detect the faintest sound,but from their position at the mouthof the cave, she could hear nothingbut the intermittent groan andcrackle of tree branches bendingagainst the will of the wind, andIsaac’s softly measured breaths ashe fell into place close behind her.

She gripped the hilt of the swordstrapped to her hip, but dared notdraw it. Even that slow glide ofsteel against leather would echo.

Any advantage they had would meltaway like the snowflakes landingsoftly on the tip of her chappednose.

Greta wished for a flashlight as theypassed into the full dark of the cave.It wasn’t the first time she’d havegiven her last meal for one of themodern conveniences she’d oncetaken for granted, and doubted itwould be the last either. Oddlyenough, the things she found herselfwishing for most often included a

decent pair of warm gloves and—

Thud. From deep inside the cavern.

A big hand clasped her elbow andsqueezed. She nodded and pickedup some speed but refused to rushheadlong into the dark. Winning theday rarely came down to beingstronger or faster or braver than theother guy. Mostly, it came down tobeing colder, smarter, and moreruthless than the other guy. Luke hadtaught her that.

The farther she traveled into thedark, airless cave, the easier it wasto imagine what torture the poor kidwas suffering. It tugged at hercontrol and she had to hold herselfback.

When she stopped to look over hershoulder, Greta could no longer seethe entrance. The last of the weaklight was gone. The goblin kinghimself was but a hulking shadow,although she felt him poised andready behind her.

Violence hung in the air like thesticky haze of a muggy day, filledwith the thick scent of fresh blood.The sudden unmistakable sound of apained cry being silenced mid-shoutcompleted the disturbing effect.

He surged past her then, armbrushing her shoulder as he took thelead. She shot forward and tuggedhim back before he went barrelingdown the narrow passage like araging bull. He turned, his chestheaving against hers. She could

barely see the pulse in his cheekticking away.

After a tense moment, he gave in.He let out a silent breath and stoodback to let her take the lead again,but Greta wasn’t immune to thatplaintive cry for help either. Shefinally drew her sword.

“We go in,” she whispered. “Youget the boy. I’ll handle the ghoul.”He clasped her fingers andsqueezed his assent, but she wasn’tfinished. “Then I want you to get out

of there. Don’t go all heroic,thinking you have to stick aroundand help—you’ll just be in my way.That kid is going to need medicalattention. That’s your first priority.Got it?”

“Hasn’t anyone ever told you it isn’twise to give a king orders?”

She ignored him and turned backaround, trailing a hand along thewall of the cave to keep track of herposition as she started forward. Itannoyed her that the goblin

followed with ease, like he had thebenefit of night-vision goggles—butsomething so cool had never existedin Mylena.

After a few hundred feet, a softglow became visible ahead of her.

Fire.

A sliver of anticipation bloomed,the same pathetic combination ofexpectancy and defeat that creptpast her defenses whenever shecame across such a place. With it

was the insane hope that, maybe thistime, she would find the evil witchwho sent her here and couldmanipulate the fire to open a portalback home.

She was always disappointed. Infour years, luck had never been onher side.

She shoved away the foolishfeelings. “Follow my lead.”

Chapter Two

With adrenaline pushing through hersystem, Greta adjusted her grip onthe hilt of her sword and turned thecorner. She wasn’t disappointed.What lay in wait was one ofMylena’s most monstrous creatures.

Ghoul. A disgusting distortion oflife that fed on innocence and puritywith a ferocious brutality—and thatwas its natural phase.

Everything here had a natural phase

and a raw—or moon—phase. Mostof the reasoned beings like sprites,faeries, and goblins, had evolved tothe point of being able to controltheir shift, but there were situationsthat could force a transformation,including strong emotions likehunger, fear, and rage. Additionally,all creatures of Mylena felt the pullof their raw phase most stronglyduring the rare occurrence when themoons came directly in line witheither or both of the planet’s suns.An eclipse.

And then the whole world wentcrazy.

Greta had experienced only twoeclipses, and both times, she’dspent the couple of days before andafter locked behind a reinforced,bolted door hidden in a damp anddark place under the floor of herpater’s home. Closed-in, darkplaces had always been her biggestweakness, and Luke had known it,but he’d still shut her in. Allbecause the strong, protective wood

sprite—who had the strength of asteel spike and had never turned infront of her, not even once—hadbeen afraid he would tear her apartduring the eclipse.

Through the thick smoke from thebonfire crackling in the middle ofthe cavern, Greta eyed the gray-skinned, skeletal figure. The factthat it stood approximately eightfeet tall, was even uglier than usual,and sported a mouth full of teeth thelength of her best dagger proved

they were in big trouble.

It had turned.

This was one of the Lost, a beingthat had given in to its raw formcompletely and would never revertback to a more civilized one,“civilized” being a term appliedloosely when it came to ghouls inany case.

Her entrance had gotten the thing’sattention. It crouched on the otherside of the flames and faced her

with a growl, bulging eyes glowinga sickly yellow in the low light. Itpushed forward on all four lankylimbs, readying itself to spring. Thehorrific sound of its enraged roarbounced off every inch of rocksurrounding her until Greta wishedher eardrums would explode andend her misery.

The goblin boy huddled in a tightlittle ball against the cavern wall.He held his right arm close tohimself and cringed as far from the

nasty creature as he could. Gretapaid no heed to his injuries. He wasstill breathing, which was more thanshe could have hoped for at thispoint.

Knowing she had to get the ghoul tocome for her, she edged along thewall in the opposite direction of thecave entrance. She kept her gaze onthe creature, trusting that the goblinking would do what she’d said andget the boy to safety.

“Come on, you ugly mother,” she

muttered.

The ghoul’s eyes widened as hecharged, leaping over the blazingfire and across the small space inthree long strides. Chancing aglance out of the corner of her eye,she watched his highness run for theyoung goblin and sighed with reliefeven as she lifted her sword todefend against the ripping talonsaimed right at her face.

If they connected, she’d be done for.They would tear her in half. Greta

swung her blade and ducked. Theclaws weren’t even her mostimperative concern. Ghouls wererabid creatures, desperate to satetheir hunger for flesh, blood, andbone. Very strong and super fast,and yet their most dangerousweapon was a poisonous toxinexpelled with their saliva thatrendered its victim immobile forhours—which was just long enoughto be consumed by your worstnightmare, inch by agonizing inch.

A ghoul could shoot a stream of thatnastiness with paralyzing accuracy,and her back was up against thewall. Literally. She had nowhere togo, which made her a decent target.

Remaining far enough away toavoid the deadly slice of her blade,the ghoul roared again, openingwide to launch a thick jet of itspoison.

She swore between clenched teethand ducked to the side so it didn’tget her full in the face. The fluid

struck the rock behind her. Itsplashed, bounced off, andsplattered onto her neck, cheek, andthe hand she lifted to protectherself. “Damn it.”

She righted herself and quicklyjerked out of the way of anotherswipe of those wicked claws.“Damn. Damn. Da—”

The effect of the poison waspractically instantaneous, numbingher hand, cheek, and the exposedskin at the base of her neck. It

traveled quickly across her face,down her neck and left shoulder.

Okay, now she was worried.

She told herself the exposure wasminimal and probably wouldn’t hither heart, move any farther than herelbow, or inhibit her brain function.Yeah, right. The arm was alreadypractically useless, and “damn”was likely to be the last coherentword she would pronounce with herthickened tongue for a while.

It would suck if her last word everwas a mumbled “damn.” When thetime came—hopefully not today—she had hoped to be in a position toimpart some profound andmeaningful advice—

Another swipe of claws. She barelyshifted out of the way in time toprevent her innards from tumblingout onto the dirt floor of the cavern.

Maybe she should think of thatmeaningful advice real quick.

Glancing up, she realized the goblinking was watching her dodge andparry. His indecision was clear ashe paused and hitched the boy up inhis arms.

Just what did he think he was goingto do?

Worried his royal goblinness wasabout to attempt something royallystupid, she shook her head andglared at him before twisting herhip and leveling the ghoul in thechest with the heel of her boot. It

stumbled back a few steps.

“Go! Get out of here,” she shouted.It came out sounding more like Hetooh a hee because she couldn’tmake her lips form the words, buthe would get the picture.

He had better get the picture.

Either way, she couldn’t afford towait and see. Ignoring the tingling inher forearm—hell, that stuff waspotent—she returned her attention tothe ghoul, countering its next attack

with a hard, straight jab.

Her blade sank into its shoulder.She pulled back and quickly backedit up with a solid roundhouse to thegut, trying to throw the thing offbalance. Knowing she couldn’tafford to let up, she struck againwith her blade, slicing its chestopen from end to end. The creaturehowled. The sound grated in herears like metal scraping over metal.

With a relentless lack of mercy orcompassion, she advanced again.

And again. Looking for the opening,she needed to end this once and forall.

Despite Greta having gained someground, the ghoul wasn’t slowingdown, and it wasn’t backing down.Its growing rage had only made itmore determined. She got thedistinct feeling since she haddeprived the thing of its dinner, ithad decided she should take theboy’s place.

She was toast.

Her next strike was deflected andher hand whipped back in a widearc, her wrist striking rock. Shehissed, barely managing to holdonto her weapon. Stumbling, shetried bracing herself against thewall but her arm wouldn’t respondand she just leaned against itinstead.

The ghoul lunged. Its claws toreinto her shoulder, wrenching ascream from her throat. She wasthrown back and bit her lip hard.

Her head bounced off the wall andshe groaned. Second time today.

She was going to have a bump—notthat a headache would matter muchto a dead person.

Swallowing the blood in her mouthand fighting off the wave of nauseathat threatened to take herconsciousness, she put her back tothe wall. How was she still on herfeet? Ah, hell. She was weakeningwith every heartbeat, her systemshutting down fast in reaction to the

always-great combo of rapid bloodloss and ghoul poison.

Blinking back the globby dotsswimming in her field of vision, shepushed off the wall and skirted tothe side in time to avoid anotherwicked swipe—a close one. Wouldhave taken her head clean off.

The fact that she’d started musingabout her imminent death knockedsome sense back into her. With adeep breath, she ducked beneath thecreature’s long arm, the point of her

blade puncturing its side again.

Once more, a flash of movementdrew her attention from the fight.The goblin king had re-entered thecavern alone, without his heavyouter cloak. He must have left theboy covered up somewhere outside.

Is he completely out of his mind?

Gritting her teeth, she turned herback on him, pissed that heobviously hadn’t believed she couldhandle this creature on her own.

Granted, she’d already gottenherself fatally spit on and clawed toribbons in the space of whatcouldn’t be more than two minutes.Probably closer to one and a half.Still, this was her job. No way wasanyone going to interfere.

Duck and roll. When she came backup, it was with a reneweddetermination and her sword heldhigh. A shout rumbled from deepwithin her churning belly as sheforced her arm down in a sweeping

diagonal arc and waited for theghoul’s head to slide off its neck tothe ground. Which it did with asatisfying thunk.

The rest of its body tumbled overinto the dirt a long second later, andGreta herself slumped against thecavern wall. Taking deep breaths,she waited for her body to catch upwith her brain and realize the fightwas over.

Good thing Luke wasn’t here to seehow badly she’d butchered this job.

It was bad enough that it was hisvoice she heard in her mind, ripewith disappointment, telling her thatafter the embarrassing way she’dfought, she should be the one lyingbloody in the dirt without a head.

No argument there. She hadn’t beenfocused. She’d ignored her pater’steachings, especially the mostimportant of them all: Always stayin control.

As much as she hated to admit it,she’d broken that rule today.

And look what had happened.

“Danem Greta.” Isaac cameforward, reaching for her. Shejerked away and pulled a cloth fromher pocket, ignoring him as shewiped the ghoul’s black blood offher blade and slid it into the sheathat her waist.

Wincing, she unstrapped a leatherbag from her belt. It had a thickdrawstring and the inside had beenoiled to make it resistant to leakage.Whether that would work with

corrosive ghoul poison…

Her shoulder screamed with painuntil she wanted to scream rightalong with it, but she’d already letthe goblin see more weakness fromher than she’d ever shown anyoneexcept for Luke, so she forcedherself to bend and grab her prize.

She clutched the ghoul’s head by thecoarse strands of its dirty, mattedhair. Immediately, the disgustingbite of hundreds of tiny crawlingparasites stung her hand and arm as

they rushed to flee their foodsource. She stifled an involuntaryshudder of disgust.

“Leave that thing be.”

The creature’s perma-snarlthreatened soundlessly up at her asshe started to shove it into her bag.As per the terms of the county writ,it wasn’t enough to have rescued theboy. She needed proof of thecreature’s death in order to collectthe reward.

“Proof,” she said with big, numblips. Pooth.

“You don’t need that,” he insisted,his mouth curling in revulsion. “I’llmake certain you get paid.”

She hesitated, contemplatingwhether she should ignore him outof spite. But she wasn’t quite thatstubborn. There was a wholemountain of things Greta wouldn’thave trusted him with if her lifedepended on it, but he had noreason to screw her out of this

bounty. If she didn’t have to carry adead ghoul’s disgusting head on herback all the way to town, so muchthe better.

“Fine.” Faaa. With a shrug, shedropped the thing back into the dirtand wiped her hand on her pants.She was going to have to burn theseclothes.

Adrenaline and poison pumped hardthrough her bloodstream. Deepbreaths. Pull yourself together.With a small shake of her head, she

looked at the mess surrounding her.Her job was not over. As much asthe entire operation turned herstomach, it wouldn’t do to leavewithout cleaning this up.

“Go. I’ll burn the body then put outthe fire,” she said, carefully forcingthe slurred words past her thicktongue. “Get kid…out. Cold.Medical attention. Parents will…want to know.”

He just watched her. He didn’tanswer, didn’t mock her pathetic

excuse for a rescue attempt, or hergarbled words.

And he didn’t leave.

She frowned. If that turned out to bepity on his face, she was going topunch—

“Why do you do this?”

His sudden, pointed demandstartled her. She forced a snort.Why indeed? “What do you think Ishould do instead?” She pursed her

lips, willing the feeling back intothem. “Settle down in some pasturewith a beefy troll, raising ornerycattle and little munchkins?” Liddoomushins?

He frowned. “I wouldn’t have saidthat. But why this?”

Because one of these days it couldlead the way out of here. She gazedinto the bonfire still blazing in themiddle of the cavern. “Why notthis? It hasn’t gotten me killed yet.The pay is decent. It’s as good a

career choice as anything else inthis ridiculous world.”

He tilted his head, studying her.

She bit her tongue. Served her rightfor letting bitterness seep into hervoice. “Now go before that kidfreezes to death and costs me mybounty.” Boondee.

Chapter Three

She came back outside much later.Aching, filthy, exhausted.

Propping her head against the rockwall, she took several deep,cleansing drags of winter air intoher lungs. For once, she wasgrateful for the cold.

Looking up into the late afternoonsky, Greta half-expected to see thegoblin king waiting for her. Therewas nothing but the trees, and alingering scent of smoke—probablycoming off her clothing—but from

the looks of it, he hadn’t been gonevery long. His tracks remained inthe snow, illuminated by the softpink glow of Mylena’s two largemoons.

She spared a glance down at themassive boot print in front of herbefore stepping over it back throughthe woods the way she’d comehours ago.

She trudged along slowly, the windwhipping across her face. “Sandand sp-p-lashing surf.” Blinking

away the crystals forming on hereyelashes, she glanced up at theevergreens, so wide and tall allaround her, they seemed to beclosing in. “T-t-tender barbecuechicken.” Her teeth chatteredtogether. “T-t-tall, leafy palms. Aw-w-warm yellow sun.”

After tripping for the third time, shepaused. Unfortunately, the coldhadn’t yet made her delusionalenough to believe the wet stufffilling her boots and trickling down

the back of her neck was anythingbut miserable, icy snow, or that shewas anywhere but miserable, far-from-home Mylena.

She breathed heavily from theexertion of pushing herself throughthe deep drifts, and tried convincingherself—without much luck—that itwas good for her.

By the time she made her way to theedge of the woods, she was dead onher feet. She shuddereduncontrollably, but not entirely from

cold. The whole left side of herupper body was still numb.Probably a blessing given how therest of her felt.

Her right shoulder had been sendingshooting pain up and down her armever since the ghoul clawed it all tohell, and now it also throbbed witha sweeping heat that said a niceinfection was setting in. It emanatedthrough the heavy layers of herouterwear, strong enough toconvince her foggy brain she just

might be close to that tropicalparadise she’d been imagining.

Blinking, she forced her leaden legsto carry her onward, mutteringaloud to nobody in particular. Lukewould have told her to quitcomplaining. He would havereminded her that tonight’s outcomecould have been much worse. Shecould have been killed.

Death might actually be animprovement right about now.

Just a few feet from the road, shetripped over a branch hiddenbeneath a layer of snow and wentdown hard. Unable to move quicklyenough to brace herself, she caughta face full of the cold stuff and toreher pant leg.

Frigid wetness trickled down hercalf into her boot. At least itnumbed the sting from whateverrocky outcropping had cut open hershin.

She flopped onto her side.

Waited.

Nope. Still not getting up.

Greta’s eyelids drooped and shehad to force them open again.Losing consciousness here, now—not a good idea. Chances were shewouldn’t ever wake up.

She groaned. “Come on, you greatbig wimp. On your feet.”

Moving slowly, she planted herhand in the deep snow for balance

and tried to push herself up. Apathetic little shove. There wasnothing left in her body to back upher will—and her will wasn’texactly cooperating anymore, either.Maybe it was the cold, the poison inher system. Perhaps blood loss andexhaustion.

Or, hey, why not all of the above?

Whatever. She was done.

Expelling a slow breath, her eyesfell closed. So tired and weak, she

tasted salty tears at the corner of hermouth and realized they trackeddown both her cheeks. Her heartached as badly as her body.

Mama. I want my mama.

She laid her head on her arm,knowing the dreams would come,but without the strength to hold them—or the goblin king—off anylonger.

…

He was here, sitting in the corner ofthe noisy taproom, just like he’dbeen the first time they’d met afortnight ago. She ignored him nowlike she should have done then,making her way to the bar throughthe unusually thick crowd of spritesand goblins and…whatever the heckthat gray guy was.

Dreaming or not, she could still usea drink.

She pulled up an empty stool andsat beside a brawny troll with ascrunched-up face that reminded herof the pit bull that lived in thecorner house on the street where shegrew up.

Shaking her head of the memory,she waited patiently for Maidra,then ordered a hot linberry tea tostave off the always-present chillthat was part and parcel of a worldwhere winter never ended. All thewhile, she sensed the goblin king

watching her, felt the itch of hisgaze right between her shoulderblades.

She focused on the swirling tendrilsof steam coming from her mug. Itseemed to linger, to expand andspread out in front of her until theentire room was shrouded in a lightfog.

He was doing it again.

She sighed. This wasn’t the firsttime he’d stolen into her sleep like

a thief and manipulated her dreams.Those “interactions” were part ofthe reason their relationship feltdeeper than it should haveconsidering they’d only known eachother for two weeks.

Focusing on her reflection in themirror over the back of the bar,Greta’s slim brows lifted in an archover pale blue eyes, and her lipscompressed into a thin,uncompromising line. She wasn’twearing her own clothes—the

familiar leather and furs of a bountyhunter—but soft, feminine fabricssimilar to what other Mylean girlsher age wore. And her blond hairfell loose to her shoulders insteadof braided to cover her ears.

She had some control in thesedreams, at least. He seemed able tofashion the environment however hechose, but he couldn’t really forceher to do things. It wasn’t like shewas stuck playing a part in his ownprivate stage production.

Which made what happened the firsttime she’d dreamed of him thatmuch worse.

She blushed whenever she thoughtabout it because, at that point, shehadn’t realized what he was doing.Hadn’t realized she was no longeralone in her head when shedreamed. She’d let him see the girlshe wished she could have been thenight they met—free to laugh andflirt with a good looking guy—instead of Greta the bounty hunter,

who’d been on guard and unable toshow any emotion.

It wasn’t hard to guess from thewolfish look in his eyes when shefinally figured it out that he wasnever going to let her live it down.

“Greta.”

No polite “danem” this time, huh?The casual trill of her name on hislips was more than a little ironicconsidering what saying his namehad cost her.

His voice was lower than usual, asif encouraging her to confide in him.Yeah, right. She glanced into thepitted mirror above the bar, andgasped to find him standing only afew feet behind her. When had hegotten up from his seat and crossedthe room?

Probably when she was trying sohard to ignore him.

He said it again, her name. Morelike a whisper, actually. But closerand clearer than it should have been

with all the others around them,drinking and laughing…

Except suddenly there was no oneelse around. She was alone withonly him and the mist for company.She whirled around to face him.

“Who are you?” he asked. “Exactlywhere do you hail from?”

She leaned back as he pushedforward, until the edge of the barpressed against her spine.Questions. Of course. Luke had

warned here there would bequestions if she allowed anyone toget too close. Thankfully, her lifewas a fairly solitary one. Other thanLuke, she had few friends. Okay,none. Not that it bothered her. Itdidn’t. The risks of unwittinglyrevealing her human heritage faroutweighed any benefits that mightcome from having someone to talkto.

Especially if that someone was ahot goblin with a penchant for

hijacking dreams, who also just sohappened to be the newly mintedking.

Just thinking about that made herwant to break her fist over thatsquare chin of his, and wipe theconfident smile from his lips. Butthis was still just a dream. Itwouldn’t really be her fist flyingand it wouldn’t really be his faceunder her knuckles.

“You know I never answer yourquestions. Why do you keep asking?

Why waste your time in mydreams?”

“You said my name,” he answered.He reached out, taking a lock of herhair between his fingers and rollingit as if he was fascinated by itssoftness. When she self-consciouslytugged her bottom lip between herteeth, his eyes flared and his gazelocked on her mouth. “You invitedme in. You gave me the power.”

He touched her cheek with the mostfeather-light caress, the pad of his

thumb following the line of herbottom lip. She swatted his handaway before she did somethingstupid like lean into his touch. “Ididn’t know what I was doing.”

“How could you not know?”

The implication went unsaid, but itwas still there. She should haveknown because everyone knewsaying Isaac’s name hadconsequences. Everyone whobelonged in Mylena, that is.

Well, she didn’t belong in Mylena,and loneliness had gotten the betterof her the night they met in Maidra’stavern. When he approached herdespite the menacing keep-awayglare she always wore to protectherself, she’d faltered in the face ofhis bright smile. Nobody had everlooked at her as if she werebeautiful and interesting before.

They’d talked for hours and beforeshe knew it, she’d plummeted intohis trap. After she’d broken more of

Luke’s rules than she thoughtpossible and reluctantly stood up toleave, he’d asked her name. Gretahad only reciprocated, thinkingnothing of it.

Just call me Isaac.

So she had. Apparently, it didn’tmatter if you were an ignoranthuman whom no one had botheredto explain the rules to. She’d beenvulnerable to him. Was stillvulnerable.

“It doesn’t matter why I didn’tknow!” Her hands clenched intofists. “My ignorance didn’t give youthe right to take advantage of me.”Closing her eyes, she tried toremember where she really was,willing her consciousness to get aclue and—

Wake. The hell. Up.

“You only wake when I’m ready tolet you go.”

“Then what do you want with me?”

His smoldering look went all theway through her. Her stomachfluttered madly and she steppedback, hoping to God she wasn’tblushing. “Are you reading mymind?”

He snorted. “I’m in your mind,getting to know every part of you.”

Her face burned withembarrassment. “You’re deludingyourself if you think you can knowwho I am or what I want fromspying on me in my dreams. Therein

lies a realm of fantasy, and whileit’s an interesting place to visitevery once in a while, we both haveto live in the real world, don’t we?”

“You can put up walls, Greta, butsooner or later, I’ll break downevery last one. There won’t be anysecret you can keep or any part ofyou I don’t know…” He leanedforward, his voice lowering to awhisper. “Intimately.”

Her knees shook at the thought.Intimacy meant weakness.

Weakness that he was obviouslytrying to exploit. She realized itnow. His appearances in herdreams…all that talk…craftilydesigned to subvert her defenses.

He’d implied he never wanted to bethe king, but of course he wanted tobe king. Who wouldn’t? He was apower-hungry goblin so full ofarrogance she felt like an idiot fornot seeing it before it was too late.

She would not—could not—giveinto the things he made her feel.

That way lay disaster, even if partof her was tempted to find outexactly how intimate they could get.

Frantically, she plotted. She didn’tjust need to wake up, she had to finda way to put an end to these visitsonce and for all before her will toresist was gone. “Why would youeven want to? Trust me, I’m not theslightest bit interesting.”

“You intrigue me,” he said.

Greta huffed. She was nothing. Less

than nothing. She had none of thestrength of the goblins, none of thebeauty of the nymphs, none of themagick of the sprites or the faeries.She downplayed her few curvesbeneath a hostile scowl andmultiple layers of clothing to keepothers from looking too closely andwondering if there was a reasonwhy she was so spectacularlyunimpressive.

No, he couldn’t know her secret. Ifhe did, he would’ve cut her down

out there in the forest by now. Andif he didn’t want to get his handsdirty with it, not even Luke wouldbe able to protect her from the lynchmob that he would send after her.“Get out of my head.”

He smiled. “But I just got here.”

“I don’t want you here.”

His hand lifted back up to hercheek. She flinched, but he onlypushed her hair off her cheek. Sheheld her breath. Even knowing his

touch wasn’t real, tingles danced allthe way to her toes.

After what seemed like forever, hedropped his hand, lookingthoughtful. “You’re so secretive andprickly, Greta. Why is that?”

“None of your business.”

“Oh, I think it is. In fact, I think whoyou are and what you do is verymuch my business.” He steppedcloser and she drew back, ready todefend herself if he decided to try

“persuading” her to talk. But heonly gripped her arms as if to pullher into an embrace.

She tensed and put her handbetween them, on his chest. Hisheart was pounding fast, maybe asfast as hers, and she could almostimagine that this was real. Sheglanced up to find him looking ather intensely. And then he did pullher closer. Close enough to presshis forehead to hers as hewhispered, “Reveal yourself to me,

Greta. Trust in me. Tell me yoursecrets, and I can be lenient withyou.”

She shook her head. Deny, deny,deny. That was standard operatingprocedure.

The hard look in his eyes returned.He dropped his gaze and let her go.She expelled a long, slow breath,unsure if she was relieved ordisappointed.

“We’ll discuss this again,” he

promised. “Now, wake.”

…

She was aware of his presence themoment she took her first consciousbreath. It didn’t take much longer topin down his position. Opening hereyes, she zeroed in on his figuresprawled in a chair in the deepshadows across from the cushy bed—a softer, warmer bed than anyother in Mylena, she would bet.

But with no fire in the hearth andonly one covered window, the roomwas cold and dark.

“Where am I?” Her voice was tooloud, echoing in the cold room.Shaky and pinched, the hoarsesound threatened to tear her open,expose her to the reality of the coldworld when she was still reelingfrom the dream.

The aches and pains of her batteredbody settled back in quickly nowthat she was awake. As much as she

wanted to demand some answersand make some threats, Greta’sbody wasn’t quite in sync with therest of her.

“You’re safe. For now.” His low-voiced answer came out of thedarkness. She still couldn’t see hisface but his shoulders werehunched, and he sounded tired andtense.

Greta remembered the ghoul. Thewoods. She remembered being hurt.

Had he come back for her?

She remembered the way he’dlooked at her in her dream. He’dwanted to kiss her, she was sure ofit. And she would have let him, shewas sure of that, too. Her cheekswere burning so hot, he wouldimmediately know what she wasthinking. How could she face him?

She decided not to think about it.None of it. At least not until she gotout of…wherever she was.

Shifting, she dropped her legs overthe side of the bed. The blanketslipped and she shivered from thechill in the air. Her cloak and shirthad been removed. Nothing butthick bandages covered her upperbody. Soft white cotton had beenwound around her arm from elbowto wrist and over her burned hand.Another wrapped over her shoulderand across her chest.

No, no, no. Please, no. A spike ofcold horror arrowed through her,

and her fingers tightened in a deathgrip on the blanket as she jerked itback up to her shoulders and triednot to think about Isaac seeing hernaked.

She couldn’t bear the thought thathe’d been the one to remove herclothes, and clean and bind herwounds. It didn’t seem likely,though. He was the goblin king,after all. There had to be a housefulof servants ready and waiting to dohis bidding. They were probably

standing just outside the door. Thethought eased her panic just a bit.

Still. How long had she beenunconscious and at his mercy?Taking some small comfort in thefact that she still wore her pants—as crusty and abrasive as they feltagainst her screamingly tender skin—Greta rolled her shoulder, stiflinga wince as sharp pain reverberateddown her arm.

“The ghoul’s poison worked itsway through your system fairly

quickly, but your wounds becameinfected. They are taking asurprisingly long time to heal…fora sprite. You’ve been out an entireday fighting off fever.”

She nodded, taking the news asmatter-of-factly as possible giventhe stunning revelation that she’dbeen gone for that long. Luke wouldhave started looking for her by now.

Her muscles ached, and beneath thebandages, her upper body felt rawand torn. No doubt it was going to

take a few more days for the gashesin her shoulder to heal, and thenshe’d be left with a whole new setof scars to show for her latestadventure.

She stared into the dark cornerwhere the goblin king continued tosit and watch. He reminded her of agreat cat following its prey’s everymove, waiting for the perfectmoment to strike. His intensity madeher nervous. Rattled and sore, shedidn’t know what she would do if

this cozy scene went south.

Finally, he leaned forward into thesmall shaft of light coming throughthe window and braced bothelbows on his knees. Her mouthwent dry as she zeroed in on thethick, corded muscle that definedhis wide shoulders, and she had tolook away just as fast. But the restof him didn’t help her state of beingany. His hair was mussed, standingstraight up in places as if he’d beendragging his hands through it. There

was a sleepy, softened look to hisface that only increased heragitation. He was too appealing likethis. Too close.

Deep breaths.

She forced her gaze away andglanced around, pretending to stareat a particularly interesting knot inthe wood paneling across the room,the fine pieces of furniture, thesmudge of dirt blurring the view outthe window…anything to avoidlooking at him. “Why did you bring

me here? Why didn’t you just dumpme off at home?”

“And where exactly is home foryou?” He watched her with apiercing coldness. “Your realhome, that is?”

She lifted a hand to the side of herhead only to find that herstrategically positioned braids weregone. Her hair fell forward, long,pale ends swinging in front of herface. Unbound, it made her feel toosoft, too vulnerable.

Over the years, she’d learned all thetricks. Keeping her hair plaited justthe right way. Keeping her headdown. She knew how to blend in,become just another face in thecrowd. She could fudge some of theother inconsistencies, but her lackof faerie points was the one overtphysical feature that proved shewasn’t who she’d been saying shewas. Greta never left her hair down,even when she was certain of beingalone. The chance that someonecould get a glimpse of her rounded

human ears was too great.

She remembered the way he hadtouched her hair and caressed hercheek. If the ice in his glare was anyindication…

Her stomach hollowed out and herheart pounded too fast. How longhad he known? Did he discover thetruth before invading her mind, orwas it the dreams themselves thathad betrayed her? And whichdream? Thinking back to his wordsand actions, it was obvious that

he’d known the truth for a while.

But that didn’t lessen her fear. Whathappened now? After uncoveringGreta’s most vulnerable weakness,what would the goblin king do withthe knowledge? And why hadn’t hedone it already?

She chanced a quick glance at thedoor, expecting a horde of goblinwarriors to barge in at any momentand put her in chains. Her bladeswere lying atop a tall table on theother side of the room. Too far

away. In top form with weapons inhand, she might have been able totake him. Might. But half dead andwithout a shirt? She probablyshouldn’t try unless it becameabsolutely necessary.

She lifted her chin and dropped herbandaged arm to her side, slowlypushing herself to her feet andtugging the bed sheet along forcover. “What is this place and whyam I here?”

He rose with her, but didn’t come

any closer. “I saved your life out inthe snow and you cannot bebothered to even say thank you?”

She jerked her gaze back to him,surprised. That’s what he wasworried about? The level of hergratitude? “I’m sorry,” she saidslowly. “I am grateful for your help,but my pater will be worried aboutme.”

“Your pater is Dolem Lucius, thebounty hunter?”

She nodded. Mylean youth eitherbecame farmers like their fathers orwere contracted at early ages toskilled masters for training in otherfields, depending upon the positionand wealth of their families. Tradeslike iron working and weavingwere considered worthy careerchoices.

Bounty hunter…not so much.

“And how exactly did you becomebound to him?”

Gangbusters with the questionsagain. If he was planning to call herout as a fraud and have her hauledaway, he needed to do it already.“There was no contract, if that’swhat you’re asking. He’s myfather.”

After a long moment, he only shookhis head. “Your pater is a veryreclusive sprite, and nobody knowsmuch about him. I didn’t realize hehad a daughter until I met a capablenew bounty hunter working in

goblin territory.”

She tried to take a few steps, but hermovements were slowed by painand nausea, making her woozy. Shemight just throw up on his boots.That would serve him right.

“Well, he does. So if you’refinished bombarding me withquestions, I’d like to go home andsee him now.” She started lookingfor her own boots, hoping hewouldn’t push the matter anyfurther.

“Say my name and I might agree tolet you go.”

She glanced up at him sharply. Hiseyes were dark, almost black.Dangerous. God, why did that makeher heart beat faster? “Now, whywould I do something as stupid asthat again? You might have fooledme once, but—”

“No games this time.”

He sounded so sincere. She wantedto believe him.

That was part of the problem.

She took a deep breath and wasflooded with him. The scent ofwood smoke and spice, the way hisbody vibrated with strength andenergy. His vitality overwhelmedher.

No games, he said. What a joke.Between the two of them, it wasnothing but games. Even if he hadn’tbeen a conniving jerk, there couldnever be anything else betweenthem. There were so many reasons

why it was impossible, why shewouldn’t let herself fall for him.

“What do you get out of it?” shegrumbled.

“I like hearing my name from yourirreverent lips.”

Pressing her eyes shut, she shookher head. “We don’t always getwhat we want.”

“And what is it that you want?”

A vision formed in her head. Abright kitchen. Long rays ofsunshine coming through theflawless window, bouncing off thepolished chrome handle of arefrigerator door. A woman openedit and pulled out a carton of juice. Itwas one of Greta’s only memoriesof home where all of the detailsremained absolutely clear as crystalin her head.

Except for the fact that she could nolonger see her mother’s face.

Something in his expression alteredas he continued to stare at her withthat unwavering intensity. He wasjust waiting for her to slip up andreveal too much, wasn’t he?

“Nothing. I don’t want anything atall. Especially not from you.” Sheabruptly made a beeline for herclothes, gritting her teeth against thephysical discomfort.

“I don’t believe you,” he pushed,coming up behind her before shecould reach for her shirt.

“Everybody wants something andyou’re no exception. I can see it inyour eyes.”

She didn’t know if that was true ornot, but if she didn’t turn around, hecouldn’t confirm anything, couldhe? “Yeah? And you’re going togive me what I want, is that it?”

“It’s what I do now.” She felt himstanding behind her, the hitch in hisbreathing as he hesitated. Finally,his hands fell on her bare shoulders.

She tensed, little electrical tinglestripping down her arms to herfingertips, which curled tighter intothe sheet she held wrapped aroundher.

With a hint of pressure, he urged herto turn back around. “But you haveto ask me.”

“When hell freezes over.” Thefamiliar ache of loss stung. It was adamn lie anyway. He couldn’t giveher what she truly wanted, nobodycould. And she hated that he brought

to the surface all the emotions shehad worked so hard to keep hidden.

Need to get out. She tried to shrugout of his grasp and snarled whenhe didn’t budge. “Right now, what Iwant most involves a certain goblinking’s dismemberment and eternalsuffering. Shall I demand that youhonor my wish?”

He didn’t respond to her angrysarcasm except to lift an imperiousbrow.

“And if I did ask for something, theonly cost would be my soul, is thatit?”

“It wouldn’t have to be like that, notin the way you think. We would bebound together.” He paused, hisgaze straying to his hands still onher shoulders. “Would it be sohorrible to belong to me, Greta? Togive yourself into my keeping andtrust me to take control of yourhappiness?”

“What the hell does that even mean?

Do you get to dance through all oftheir heads as well? Doesn’t thatmake for a busy night?”

He frowned. “The ability topenetrate dreams has always been acurse, but the obligation to grant mypeople’s wishes came with themantle of king.”

“I’m not one of your people,” shesaid. Is that how he saw her? Sheshould have known better to believeshe might be special to him. “Howmany others are ‘bound’ to your

keeping?”

“Those who wish to barter with mefor their deepest desires do so oftheir own free will, with fullknowledge of the paymentrequired.” The dark slash of hisbrows came together in a stormyfrown and he stepped back,dropping his hands to his sides.“Sometimes I wish I could turn themaway, but just as the sprites arebound to the earth, air, fire, orwater, the goblin king is bound to

his people.”

Her chest constricted, as if thebandages around her were beingwound tighter. She tamped down onthe feelings with a ruthless frown.She refused to feel sorry for him—that was exactly what he wanted.“This bartering of yours…what doyou do, wave your magic goblinwand and presto—wishes granted?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

She rolled her eyes.

“I’m linked to every person undermy care, it doesn’t matter where Ireside, they can reach me. I cannotignore an honest and direct call forhelp. And yes, once I grant a wishmade from the soul, that soulbelongs to me because I haveassumed responsibility for his orher future happiness.”

What he was talking about remindedher of an old Chinese proverb: Savea life and it’s yours forever. Takenliterally, that could get complicated.

It sounded like a nightmare…maybefor him as much as for the ones whopaid his price.

It also sounded like a load of crap.The goblin boy she’d met atMaidra’s hadn’t said anything aboutresponsibility, or being a caretakerof his people’s souls. That boywouldn’t have accepted thekingship if it had been handed overto him on a silver platter.

And yet here they were, provingshe’d been a gullible idiot when it

came to him.

“So all those plans you told me,about the things you want to do, andthe places you want to see—thatwas just a game to make me likeyou and say your name?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Atfirst it may have been a challenge,”he finally admitted. “But I didn’t lieto you.”

“Then what changed? Why am Italking to a king now, when a

fortnight ago I was just talking to acool goblin boy?”

He clammed up and looked away.

“Fine, it doesn’t matter. I wouldn’tbelieve you anyway.” Besides, hewasn’t the only one who hadn’tbeen completely forthcoming whenit came to their identities that night.She swung around and tenderlypulled her shirt on while he wasn’twatching before letting the sheetdrop. “But I’m never going to makea wish, Isaac.”

A big, satisfied grin transformed hisface as she turned back to face him.Oh, hell. She’d gone and said hisname again.

“Does this mean I can leave?” Shetented her hands on her hips, daringhim to say no.

“Where do you plan to go?”

“Back home.”

He raised a brow. “And where ishome, really?”

“Didn’t we just go over this?” Shestill couldn’t decide what his gamewas. If he knew she was human, hewouldn’t be talking about letting hergo, right?

He sighed. “All right, I’ll take you.”

Everything still hurt, but a couplehours walking in discomfort was abetter alternative than spending anymore time alone with him. “That’snot necessary. I’m used to walking.”

“Yes, it is necessary. You’re in no

condition to make it to DolemLucius’s home from here, on yourown.”

“And where is here?” she askedagain.

“My home, on the outer easterncircle of goblin lands.”

She groaned. That put her almost afull day’s travel if she went on foot.“Then I’d appreciate a ride if youcan spare one of your royal minionsto take me in your carriage.”

“I don’t have anyone here who cantake you. I will take you myself.”

“What do you mean? Where arethey?”

“Where are who?”

“Your servants?”

He shook his head. “I don’t keepservants with me.”

“What?” If that was the truth, thenhe’d definitely been the one to

undress her. How could she everlook him in the eye again withoutthinking that he was picturing hernaked? “Why not?”

He only shrugged.

“As quiet and cozy as this placeseems”—she threw a glance at thestone cold hearth—“I can’t picturethe king of the goblins without aslew of slobbering servants andpack followers hanging around allthe time.”

“I like my privacy.”

“Privacy I can understand, but thisis more like self-inflictedbanishment. Doesn’t that make it alittle difficult to do your kinglyduty?”

“I didn’t ask to be the damn king. Ididn’t ask for any of—” Hestopped. A veil dropped over hisface.

“You went to a lot of trouble to getsomething you didn’t want.” She

shook her head. “It’s too late now,your highness. You can’t make mebelieve you’re anything but anarrogant, power-hungry liar.”

His lips pressed together in a line,but he didn’t try to plead his caseanymore. It was just as well. Gretadid not want to know what madeIsaac tick. She didn’t care why hewould bother lying about hisreasons for taking the goblin throne,why he would rather invade herdreams than have real people

around him, or why he would suffera cold, empty house when he couldhave his choice of femalecompanionship.

Caring was a luxury she couldn’tafford in Mylena.

“Now get out of here so I can getdressed. I still have a bounty toclaim.”

Chapter Four

Greta tried rolling her stiffshoulders, but the wheels of thecarriage hit another rut. She bit off alow groan as she was thrownagainst the side yet again.

“Are you aiming for every ditchand hollow in the road?”

“Just be glad you aren’t walking.”

“I said I was fine walking,” shemuttered, but her head pounded andher body ached, and he was rightwhen he’d said she would never

have made it on foot. A gust of windcould have pushed her over.

She glanced at him. While woodsprites like Lucius were expected tobe reclusive tree huggers who livedin the forest because of their strongconnection to the Great Mother,most gnomes and goblins lived ontop of each other in the city, or onfarms with large families. It wasstrange that Isaac chose to live outin the middle of nowhere, unless…what if he truly hadn’t wanted to be

the goblin king and wasn’t diggingthe responsibilities that came withit?

No. If the rumors were true, he’dgone way too far to get his hands onthe throne not to have wanted it inthe first place.

As they rounded the turn that wouldput her in view of the tiny cottage,Greta strained to see if Luke waswaiting for her out on the frontporch. It was kind of a tradition.Whenever she’d been out on a job,

she would round the last corner andthere he’d be, waiting to welcomeher back safe and sound.

As a young bounty hunterdetermined to prove herself to hermentor, it had bugged the crap outof her. But at some point that hadchanged, and it was now anexpected and necessary part ofcoming home.

Home.

The word brought on a whole host

of conflicting feelings. As much asGreta constantly told herself thathome and family were elsewhere,the memories of that place werefuzzy and vague, like a half-remembered dream. She still wentthrough the motions of searching fora portal, but her hope was fading.

When Luke said she was ready tohunt solo, she’d been relievedbecause it meant she could give himsomething in return for her roomand board. She could never make

enough to repay him for everythinghe’d done for her, but it felt goodbeing able to contribute. Almost asif she had a purpose.

At the same time, she doubted thiswas the life her mother and fatherhad planned for her when she wasjust a little girl playing with herdollies. Putting aside the wholeliving in another dimension thing,they wouldn’t have wanted to knowthe person she’d become—a quick,ruthless killer. It would have

destroyed them.

What is with you today? She shookoff the dreary, pointless mood, andsquinted against the sunshinereflecting off the high snow banks.

Isaac had been tight-lipped duringthe long carriage ride. They seemedto have agreed to a moratorium onuncomfortable, probing questions,but he was still watching her muchtoo closely. The sooner she couldget away from him, the better.

She still didn’t see Luke. Beyondthe jingling and clomping sounds ofthe moving carriage, the thickwoods surrounding the smallcottage were too quiet.

At the narrow drive, Isaac pulledback on the reins and slowed down,but she was already jumping intothe snow. The horse looked over itsshoulder, eyeing her as if she mightbe a tasty treat. Mylean horsesactually bore very littleresemblance to the horses she

remembered from back home,except that they had four clovenhoofs and a long snout.

She danced out of reach before itcould take a chomp out of her.“Thank you for the ride.”

“Would you like me to wait?”

Was it so obvious that she wasworried? “I’m home now. You cango.” Please go.

She walked away without saying

goodbye, not bothering to have the“stay out of my dreams” discussionwith him again, because it wouldtake too long. Despite her racingheart and the almost painful feelingforeboding, she was still surprisedwhen she reached the familiar—butempty—front porch.

She tried telling herself she wasbeing ridiculous. He was probablyjust busy inside. Cooking. Maybesleeping. Or in the back shed.“Luke!”

Greta tromped up the plank boardsteps just as the suns were startingto dip down to the horizon, butrushed forward when she saw thedoor was hanging open an inch. Thegloom within the cottage wasoppressive, impenetrable by anylight that might have tried to followher inside. A dank smell that shedidn’t want to identify had alreadymade itself at home.

Her stomach dropped and coldsettled over her heart. “Lucius?”

Trying not to panic as she took inthe broken crockery and torn linensstrewn over the floor, the upendedfurniture and the cold, gray hearth,Greta looked for signs thatsomething other than wantondestruction of property had takenplace.

Signs of blood.

The place looked like an ogre witha bee up its nose had been trappedin here. But maybe Luke hadn’tbeen. Maybe he was out on a job

and didn’t even know the place hadbeen ransacked.

The optimistic thought didn’t havetime to root. She felt and heard thesorrow of the forest. As a woodsprite, Luke had a connection to theland that ran deep. Being human,Greta couldn’t understand itcompletely, but she had learned tolisten and respect it, and right nowevery leaf on every tree—the veryground itself—was weeping.

She forced her feet forward, making

her way through the destruction ofLuke’s normally pristine home,tasting the bitterness of fear. “Luke,please.” She tried swallowing thelump that was lodged in her gulletlike a ticking grenade. Be alive. Bealive. Be alive.

Lifting her gaze from the splinters ofwood that used to be a chair, awave of panic threatened to drownher. “Damn it, Luke. Where areyou?”

“Here.” Barely audible, the pained

whisper was the most welcomesound ever uttered. She spunaround, her breath coming out in ajerky rush of relief, and dashed intothe bedroom.

At first she didn’t see him.

But then she saw the blood.

“Oh my God.” It was everywhere.Soaking the single white sheetcrumpled on the bed. Covering thewalls in long slashes. Pooling indark burgundy splotches on the

floor. “Oh no.”

Frantic, she searched the room.Now she hoped she’d been wrongin what she’d heard. She didn’twant to find Luke here. He neededto be anywhere but here.

Her gaze landed on a bare footpeeking out from the other side ofthe bed and she hurried over,sliding to the floor as she reachedhis side. Her knees skidded inblood, but she barely noticed it.

“Luke?” She reached for him,running her hands over his chest anddown his arms, searching for thesource of the blood. She didn’tknow where to start. God, there wasso much of it, from so many cuts andslashes and punctures.

“Who did this to you? Luke, pleasetalk to me.” His eyes remainedclosed. “Come on! Wake up andlook at me.”

Her voice shook as badly as herhands. His body shuddered through

some kind of spasm and she moanedwith him, moisture blurring hervision.

One particularly gaping wound inhis chest was seeping steadily. Sheplanted her palm over it in a lameattempt to stem the flow, eliciting ahoarse cough from her mentor. “Wehave to get this bleeding stopped.”

“Greta,” he whispered. His eyesfluttered and he struggled, like hewanted to say something to her, butwhen he opened his mouth and

hacked weakly, blood bubbled frombetween his lips.

She blinked back tears, refusing todishonor him with weakness. “Shh.It’s okay. Don’t talk. Just…just letme fix this.” Her gaze darted overhim as she tried to decide what todo first.

“No, I have to… You have toknow…”

Greta shook her head, but he onlytried harder to get the words out and

the blood splattered from his mouthonto her arms and hands. “Damnyou, shut up,” she said. “Luke,please. You can’t—”

“Gretel.” She stilled at the sterntone she knew so well. “Stop…andlisten.”

Impatient and scared to death, shetook a deep breath, aware of theblood streaming between the seamsof her fingers as she continued topress against his chest wound.

His expression was one of sadnessand defeat before he seized thefabric of her sleeve. “You have toleave…find a way to go back. Heknows. The key… Greta, heknows.”

She had no idea what he was talkingabout. “I will. No problem. I’ll dowhatever you want once you’rebetter. Just let me get you some helpfirst.”

“Hurry. They’ll be coming for you.”He struggled to continue. “Can’t let

Agramon…”

“Never mind that now,” she said,becoming more desperate as hiscolor turned from chalky white toall out ghostly. “Luke—”

At the sound of a booted foot at thedoor, Greta swung around with asnarl, hand going to her sword. Shereleased a harsh sob when she sawwho it was.

“Oh, thank God.” She didn’t evenbother trying to hide her relief.

“Help us. Lucius…he…I needhelp,” she said. “Please… Isaac,he’s hurt. And I…I don’t know whatto do.”

He took in the scene and was at herside in less than a heartbeat.Thankfully, he was thinking moreclearly than she was, reaching forthe cotton sheet from the bed anddragging it down to press it toLuke’s chest. He held it in placewhile he carefully assessed the restof the damage.

“His wounds are extensive. He’slost a lot of blood.”

The finality in his voice wasunmistakable. Everything in herrailed against it. “I know, but it’sgoing to be okay,” she insisted,even as darkness clawed its wayinto her heart. “He’ll be fine. Wejust…we need to get him outsideand into the ground. He’ll healbetter there.”

Isaac looked into her eyes. Justwhen she thought he was going to

tell her it was too late, he nodded.“All right. Keep pressing this overhis wound while I lift him.”

She did as he asked, silent whileIsaac gathered Luke into his arms.

As quickly as they could, theycarried him out of the cottage anddown the three wooden steps.“Over there,” she said, gesturingwith a tilt of her head to a tallthicket of very old trees a fewhundred feet from the house.

When they reached the copse, Isaacturned sideways to step betweentwo tall tree trunks acting as twinguards at the entrance of the sacredcircle. Within it, no snow hadgathered and the grass was lush andgreen.

Greta couldn’t go any further. Shewas forced to let go of Luke andstand waiting beyond the circle’sboundary while Isaac carried himthrough. He turned around, but shewaved him on. “Hurry,” she said,

motioning him on. “Get him inthere.”

As much as Luke had taken her inand treated her as his own, Gretawas no wood sprite and controlledno magick, so she couldn’t enter asprite’s sacred circle. She hadn’teven been certain Isaac would beable to, but thank the Great Mother,he crossed the boundary without anytrouble. “You have to lay him downin the middle of the circle.”

“I know,” he answered, his voice

calm. Even. Greta took somecomfort from his competence andthe gentle way he released Luke tothe earth.

Without waiting for her instructions,Isaac reached over and quicklystarted digging a shallow trench inthe grass all around the body withcupped fingers. When it was done,he tilted his head to the sky. Herlips moved with him as he said thesacred words, praying for theground to open and enfold the wood

sprite in its healing, mineral-richearth.

Nothing happened.

“Why isn’t it working?” Her fingersdug into the rough bark of the treesthat acted as the circle’s silentguardians. She met Isaac’s gaze,unable to hide her desperation andfear. “Do something,” she begged.“Isaac, please. You’ve got to dosomething else.”

He only shook his head, his eyes

solemn and dark. “I’m sorry.There’s nothing more to be done.The Great Mother—”

Suddenly, Greta felt a pop. Arelease. She pitched forward, onefoot landing inside the circle. Theinvisible shield was gone. Themagick had winked out of existence.

“No! Oh God, no.”

She dove through the stand of treesand pushed past Isaac, falling to herknees in the grass. “No, no, no.

Luke, don’t you dare!” Shebracketed her hands on either sideof his face and pulled him into herarms, rocking him sharply. “Wakeup.”

The tears started coming. Shecouldn’t hold them in. “Wake up.You’ve got to wake up!”

He was so still.

“No, you can’t do this,” she sobbed.“Don’t go. Don’t you go and leaveme here.” Taking the sprite’s

already cool hand between hers, sheclutched it close to her chest,dropping her forehead to his. “I’mso sorry.”

At first, she didn’t notice thatIsaac’s arms had come around herand he was patting her shoulder, hisbig hand landing in heavy thumpsthat jolted her out of her sorrow.She fell silent, pushing against hisloose hold until he let her go.

He took her hands, tugging themaway from the blood-stiffened

fabric of Luke’s shirt. She curled inon herself, but he stayed with her,saying something in a low voice.She didn’t know what. It didn’teven matter. It was his voice sheneeded. That hypnotic, soothingvoice that seemed to numb some ofthe pain.

After a long time, he pulled her upand started to lead her out of thecircle. The weight of her sorrowpushed on her chest, making it sohard to breathe. “No, I can’t go. I

can’t leave him there all byhimself.”

“I think your pater would want torest here in the woods. He is onewith the Great Mother now, andwill never be alone.” He pausedand squeezed her hand. “I can takecare of him for you, but maybe youshould wait in the carriage.”

She shook her head and worked topull the world back into focus,determined to get control of herself.“No, I can handle it. Staying with

him until the end—it’s the least Ican do.”

He looked at her for a momentbefore nodding. “All right. I’ll go tothe house and get a spade. Don’t goanywhere.”

Where am I going to go?

When Isaac left, Greta made herway back to Luke’s side. Seeing thedark stains marring his face, shegrabbed a clean edge of the sheetand wiped off the blood as best she

could, but it was mostly dry now,caked on like a dark birthmark.

Isaac returned and insisted on doingthe digging. He stopped only onceto peel off his heavy cloak and rollup the sleeves of his white lawnshirt, despite the cold winter air.When the hole was deep enough, helifted Luke’s body and laid it in thefresh grave.

She pushed to her shaking feet andwalked across the grass—alreadyturning brown and crispy now that

the magick that had kept it alivethrough the perpetual Mylean winterwas gone. When the last shovelfulof dirt locked her mentor into hisgrave, she stumbled back to theedge of the circle and darted intothe trees.

She made it maybe a hundred yardsbefore falling to her knees andglaring up into the night, drawinggreat gulping breaths into her lungs.The skyline was a black shadowunmarked by endless power lines or

the jagged blight of a thousandskyscrapers. Flora that would justas easily kill as nourish. Mountainswhich refused to bend to any forcebut that which came from the GreatMother herself. Everything aboutthis place was hard. Merciless.

She swiped her sleeve across hereyes and took a deep breath. Lukehad been trying to tell her somethingbefore he died.

Agramon.

Chapter Five

Agramon.

What did that mean? Person, place,or thing? Had Luke been trying toname his killer or pass along somelast bit of fatherly wisdom that shedidn’t get because she hadn’t beenin her right mind while he waslosing his lifeblood all over her?

Isaac came up behind her. “Are you

all right?”

Greta shook her head, knowing ifshe spoke, she’d lose control again,and forced herself to go back insidethe cottage. Treat this like anyother job. You’re hunting amonster. It’s exactly what Luketrained you for.

“There’s nothing here for you.”

“I can’t leave yet. There must besomething here that will tell mewho did this to him.”

He stood behind her, smelling warmand alive, of fresh earth and sweat.“Anyone could have gotten in here,”he said, touching her shoulder. “Oneof the Lost. Or drifters perhaps.”

“I don’t think so.” The blood on thefloor was drying to round blackblots that would leave a telling stainin the natural wood grain.

No creature of the Lost could havedone this. It all felt much toomethodical. “I think Lucius knewwho it was. He was trying to tell me

when I found him. He saidAgramon.” She turned around tolook up at Isaac with a frown. “Doyou know what that means?”

Isaac’s eyes widened. Before shecould ask what he knew, he took herhand and started pulling hertowards the door, his brows drawntogether. “Hurry, come with me.”

“What is it?”

“It isn’t safe here. If he findsyou…”

So Agramon was a person. Shejerked out of his grasp. “What doyou know about him?”

“I know that he will come for you.”

She stiffened. “Me? Why me? Didthis guy kill Lucius because of me?How do you know this?”

He rubbed his neck and glared ather as if trying to decide whetherhe’d be able to throw her over hisshoulder. “He sent his gnomes to doit for him. And more will be on

their way.”

“Gnomes?” She curled her fingersinto her palms to keep fromreaching out and shaking him, herinsides crawling with too manyemotions. “How do you know this?”

His lips pressed together in apained expression, but he refused tosay anything else.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I’llsave him the trouble of puttingtogether a posse by finding him

first.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” A sharpglower twisted his face. “You haveno notion of what you’re dealingwith.”

She shrugged and turned away,hiding her fear and despair. “I’llfigure it out, won’t I?”

“So stubborn,” he said behind her.“Is that a human trait?”

“What?” She gasped and swung

back around.

“Are you going to deny it?” Hisflinty stare dared her to try.

“Listen.” She’d figured out that heknew the truth after theirconversation in his house, but theway he spat “human” like the veryword left a rancid taste on histongue hurt. “I’m just going to leave.I think it’s best if—”

Isaac stepped between her and thedoor. She could see the

condemnation in his stiff stance, thewariness in his hard gaze. Heseemed to be waiting for her to dosomething revolting and therebyprove that humans were as horribleas he’d been told.

“Why should I let you go?” heasked. “You are the very reason myworld was cursed, and you’re theonly way for us to be free of it.”

Her mouth dropped open. “Whoa. Iknow you people have thought upsome paranoid crap about humans,

but let’s not get carried away. Youdon’t actually believe all thosecrazy stories?”

“Humans brought a monster toMylena that remains to this day. Ithas leeched into the very ground welive off, the lakes we drink from,the air we breathe, and infected usall. Only by exterminating humansfrom our land will we be able tofind prosperity once more.”

Greta didn’t like the sanctimonioustone of his voice. “That’s bull—”

“Quiet,” he snapped, his inscrutableexpression causing her muscles totighten in readiness. “Who areyou?”

She bit her lip. “No one. I’m not athreat to you or anyone else. I’m justa girl, not some harbinger of greatevil. Really. Please Isaac, just let itgo. Let me go.”

His eyes narrowed at the sound ofhis name coming as a plea from herlips. “You’re not going anywhereuntil we have a talk.”

She crossed her arms and glared athim. “I don’t have time for this.”

He laughed at her. Laughed. Thejerk. “At least now I understandwhere your impertinence comesfrom. Humans are notoriouslyirritating and troublesome, are younot?”

And how would he know whathumans were like? “You’re no walkin the park yourself,” she snapped.“Arrogant, manipulative smartass.”

He ignored her jab. “Gatherwhatever you think you might needand meet me at the carriage. Youhave two minutes. No longer.”

Isaac might not be the biggest,strongest, most menacing thingwalking—yet—but the potentialwas there. He was better suited tohis new position than he let on. Healready spoke with the unshakableconfidence of a male used to gettinghis way, used to the privilege of hisposition. Another couple years and

he’d be completely intolerable.

Her jaw ached from clenching herteeth so tightly together, but shedidn’t say anything. In this world,his will would always be upheldover her own. If he decided toassert his authority, there would beno one to stand up for her.

She found a lantern that hadsurvived the carnage. Needing somematches, she headed for thecupboard across the room. The twindoors of the supply cabinet stood

open, one of them hanging drunkenlyby only one hinge. The few contentswithin had been wiped from theshelving and strewn over the floor,but she was able to find a box ofmatchsticks to light the lantern.

With a soft glow illuminating asmall circle of space around her,she pulled out the two emptyshelves from the cupboard andturned a hidden latch. The backwall of the unit swung out on ahidden joint, revealing a secret

compartment.

She surveyed the selection ofweapons still resting neatly in theirplaces upon the high shelf. Knivesand daggers. A sword and an axe. Aquiver of arrows and a short bow togo along with it, along with a fewother fun things. She got what shewanted, and then headed back intoLuke’s room.

He’d taken Greta in and protectedher when anyone else on this damnplanet would have gutted her like a

pig and set her rotting head up on aspike. She never figured out why,although at times she thought he’ddecided to kill her with exhaustion.He’d tortured her with huntinglessons, weapons drills, andsurvival training every day until shecouldn’t move, but at least it hadkept her from giving in to despairwhen she realized going home wasnot an option.

No matter how harsh he’dsometimes been, Luke became her

friend. He was also a father and ateacher to her. Now he was dead.Now she was alone. She needed toremember this moment. Not the fearor the loneliness—although thosefeelings were strong enough to tearher apart inside—but the anger.That was something she could use,it would give her strength.

“You are taking too long,” Isaaccalled from outside.

She gnashed her teeth and left theroom, veering into her own small

sleeping area. It was just an alcoveLuke had set aside for her, with aheavy curtain to give her someprivacy.

She grabbed her tiny gold locketand a walnut from the rickety tablebeside her cot. While she was there,she figured she could use her comband a change of clothes, so shestuffed them in a bag and walkedout without looking back.

On the front porch, she paused. Afairy tale-like crystal coating of

snow shimmered over everything,glinting pink in the soft light ofMylena’s low-hanging moons. Itwas difficult to make out Isaac’sexpression in the darkness. Shedidn’t know what was going oninside his head, but she also didn’tcare as long as he let her leave.

She went around him and down theporch steps, away from the postwhere he’d tied his carriage. Beforeshe took two steps further, he wasstanding in her path.

Tired, she sighed. “I’m not goingwith you.”

“And where will you go?” heasked, glaring down at her.

Hell if she knew. It was all catchingup with her again. The despair andloneliness. She really didn’t haveanywhere to go. Anyone she couldtrust. Soon, she would break fromthe strain. She could feel it ridingup on her, and couldn’t let it happenhere in front of him. “What businessis it of yours?”

“As you well know, everything thatruns, walks, or crawls in this countyis my business.”

Yes, the cool boy from her dreamswas definitely gone, and the goblinking had returned. “Is under yourthumb, don’t you mean?”

“If that’s the way I want it,” heground out in a stubborn growl.“Especially when I have to dealwith a reckless, bullheaded humanwith an irrational death wish, stupidenough to take off after forces she

should never attempt to face alone.”

“Reckless and stupid? No wonderyou live alone—the pretty flatterynever stops,” she said. “And there’snothing reckless about my runningdown this Agramon monster. I wastrained by the best hunter in thisentire frozen wasteland.”

“This is different,” he insisted.“This is no common ghoul whichhas succumbed to the moons.You’re human. You don’t have theslightest chance against one such as

Agramon.”

“And what do you know about it?”She waited, but he still refused toanswer. She snorted and tried to getaround him again.

“Scoff all you want, but you needmy protection.”

“You’re going to protect me?” Shelaughed. “Shouldn’t you be leadingthe lynch mob out to get me?”Greta’s stomach lurched at thethought. “It’ll be a cold day in hell

before I look to you for protection.”

“While I don’t doubt you can takecare of yourself against an ogre ortwo, what are you going to doagainst an entire army?”

“Start a conga line?”

He sneered. “Always you make ill-bred jokes.”

“That’s me. The lowbrow human.How can you even stand to speak tome? Oh wait, because you don’t

speak to me. You manipulate me.You order me around. You lie to me—”

“Enough! Tell me where the otherrenegade humans are hiding and Imight be persuaded to keep yoursecret. I could help you.”

Renegades?

“There aren’t any renegades. Noother humans at all,” she answeredtruthfully. “As far as I know, I’m theonly one.”

He regarded her for long moment.“You aren’t the only one.”

“You’ve seen others?” She’d heardtales, but they were old stories andalways began with the nasty humansbeing birthed from a cloud of blackmagick and set upon Mylena like aplague of locusts, ending with herkind being murdered for the good ofeveryone, usually by fire orbeheading. She stepped forward.“When did you see them? Where?”

Isaac stood his ground. A frown

furrowed his heavy brow. “Morethan a fortnight past, a couple ofhumans were found poaching inLeander’s county.”

Leander was a powerful gnome kingwhose county included Rhazua, thelargest Mylean city, and the landsbordering Isaac’s territory to thesouth. She didn’t take jobs in thatcounty often, but if something hadgone down, she should have heardabout it.

“Even if they were human—which

is doubtful—they were probablyjust trying to find food and shelter.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, and itdidn’t matter. We hunted themdown.”

“If this happened on Leander’slands, why did you have to dealwith them?”

“The humans disappeared into theGoblin Forest. The gnome kingasked for my help, so I took acontingent of hunters out searching

for them. We found the first malehiding deep inside the brimstonecaves. He seemed no older than thegoblin boy we rescued from theghoul, but he was a mad creature.His fingers were scraped raw andbloodied, as if he’d been trying todig through the rock with his barehands.”

Had the boy guessed—like she did—that fire was the key to theelusive portals connecting thedimensions, and tried to get to the

molten lava that flowed beneath thesurface of the caves?

Greta closed her eyes. Four yearsago when she’d awakened on a dirtfloor in the dark, it had been in thebrimstone caves located deep in themountains bordering faerie lands.Since then she’d been all over thosecaves, but found no way home.

Shivering, she thought how easilythat poor boy could have been her.If not for Luke, she would havebeen all alone, maybe driven to

insanity by the shock of thisalternate world.

“Despite his crimes, we wanted tocapture the boy without furtherinjury. We were going to use him tolure the second human out ofhiding.”

The unemotional premeditation ofhis admission sent a chill up herspine, until she thought of all theLost she had systematically hunteddown and executed. Was she justthe same? As coldly calculating and

without mercy? “What happened?”

“He tried to run and slipped on therocks. He fell over the edge of acliff. The second boy arrived just asthe other fell, and attacked us aswell.”

“You killed him.”

He flinched. “He forced me to cuthim down.”

“And how exactly did he forceyou?” She sneered. “Was he armed

to the teeth, threatening your life asyou threatened his, or just anuisance you swatted away like afly?”

Isaac sputtered, indignant. “Iwouldn’t have killed him. Iwounded him, yes, and I wouldhave taken him to Leander forsentencing, but he managed toescape.”

“So he’s probably dead now, too,and I am the only one.” Tearsburned behind her eyes, but she

shook them away.

“In our search for the two criminals,we found evidence of more humanshiding in the forest.”

She’d never come across even ahint of other humans in Mylena. Infact, she still wasn’t certain shebelieved Isaac’s story. She made abeeline for the tree line at theopposite end of the path, but onceagain, he stopped her.

“Use some sense, if you have any.”

He sighed as she tried to shove pasthim. “First of all, it’s dark andcold.”

“I’ve been colder,” she saidstubbornly.

“As the king, I have every right tohold you until you give me what Iwant. But I find I’m less interestedin forcing you than I am in makingyou see that you can trust me.”

She pulled up short. Trust? Betweenthe two of them? She trusted Isaac

about as much as she trusted ahungry black wolf when both of themoons were full. And she knew hedidn’t trust her either. Whatever hisgame, she wasn’t interested inplaying.

“If you aren’t keeping me againstmy will, then I’m leaving. I’ve beenpatient because you helped me withLucius. But if you have any ideawhere this demon is, you’d bettertell me.”

“As you say, Greta…forget it.”

The wave of frustration and angerconsumed her, and before she’deven thought about it, she kickedhim in the shin. He jerked back andglared at her. “Why you vicious,ungrateful…” She suddenly noticedhow long and sharp his claws hadgotten.

The points of Isaac’s incisors hadlengthened as well, protruding fromhis mouth in a snarl, and his eyesglowed darkly. He took a haltingstep away from her.

He’s going to turn.

No, wait. His whole body was stiff,as if he was holding onto control bythe skin of his teeth, but he was incontrol. As she watched, the clawsretracted and his eyes lost that feralglaze.

“What the hell was that?” sheasked.

He let out a guttural growl andshook his head. Had she reallypushed him that far? She’d been

much more aggravating than this andno one had ever never lost it before.

“The eclipse is close.” He was stilltaking deep breaths, the shirtbeneath his open cloak stretchedtight across his heaving chest. Veinsstood out in his neck, and his squarejaw was clenched tightly.

“Just how close are we talking?”Luke had warned her only a fewmoons ago that it would be soon,but she’d avoided thinking about theevent for as long as possible

because it would mean being shutaway for the duration. Now sheregretted putting those blinders on.An imminent eclipse certainlyexplained the added hike in herencounters with the Lost.

“Seven days.” He wiped a handover his brow.

“You’re certain?”

His expression didn’t change.

“Okay, okay. So you’re certain.”

She shrugged. Seven days? A heavyball of dread settled over her chestas she remembered the horror of thedamp, dark pit Luke had locked herin during the last two eclipses.

She had gone willingly the firsttime, but the pitch black didsomething to her. Last time sheargued that it wasn’t necessary, thatshe could take care of herself.She’d even been ready to fight himon it, but he hadn’t given her thechance. One morning she’d simply

woken up with the dirt floor underher, trapped in the darkness.

No way was she doing that again. Ascary thought suddenly occurred toher. “You’re old enough now, aren’tyou? You’re going to turn when theeclipse hits.”

He swallowed hard. “I don’tknow.”

He’s lying. She crossed her armsover her midsection. “Fine, don’ttell me.”

He groaned. “I think I will turn, yes.I could feel it last time, crawlingbeneath my skin, but I was still tooyoung. I think this is the year.”

The bleak look in his face sent astab of sympathy through her. Shehated the idea of Isaac caught up inthe madness of an eclipse. Shecould imagine just how much hewould hate the loss of control.

Don’t waste your time worryingabout Isaac. Worry about yourown damn self.

That got her moving. She hiked herpack high on her good shoulder.“Good luck with that.”

He stopped her again. This time, helooked nothing like a manipulativeand dangerous goblin on the edge oftransformation. Just a boy who wasalready tired of all the crap that hadbeen shoved onto his shoulders.“What if I…ask you not to go?”

Her feet froze to the spot. “Is thatwhat you’re doing?”

“Well…if I was? Would you stay?”

Greta swiped her palms over herhips and ducked her head. “I can’t.There are things I have to do.”

The vulnerability in his expressionvanished, replaced by the arrogantgoblin king she’d grown to hate.Lips pressed together, he turned andstarted to walk away from her.

It must be a trick. He wouldn’t justlet a known human roam free.“What are you going to do? Are you

going to tell—?”

“Your secret is safe.” He lookedback over his shoulder. There wasjust enough moonlight shining on hisface for her to see the frowncrinkling his forehead. “For now.”

“For now? What is that supposed tomean?”

“I don’t know.” He ran a handthrough his hair absently. “Go ifthat’s what you want, but you knowyou can’t hide from me if I decide

to find you.”

Chapter Six

According to every piece of Myleanlore passed down through thegenerations or put to parchment, shewas the very thing Isaac shouldhate, and yet he’d let her go free.

Which worried her.

He’d said he could always find her,

though, and maybe that was trueunless she found a way to lock thedoor on her dreams again—at thetop of her list of annoying problemsto deal with—but it still didn’tmake sense. It was like she’dbecome a pawn in some game, butdidn’t know who had the next move—or what the board even lookedlike.

She’d spent two days askingeveryone she came across aboutAgramon while trying to remain

inconspicuous. As far as she couldtell, the demon was a myth, or atbest, a phantom. Still, she keptsearching. There was nowhere forher to go now anyway. WithoutLuke, she didn’t have a home. Shedidn’t have anything.

Blinking back tears that would onlyfreeze on her cheeks if she let themfall, she turned off the lane andstomped toward the only publichouse to be found anywhere thisside of Rhazua.

What she wouldn’t give for a freakheat wave the likes of whichMylena had never known. She’donce asked Luke how it waspossible for a planet to orbit twosuns but have no summer, and hehad countered by asking if Earth hadbeen a paradise. She’d describedthe big golden sun and its radiantwarmth, told him of spending longsummer days at the beach where sheand her brother Drew had splashedaround in nothing but bathing suitsbecause it was hot enough to fry

eggs on the pavement.

She stuck her hand in her pocket andclosed her fingers around the walnutshe’d taken from Luke’s place. Sucha silly little thing to keep, but it wasall she had that mattered besides herlocket. More tears blurred hervision. Angry, she swiped at hereyes and took a deep breath.

As always, the front entrance ofMaidra’s Place was shut against theperpetual chill, but the inn itselfnever actually closed, except maybe

during an eclipse.

As she approached, warm goldenlight spilled from the crack beneaththe door and through the singleheavy-paned window beside it.How long before Isaac found herhere? She hadn’t caught himsnooping around in her dreams.Then again, she hadn’t slept longerthan an hour or two at a time, forjust that reason.

Was he looking for her, or had hefinally decided she wasn’t worth

the trouble?

Didn’t matter. Greta only needed anhour here, maybe less. Enough timeto ask a few questions, get a fewanswers. And then she would be onher way.

Maidra’s monopoly over thecounty’s supply of cheap spiritsmeant the small tavern attracted awide variety of visitors and theatmosphere could turn ugly in theblink of an eye. Before she walkedup the steps, Greta double-checked

her braids, pulled her hood downlow over her eyes, and patted theblade on her hip. Ready as I’ll everbe.

The door swung open before shereached it, releasing a cacophony ofmerry sounds to the early eveningair. A female goblin tripped out, abrawny male trailing eagerly in herwake. Greta didn’t recognize him,but there was no doubt he was a firesprite. Lanky and tall, his hair wasso vibrant it shone red with the light

from the tavern behind him. And hiseyes glowed. Greta dismissed him.

The goblin was another story. Nowher, she recognized.

Siona was a hunter and, like everyother goblin she’d met, includingIsaac, a pain in the ass. She’d stolena few bounties out from underGreta’s nose, but Greta had donethe same to Siona often enough thatit sort of evened out. She had noreal issue with the female goblin ona personal level—not that there was

anything personal between them.Greta didn’t do personal withanyone, Isaac apparently being theexception.

And look where that’s gotten you.

Siona was also beautiful for agoblin. Too beautiful. She lackedthe thick-boned bulk and sharpfeatures that categorized thespecies, making Greta think therewas a juicy scandal somewhere.They’d never been close enough forher to ask, but the female’s tall, slim

build reminded Greta of thereclusive faeries. She had long,shiny black hair and big amethyst-colored eyes, though. Just likeIsaac.

The pair was about to step asideand let her pass, but Siona glancedup at the last minute. “Danem Greta,is that you?” She peered closer as iftrying to see beneath the layers ofwinter gear Greta wore. “It is, isn’tit?”

Siona’s own sleek ankle-length

leather coat hung open despite theweather. The gauzy blouse and skin-tight pants beneath couldn’t haveprovided her with much protectionagainst the cold, but at least herknee high boots looked furry andwarm. She carried a long sword ather waist.

For a flickering heartbeat, Gretaenvied the young female who pulledoff sexy, graceful, and deadly in away she couldn’t begin to match.They were about the same height

and age, but Greta had never ownedclothing that would be consideredfrivolous or decorative, andcouldn’t remember what it was liketo do something just for fun.

She stepped to the side to encouragethe couple to pass her. “Goodevening, Danem Siona. Excuse me.”

“I heard about Dolem Lucius’sdeath,” Siona said, staying rightwhere she was. “I’m sorry for yourloss.”

Anger bubbled up anew. “Please letme pass,” she said carefully. “Iwould hate to interrupt yourevening.”

Siona pulled her companion closeand whispered in his ear, but hereyes remained fixed on Greta.Whatever she said didn’t seem to goover very well. The sprite gaveGreta a fiery glare before stalkingpast them down the lane.

Greta settled her hand on her waist,very close to the sword strapped to

her hip. “What is it you want,Danem Siona?”

“Out of professional courtesy, Ithought I would try to warn you,”she answered, grim lines pulling herforehead tight. “There are a lot ofinterested parties looking for youright now. In fact, I could earn anice bag of coin if I turned you inmyself.”

“Turn me in? Are you saying there’sa bounty out on me? On my head?”Greta barked out a surprised laugh.

“On whose authority? What are thetrumped-up charges?”

“The writ stipulates that you betaken alive for the murder of DolemLucius.”

Her stomach lurched. “Why would Ihave killed my own pater? And whois telling such lies?”

She shook her head. “Don’t know.Anonymous bounty.”

“Someone had to have proof in

order to push it through. A bounty isnever completely anonymous.”

She nodded. “You’re right. Thereare rumors that King Leander of thesouthern counties put up the guineasfor the writ.”

Leander again? What was up withthat guy? Greta had never been toRhazua, never had a job go bad, orclashed with the gnome king or anyof his people. At least that shecould remember. Why would thedeath of a wood sprite in another

territory matter to him one way orthe other?

Unless maybe someone had put himup to it.

“Whatever he has is crap.”

Siona cocked her hip and pulled hercoat together as a gust of icy windblew between them. “It seems tohave been enough to convince theCouncil. He’s also taken great painsto make it a cross-border writ.”

Greta snorted.

“This is no joke, Danem. Huntersfrom every county have come out ofthe woodwork, looking to bring youdown.” The goblin’s eyes gleamed,her lips twisting in a bemusedsmile. “And a lot of them aren’teven in it for the money.”

Greta waved that away. “We’ve allstolen bounties from each other. Ilost one to you last fortnight. Firstin, first out, first to get paid.”

The goblin’s smile faded as shelooked over her shoulder at theclosed tavern door. “But the secretis out that the late Dolem Lucius’sward is not quite who she says sheis,” she said in a low voice. “Forthem, it’s no longer just a matter ofbeing bested by another hunter…”

Greta stepped back. Isaac? Shedidn’t want to believe that he’dorchestrated this…but how else?His promise that her secret was safe“for now” apparently had a pretty

tight time limit. Or maybe this washow he intended to find her.

Her shoulders slumped, but sheforced herself to throw off herdisappointment. “Why are youtelling me all this? You would havehad a better chance collecting thebounty if you hadn’t just spilled thebeans and put me on guard.”

“And you think I won’t be able totake you in? Puny little human thatyou are?”

Greta forced a laugh. “Don’t forget,this puny little human is still thesame person who had to pull yoursorry ass out of that wraith’s den inEyna’s Falls.”

“You have nothing to worry about,”the goblin finally said, sliding herfingers through her long black hair.“At least not from me.”

Greta’s grip on the hilt of her swordrelaxed a bit. “Why not? Shouldn’tyou be spitting on me in disgust,hauling me away as a threat to

society?”

“You weren’t a threat to societyyesterday.” Siona’s sculpted browslifted. “Are you saying you’re athreat today?”

“No more than you are, but that’snot the point, is it? You don’t carewhat happens to me, so don’tpretend otherwise. Why wouldn’tyou cash in on that bounty and ridMylena of an undesirable at thesame time?”

She only shrugged. “I’ve got otherorders.”

Suddenly Greta knew exactly whohad given the hunter a side job. “Sothat’s the real reason you’re here?You’ve been staking the place out,waiting for me to show up becausehe asked you to? Well, run along.”She waved in the direction the firesprite had gone. “You’ve seen me,and now you can tell him I’m donewith his damn games. Ogres willwear bikinis before he comes

anywhere near me again, and I don’tappreciate him keeping tabs on me.”

Siona looked a little baffled. “Ibelieve he actually fears for you.”

“If he’s so concerned, why isn’t hehere himself?”

“His people need him.” Was there anote of censure in her tone? “Therewas some trouble with a pack ofgnomes. Hordes of them haveflooded into our county from theoutlands, terrorizing villages. They

seem to be looking for something.”She paused. “Or perhaps someone.”

Sadly, there was no need to guesswho that might be. She onlywondered if the gnomes wereresponding to the writ, or workingfor Agramon like Isaac had said.

“For some reason he seems to thinkyou are a bad influence on hisduty.” Siona frowned and accessedGreta’s appearance, looking lessthan impressed. “I can only imaginewhy.”

“If you think I believe for oneminute that he can’t trust himself tobe near me—”

She tilted her head and narrowedher gaze. “I agree. I don’t get iteither.”

“Gee, thanks,” she said with a hintof sarcasm before realizing shesounded offended.

“This is made even worse with theeclipse fast approaching.”

Greta barely smothered her gasp.The eclipse. Had she really almostforgotten something socatastrophic? Isaac had nearlychanged in front of her the last timethey were together. Sheremembered the look in his eyes,and the way he’d struggled to pullhimself back. He was so strong, itscared her and excited her at thesame time.

Siona seemed to study her face, hereyes lingering on Greta’s heated

cheeks. Great.

“I’ll give my cousin your message,”the goblin said, “if only because Iget so few opportunities to torturehim and I’m going to enjoy watchingthe two of you play off each other.”

Cousins? Greta would’ve neverguessed. Aside from the violet eyesand thick black hair, they didn’tlook much alike.

“A most unlikely pair you make,and I’m not sure I understand what

he sees in you.”

“Yeah, you already said that.” Gretadidn’t know whether to agree withher or kick her ass. “So get goingalready.”

“Eventually,” she said. “Although Icherish the chance to torment mycousin, my king wants me to keepan eye on you, and his will must beobeyed.”

“His will be damned,” she snapped.“Isaac is not my king and as far as

I’m concerned, he has no right tofollow me or sic his cheap flunkieson me.”

Siona’s gaze turned sharp withwarning. “Beware of using thatparticular goblin’s given name socasually, Danem.”

Why couldn’t she have mentionedthat before Greta met Isaac? At thelimit of her already strainedreserves of patience, she groaned.“Listen, I’m looking for someinformation about a demon named

Agramon. I need to know where tofind him, and so far no one’stalking.”

To her frustration, the goblin wasalready shaking her head. “For goodreason, Danem. Don’t go lookingfor more trouble than has alreadyset itself in your path. That wouldbe very dangerous.”

“Since when do you give a crapabout my ‘path,’ hunter? You and Iboth know I can take care of myself.And if I should fail…well, then I

guess you’ll just have lesscompetition for the next bounty,won’t you?”

Siona’s eyes filled with somethingthat looked a lot like sorrow. “Iunderstand your anger and pain,Danem Greta. I too have felt thekind of loss you are suffering now.”

“I doubt it.” Siona was fromMylena. She may have lost someonebefore, but she still had family.Greta forced a hard swallow pastthe thick ball lodged in her throat. “I

don’t need your understanding,Siona. What I need are answers.”

“This path can only lead to disaster,and I can’t be the one to take youthere.”

“Then, if you’ll excuse me…” Shemoved past the other female towardthe door.

“You really should not go inside.”She took Greta’s arm, her nailsbiting into Greta’s skin. “There aretwo hunters within. Ogres from

Florin’s county. They’ve been lyingin wait, assuming you would showup here eventually.”

She hated to be so predictable, butit didn’t change her mind. “Then Iguess this is going to be their luckynight.”

“You realize that if you insist onthis, I’ll have to come in with you.”

“No you don’t. You’re off thehook.” Greta had been trained forthis. Nothing was in there that she

couldn’t handle. Not to mention, itwas cold and she needed to getfeeling back into her fingers andtoes. “Who’s to say you even sawme here?”

Siona leveled her with a haughtygaze and released Greta’s arm.“Nice try, but it doesn’t work likethat. Not with me.”

“Fine. Have it your way.” Gretashrugged and opened the door.

Chapter Seven

The blessed heat was the first thingto hit her. Greta’s extremities didn’tremember what it was like to bewarm, and the ache thataccompanied their return to lifeshocked a groan out of her that shecouldn’t quite muffle.

Truthfully, as much as she might bean idiot for walking into what wasprobably an ambush, she didn’thave any other choice. With anotherstorm on the horizon, there was

nowhere else to go, and especiallynow that every hunter was on herass, the only person who might stillhelp was Maidra.

She wanted to make a beeline forthe fire and strip off her heavy gear,but didn’t dare, having alreadypicked out the two hunters Sionahad mentioned. They were soobvious, their gazes following herfrom the moment the door hadopened.

Pretending not to notice, she

unbuttoned her coat, moving to afree spot along the stained andpock-marked bar. She took a seat,waiting for Maidra to be finishedwith her other customer. When thesprite saw her, trepidation rolledacross the old crone’s face beforeshe took a fortifying breath andcame forward.

“Danem Greta.” Maidra’s lowvoice was devoid of its usualwarmth as she absently swiped hercloth over a wet ring in front of

Greta, then twisted the fabric tightlyin her fists. “You shouldn’t behere.”

“Good evening to you too, Maidra.Some of your hot tea would bewonderful, thank you.” Wonderingif she was going to be tossed out,Greta simply waited. Finally,Maidra huffed and turned her amplegirth around to fetch a mug.

Gaze lowered, hands on the counter,Greta was aware of everybody inthe room.

Out of the corner of her eye, shewatched a pair of goblins lookingnervously at each other. One ofthem jerked his tankard to his lipsand swallowed a large gulp of ale,chugging it down quickly beforethey both got up and made a breakfor the exit. They had the right ideaand she hoped others followed theirexample. The less people in theway when trouble went down, thebetter.

And Greta had no doubt there

would be trouble.

Maidra’s daughter, a buxomy watersprite who liked to flit from onemale to another, perched stiffly onthe lap of her current partner andstared at Greta, showing none of thelithe grace that normally oozed fromher pores.

Siona had moved off to the far sideof the room by the hearth. Maybe soshe’d have a good seat for theshow. The goblin could say whatshe wanted, but Greta didn’t

believe she’d stick around whenthis went bad.

So far, the two patrons whointerested her the most weren’tmaking a move. She sized them upthrough the mirror hanging on theback wall of the bar. Definitelyogres. Oversized bodies withmallets for hands. Huge cauliflowernoses. Slobbery expressions.

They betrayed their inexperience intheir very obviousness, showingnone of the constant awareness of

seasoned hunters, or the carefulmotions of fighters ready to surgeinto battle from any position. Yes,they were big physically—holyhell, look at those tree trunks forthighs—but still just babies.

She didn’t think she’d met either ofthese particular winners before, butafter one glance, she knew she’d beable to take them both, although shehoped it didn’t come to that. It wentagainst the grain to destroy suchyoungsters. What she wanted to do

was send them back to their paterfor more training.

Maidra returned with tea. Setting itdown quickly, she jerked her handback from the cup before Gretacould reach for it. Shifting in herseat, she only sighed, knowing theslight could have been worse.

She grasped the mug between herpalms, and brought it to her lips fora sip. Despite the tension vibratingfrom every corner of the room, shecouldn’t help but take a moment to

savor its warm, tart taste. “Thankyou, Maidra. This is just what Ineeded,” she said with a polite nodand a small smile for the femalebartender who had comp’d her late-night beverages more than once tothank her for breaking up theoccasional bar fight.

When Maidra still said nothing,Greta leaned forward. “Nothingabout me has changed, you know.I’m still the same person you’veknown for years.”

She tried to take Maidra’s hand, butthe female gasped and pulled out ofreach, staring at Greta as if she’dgrown a huge wart on her nose, oranother head, which probablywould have been more acceptablein the eyes of the old sprite thanbecoming human overnight.

“All right, fine. I understand.”

Maidra glanced up over Greta’sshoulder. “I think you should leave,Danem,” she croaked.

“Listen, I won’t stay long,” sheprotested, “but I have to ask a fewquestions. I’m looking for—”

“No. No questions.”

“Maidra,” she warned. “I watchedmy pater die this week. You betterbelieve I didn’t come here just forthe tea, and I’m not leaving until Ihave the answers I need.”

Her eyes widened and a whimperescaped her compressed lips as sheshook her head with agitated vigor.

“Tell me what I want to know andI’ll go,” Greta pressed. “I’ll leaveand never come back if that’s whatwould make you happy.”

“What do you want to know?”

Obviously, Greta had used just theright sort of threat to open thefloodgates. “Agramon. Where can Ifind him?”

“No one speaks of the demon.”

“Well, someone had better, or I’m

going to get cranky. You think youhate me now…” Biting backfrustration and impatience, sheturned from the sprite and slowlyrose from the bar to face thecompany at large. “So, who’s goingto give me the information I want?”

If it was possible, the silence gotheavier, until a few stoolsscreeched back and the moreintelligent half of Maidra’s clientelehurried to file out of the tavernthrough the closest door. The rest of

them looked a little bit like cattleseparated from the herd, skittish andlost.

The two newbie hunters finallystepped up to the plate, but she hada feeling it wasn’t to give heranswers. Greta glanced over atSiona—whose nonchalant postureup against the wall was suddenlylooking a lot stiffer—before shetook in the ogres standing beforeher.

Each of them was easily the same

mass as a small island, taller thansome decent-sized trees. Andprobably just as thick in the head,although she shouldn’t makeassumptions. That was one ofLuke’s first rules of combat. Neverunderestimate your opponent. Or, inthis case, opponents.

With her elbows braced casually onthe bar’s countertop behind her, shelooked back and forth betweenthem. They weren’t particularlyscary looking, but there was never

any guarantee that she’d come out ofa fight alive. Shit happened. Bad,unpredictable shit. Recent eventswere proof of that.

Behind the ogres, the doorwhooshed open, letting in a blast offrigid air.

Greta didn’t have to see who wascoming to know the arrival didn’tbode well for her already diceysituation. She could have blamedthe arctic chill racing up her spineon the cold wind and snow blowing

into the tavern with the newcomer,but she’d learned to trust herinstincts, and right now, they werescreaming at her to be wary of morethan just the weather.

A faerie stepped into the opendoorway.

Nobody dared yell at him to shut thedoor. In fact, no one dared sayanything at all, or even breathe tooloudly. From the edge of her field ofvision, she saw Siona step awayfrom the wall. A worried look

settled on her face as she pushed theflap of her coat behind the hilt ofher sword.

While Greta wasn’t intimidated bythe pair of ogres, she couldn’t saythe same about this guy. She had astrong suspicion the faerie hadn’tstopped in for a friendly round ofdrinks with the locals. Faeries hatedthe locals. In fact, faeries hatedpretty much everyone, even theirown kind.

Which made him another hunter. But

not just any hunter. The only faeriebounty hunter. Lazarus. She’d nevermet him in person, but his notorietysurpassed even Luke’s impressivereputation.

The way he looked at her, there wasno doubt in her mind what he washere for.

Lazarus didn’t bother to wipe thesnow from his shoulders or stompthe ice off his boots. He onlypushed back the hood of his thincloak.

Growing up, Greta had shot up inheight before everyone else. Shevaguely remembered beingridiculed by the boys—probablybecause they didn’t like having tolook up at a girl—but in Mylena thethings that used to make her feelawkward quickly turned intostrengths. She’d been able to standher ground against creatures whowould have pummeled a smaller,frailer breed of human into thefrozen tundra.

But this guy… He stood taller thanher five-eleven by at least anotherfoot and a half. Even with thewinter wear covering him fromhead to toe, she could tell he waswiry thin, the kind of thin that hid acore of relentless steel, with sleekmuscles that would be dangerouslydeceptive in their strength. And incontrast to his white skin and paleblond hair, Lazarus’s eyes shoneblack and empty.

He’d been a bounty hunter longer

than there’d been bounties tocollect, but nobody could really sayhow old he was. In theory, faeriescould live the equivalent of tengoblin lifetimes, which wassomething like twenty-five humanlives, but at some point, most oftheir race had withdrawn deep intothe mountains, refusing to haveanything to do with all other Myleanspecies. Nobody knew whether theancient ones still lived or not.

Combine that with the fact that

faerie clans were always at war,killing each other off for somereason or another, and thelikelihood of coming across athousand-year-old faerie by randomchance was quite slim.

Of course, random didn’t enter intothe equation. Not for this guy.

“Place is closed for the night,” shesaid, nodding toward the door andindicating he could march himselfright back through it. “Privateparty.”

Glancing left, she saw Siona’smouth drawn tight. Worry linesetched her perfect brow even as shewidened her stance.

Lazarus remained still and silent,taking in the ogres without blinking.There was no doubt that he was atrue creature of Mylena,exemplifying the land in every way.Impenetrable, like the Mists ofLuna. Desolate, like the barrenplains in the west. And frozen, likeeverything else. He was exactly

what a hunter should be, and nodoubt more of a hunter than Gretawould ever be unless she let go hergrip on that one last sliver of humanvulnerability—a pesky penchant formercy.

She tightened her grip on her swordto keep her hands from shaking asLazarus turned to face her. Theweapon would be useless against afaerie of his age and experience.She’d never get close enough to useit.

“Human.” He sneered, imbuing somuch malice and disgust into hisexpression, Greta felt like a nastyslug at the bottom of an oily sludgepit in the roasting depths of thebrimstone caves.

“Look buddy, if you want a piece ofme, you better come back tomorrowand get in line. I’m all booked upfor tonight.” She feigned a cavalierlook of contempt, but it wasprobably as effective as the looksthe two ogres had tried with her just

minutes ago.

Ogre number one—Wart Nose, shedecided—was getting antsy.Definitely ready to leave. Shecouldn’t blame him. If he’d beenoutmatched against her, it didn’ttake a genius to calculate the winnerof a fight between the ogres and thefaerie.

With ogre number two at his back,Wart Nose roared and nervouslywent to push past Lazarus.

Oh, crap.

The faerie moved so fast, she didn’teven see what he did to Ogrenumber two, but the big guy crashedto the floor with a high wail thatwas cut off when his head smackedthe plank board floors.

Wart Nose cried out.

Blood splattered.

Lazarus was a blur of pale skin andhair, steel and…something else. It

was as if he drew the very airaround him into a whirling vortex.Anything caught within it wastrapped, at his mercy, sliced toribbons—and right now, that wasWart Nose and his cohort.

With a shout, Greta jumped forwardto intercede, but Siona was at herside. She slapped the flat of Greta’sblade down and shoved her back.“Don’t be ridiculous. You can’thelp them. You have to get out ofhere.” Her voice was changing,

deepening. “Hurry, Danem. Run.Run now!”

Greta could see the moon in Siona’seyes. She was turning. Claws andteeth had elongated and becomesharp. Her skin was darkening, herprofile filling out. The way Sionathrew herself into the change, it wasobvious that it wasn’t her first time.Since Myleans only changed withthe eclipse or when emotions ranextremely ragged, Greta had towonder what tragedy the goblin

female had suffered—and how shehadn’t ended up one of the Lost.

With another hard shove, Sionaspun away, her echoing howlconfident and fierce, a challengeLazarus wouldn’t be able to ignore.As expected, he turned to her anddropped what was left of WartNose to the floor at his feet. Gretagroaned. The faerie had begun tochange, too, the fire of battle and thepull of the moons turning his eyesicy silver as they filled with dark

magick.

“Siona, don’t,” Greta cried out. Shedidn’t have a chance. That faeriewas going to mutilate the goblin,tear her apart piece by piece.

This was all her fault.

No. This was Isaac’s fault.

“Go.” Siona snarled, baring herteeth. “Before the change iscomplete and I forget I’m protectingyou instead of hunting you down.”

Greta wasn’t about to let her facehim alone. They might have achance if both of them bolted out ofhere and ran deep into the woods. Itwas a long shot because Lazaruswas going to be very close behind,but if they could lose him, faeriesweren’t as good at tracking as someof the other species. They didn’thave the same ingrained animalinstincts.

When she reached out to hold Sionaback, the goblin spun around and,

suddenly, Greta was flying acrossthe room. She landed hard in atangle of arms and legs, the airknocked out of her as she chokedout a shout of pained surprise.

Siona came after her before Gretacould jump to her feet, mouth full ofcrazy sharp teeth and clawsextended right for her throat. GoodGod, she was barely recognizablefrom the surprisingly honorablegoblin who’d been teasing her aboutIsaac and promising to watch out

for her such a short time ago.

The faerie surged forward,attacking from behind. The thing thathad been Siona snarled as shewhipped around and scored a longgash down Lazarus’s chest. Like therest of Mylena, the faerie’s moonform was a baser manifestation ofhis more civilized self. Raw andprimal. But in this case, maybebecause their kind had mastered theancient magicks long beforeMylena’s curse had befallen them,

even Lazarus’s raw form seemedhighly evolved—if devastatinglyvicious.

As much as she wanted to helpSiona, it was too late. Gretascrambled backward, fingersgrazing the sword she’d lost on hertrip through the air. She grabbed itbefore pushing to her feet andlaunching herself over the bar.Crunching down onto a scattering ofbroken glass, she was surprised tosee Maidra still cowering by the

door to the kitchen, breathingheavily like she might pass out.

“What are you doing here?”Grasping the crazy female’sforearm, she pulled her alongthrough the door, but came to a haltwhen the old sprite stopped andrefused to move another step.“Danem, hurry.”

Maidra shook her head. “I won’t gowith you.”

Greta groaned, impatience and

irritation scraping her raw.“Maidra. Do I really look like sucha big freaking threat to you?”

“You don’t understand.”

“You’re damn right I don’t.”Something in the other room yelpedin pain. Ah, God. Siona. Time hadjust run out. “We have to get out ofhere.”

Maidra’s arms crossed over herample chest. “Go, human. This isn’twhere you belong.”

No, really?

The old sprite wasn’t going tobudge. Greta was batting zerotoday.

She swore, but there was nothingmore she could do. “May the GreatMother keep you safe then,Maidra,” she said, then slipped outthe door.

Chapter Eight

Greta was still running long afterboth the moons had set andMylena’s distant suns were well ontheir way to rising.

Fear and urgency had kept her otheremotions at bay as branchesscratched her cheeks and caught inher hair. She stumbled over rootsand rocks, trying to steer clear ofanything that made a noise—aboveand beyond the inescapable soundof her own heavy breathing. Andstill, it eventually all caught up with

her.

Damn this place.

Damn Isaac.

Even if the bounty on her head hadbeen issued by the gnome king,Leander couldn’t have known shewas human. Not unless his fellowroyalness and altogether goodneighbor had ratted her out in theinterest of “public safety” or someother pathetic excuse.

But then why pretend otherwise?Why not make more of an effort tokeep her under lock and key whenhe had the chance? And why sicSiona on her with instructions tokeep her safe, instead of adding theother bounty hunter to the possealready after her?

The only thing that made sense wasthat it was all still part of somegame he was playing.

She finally came to a halt in a smallcopse of trees and bent over with

her hands on her knees, sucking indeep breaths. She blinked up at themorning’s soft sunlight. As tired asshe felt, she was glad there’d beenno opportunity for sleep. No waycould she have dealt with Isaac ontop of everything else, even if itmeant keeling over from exhaustionnow.

“Damn goblin,” she muttered, takingdeep drags of the cold air.

Where to go next? The most logicalplace would be Rhazua. As much as

the gnome city would be filled withMyleans who would kill her onsight if they recognized her for whatshe was, Isaac would never expecther to go there. She might be able toevade him a while longer.

Then again, staying in the forestgave her an element of control. Sheknew these woods, and she’d stillfeel close to Luke.

Neither option would keep her safemore than a couple of days, not withthe eclipse dogging everyone’s

heels.

She unbuckled the scabbard fromaround her waist. Leaning against atree trunk, she let her legs collapseand followed the thick bark all theway down to the cold ground. Shetried not to think about anything asshe clutched her weapon in her lapand closed her eyes. Not Siona orMaidra. Not Luke or Isaac. NotAgramon, or what she would do tohim when she finally tracked himdown.

…

The high-pitched screech of hersneakers on the smooth yellowlinoleum echoed in the emptyhallway. The place was completelyempty, which made sense becausenobody wanted to stay late on thelast day of school. But then, whywas she still here?

Better get out to the parking lot.Mom said she’d be waiting to pick

her up as soon as the bell rang sothey could finish packing and get tothe airport. She and dad had beenacting like three weeks in Germany,visiting a nasty old man she’d onlyever met once before, was the typeof summer vacation every thirteen-year-old girl should be excited for.If Grandpa wanted to see them, whycouldn’t he come here instead?

The strap of her backpack wasslipping. She squeezed it andhitched it up on her shoulder. The

thing suddenly weighed a ton, as ifthe books were multiplying just bythinking about them.

And they didn’t feel like books.Bowling balls maybe.

Or heads. Two of them. Maybe apair of ogre heads in fact.

She stopped in her tracks. Damn it.No, not here.

She flung the pack off her shoulder,eyeing it at arm’s length for the dark

blood she was sure would beseeping through the thin canvasbottom, but there was nothing. Itwas just a pink and white checkeredbackpack. Perfect for a teenage girlwho had once loved pretty colors,pretty clothes, and pretty bags…

This wasn’t the last day of school,and she wasn’t thirteen years oldanymore.

None of this is real.

She dropped her arm and let the bag

drag on the floor, looking down atherself. Jeans, t-shirt, sneakers.Yep, typical middle school uniform,but with one major difference: thegirl filling those clothes was aboutfour years north of thirteen, and itshowed.

Spinning in a circle, she took in thescene with new awareness.

Definitely Lincoln Heights MiddleSchool. The lockers were a boringshade of army green, and the longfluorescent lights in the ceiling

flickered randomly. Sheremembered that the janitor hadforever been up on his ladderchanging those long thin light bulbs,but the flickering always cameback.

She glanced to the right, through thesmall square window in the door ofher old science classroom.

There he was.

Isaac was too wide and too tall formiddle school. He looked out of

place dressed in his heavy wintercloak, perched on a stool at one ofthe lab benches with his long legscrammed beneath it. He hunchedover and squinted into the eyepieceof a microscope.

Barreling forward with grittedteeth, she shoved the door openwith her fist, still clutching theridiculous backpack. She drew backand threw it at him. He looked upjust in time to dodge the oversizedmissile, and actually smiled at her.

“How dare you,” she hissed, evenas his smile disarmed her. It wasn’tcalculating or filled with irony, buthonest and open like it had been thatfirst night, and the sight of it tuggedat her heart.

It’s a dream. Only a dream. Notreal.

“How dare you show your face inmy dreams again after—”

“I was not the one who told Leanderabout your true origins. Do you

really believe that I would do that?”

Yes. No. Maybe? His denial tookthe wind out of her sails, and shesagged. “You’re the only one whoknew.”

“Not the only one. Leander has longbeen an ally of Agramon. He is theone you should be afraid of.”

“And you were aware of this?”

He paused. “Yes.”

More lies! “What else haven’t youtold me?”

He deliberately ignored her andpointed to the microscope. “Thismachine is for looking at things veryclosely, isn’t it? What kinds ofthings, do you think?” Then hepointed at something over hershoulder. “And what is thatcontraption over there?”

She glanced at the telephonehanging on the wall by the doorway.It was supposed to be for reaching

the main office in an emergency, butshe remembered her social studiesteacher using it to call his wife athome so he could ask what theywere having for supper.

Isaac got up and moved to one ofthe large windows overlooking theschoolyard and the road. “And that?It has wheels. How does it move?”

She winced at the sight of the crispgreen lawn outside the window andthe way the sunshine glinted off theshiny steel roof of the city bus

parked across the street. It was thebus she used to take home fromschool every day.

There was a billboard for acnecream sticking up over the buildingsacross the street, and the flowers inthe garden along the boulevardwere a mixture of pansies anddaisies. Greta never would havebelieved all this detail had beenlocked away in her brain. Isaac’sability was definitely torture, butgiven the right circumstances,

maybe it could also be a gift.

“If you’re manufacturing mydreams, how did you know—?”

“I don’t create the dream, I onlyunlock the right doors in your mindto let you release the things I needto see.”

“And what makes you think youneed to see my old school?”

“I’m interested in the place you callhome. This is where you would

prefer to be, is it not?” He pointedout the window at a car in theparking lot. “Is that a carriage? Inyour world, would it move withouthorses? Are there any horses inyour world at all?”

“Yes,” she answered, taken abackby his excitement. “We have horses,but they’re not like the ones inMylena.”

“When we were younger, Siona andI were both fascinated by the ideathat heat and steam might one day be

harnessed as a source of power.Once, she and I even designed acarriage that would use such powerto turn its wheels without the needfor a horse to pull it. We’d bothbeen snapped at one too many timesby the ill-natured beasts, you see,”he continued with a chuckle.Something wistful passed across hisface. “I suppose I will have to leavethe invention of such things to othersnow.”

It was his own fault. If he hadn’t

fought to be the goblin king, maybehe’d still be able to do stuff likethat. Even so, she found herselffeeling sorry for him, and shovedher hands in her pockets. Time for achange of subject. “Siona is alive?She’s okay?”

He paused. “It was close. She washurt very badly.”

Greta pressed her fingers to herlips, her stomach plummeting.

“But she heals quickly,” he

reassured her. “She will be fine,and she took great delight intorturing me with all the trouble youcaused at Maidra’s.”

She let out a long breath, but thetight, cramped feeling in her bellywouldn’t go away. How many morepeople were going to suffer becauseof her? “I’m glad your cousintorments you. Someone should.”She ducked her head and watchedthe toe of her sneaker digging at thefloor. “I felt bad about leaving her.”

“She lives, but so does Lazarus.Siona tried to track him downbefore her injuries became toomuch, but the faerie is still hard onyour trail—and he’s not the onlyone. Tell me where you are, Greta,so I can protect you.”

She laughed. “Yeah, like that’sgoing to happen.”

“I think she likes you.”

“Who? Siona? No way. She—”

“Not everyone in Mylena must beyour enemy,” he interrupted. “Noteveryone wants you dead. Despiteher grumbling, Siona has expresseda desire to be your friend.”

A friend in Mylena? As unlikely asit seemed, Greta thought she wouldlike to have the strong female goblinas a friend. “And what does thatmake us?”

“A king doesn’t have friends.” Histone had turned flat.

“Why did you kill your father andyour uncle? That night when wemet, you talked about so manythings, but being king wasn’t one ofthem.”

He stiffened sharply, hands curlingtight over the window ledge. “Doyou care, or are you simplycurious?”

Her mouth fell open. She hesitated,but he’d been there for her whenLuke died. He deserved the truth,even if they still had things to work

out before she could think abouttrusting him. “I probably shouldn’tbecause I’m sure it will only comeback to haunt me, but yes, I care.”

He let out a long breath and nodded.“I didn’t kill my father.”

“But you did kill your uncle?” Sheraised an eyebrow. “Why? Whathappened?”

“You happened. The night we met, Ientered your dreams and discoveredyour secret.”

Surprised he’d actually told her thetruth, she glared at him. “Just howmany times did you spy on mewithout my knowledge?”

“It didn’t take more than once tosuspect the truth, and not more thantwice to be absolutely certain.Although, there were more times…they were just for fun.” He grinnedas she blushed, as if he knew shewas remembering the way she’dflirted with him. “Your dreams arelike none I’ve ever visited.”

“Should I feel flattered?”

“Perhaps. They are certainlyunique. You don’t always dreamabout this world,” he lifted an armto encompass the classroom, “butyour identity is in every move youmake. Now that I know who youare, I don’t know how anyone couldmiss it.”

She pushed a hand through her loosehair. “Because I obviously can’tseem to remember to do up mybraids in my dreams?”

“It’s more than that.” He raised hishand to her face. She thought hewould push her hair behind her earsagain to check, but he only drew asmooth line high on her cheek withhis thumb.

“The truth is right here,” hemurmured. Before she could react,he leaned forward and pressed akiss to each of her eyelids.

She gasped, but he wasn’t finished.His hand moved lower and flattenedon her chest, right over her heart.

“And here,” he murmured.

Clearing her throat, she straightenedher quivering legs, and tampeddown on the ache in her chest, butshe couldn’t stop her racing heart.She pulled away slowly. “So, um,what does that have to do with youbecoming the king?”

Isaac cleared his throat and steppedback. “After talking with you, andwatching you in your dreams, Iwas…confused. I told my fatherabout you. My uncle overheard and

threatened to give you up toAgramon. I defended you, so myfather defended me…and he waskilled.”

There was no more sign of thesmiling, keen goblin. He opened hishands and turned them over beforeclenching them into fists. “I had tochallenge my uncle to avenge myfather’s death, but also to protectyou. If he had lived long enough tobecome the new goblin king, youwould be dead by now.”

She struggled to speak, but whatcould she say in response to thatwhen she’d done nothing but doubthim and call him a manipulativejerk?

Stunned, she blinked and shook herhead. “But why? Why would you dosomething like that for me?”

She drew in a sharp breath as hisfingers caressed her cheek, histhumb grazing her bottom lip. Heleaned in and her heart poundedhard against the wall of her chest.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Her eyes fluttered shut as his mouthcovered hers in a gentle whisper oftouch. Warm and softer than shewould have imagined. She didn’teven have time to adjust to the feelof it before it was over, and herwhole body swayed forward as hestraightened away from her.

Her protest came out as a jitterycroak as she tried to get back ontrack, but he wouldn’t let her backaway completely. Brows furrowed,

he took her hand.

“What does this Agramon guy wantfrom me, to make both Leander andyour uncle willing to turn me over?”she asked, captivated by his touch.“If he’s locked away and his evilcan’t touch anyone anymore, how ishe getting everyone to do hisbidding?”

He dropped his gaze and watchedtheir entwined fingers. She thoughthe’d brush off her questions, but heonly shook his head. “Your people

are the reason my world is in chaos,and you are also the only cure forit.”

She’d heard that before and stilldidn’t understand it, but a stab ofsympathy went through her as hisshoulders slumped. He was beingpulled in too many directions. Hemay not have wanted to be king, butonce he took on that responsibilityhe didn’t seem like the kind ofperson who could disregard thedemands of his people—and all of

them seemed to want her blood.

He would have to make a choicesooner or later—his people orGreta—and she wasn’t naïveenough to believe he would chooseher, even if she was the reason he’dbecome king. She tugged her handback and stuffed both deep in thepockets of her dream-conjuredjeans.

His gaze followed her, slowlytraveling up her torso and chestuntil they were staring into each

other’s eyes. She swallowed pastthe dryness in her mouth as the airsizzled between them. She thoughthe would take her hand again, pullher closer, taste her—hopefullymore deeply than last time. Shewanted him to so badly, it was anache low in her belly.

He didn’t do any of that. His gazefell and he took a deep breath, as ifhe needed to regain his equilibriumas much as she did. After a longmoment, he said, “There was a time

when Mylena and all its creatureslived together harmoniously. Theland was fruitful and green. Weshared a bond with the GreatMother, and in return she providedus with everything we could everwant or need.”

“Sounds like my world’s creationstory and probably a hundredthousand other ones. This is whereyou tell me the part about the deadlyapple and the naughty snake, isn’tit?”

Isaac frowned. “It was a paradise,until a demon defiled our worldwith his evil.”

“Just like I said…naughty snake.”

“This snake was called Agramon.He destroyed everything within hisreach until the Great Mother wasforced to retaliate in the only wayshe could; with ice and snow. Andstill, the demon wreaked havoc forcenturies. He was eventually drivendeep into the mountains andimprisoned with magick, but the

land was already tainted, and theGreat Mother’s daughters—the twomoons—punished the Myleanpeople for failing to protect her.”

Luke had told her a long time agothat the people of Mylena hadn’talways been slaves to its moons,and that the curse of the eclipse wasa punishment. “Why should Ibelieve this is anything butmythology?”

“There is truth in every mythology.Agramon was originally from your

world. He came through the portalsbetween our worlds.”

She stifled a shiver. “All of thiswas eons ago. Even if humans wereoriginally responsible for lettingthis phantom menace of yours loose,I didn’t—”

“No phantom,” he said. “Flesh andblood, and very powerful. It is saidthat only when humans are heldaccountable for their betrayal willthe demon leave our world, andMylena’s bond with the Great

Mother can be restored.”

“What?” He had to stop talking infairy-tale speak.

“It’s you,” he said. “You’re the onethat releases Agramon. Thedemon’s followers are scouring myland as we speak, putting my peoplein danger, all because he wants you.And I can’t afford to waste timechasing you across three counties.”He sounded impatient. “You willtell me where you are so that youcan be protected.”

He still hadn’t said how or why orwhat the demon needed her for. Andapparently, he wasn’t going to.“Nobody asked you to protect me,Isaac. I’ve been taking care ofmyself for a long time.”

Her stomach clenched painfully atthe look in his face, but she shook itoff. Even though her heart ached andher lips still tingled from her first-ever kiss, nothing she’d just learnedchanged anything between them. Shewould never be accepted in his

world, and he couldn’t serve hispeople if he had to waste all hisenergy protecting her.

The last spark of hope she hadn’teven realized she’d been harboringdied, leaving her feeling bereft andhollow.

“Greta.”

“Forget it, Isaac.” Crossing herarms in front of her, she forced acool laugh. “Just leave me alone.You go your way, I’ll go mine.”

He flinched as if she’d hauled backand slapped him. His mouth openedand closed. “You haven’t listenedto anything I’ve said.”

She couldn’t make eye contact.“And why should I? You haven’tsaid anything I need to hear yet.”

“I can’t afford to waste time arguingwith you. Just—”

“Then by all means…” Sheextended her arm and raised herbrows. “I believe you know the way

out.”

She came awake with a start,jerking forward and taking deepbreaths. The cold had seepedthrough her clothes and put anuncomfortable ache in her bones,although from the position of thesuns in the sky she couldn’t havebeen out very long.

“Goodbye,” she whispered with asigh. She didn’t want it to be thisway—especially after all she’dlearned—but it was for the best.

Blinking, she stretched her neckfrom side to side and reached forher sword.

It was gone.

Chapter Nine

She jumped to her feet and reeledaround. There were fresh tracks inthe snow, but they’d been laid overtop of hers, following right upbehind the tree she’d been sitting

against and then around. Whoever itwas had turned to face her then.Good God, had she really slept sodeeply she hadn’t even been awareof the threat?

“Looking for something?”

She spun towards the source of anunfamiliar male voice. A figurestepped from the relative protectionof a tall, needly shrub. A large hoodobscured his face, making itdifficult to determine the extent ofthe trouble she was in. He was too

wide for a faerie and too tall for asprite, but short for anything else.Greta calculated that he only toppedher by an inch or two, if that.

Her hand clenched into a fist at herside as she saw her blade in hishands. How had he gotten thatwithout waking her?

And she called herself aprofessional?

Self-disgust twisted her lips as themale swung her sword in front of

him, casually testing its weight as ifinspecting the wares of a streetvendor. “This is a nice weapon.Lightweight. Balanced. Custom,right? Probably worth a couple ofguineas.”

There was something about thatvoice…

“It’s not really your color,” shesaid. Remain calm. Bendingslightly, she casually wiped thesnow from her butt and legs, hereyes on the shadowed face peering

back at her. “Why don’t you hand itover and I’ll give you the name ofmy smith,” she said. “Then we cantalk about how rude it is to sneak upon people.”

Something about his deep chucklemade her pause, but she stillcouldn’t decide what it was abouthim that set her instincts bouncingup and down in a frenzy ofwarnings.

“I wish I could say I had beensneaking up on you instead of

stumbling over you by accident. Thepremeditation would certainly bebetter for my reputation.”

“What kind of reputation is that?”she asked.

“Oh, nothing so lofty as your own, Iimagine.”

She stifled a shiver. She didn’tknow what to make of the stranger.His voice wasn’t familiar, and yet itwas. Almost. There was somethingoff about the accent, and she didn’t

recognize his face. But what shecould see hinted at a square chinand high cheekbones that made himlook as if he hadn’t eaten a decentmeal in a long time.

Was he another hunter after thebounty on her head? Greta didn’tthink so. He didn’t stand like ahunter, and having plenty ofexperience with the type, she couldusually pick them out from a mileaway.

“And what do you know of my

reputation?” She raised a brow androlled her shoulders to work out thestiffness. She might have to thankIsaac for terminating her dream,otherwise who knows what mighthave happened while she lay asleepand vulnerable.

She didn’t like that he had hersword. It made her feel naked.

“Well?” she prompted. “Are youplanning to hold onto this stalematething much longer, or are you goingto give me back my property and

tell me who you are?”

“Actually, I’m thinking of keepingit.” Watching him lift the sword andpoint it right at her as he stareddown the length of the blade setGreta’s teeth clenching so tightlyshe worried about cracking a molar—always a concern consideringmodern dentistry didn’t exist inMylena.

“After all, it might be my onlydefense if things get rough betweenus,” he added.

“If you hand it over now, I promiseI won’t gut you with it.”

“That’s real sporting of you, bountyhunter. It really is. But under thecircumstances, I think my odds arebetter if I keep this, don’t you?”

So he did know a thing or two abouther reputation.

Well, he didn’t know everything, orhe wouldn’t be standing theresmiling.

In a fast, fluid move, Greta’s daggerwent from the sheath on her arm toher hand and into the air, flippingend over end right for him in a blurof flashing steel.

He shouldn’t have seen it coming,but surprisingly, he shifted at thelast minute. Instead of lodging in hisshoulder, Greta’s dagger slicedthrough the arm of his coat.

At least the result was what sheintended. Her sword fell into thesnow just as she leaped forward to

close the distance between them. Hemade a grab for it but she was there,holding her third blade to his throat.

“You didn’t really think that was myonly weapon, did you?”

With a sigh, he put his hands up insurrender and she shoved himupright to look into his face.

What she saw surprised her.

He had a thin, scruffy face.Brownish hair. Deep brown eyes.

Human eyes.

Her mouth fell open. She glancedover at the clean slice she’d put inhis jacket. She had drawn a thin lineof bright red blood. Could it be thatshe had drawn human blood?

His gaze flicked upward over hershoulder and then he smiled. Abroad, dazzling smile full ofmischief that stopped her breath.

“You didn’t really think I wasalone, did you?”

Chapter Ten

Jerking the man’s body in front ofher as a shield, Greta yanked themaround and watched as hiscompanions crept out of theprotection of the surroundingfoliage until they were completelysurrounded.

She couldn’t believe what she wasseeing.

Isaac or Siona. Ogres or gnomes.Those she could have handled.These were just boys. Humans, allof them.

But only children.

Human cheeks gaunt with hunger.Human eyes staring out at her fromdirty human faces set in humanexpressions of caution and mistrust.Human hands clutching makeshiftspears and stones—all aimed atGreta’s head. Most of them werewearing threadbare Mylean garb

that had probably been stolen, butone of the younger boys wasactually wearing denim, and anotherhad a pair of tennis shoes on hisfeet.

Now she knew why his accent hadsounded unusual, but familiar.

“You’re human,” she whispered,needing to hear it out loud. “All ofyou. You’re really human.”

Assuming there weren’t any morehiding in the woods, Greta counted

six bodies. All boys, all of varyingages, but none over twenty. In fact,the oldest—the one who’d lifted hersword in the first place—wasmaybe only a year older than shewas.

“Who are you?” she demanded,tightening her hold and digging thepoint of her blade a little deeperinto the guy’s neck. “Where did youcome from?”

The boys watched her with mixedexpressions of fear, awe, and even

what was clearly aggression. Great.As if she didn’t have enough peoplelooking to carve interesting patternsinto her hide.

“She’s not one of us,” piped up oneof the oldest. She could hear thesneer in his tone. “She’s one ofthem.”

Wow. He made them sound aboutas appealing as a hall full ofgnomish tax collectors. Greta eyedthe grumpy-looking one. The boywasn’t holding a gnarly stick

shaved to a point or a heavy rock tobrain her with. No, this kid hadalready slickly commandeered thedagger she’d thrown.

He looked to be about sixteen,although it was hard to tell throughthe large hood that obscured hisface.

“I told you this was a bad idea,” hecontinued with a voice full of anger,addressing the one with her bladestill at his throat. “I don’t think shelooks anything like a human.”

It was good to know her disguisewas still fooling someone.

Two of the older boys nodded theirheads in agreement, while oneparticularly little guy took theopportunity to pull off histhreadbare mitten and pick anobviously bothersome booger fromhis nose.

Granted, it wasn’t ghoul poison oranything, but still… Ew.

“Oh, I don’t know…” Her captive

shrugged as if she wasn’t this closeto cutting his throat. “She lookshuman enough to me.”

Shocked and confused by hiscavalier attitude, Greta hissed.“Listen to me, all of you. I don’tknow what this is about, buteverybody except me is going todrop their weapon right now.” Sheheld her hard gaze on each boy inturn, feeling rather like a mean-tempered schoolteacher with agroup of unruly students. “Unless

you all want to be missing limbs.”

The thief lifted his hand to the bladeshe held at his throat. “Would youreally harm a group of little kids?”

Greta didn’t know what she woulddo. In fact, she might be too stunnedto react at all—and that meant shehad to take back controlimmediately.

“Just a group of little kids, huh?Little kids who happen to be aimingspears at me all Lord of the Flies-

ish?” She snorted. “Absolutely, Iwould.”

“She must be human,” he called outto the other boys as if she wasn’tthreatening to spill his very redblood on the pure white snow.“She’s read William Golding.”

Greta drew a hard breath. “Buddy,considering the position you’re inright now, what the deadly bountyhunter holding a knife to your throathas or hasn’t read should be the lastthing on your mind. What you need

to be thinking about are answers tomy questions.”

He sighed. “Can’t we all lose theweapons and talk like reasonablepeople?”

She wanted to trust him. Humans inMylena. Could they possibly knowhow to find a portal home?

Finally, she nodded. She had to takethe chance. “Agreed,” she said. “Ifeveryone drops their sticks andstones, I’ll put away the knife.”

The little ones eagerly threw theirmakeshift weapons into the snow.Some of the older boys grumbled abit, but eventually they did thesame.

Only when Grumpy had addedGreta’s other dagger to the pile didshe release their leader and pushhim clear of her.

Replacing her knife in its sheath,she put her hands on her hips andtook a closer look at the boys. Theygathered together behind the older

one and as she watched, thesmallest reached for his hand,crowding into his side as if forprotection.

God, they were so young.

“Who are you? How did you gethere?” She bent to retrieve the lastdagger, as well as her sword andscabbard, strapping it around herwaist before returning the fullweight of her gaze to the guy who’dstolen it right out from under her.Greta had to admit, that had been a

pretty ballsy move.

“I’m Wyatt Castle,” he offered.“Formerly of a little nowhere placein North Dakota.” He rubbed a handover the small scrape in his neck,but Greta only crossed her arms andwaited. He wasn’t going to get anysympathy after sneaking up on herlike that.

“This is Ranier, but everyone callshim Ray.” He nodded at Grumpy.“We’ve also got Charlie, Jack, andSloane…and the mean little guy

here is Jacob.” He paused to mussthe hair of the boy huddled up to hisside who stood looking at Gretawith a wide grin that showcased theequally wide space where his twobottom teeth had been untilprobably just a few days ago.

Greta had a sudden vision of purpleflannel pajamas, a pink stuffedelephant, and her larger-than-lifefather putting her own tiny molarinto an empty candy tin and slippingit under her pillow before pressing

a kiss to her forehead.

She couldn’t remember exactlywhat he looked like, or how hesmelled, and she couldn’t rememberthe timbre of his voice, but sheremembered his promise that thetooth fairy would come and leaveher a dollar. He must have told herhe loved her. Told her to sleeptight. Said he’d see her in themorning, but she couldn’t rememberthat either.

She shoved aside thoughts of all the

nights she’d gone to bed withoutthose words since, all the morningsshe’d wakened and he hadn’t beenthere. Instead, she wondered howmany other mothers and fathers hadbeen left wondering, waiting, butmay never know what had happenedto their children. These children.

Had they accepted their losses andmoved on? Or were they stillwaiting? Still searching? Had herown family given up? Probably.And why not? It had been four years

for her. They had to give upsometime…and so did she.

Her hand went to the chain aroundher neck. Inside was a tinyphotograph of her parents, the onlything she had. She thought it wasprobably the only reason hermemories hadn’t completely faded.At least she had this, whereas theseboys had nothing.

There was no defense against thesudden sharp tug on her heart as sheblinked and turned her focus back to

the children. How hard it must befor the little ones to be separatedfrom the people who loved them,the people who were supposed toguide them through the time honoredrituals, traditions, and trials ofchildhood. Lost teeth. Bad dreams.Learning to ride a bicycle. The firstday of school.

“It’s…um…nice to meet all ofyou.” Greta winced. God, howridiculous that sounded comingfrom her, especially when she had

threatened all their lives and held aknife to Wyatt’s throat only a fewshort minutes ago. “I’m—”

“We know who you are.” Thesullen one, Ray, was still glaring ather as if he carried a very personalgrudge.

“Oh?” She raised a brow. “Andwhat is it you think you know aboutme?”

“We only know of you.” Wyatt puthis hand on Ray’s shoulder. To

Greta’s surprise, the kid visiblyreigned in his hostility enough tokeep his mouth shut, although thoseblue eyes continued to shootdaggers.

“Greta the Bounty Hunter,” Wyattcontinued. “We know that you’reone of Mylena’s best…andobviously its best kept secret aswell.”

Not anymore. “At this point, the catis out of the bag when it comes tomost of my secrets,” she answered

with a grimace. “But how is it thatnone of you have come up onanyone’s radar? How long have youbeen out here in the forest?”

A rustle of needles in the tree limbshanging over them captured herattention. Her instincts kicked intohigh gear and she spun around intime to see a timber cat leapingfrom its hiding place in the talllimbs of the trees right at Jacob.

Before its claws could put onescratch on the little boy, she was

between them and slammed it intothe ground.

It yelped, but quickly staggeredback to its feet.

Wyatt yelled to the others as hepulled Jacob against his chest,turned his back, and hunched overhim. When Ray tried to dart in frontof them, Wyatt grabbed his arm,forcing him to hang back, despitethe young man’s loud and vehementobjection.

Thankfully, the others scattered likefleas off a dying ogre, but Gretadidn’t think they went very far,which was also good. She didn’twant them taking off alone out offear, only to get caught in a similarsituation, but without anyone toprotect them.

Greta put herself between thehumans and the deadly cat. Itsnarled at her, but she kept her cool.

“Today is not your day, my friend,”she said, swaying slowly from side

to side to keep its attention fixed onher. “Why don’t you accept defeat?Put that tail between your legs andget out of here, so I don’t have tohurt you?”

The beast started to pace back andforth in front of her, eyeing thedagger in Greta’s hand andgrowling as it looked for the weakspot in her defense. Long tendrils offoamy white slobber hung from itsjaws.

She swung her blade in a wide

circle, forcing the cat back a step. Ithissed at her, furious.

“Go on,” she yelled, stomping herfoot hard into the ground, trying tostartle it into dashing back into thewoods. “Go! Get lost.”

It should have worked. Timber catswere usually pretty skittish,preferring to hide high in the treesrather than come down to the groundwhere they were vulnerable tolarger, meaner predators.

Apparently not today.

Behind her little Jacob let out ahiccup and a sniffle, drawing thecreature’s attention. When its eyesflicked back to Greta, it growledagain, understanding perfectly thatshe was the threat standing betweenit and its dinner.

“Oh yeah. You know it.” Shejabbed with her knife, but it jumpedback. “You know there’s no way inhell you’re getting past me today, solet’s not even try.”

Unwilling to bow out, the cat coiledback on its haunches like a windingspring. The muscles over its spinetwitched in fitful spasms.

The look in its eyes gave her only afraction of a second to predict thelong leap for her throat before itwas flying through the air.

Her quick reflexes saved her a nastygash—like she needed another scar—but the timber cat was not solucky. The slender animal collapsedat her feet, her blade stuck in its

chest. All that fire and hunger gonein a final leap. Gone in one choked,desperate rush of breath.

“Crap.” Greta resented being forcedto take a life when it shouldn’t havebeen necessary. With a hard lump inher throat, she slowly went to herknee and pulled her dagger, thenwiped it in the snow to clean off theblood.

Little Jacob stopped at her side,looking sad. “Poor kitty. Why was itangry at us?”

Wyatt took the boy’s hand andpulled him a few steps away. “Thatwasn’t normal,” he said. “That catwas more likely to hide from usthan attack us. There was no reasonfor it to turn. The species isn’tusually feral and eats mostlyrodents…never short in supply, soit couldn’t have been starving.”

She rose to stand beside Wyatt. “Ona good day, sure, it wouldn’t havebothered,” she said. “But the moonsare too close now. What, with the

eclipse in only a few more nights,nothing is what it should be.”

“Eclipse?”

He didn’t know? “How long haveyou been in Mylena?”

“It’s been two years.” He paused,his hand tightening over Jacob’sprotectively. “I think. My memoryholes are getting bigger, and it’shard to keep track of the time…”

“Memory holes? You too? I have a

hard time remembering thingsfrom…before…but I thought maybeI was blocking it out just to keepmyself sane, you know?”

He nodded. “I think it’s a side effectof the portal. We’ve all experiencedit to some degree, but it seems likeit hits the younger ones harder andfaster.”

Jacob reached up and pulled on herarm. “I’m five,” he said.

She looked down and spared a

small smile for the little guy untilthe pain in her chest became toomuch for her to bear. Closing hereyes, she remembered Drewlooking up at her in just the sameway, with an endearing smile andbright blue eyes amazingly likeJacob’s.

“Jacob has only been with us for afew months,” Wyatt continued, “andhe says he doesn’t rememberanything from before, but some ofthe older boys have been in Mylena

as long as I have or longer, yet theystill have some memories.”

It didn’t seem fair that they had lostso much, and would eventually loseall memory of their families aswell.

Greta blinked and took a quickinventory. It looked like the boyswere all accounted for and no onehad been hurt. And at least Ray hadstopped looking at her as if hewanted to stick her with her owndagger.

“I’ve been here one year,” headmitted with a grunt. There was adarkness in his eyes that was all toofamiliar. Greta thought sheunderstood where it came from, butit was still disconcerting. For thefirst time she was on the other sideof that darkness, looking into it.

His obvious pain made a personwant to reach out to him, but thehard set of his mouth warned her notto try it…and Greta understood that,too.

She turned to Wyatt. “How?” sheasked. “How have you allsurvived?” How could there be somany of them? She knew this areabackwards and forwards and she’dnever felt an inkling of theirpresence before today. “How didyou get here? Was it the Lamia—thewitch? Do you know where I canfind her?”

Wyatt turned his back on her to saysomething to the boys in a lowvoice. A few of them shot quick

looks at her over his shoulder, butmost were nodding.

Finally, he turned back around. “Wethink you should come with us,” hesaid. “It seems there’s a lot we canlearn from each other.”

…

As Greta followed Wyatt and theothers through the woods, shequickly learned why none of them

had turned up on her radar before.

They were all freaking ninjas.

The way they moved through thetrees—without any sound, blendinginto the scenery and leaving as littleimprint as possible, even when theworld was covered in white. It wassimply amazing.

Wyatt had Jacob perched on hisshoulders. The boy wrapped littlearms around his neck and laid hischeek on top of Wyatt’s head as if

he could easily fall asleep like that.

The other boys fell into step behind,all of them watchful, careful. Raytook the rear with Greta. As theyghosted over rocky patches andbetween trees, they effectivelyformed a train, with the two oldeston the ends and the younger boysprotected between.

After about twenty minutes, as theypassed a section of forest she knewthey’d already come through, Gretaguessed what was going on. “Are

you hoping I’ll get dizzy from allthese twists and turns, enough not toremember how to find you again?Maybe you’re worried I’ll rat youout and lead the hordes of otherhunters to your door?”

Wyatt stopped and turned around.Jacob had indeed fallen asleep.Those little baby eyelids flutteredopen once at the sound of her voice,and then closed again.

He smiled without apology. “We’vegot to protect the only home we

have. Everyone knows never toapproach camp without makingabsolutely certain he hasn’t beenfollowed.”

Camp.

“That’s very…Boy Scouts ofAmerica of you.”

He held two fingers to his foreheadin a mock salute. “Be prepared.”

Greta found herself smiling. “Iguess I can’t argue with that.” The

pithy motto wasn’t only a popularhuman one, it had been Luke’sfavorite saying as well. “Please.”She swallowed hard and gesturedhim forward as she fought therenewed surge of sorrow. “Goahead and lead us all in anothercircle. I promise not to pay anyattention to where we’re going.”

He bent his head to her in agracious nod before glancing atRay. The two of them had a silentcommunication thing going on, like

parents who’d learned to haveentire conversations over the headsof their children without evervoicing a word aloud.

Just what was their story? Afterfour years, many of her memorieshad gone fuzzy, but some of themwere still clear. Sharp. Deep.Painful. Like those of little Drewrunning ahead of her as they walkedthrough the forest—the BlackForest. Greta hadn’t wanted to goon the ridiculous trip to visit a

grandfather she barely knew,especially when it had meant threewhole weeks away from her friendsduring the heart of summer vacation.

Greta, hurry. Come here. It smellsso yummy. He’d been standingbefore the mouth of a cave. He tooka deep sniff and giggled, his little-boy laugh echoing as he steppedforward. It smells like… Mmm. Oh,like candy, and mama’s cookiesbaking in the oven!

She was still too far away to grab

him when he disappeared inside,swallowed up by the shadows.Greta called out for the little buggerto stop. He was going to be introuble if he fell in the dark and putholes in the knees of his new pants.

Only a few feet away, the witch’sterrible cackle came to her fromdeep inside the cave. Sheremembered shouting Drew’s namefrantically, fear choking her as shestarted to run.

The scent of gingerbread had

clogged her nostrils and cloudedher senses. Now, anything evenremotely resembling the smell ofspicy cloves, cinnamon, and nutmegmade her sick to her stomach. Butnot then. Then it had made her feelkind of high and breathless, excited.

She’d raced into the cave,wondering how Drew could havegotten so far ahead of her in such ashort time and feeling a deepcertainty that she was going to betoo late.

And then there had been herbrother’s terrified scream.

“We’re here. This is it.”

With a shake of her head, shestopped behind Ray and watched asthe boys disappeared one after theother through a practically invisiblebreak in an especially dense sectionof bush.

“After you.” He gestured for her toprecede him, but she got the distinctimpression he didn’t offer out of

simple politeness. After all, in frontof him, she was less likely to stabhim in the back…he could stab herinstead.

They watched each other carefully.Finally, her lips twitched, and sheducked to slip through the opening.

Straightening on the other side, shefound herself standing at theentrance to a large sheltered areawith several small, tent-likestructures arranged in a regimentedcircle around a cold fire pit.

“My God.” She looked around inamazement. “I had no idea this washere. It’s off the beaten track a bit,but I’m sure I must have walkedright past it a hundred times and noteven seen it. How did you find this?How have you kept everyone elsefrom finding it?”

Wyatt lifted the sleeping Jacob fromhis shoulders, handing the little oneoff with care to one of the olderboys—she thought his name wasSloane—who headed in the

direction of a large tent, while theothers went over to a large bucketof water and washed up.

Greta followed Wyatt as he and Rayshowed her around. She askedwhere they got the water, since thesight of the bucket had started herskin itching and she remembered ithad been days since she’d been ableto take a bath.

“We have to stay a safe distanceaway from the river or risk beingdiscovered, but every morning a

couple of us head out to bring backthe day’s supply.” Wyatt looked herup and down. “You’re welcome touse the ‘bath house’ if you want to.”

Scratching self-consciously at adisgustingly crusty patch on herneck, she nodded. “That would begreat, thanks.”

She met three more boys—no girls—who’d stayed behind as sentrieswhile the rest had gone hunting.Neither Carter, Leo, or Niall couldhave been older than eleven or

twelve, but like the rest of the kids,their eyes watched her with carefulcuriosity. It didn’t matter how youngthey were, it was clear they’d seentoo much, learned too much,suffered too much.

“We call it the Dugout,” Wyatt wassaying as they continued to themiddle of the camp. “Of course, itwasn’t always this sheltered. Whenwe found it, the glade was naturallyprotected from sight, but we workedhard to make sure it was virtually

invisible to anyone and anythingoutside of our ‘walls’.”

Ray nodded. “But we still don’tlight the fire unless it’s full dark. Inclear daylight, the line of smokerising through the canopy would bea flashing beacon announcing ourlocation to every hungry ogre andeager hunter in Mylena.”

Greta paused. She wasn’t imaginingit. His voice turned brittle and angryevery time he mentioned hunters.“What happened between you and

the other hunter, Ray?”

His glare was full of brilliant blueice shards, and she wasn’t reallysurprised when he turned from herwithout a word and walked away,shoving back the flap of a nearbytent and disappearing inside it.

“I’m sorry about that,” Wyatt said.

Greta shook her head. Ray wasdefensive, hurt, angry, and therewas no doubt in her mind that thisplace was the cause of it. She

couldn’t very well hold a grudgeagainst someone who reminded herso much of herself.

“You know, I heard a story recentlyabout two humans being hunteddown on the gnome king’s ordersnot too long ago. One of them diedin the forest, and it was assumed theother one was captured and dealtwith, but I’m thinking now thesecond human got away, didn’t he?”

“Yes, he got away,” Wyattmurmured. “But like you said, his

brother didn’t.”

…

For the first time in days, Greta wasclean and warm, and it felt great.She sat cross-legged inside a smalltent on top of a pallet covered witha warm fur blanket. She’d have tothank whoever donated it, becausethis was definitely morecomfortable than planting her butt inthe snow and sleeping against a tree

trunk.

Examining the shelter more closely,she noticed the tent had been madeby stretching stitched-together,cured animal hides over sturdybranches framed with crude twinethat looked like it had been stiffenedinto place with wax. It wasimpressive work for a bunch of kidsleft to fend for themselves.

In fact, as tough as she believedherself to be, she never would havemanaged half the stuff Wyatt and the

boys had put together to keepthemselves alive. If not for Luke…

She dropped her chin to her chestand closed her eyes, taking severaldeep breaths.

God, she was tired. More than that.Exhausted. Pure mechanicalsurvival instinct was the only thingkeeping her going now. Without anyreal food in the last two days, nouninterrupted sleep in about as long,and enough shocks to keep hernerves wound tight as a spring, it

was no wonder she was running onempty.

Or at least, that’s what she wasblaming the sudden rush of tears on.

A twitch throbbed in her cheek justbeneath her eye, and her handsshook. The strain was starting toshow in a big way. Wyatt hadn’teven pressed her for informationafter showing her around the camp,just said there was time for her torest before they needed to talk.

Part of her had wanted to warnthese kids about the coming eclipseand move along. The idea of stayingand taking on even a shred ofresponsibility for them sucked theair from her lungs and gave her theshakes. Trouble was, she hadn’tbeen able to look at little Jacobwithout imagining the rabid beaststhat would be hunting him down in amatter of days. In the end, she’dreluctantly agreed to stay just for thenight. Long enough to explain aboutthe eclipse and offer a few

suggestions.

She shrugged out of her coat andpulled off her thick wool sweater,leaving only a thinner undershirt.She opened her bag and dug aroundinside until she grasped the handleof her comb. There was a sharp rapon the outside of the tent flap as shelifted her arms to unbraid her hair.

“Come in.”

Wyatt poked his head in just asGreta winced at the stab of pain

shooting down her arm. “What’s thematter?” he asked.

“It’s nothing.” She grimaced. “I gotclawed and spat on by a ghoul afew days ago, and it’s taking longerthan I’d like to heal.”

He stepped inside the tent,crouching so his head wouldn’t hitthe roof. He’d removed his wintergear, and yet his presenceoverwhelmed the space, making thesnug enclosure feel too small for thetwo of them to occupy together.

Her grip on the handle of the combtightened when Wyatt moved to sitin a matching cross-legged positionin front of her. She noticed then thathis brown hair had silky blondstreaks. It curled over his ears andat the nape of his neck.

His knees knocked hers and sheshifted. There were dimples in hischeeks as he looked back at her.She forced a small cough anddropped her gaze, but there was asudden roaring in her ears.

“…help with that?”

She cleared her throat. “Sorry,what?” she asked, feeling the flushrise in her face.

“Do you want me to help you brushout your hair?”

“My hair? Oh, no of course not. No,that’s okay. I can do it. You don’thave to—”

“I don’t mind.” He motioned for herto turn around. “It’s been a long

time since I’ve brushed out a girl’shair.”

“So you’ve done this before?”

“I used to brush my kid sister’s hairfor her because our mother leftearly in the morning for work. Itwas my job to get the two of us upand ready for school.”

She hesitated.

“Come on, I know you’re tired.” Hegestured for her to turn around.

She thought about refusing—formaybe half a second. But thetemptation to have someone else dothe chore and save her shoulder theaching strain swayed her. Sherepositioned herself so her backwas to him. She felt him movecloser and tensed. He took thebeginning of her braid at the base ofher head and ran the length of itthrough his closed fist gently, as iftesting its thickness.

“Uh, so…you have a sister?”

“Her name’s Danicka. She was myparents’ mid-life crisis, comingalong when I considered myselfmuch too old for a new sister. Ithought I was too good to babysitand play Barbie, or for brushinglittle girls’ hair.”

“But you did it anyway.”

“Yeah.” He untied the strip of clothholding her hair, and pushed hisfingers into the braid to pull it apart.“She would be seven now, I guess.”

She half-turned to look back at him.“Where did you live in NorthDakota?”

“What does it matter?” Heshrugged. “A place called Corbin. Itwas small. Just a crossroads in themiddle of nowhere. There was abar on one side of the street and agas station on the other. Our schoolwas beside the church at the nextintersection, with a bunch of oldhouses in between. Most of the kidswere bused in from farms and rural

villages, but there were probablyless than two hundred students anygiven year.”

“You miss it,” she said, turningback around.

“I bet it’s already been swallowedup to make way for a new highwayor something. The school isprobably a shopping mall now.”Wyatt actually sounded as if he’daccepted his fate.

“You must miss your family.”

“Yeah.”

Finally, he stretched his arm aroundher and opened his hand for hercomb. She gave it to him. “I stillremember the last time I spoke toher,” he said. “It was the weekendof her fifth birthday and she wasupset because I was going awaywith my Scouts troop.”

“Be prepared?”

He chuckled. “You got it.”

“So, what happened?”

“I went with the group on anovernight hiking trip. We left afterschool on Friday and headed to thenature reserve. By the time webackpacked in and got set up at thesite, it was almost dark.”

He paused. “The campfire wascrackling nicely and the sun hadstarted to go down when I noticedone of the boys—Jason—wasmissing. I was the oldest in thegroup, but I still never should have

left the supervisors. I thought he’dbe just outside camp looking attoadstools or something, so I startedwalking a perimeter, circling fartherand farther outward, trying to findhim. I didn’t realize how far I’dgone looking for him until I blinkedand it was almost full dark.”

Behind her, Wyatt dragged the combthrough her hair. One careful pass,stopping about halfway down topick at a knot, then continuing to thebottom. He followed this with the

weight of his palm on her head,smoothing all the way to the ends.And then the process was repeated.It felt so good, so relaxing, shecould have fallen right to sleep.

“Why did he take off?” she asked,thinking of Drew and the way he’dstubbornly dashed ahead of her thatday, as if something had beencalling him. As if he’d fallen undera spell.

“At first I didn’t understand whatcould have gotten into him,” he

said. “Kid was decent. I wouldn’thave pegged him as the type to upand leave the group like that. Butthen I caught this scent. It wasamazing, like my mom had justpulled one of her blueberry piesfrom the oven and put it out on awindowsill somewhere so thebreeze could take the smell right tome.”

She winced and closed her eyes.“For me it was gingerbread,” shewhispered. “The gooey, spicy,

warm smell of fresh gingerbreadused to be my most favorite thing inthe world.”

“That’s how she lures them,” Wyattsaid. “With something they won’t beable to resist.” He took ashuddering breath. “And once thescent was in my system, before Iknew it I was heading straight for abreak in the cliff face that I hadn’teven noticed before.”

“Was Jason there?” Greta knewwhat the answer would be. She

could see the scene vividly in hermind already. The fire. The cage.

“Yes, she’d lured him in just as shewas luring me. Locked him in acage sitting against the wall of thecave. I was so surprised, before Iunderstood what was happening shehad me locked up in the thing, too.”

“What did you do?”

“Waited. Once she was donepreparing her spell, she came backand tried to pull Jason out of the

cage, but I rushed her.”

“You stopped her?”

He shook his head. “God, I tried.But I wasn’t fast enough or strongenough. She threw Jason in the fireand I remember shouting. I jumpedforward, trying to catch him. Hewas screaming. Instead of closingmy hands around hot, burning flesh,I got…nothing. The screams juststopped, and he was gone.”

Gone.

Greta swallowed as her ownmemories cascaded hard and fastover her vision, a horror movie on aloop—playing again and again.

“She pushed you in, too?”

He nodded. “Before I could turnaround.”

At least Greta had saved Drew. Atleast the witch hadn’t gotten herbrother.

Wyatt pulled at another knot before

digging his fingers into her hair, andfinally fanning the length over hershoulders.

His voice sounded thicker, as if itwas hard for him to get the wordsout. “It happened so damn fast. Icould see the flames licking allaround me, but they didn’t burn. Fora long minute, it was as ifeverything but me had beenengulfed by the blaze. Like I wascocooned in a bubble while thewhole world burned.”

He reached around her waist toreturn her comb. She took it anddrew her knees around so she couldturn to face him again.

“When I came to, I was here.” Hisface twisted into a wry mask.“Well, not right here, but inMylena.”

“What about the Lamia?” she asked.Greta was close. After all theseyears, she was closing in on theelusive creature. One break. That’sall she needed was one freaking

break.

“Nowhere. I never saw the witchagain.”

Crap.

“But I know she isn’t the only one.There are others.”

“How do you know? Where arethey?”

“They hide out in the deepest cavesof the Mylean mountains. The one

stealing human children isAgramon’s personal pet, but thereare others.”

“Agramon? You know of him? Hecontrols the witch? Are you sure?”Greta rambled as her hearthammered in her chest. “Do all thewitches have the same power toopen portals? Would they help us?”

“I don’t know the answer to any ofthat,” he said. “The source wassketchy, since I was eavesdroppingon a conversation between a couple

gnomes while trying to make surethey didn’t notice me. I haven’t beenable to confirm or deny what theysaid, but ever since I told Ray, he’sbeen itching to head out and find thewitches.”

“Why haven’t you?”

“They’re supposed to be deep in thebowels of those mountains. Theterrain is impossible to cross, andwith a bunch of little kids in tow…”His lips pressed together tightly. “Ijust can’t risk taking everyone into

that kind of danger. Not until we’reable to gather enough supplies, andnot without being absolutely certainwhere we’re headed.”

A scream of frustration crawled upher throat. It forced her to close hereyes and take deep breaths. Thedisappointment was crushing, butshe focused on the bright spot.Wyatt had given her some importantinformation—more than she’d beenable to gather on her own in fouryears.

“What about a different wayhome?” she asked. “Have you everheard of anyone else finding aportal and going through without theLamia?”

He shook his head. His gaze washeavy, sad. “No. I’m sorry.”

Clenching her fists in her lap, shenodded. “I’m sorry, too,” shewhispered.

“We looked for a little while.Scoured every cave and hollow in

the forest. But after Ray’s brotherwas killed by hunters, I justcouldn’t put the boys out thereanymore. It was too dangerous.”The frown creasing his foreheadmade him look older than he was.Older than dirt. He took on so muchresponsibility. How did he managewithout it crushing him? Didn’t itever get to be too much?

She shivered. “What did you do?”

“That’s when we set up camp here.For the sake of all our lives, we had

to accept that this is where fate haddelivered us. My job is to keepthese kids alive and give them somekind of a life. Some kind ofstability, maybe even…family.”

“What about your own family?Don’t you want to see them again?Don’t you miss them?”

“Of course. Every day. But I thinkthis is where I was meant to be.”

“What? Why?”

He looked down, staring at herhands. She tried to untwist them,keep them still.

“Because they need someone. Halfof them wouldn’t be alive if I hadn’tgotten them out of that place, andbrought them here.”

Greta shivered, feeling as if thetemperature had suddenly dropped.“Got them out of what place?”

“You don’t know?”

She shook her head. From the lookon his face, she wasn’t going to likewhat was coming next.

“I must have lost consciousness onthe way through that portal. When Icame to I was in a dungeon withthree other human boys I’d nevermet before, locked up in the dark.”

This was the first part of Wyatt’sstory that felt completely unfamiliar.The rest she could have guessedfrom her own experience, but notthis. “Where?”

“At first I had no idea. I couldn’tsee a foot in front of my face, but Icould hear the others. The placeechoed with the sobs and screamsof more captives. They were allaround me. Caverns and cavernsfilled with them.”

Her stomach dropped. “Allhuman?”

“Goblins. Faeries. Ghouls. Ogres.And yes, human boys. All of themimprisoned in the dark like me.”

Greta’s throat clenched. “Oh, God.”

Wyatt nodded. “Agramon’s lair. Hegives the Lamia orders to bringhuman boys to Mylena. To him.”

“For what purpose? And how comeonly boys?”

“I spent days locked up in that pit,confused and scared out of my wits.When I was finally let out of mycell, it was pretty obvious. Wewere being put to work, and I canonly assume Agramon wanted boys

because he thought they were betterequipped for the heavy lifting. He’sbuilding a chamber of some kind, inthe mountains—I think it’s almostfinished—and he’s using humans ashis free labor force.”

Wyatt’s hand tightened into a fist inhis lap. “The gnome guardsresponsible for keeping us in linehad a special affinity for whips.Whenever one of the boys stumbledunder the weight of the stone welugged and shaped and stacked all

day, every day, he would be lashedto within an inch of his life. Someof those boys were so young, Greta.I couldn’t—” His shoulderstightened. She wondered just howmany lives he’d saved by puttinghimself beneath the whip in place ofthe other children.

She now had yet another reason tohunt this Agramon bastard down.“What is it all for?”

“I don’t know, but Agramoncouldn’t use Mylean slaves to build

it for him because they turned tooquickly. And when that happened,they’d be lost to the moons and hewasn’t able to control themanymore. The wildness of their rawforms made them too unpredictable,not to mention violent.”

“How did you escape?”

“That would be thanks in part to ourresident juvenile delinquent, Ray,who I don’t doubt was no strangerto bars and armed guards before hearrived here, even at the bullheaded

age of fifteen. When he and hisyounger brother showed up inAgramon’s dungeons, Rayimmediately started plotting. Itdidn’t take him long. After only afew months, he was picking a fightwith one of the gnomes while hisbrother slipped the keys off a guardand tossed them to me to startfreeing the others.”

Wyatt smiled but it was a tightsmile reflecting an ocean ofbitterness. “Unfortunately, that’s

about as far as their planning went.Between blows to his ribs andhead, Ray looked right at me andbegged me to take his brother out ofthere. But while he was getting hisstubborn ass kicked, the guardswere onto us before I’d openedthree cells. We made a desperaterun for our lives. I got ten boys out,including Ray’s brother.” He shookhis head, his voice lowering. “Wehad to leave the rest.”

It wasn’t hard to see that the

decision Wyatt had been forced tomake still bothered him. “I can stillhear them screaming at me not toleave them.” He gazed off intonothing. She didn’t know what tosay.

After a long moment, he lookedback at her and shrugged. “HowRay, the stubborn fool, managed notonly to stay alive, but get away andfollow us out of Agramon’s lair inthe shape he was in… I still haven’tgot a clue. But, God, when he found

us two days later, I will neverforget the way he looked. Thebeating that guy took, willingly, tofree his brother… But then to losethe kid so soon after…”

She shuddered. He’s safe. Drew issafe.

Greta didn’t realize Wyatt hadstopped talking. She glanced up tofind him watching her with a darkintensity. “Are you okay?”

She jerked back, not ready to reveal

her own scars, talk of her ownjourney.

“Where was Jason, the boy youfollowed through the fire?” Sheclasped her fingers together tightlyin her lap. “What happened tohim?” Jason was one name shehadn’t heard in the introductionsearlier.

Wyatt frowned. “I don’t know. Inever saw him after he fell throughthat portal in the fire back home. Ispent over a year in Agramon’s

dungeon before Ray arrived and weescaped. I looked for Jason’s face,but it was like I had imagined him. Istarted to tell myself that he wassafe at home after all, but couldn’tquite believe it. There were rumors,you see. Rumors that some of theboys the Lamia brings to Agramonare destined for another purpose.That they’re being kept separatefrom the rest.”

“Do you know where? Why?”

“No.”

A tense silence fell between them.She ran her hands through hersmooth hair, and tossed the lengthback over her shoulder.

Wyatt continued to watch her. Shesuddenly felt self-conscious. Wasthere something on her face? Dirt,or— Oh God, had she been walkingaround all this time with ogre bloodall over her? She swiped at hercheek, but realized it was pointlessand forced herself to stop.

“Um, thanks.”

“For what?”

She grimaced as she separated herhair into thick sections to re-braidit. “Not taking advantage of myweakness today out in the woods?Trusting me with the location ofyour camp? Giving me a place torest—”

“Not to mention, I’m not holding agrudge even though you threatenedto slit my throat and maim myboys.”

“Yeah.” She chuckled. “That, too.”

“No problem.”

Oddly enough, Greta was calmerthan she’d been in days. Tired, butsafe and warm. She took a deepbreath and the reality of hersituation came crashing in on her allat once. Not like an avalanche thatdestroyed everything in its path.More like a sudden shower on ablistering August day. Sheremembered days like that, whenthe humidity was so high that when

the storm finally came, she andDrew would rush outside together,lift their laughing faces to the sky,and wait for the water to crashdown in sheets that washed awaythe grime.

She wasn’t alone anymore. She wassurrounded by people who knewwhat she was.

And they didn’t hate her. Theyactually understood.

The shadows in the already dark

tent lengthened the hollows beneathWyatt’s eyes and cheekbones,making him look older and tougherthan he was. At the same time, ahank of hair had fallen over his leftbrow, making him seem just asyoung and vulnerable as the others.

His thin nose wanted to be snootybut didn’t quite make it because ofthe peach fuzz coating his cheeksand the sincerity of his quick smile.

She averted her gaze as she finishedtying off her first braid and started

on the other.

He kept watching her as if thesilence between them wascompletely natural, but inside herstomach flip-flopped. A darkfeeling stirred. The feeling hadintense amethyst eyes. It taunted herin a husky voice, telling her that shewas deluding herself if she thoughtshe had anything in common withthis guy just because he was human.That she could barely be calledhuman herself anymore. Humanity

was more than a fact of biology, itwas a state of being—and whileWyatt and the boys had managed tohold onto theirs by holding ontoeach other, she hadn’t had thebenefit of their support to keep hergrounded.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

She jerked back to him and droppedher braid. She tried hiding hershaking hands under her butt. Hesearched her expression with asmall frown.

“For what?” She laughed, notactually wanting an answer.

“For whatever it is that makes youlook so sad.”

“Hey, I’m just tired. And hungry.How do I get a bite to eat aroundhere?”

He let out a breath and shiftedbackward. “Food. Sure, of course.It won’t be fancy, but I can get yousomething warm and filling.”

Getting to his feet, he backed up tothe tent flap, shoulders bent. “Whydon’t you rest for a while and I’llhave Jacob come and get you whenit’s ready.”

“Oh, no. I could help.” She movedto get up with him, but Wyatt put ahand on her shoulder and forciblypushed her back into the pile ofanimal skins and thick blankets.

“No you don’t. Anyone who couldfall asleep sitting in the snow withher back up against a tree, and not

hear my heavy footfalls coming upright behind her”—Greta groanedagain and shook her head, but heonly grinned—“deserves at least anhour’s rest before the hordedescends.”

She gladly relented. “Okay, thanks.An hour should be good.”

“I wish it could be more, but I thinkthat’s about as long as I can keepeveryone else from mobbing you.Some of them haven’t seen a girl inso long, they’ve forgotten what one

looks like. I think the younger boysare hoping you’ll be a suitablereplacement for the mothers andsisters they left behind. Andunfortunately, some are entering thatoh-so-much-fun stage calledpuberty.”

She ducked her head, feeling theheat rise in her cheeks. “Ah, well…aren’t I lucky?”

“I think showing off your swordmight distract them from the fact thatyou have breasts…at least for a

little while.”

She choked, her mouth falling openin shock. “Gee, thanks. Do you thinkso?”

He grinned and waggled hiseyebrows. “It distracted me for,oh…at least a full minute.”

Greta laughed as she realized hewas joking, but a subtle tensioncrossed his face before he turned togo. Greta told herself it had beenher imagination.

Chapter Eleven

She woke to the rhythmic in and outof a soft snore and the sensation of asmall head shoved into her armpit.With her eyes closed, she confirmedby smell and by feel that the solidlittle person cozied up to her sidegiving off enough heat to keep anentire village warm, was none otherthan Jacob.

He had slipped into her tent a little

while earlier with all the stealth ofa baby elephant, stumbled over herfeet and crawled under the blanketsto curl into her side. Greta hadn’tbeen able to bring herself to sit upand tell the little booger picker thatshe was already awake, so she’dlain there quietly, soaking in hiswarmth, breathing in his little-boyscent, and doing her best not to thinkof Drew.

Eventually, she must have fallenasleep. Luckily, she couldn’t

remember dreaming.

Opening her eyes made nodifference in what she could see—which was absolutely nothing. Herstomach grumbled, reminding herthat she’d been hungry beforefalling asleep, and that hadn’tchanged.

She’d been out long enough for thesuns to set. Greta didn’t want tothink about what the same darknesswould bring in just another coupleof days, when the eclipse turned

every native creature into amaddened beast whose only instinctwas to hunt and kill, but she had tothink about it so the boys couldprepare.

Which reminded her that she’dforgotten to explain what was goingto happen when she and Wyatttalked earlier.

Careful not to wake Jacob, sheeased her arm from beneath his slimshoulders and carefully slipped outof the pallet. She reached blindly to

the left for her coat, and found itlying where she’d left it folded atopher pack. She would have pattedaround for her sword, too, but shehad a feeling it was on the otherside of the kid.

Deciding that the one dagger stillstrapped to her ankle would have todo, she carefully pulled on the coatand crawled over Jacob to duck outof the tent.

The afternoon had been clear andbright, which meant the night was

clear and cold. Not too late yet, butthe harsh bite in the air nipped atGreta’s nose as she gazed up atMylena’s large moons and theconstellation of stars that circledthem.

It always surprised her howdifferent the sky was. Sometimes,especially if she was out huntingdeep in the forest where the treeslooked the same as home, the snowfelt the same, and the air smelledthe same…Greta could almost

believe she was home. Until shelooked up, and all her illusionswere shattered once again.

Blinking, she folded her arms andheld herself tightly. The shelterWyatt had let her use was on theouter edges of the circle. Sheassumed that was because theyoungest boys bunked down in tentscloser to the center of the camp,while the older ones formed aprotective wall around them. It’s theway she would have arranged them

if it had been up to her.

A fire burned low a few feet away,and she walked toward it. Threeboys huddled together on one sideof the campfire, while Wyatt andRay sat on the other side, talkingquietly.

Wyatt looked up at her approach.“Hey, I thought maybe you weredone for the night.”

She smiled. “Someone snores.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, and for such atiny kid, he’s a little oven. I bet itwas like a sauna in there.” Shifting,he patted a spot between him andRay. “But you look cold now. Comesit. We have to keep the fire low soit’s not detectible outside of thecamp, but it’s still warm.”

“Thanks.” She glanced sideways atRay. He’d shifted a few inchesaway and turned to the fire,engrossed in poking at it with a longstick. The same couldn’t be said for

the three boys across from them,who were staring with raptattention.

She took a seat, rubbing her arms upand down briskly.

“Are you hungry?” Wyatt asked.

“Yes, but only if it’s not too muchtrouble.”

Ray got to his feet. “We saved yousome dinner. I’ll get it.” With a darkscowl creasing his brow, he turned

and walked away.

“Is he okay?” she asked Wyatt.

He paused, looking at the three boysstill watching with avid interest.“Time’s up, guys. Get on to bed.”

Surprisingly, none of them voicedany complaint, although there werea few disappointed looks back andforth. Greta nodded as they saidtheir goodnights and trundled offtogether. She imagined they wouldbe whispering in their tent about her

late into the night.

Wyatt braced an arm on his knee,leaning closer to the fire. “Since werescued Jacob, Ray has beenanxious. He thinks Agramon’s thugshave decided we might somehow bea threat, and that they’re activelylooking for us instead of hopingwe’ll just waste away from the coldand hunger.”

Gazing into the flames, Gretathought of the bounty on her head,and a fresh wave of bitterness

washed through her. “It’s entirelypossible,” she said. “How did youmanage to rescue Jacob?”

Wyatt sighed. “Once every fewweeks Ray hikes back to the edgesof Agramon’s fortress for a littlerecon work.”

Greta’s head jerked up at that. “It’sclose by?”

“Far enough that he’s usually goneovernight. Ray and I have debatedthe wisdom of packing up and

moving farther away, maybe to theanonymity of a big city, but Rhazuawould be the only realistic choice,and that’s out of the question.”

Since Greta had discarded the ideaof going to Rhazua herself, sheunderstood completely. “Because ofthe gnome influence. It would belike begging them to bring you rightback to Agramon.”

“Right.”

“But isn’t it dangerous for Ray to go

out—?”

“Very.”

“And you still let him do it?”

The answer came from behind herin a clipped, defensive voice. “I’mnot a child. I don’t need anyone’spermission.”

Turning, Greta grasped themakeshift bowl Ray thrust into herchest. It looked as if it had beenmade from a smooth, hollowed-out

piece of thick tree bark.

“Thanks,” she said.

After sending a warning look inRay’s direction, Wyatt continued.“Yes, it’s dangerous, but we bothagreed months ago that no matter therisk, we couldn’t just leave the restof those kids to rot under thedemon’s thumb. We’ve been tryingto put together a plan to free them.”

Greta’s mouth dropped open. Shelooked back and forth between the

two boys—who had obviously losttheir minds.

Ray interrupted before she couldput the words together to tell themso. “No other human in Mylena hasthe kind of freedom you’veenjoyed,” he snarled. “While youwere out there working for the verycreatures who would like to seeyour own kind dead or in chains—”

“That’s not true. They’re not allbad, and…” She stopped. “I didn’tknow there was anyone else.”

“And that’s supposed to make it allbetter?”

Wyatt glared at him. “Ray, shoveit.”

Greta kept her eyes on Ray. “No,he’s entitled to his anger. We’ve alldone what we felt was necessary tosurvive.”

“That’s easy for you to say whenyou aren’t the one trapped in chainsas a slave in the darkest, dankestdungeon in Mylena. Or forced to run

for your life like an animal.”

That may have been true once, butnot anymore. She was running justas fast as everyone else. She lookedinto the bowl of hearty-smellingstew and began eating, but shedidn’t taste much. “Maybe you’reright,” she said after forcing herselfto swallow. “So what would youhave me do about it now?”

He hesitated, looking back at her.

“Stay with us,” Wyatt said.

“Help us free the boys fromAgramon,” Ray added.

Greta couldn’t bear to see thecautious hope behind Ray’s scowl.He was serious.

He was also crazy.

Someone had to be the voice ofreason.

Someone like you? What you’replanning is just as crazy, maybemore so.

At least she was planning to go afterAgramon alone, not risk the lives ofa bunch of little kids.

“Let’s say you even stood a chanceagainst this particular breed ofbadass, even though everything I’veheard says you wouldn’t last tenminutes. What then?” She hatedplaying devil’s advocate, but it wasthe only way Wyatt and Ray—especially Ray—were going torealize the depth of the danger theywere talking about getting

themselves into.

Ray got to his feet, his face twistingin anger. “I knew she wouldn’t helpus.”

Greta slammed her bowl on the logbeside her and rose as well. Theystood nose to nose. She put herhands on her hips.

There was no point telling him thatshe was planning to go afterAgramon herself—he would onlyinsist on coming along—but

someone had to force him to see thathe would need more than just anger,determination, and balls in order tomake something like this work. Heneeded an actual plan, somethingshe still hadn’t figured out forherself, damn it. “What are yougoing to do with all those kids, evenif you manage to get them free of thedungeons?”

“What do you mean?” he demanded.

“You know exactly what I mean.How many children are we talking

here, besides the ones alreadybunked up together in these tinylittle tents?” She gestured at theentire camp.

“At least twenty or thirty,” Wyattsaid, still sitting on the log. “Couldbe more than that by now.”

“What does it matter if there are ahundred, or just one?” Ray’s voicerose with his temper as he lookedbetween them. “It doesn’t changetheir suffering. It doesn’t changeanything.”

“No, it doesn’t change theirsuffering,” she agreed. “And itdoesn’t change how you feel abouthaving to leave them there. But itchanges everything else, Ray. Youhave to see that.”

He was looking down his nose ather now as if she’d turned intosomething he wouldn’t even tolerateon the bottom of his shoe. “What doI have to see?”

Wyatt stood beside her. “The samething I’ve been trying to pound into

your thick skull for months.”

He looked at Wyatt as if he’d beenbetrayed by his own brother.

“Even if you could free them,” sherepeated patiently, trying to keepeveryone on point. “The eclipse isin just a few days.”

“You mentioned that before,” Wyattsaid. “I take it this is a big deal?”

“If you consider everyone inMylena going moon phase all at

once a big deal, then yeah it’s verybig. Huge.”

“What do you mean?” Ray asked.“Are you talking about the Lost?”

She shook her head. “The Lost arecreatures that succumb to the normalpull of the moons because ofweakness in spirit or body, andaren’t strong enough to come backfrom it. But an eclipse is different.The eclipse forces the moon phaseon every creature in Mylena. At thesame time.”

Ray gasped. “Everyone?”

She raised her hand. “Well, most.All the ones who’ve reachedphysical maturity.”

“So you’re saying we’re going to beoverrun by an army of rabidnutcases once this thing starts?”

“Something like that. Animals,ghouls, ogres, sprites, gnomes,faeries…goblins. They’re all goingto turn. It’s going to be a free-for-allacross every inch of this place.”

Greta focused on Ray. “If youthought bounty hunters were bad,what are you going to do when thiswhole county is hunting us?”

“They don’t know we’re here.”

“They’ll smell you out, don’t doubtit. This little oasis won’t protectyou. It won’t be big enough, or safeenough, or hidden enough.”

Wyatt raked his hands through hishair. “Jesus, Ray. No matter howmuch we want to help the others,

this is beyond what we can handle.”

“Be smart, Ray. Use your head.”Greta locked gazes with thepassionate teen. She felt as if shehad just channeled a little piece ofLuke, who’d drilled her constantlyto leave her emotions out of anybattle she actually wanted to win. Itwas ironic, considering she wasafter revenge—a course drivenlargely by emotion—on the personresponsible for his death.

Ray seethed for a long moment. She

could practically see the steamcoming out his ears and sighed,knowing they hadn’t gotten throughto him. But finally, he gave them asharp nod.

“All right. Smart I can agree with. Iknow we’ll need a plan—not onlyfor rescuing the others, but forgetting all of us out of Mylenaafterward—hopefully before theeclipse turns this place into a warzone. But we already knowgenerally where the other Lamia

are. It can’t be that hard to findthem. And once we’re in themountains, there are plenty of cavesto wait out the eclipse in.”

Hell, he hadn’t understood a wordshe said. “That’s not a plan, Ray.For something like this, you’d needa miracle. What you’re proposing isimpossible, especially given thetimeframe.”

“Not impossible,” he saiddefensively. “Difficult, yes. But Ithink we can do it. Wyatt and I

aren’t experts, but we’ve becomecomfortable enough with ourweapons, and a few of the boys areold enough now…”

“Damn it. No. That I won’t allow,”Wyatt said in a clipped voice.

Ray frowned. The suggestion thatthey put weapons in the hands ofthose children left a bad taste in allof their mouths—as it should. Andyet after a moment he squared hisjaw and continued. “Wyatt, whetherwe go after the others or wait out

the eclipse, they’ll need to learn.Some of them are ready,” heinsisted. “This could be our onlychance. I know my way aroundAgramon’s fortress like nobodyelse. If I can get us inside, we’ll beable to get those kids out, I’mcertain of it.”

“How many?” Wyatt stood to faceRay with his hands fisted at hissides. “How many will die in theprocess? How many will have to beleft behind again?”

“I won’t let—”

“You won’t let what? You won’t letyourself be killed? You barelymade it out of there the last time.”

“I can do it, Wyatt. You know Ican,” he said.

“What about the rest?” Greta hatedganging up on Ray, but he had to seehow doomed this was. “Themountains are treacherous, and wedon’t know what kinds of thingslurk in those caves you talk about

hiding in. And do you honestly thinkI’d still be here if the Lamia was soeasy to find, if portals to earth justpopped open whenever you neededone? Like I said, it’s going to take amiracle to accomplish—”

His eyes glowed with the light ofthe fire. “Well then, isn’t it luckyfor us that we found our very ownbounty hunter out in the woodstoday to even out the odds?”

Wyatt stepped between them, eyeingthem both warily. “Come on, Ray.

Not now.”

“Why not now?” His voice brokeon a high note, betraying the depthof his emotion.

Wyatt sighed. “It’s getting late.”

“Listen,” Greta said. “Why don’t Itry to give the older boys someweapons training tomorrow? I can’tpromise anything, but it might giveyou guys a better chance when theeclipse comes.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Therenewed spark in Ray’s eyes causedthe ball of dread in the pit of herstomach to get bigger. She snappedher mouth shut as soon as the wordscame out, but it was too late.

“Don’t you get your hopes up, Ray.I still haven’t agreed to your plan.”Wyatt turned to her. “But if you’rewilling to give them some pointers,I’ll start packing up camp tomorrowso we can leave the glade and findsomewhere safer to hunker down.

Go on,” Wyatt said to Ray. “Whydon’t you get a few hours of sleepand you can take the second watchlater on.”

Ray finally nodded. Smart move.The guy had pushed enough buttonsfor one night.

After he left, Wyatt groaned andrubbed both hands over his facebefore looking at her. “Do you wantto go for a walk? I need to checksome things out.”

“Okay, sure.” She shoved her handsin her pockets and shrugged. It wasdark, but the sky was clear and themoons were bright. They fell intostep beside each other. When theypassed by her tent, she stopped.“Do you mind if I grab a fewthings? I might be able to set somesnares. If we’re lucky we’d get anice surprise for breakfast.”

“Sure, that sounds good.”

She ducked back into the tentwithout waking Jacob and carefully

grabbed her pack and her sword.

“Ready?”

She nodded.

They walked together in silence,stopping every once in a while toset a snare, which wasn’t easy inthe dark. Greta started to feel self-conscious when he hadn’t saidanything in a long time, so sheasked, “Does Jacob play musicalsleeping bags with everyone?”

Wyatt chuckled. “He does have ahabit of crawling into bed withwhoever he’s spent the majority ofthe day with. Most of the time,that’s Sloane. Don’t worry, I’ll grabhim when we go back. He’ll have ahissy fit when he sees boring oldSloane sleeping beside him in themorning.”

Just thinking about it made hersmile. He was too cute, that kid.

“You’re real pretty when you smile,you know that?”

She stopped in her tracks andglanced away, uncertain how torespond. Maybe he would think shewas scoping out the forest floor fora good place to plant the last snare.

“But I guess ‘pretty’ doesn’t mattermuch to a bounty hunter, does it?”

Wyatt was blushing when shelooked back up. She noticed theflecks of gold in his warm browneyes—so different from Isaac’sbolder, violet stare. She couldn’thelp comparing the two of them.

Both of them were strong. Both ofthem seemed chained to theirobligations. But where one wasdarkly intense and went out of hisway to push every button she had,the other was easygoing and sosweet it made her chest ache.

“Um, no. I’m not pretty.” Her voicewas barely audible. Embarrassed,she thought about the dozens ofscars that proved it and startedwalking again, a little faster. In alouder, breezy voice, she said,

“And you’re right, it doesn’t reallymatter.”

He took a few long steps to catch upwith her, hands stuffed in hispockets as he looked down at theground in front of them.

She took a deep breath. “I shouldn’tbe allowed back inside your camp,Wyatt. There are so many thingsafter me right now, I’m only puttingyou and everyone else in danger.”

“I think we both know there’s a

more pressing danger on thehorizon, and you’re our best hope ofstaying clear of it.”

She stopped and faced him, shakingher head. “You don’t even knowme. Just because I’m human doesn’tmake me a good person, doesn’tmean you should trust me.”

“I understand.”

“No, you don’t. You can’t,” shesaid. “I heard stories about otherhumans in Mylena, but I never

looked very hard for them. Youwant to know why?”

“You don’t have to explain.”

“Because it was easier. Even if Isuspected the truth, I was moreworried about myself than any ofyou.”

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of.You didn’t know anything for sure.Your first priority was to survive.”

“You don’t get it. Nothing’s

changed. I can’t stay. I have to—”

He grabbed her shoulders andsqueezed. “Hey. We did okay onour own. And although I’m gladyou’re here now, I promise not toask for more than you can give.Whenever you need to go, just…go.”

She didn’t know what to say. Hewas the embodiment of patience andhonor. Greta didn’t want to be therewhen she failed him and thatpatience turned to hate and disgust.

She blew out a breath andpretended to pick at a smudge ofdirt on her coat.

Wyatt took pity on her and steppedaway. “You haven’t said how yougot stuck here. How did youbecome a bounty hunter?”

He deserved to hear her story afterhe had told her his own. She openedher mouth, but nothing came out.

“Never mind,” he said, letting heroff the hook. “It’s okay, I

understand.”

That only made her feel worse.“No,” she rushed to say, grabbinghis sleeve. “It’s just…I don’t thinkI’ve ever told anyone the wholestory before. I mean…Luke, but—”

“Luke?”

“He found me.” It was as good aplace as any to start. “I fell throughthe portal when I tried to save mylittle brother from the witch—and inthat at least, I succeeded. I

remember pushing him out of theway just in time, although I don’tremember much else. I think Iblacked out.”

“That would make sense.”

“When I came to, it was dark andcold. I was alone. I didn’t notice thesnow at first, just stumbled out of acave. It wasn’t until I looked up atthe sky and saw the two moons thatI started to get confused.” Shestopped and looked up. “But Ithought I was just imagining things,

or it was some trick of the light, likeAurora Borealis. Until morningcame and there were also two suns.Even then, I kept expecting to takeone more step and look around tofind myself on my grandfather’sdoorstep.”

“You weren’t greeted byAgramon’s welcome wagon andtaken to his fortress?”

Greta felt guilty now for havingbeen spared that particular horrorwhen he and all of the rest had

suffered under Agramon’s thumb forso long—were still suffering.

“I didn’t even know there was afortress until you guys mentioned it.I wandered around in the woods fordays—I’m not even sure how many.I got so weak and disoriented Icould barely walk.” She shot him awry grin. “Sneakers, blue jeans, anda cotton t-shirt had not prepared mefor Mylean weather.”

“Tell me about it.” He chuckled inresponse. “Luckily, I was wearing

hiking boots and some ruggedbackpacking gear when I camethrough, but I didn’t get to keepthem once Agramon’s gnomesscoped them out.”

She glanced down at Wyatt’s all-purpose leather boots. They werethe same boots every sensibleMylean wore, although his werepractically threadbare, the solesheld on with twine wrapped aroundhis feet. “Yeah, there are definitelysome things I would have packed

along if I’d known where I wasgoing to end up that afternoon.”

“So what happened?”

She grimaced. “A wraith happened.I was nearly delirious with hungerand sick with a fever when mywandering took me somewhere Ishouldn’t have gone. Luke is thereason I survived—and not justbecause he happened to be on thatwraith’s trail and was able to get toit before it got to me.” She paused,waited for the wave of grief that

bubbled to the surface to subsideback to a manageable ache.“Afterward, he took me home withhim. Got me better…and then hetaught me how to survive.”

“It sounds like you cared abouthim.”

“Yeah, but…it wasn’t easy. He washard to like. Always pushing.Always telling me how I could dobetter. How I could be harder. Thatmy human weaknesses would endup being the death of me.”

“Harsh. You were just a kid.”

“That’s what I said. There weredays when I screamed at him toleave me alone. But that only madehim more obnoxious. Especiallywhen he laughed in my face andtaunted me with what would happenif he left me on my own.”

“What kinds of things did he teachyou?”

“Swords and other weapons. To bestealthy, smart, and strong. And

never let emotion be my master.”And she was a real pro at that one,wasn’t she?

“He’s gone now, isn’t he? Hedied?”

She crouched in the snow andfiddled with the last snare, glad hecouldn’t see her face. When shestood up, it took a few seconds toswallow her frustration.

“It’s okay to be angry with him,” hesaid. “He was your family, and then

he left you here by yourself.”

Family. What a strange word. “Itwasn’t as if he had a choice.”Inside, she seethed. How could hedo that to her? How could he justgive up and let go?

“I don’t think it matters what weknow. What we feel often has norationality.”

She sighed. “How did you get to beso intuitive stuck out here with abunch of roughneck, hormonal

teenage boys?”

He chuckled. “Oh don’t worry, Ican belch and swear with the bestof them, too, although Sloanecurrently holds the title in foullanguage. He’s been here since hewas only eleven, and withoutany….uh…softening influences.Now he’s decided becoming a manmeans using the most vulgar wordsas often as possible. Fortunately,while his vocabulary is vast, hedoesn’t understand what half of it

means.”

“So who taught him those words inthe first place?”

“Who do you think?”

“Ray.” She laughed in response toWyatt’s long-suffering look.

“Yeah. Sloane really looks up tohim.”

They started walking back, but thistime the silence was broken more

often by comfortable conversationas they questioned each other aboutlittle things. Normal things. Thingsfrom their past, and also about theirtime in Mylena.

Talking with Wyatt brought Greta’smemories closer to the surface andshe found herself reminiscing aboutthings she thought she’d forgotten.

And she only thought about Isaac,oh…every other minute.

Chapter Twelve

When Greta and Wyatt got back tothe fire, Greta stayed with him untilRay returned to take his turn atwatch. He immediately started in onthem again. Wyatt still refused toendorse his crazy plans, but Gretahad stopped arguing. Either way,she was going after Agramon. Ifthey really insisted on taggingalong, who was she to stop them?

Would they be successful? Couldthey find the reclusive Lamia and

get one of the witches to open aportal? She frowned into the dark ofher tent. Who knew? Who knew ifthey would even survive a day,especially once the eclipse wasfull?

So many uncertainties. Luke wouldhave torn her a new one if she’dcome to him with such flawed,nothing plans.

As she lay back and closed her eyeswith a sigh—Wyatt having liftedlittle Jacob from her pallet and

carried him to his own tent—Gretaturned the situation around andaround in her mind, but she justcouldn’t find a way to make it work.

…

She was in her room, lying in bedwith the covers drawn up to herchin. The small lamp on her bedsidetable cast a weak circle of light. Abook lay open on the same table,spine up. Across the room, three

posters papered the wall. Differentsizes. Vibrant colors.

The window was open, and thesound of chirping crickets filteredin from outside. She heard thewhistle of a train not far away.Once. Twice. And two more longblares to signal it was crossing theintersection on its way throughtown.

Isaac. Greta would always knowwhen she was having one of thosedreams. He couldn’t trick her

anymore because she’d alreadycome to recognize his presence, feltit like a buzzing electrical field thatcould make her hair stand on end.

“What do you think you’re doing?”she called. She couldn’t see him—not yet—but he would be able tohear her, of that she had no doubt.

His breath suddenly caressed theside of her neck, warm and soft as ifhe were lying beside her. Herheartbeat stepped up and her fingersclenched in the crisp cotton sheets

that smelled like lemon fabricsoftener and felt so real.

“Show yourself,” she demanded,holding her breath.

I thought you didn’t want to see meanymore. His husky voice was abeguiling whisper.

The cocky jerk.

She tossed her head to the side, butcouldn’t get away from him, andthen she felt his soft touch, a finger

tracing the line of her jaw, her neck,her shoulder. His undeniable scentfilled her lungs, but he was stillinvisible.

“Stop it,” she hissed, her backramrod straight.

She felt his long sigh, but thepressure eased, then finally lifted.

“First my school, now my bedroom.Why?” She blinked. “Why here?”

How else am I supposed to get

close to you? Besides, I like seeingyou this way. You’re…soft here.

Angry, she flipped back the blueand orange zigzag patternedcomforter and stumbled out of bedto the window where gauzy curtainsfluttered lightly in the breeze. Shebraced her arm against the frame,catching her own flusteredreflection in the glass. “You can’tkeep doing this to me. Leave mealone.”

Her voice lacked conviction, and

every inch of her body strained forhis touch. She should be stronger,but couldn’t help it, she was glad hewas here. There was no use denyingit, no matter how foolish that madeher. She dropped her forehead tothe smooth, cool window. Maybe ifshe closed her eyes and refused tolook at anything she would wake up.

His voice was a tickle in her ear. Isthat really what you want?

Damn him. This had to stop. Hecouldn’t keep coming to her like

this, torturing her with thesememories. She couldn’t take itanymore. She spun around. “Ofcourse it’s what I want!”

Suddenly he was right in front ofher, looking down at her.

She couldn’t speak. Nothing cameout. He was dressed only in loose-fitting pants, without a shirt. Shewasn’t used to seeing him—indreams or in person—without thethick, full-length winter cloak. Herjaw dropped to her chest. When she

realized it, she snapped her mouthclosed so hard her teeth clackedtogether.

With effort, she dragged her gazefrom all that smooth, sculpted skinto his face. His eyes glowed in thesoft light, and his hair was mussedas if he’d really been asleep in thatbed with her. A knowing smileplayed across his lips, like he knewexactly what she was thinking.Dangerous. Nobody should lookthat good.

He seemed relaxed andcomfortable, as if his winter cloakheld all the responsibilities heusually carried on his shoulders andwithout it he could be himself. Andjust who was Isaac when he wasbeing himself? She’d seen glimpses,but there’d been so many games, somany misunderstandings…

With a shiver, she crossed her arms,feeling vulnerable in the soft cottontank and boxers he’d conjured forher to wear out of the memories in

her head. She turned toward thewindow, pushing the curtain asideto look out at the darkenedboulevard. She waited for him tostart asking questions. How did thelights work on those poles outside?How could that black box besidethe bed keep time?

But he didn’t say anything for once,and she found herself oddlydisappointed.

The level of detail in her dream’ssetting, just like last time when he’d

conjured up her middle school, wasactually pretty amazing. The quietneighborhood was lit in evensections by the tall streetlights. Theold royal blue Honda sitting in herparents’ driveway had a dent in theside where she’d run into it with herbike when she was nine, and acrossthe street, the neighbor’s droopingbasketball net looked like it wouldfall from its place above the garageany day now.

He came up beside her and looked

out. Her body practically hummedin response to his nearness, andwhen his arm touched hers, tinglesran all the way down her body.

“Where are the forests? The lakes?”He looked at the long line of rowhouses, each much like the other.“Everything looks so hard and gray.How did you stand to be sodisconnected from the GreatMother? From what I can see, thisworld is close to dying.”

“It is… was… I mean—” She

shook her head. He almost had herthinking of this as the real thing. “Itwasn’t all like this. The city isjust…a city. As dull and gray asRhazua. There’s plenty of green inthe parks.” But, who knew. Maybethe home Isaac pulled up out of herhead wasn’t even there anymore.Maybe it had been turned into ashopping mall or a turnpike, likeWyatt had suggested. Or maybe herfamily had moved on.

“Why would you want to go back to

this, Greta? What could possibly bethere for you?” He took her hand.She glanced down in surprise, butdidn’t pull away. “Why can’t youlet it go?”

“Who says I haven’t let it go?” shesaid defensively. “Until you startedmoonlighting in my dreams, I hadn’tgiven this place a second thought inyears.”

She could tell from the look in hisface that he didn’t believe her.

She didn’t believe herself.

It was suddenly all too much. Thememories, the house, him there inthe middle of it all. The comfortingsetting of her childhood home was atrap. It shimmered around her like aglistening, wet soap bubble thatmight pop at any moment.

“I want out of here,” she demanded,throat closing. Her heart poundedand she felt cold. “Out, Isaac. Getme out now!”

“It’s all right,” he said, followinghis words with a soft shush ofreassurance. She closed her eyesand swallowed convulsively.

“You can open your eyes again.”

When she did, she was relieved tosee that the bedroom was gone, likewashing away a layer of paint on acanvas only to reveal anotherpainting beneath. Now they stoodoutside, beneath a canopy of heavy-limbed evergreens covered insnow. It was still a dream, though,

because she still wore her humanclothing.

“What are we doing here? This isn’twhat I wanted,” she protested.

“Then what do you want? What doyou really want? Tell me,” hepushed. “Let me grant your wish.”

No. No. No.

What did he want from her? If sheasked for a pair of decent boots,would that get rid of him, or only

bind him to her more tightly?

“I don’t want anything. Just leaveme alone.”

“It seems to me that if you reallywanted to be free of me, you couldhave fought harder.”

“Believe me, I’m trying,” sheinsisted. But now she wasn’t sosure. Her confidence soundedshaky.

“You want me to let you go?” he

repeated, his voice low and deep.“You are already the freest soul inMylena. You have no emotionalties. You aren’t bound to the land orits people, and you aren’t subject tothe moons and their pull.”

Was that jealousy turning his tonesharp? “You make it sound as if Ihave everything, when in fact, I’vegot nothing.”

“If there were trust between us…”He stopped and took a deep breath.“You could have me.”

She gasped. You could have me.Every muscle in her body trembled.Hope. Anticipation. Dread. Thefour words caused a ripple effect ofconflicting emotions that she justcouldn’t deal with now. She’d spentso much time isolating herself fromothers, protecting herself…shewasn’t equipped for anything else.

Coward. That’s what she was. Toomuch of a coward to open herselfup and take a chance.

“T-trust?” Her fingers fluttered at

her throat. She told herself she wasbeing smart. It was too hard toknow what Isaac’s end-game was.So hard to know when he was beingsincere, and when he was acting inhis own best interests. When he wasmanipulating her, and when he wasactually letting her see a genuineemotion.

In reality, she didn’t trust herself orher instincts anymore. She’d madeso many mistakes already. If shehadn’t let Isaac into her head, no

one would have discovered hersecret and Luke might still be alive.If she hadn’t left Siona in the tavern,the pretty goblin wouldn’t havegotten hurt. If she’d thought ofsomeone other than herself…oh,ever…she might have been able tohelp the boys before now, when itwas probably too late to save them.

“You think I’m going to trust youwhen you keep digging into myhead? When you torment me withmemories of the life I’ll never get

back?” She lifted her chin. “You’reonly proving that I’ve been right allalong not to trust you.”

He frowned. It was obvious he’dseen her avoidance for exactly whatit was. “After everything I’ve toldyou, you should know that I’m nottrying to hurt you.” He pressedforward once more. He wasn’tgoing to let it go.

She refused to meet his gaze, staringinstead at the line of his collarbone,broad shoulders, and the length of

his defined torso. She held herbreath to keep from moaning. Whydid he have to be practically nakedon top of it all?

“I only want to show you your pastso that you can finally leave itbehind and embrace the future,accept the life you’ve been given,embrace the world you now belongto.”

He actually made it sound tempting,but Greta didn’t belong in Mylena.Just like she didn’t belong in that

little-girl room, or back at her oldschool. She didn’t belonganywhere. Especially not with him.

You could have me.

As much as she wanted it to betrue…

She shook her head. Sure, Isaacmade her feel something. But itwasn’t “belonging”. If anything, itwas curiosity, the thrill of achallenge. Yeah, that was it.Nothing more. Except maybe a

greater than average amount offrustration and annoyance.

And fear. Now she felt fear as well.Not only for herself, but for Wyattand the boys.

She clamped down on everything.Shoved her feelings deep down andprayed like hell he couldn’t readwhat she consciously kept from him.She didn’t know what Isaac woulddo if he learned about Wyatt.Although he may have tried to helpher, he’d already admitted he had

no problem hunting down otherhumans, and she didn’t know howclose he was to finding her.

Where is he? At this moment whilehis mind was entwined with hers,could he be at their very door? Didhe have to be asleep to be with herlike this, or could he torment herand hunt her at the same time?

“Did you know about the humansAgramon is holding captive—theslaves being worked to death in hisfortress?”

He swore.

“You did? You knew?”

His brows scrunched together. Heshook his head, but she didn’tbelieve him. “I didn’t knowanything until Siona told me just thisafternoon. She tortured theinformation out of two gnomes whowere apprehended in the goblinforest.”

Where in the forest? She didn’task, afraid he would only lie to her.

“Greta, you must tell me where youare.”

“Where are you?” She threw backat him. “Right now in this moment,where are you?”

“My physical body lies in sleep, asyou are asleep.”

That’s not what she’d asked.“Where?”

He paused, and Greta knew. Maybenot his exact location, but she knew

he was closing in on her.

“Don’t doubt that I’ll find you.” Hiscontorted expression betrayed hisfierce determination. The linesaround his eyes tightened almostimperceptibly, examining her,searching for the information thatwould damn her.

“Why are you doing this?”

His focused gaze was like a rushingtide over all of her senses. “Nomatter who you are or where you

come from, we’re the same. Wewere meant to be together.” He saidit with such certainty and finality.“It has been decreed in the stars,and in our blood.”

She spun away and clenched hereyes shut, disregarding theanswering sigh of her soul to hiswords. “Tell me something real,”she whispered. “Something thatisn’t a bunch of insane, poeticcrap.”

“Then how about because you

challenge me?” he said. “Youprovoke me, excite me. Make methink about things I shouldn’t thinkabout, want things I thought wouldbe impossible once I became theking.”

She glanced back up at him. Thelow ache in her belly sharpened andtwisted. “And how is that a goodthing?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted with arueful smile. “But you feel it, too.You know what’s between us is

undeniable and powerful.”

“So you’re saying you want to befriends?” she asked, alreadyknowing the answer. Isaac wouldnever be her friend. The two ofthem could easily spend foreverfighting tooth and nail. They mighteventually find opportunities forlaughter, and maybe even come to acertain level of understanding andtrust. But it still wouldn’t makethem friends. He was right aboutone thing; what they had was too

strong, too volatile, for somethingas simple as friendship.

He closed the distance betweenthem until she had to look up tomaintain eye contact. “No.” Hegave her that devastating smile, theone she couldn’t resist. The one thatmade her melt. “Friendship isn’tquite what I had in mind.”

“Yeah,” she murmured. “That’spretty much what I thought.”

Her breathing quickened as he

reached for her, his fist curling intoher hair at the nape of her neck. Herhands spread flat over his chestbefore she even realized she’dtouched him. It was like connectingwith a live wire and she didn’t wantto pull back.

There was still too much leftunresolved between them. Too littletrust, too few certainties. Rightnow, none of that mattered becausehe’d dipped his head. Only inchesaway and she could feel his

breathing hitch against her cheek.Her heart was pounding in her ears,and the tang of anticipation wassharp on her tongue.

She knew it was coming. Her mouthparted on a gasp as his lips finallypressed against hers. Lighter, andsofter than she would have expectedgiven the intensity in his eyes. Hehesitated as if he half-expected herto knee him in the groin or bite him.

Instead, her body curved closer.She tilted her head just a little and

he took that as permission, spiralingthem both deeper. His arm slippedaround her waist, pulling her closerto him. She groaned as their bodiescame into contact, all hard anglesmeeting soft curves as his lipsslanted across hers.

Is this the way it would feel whenshe was wide-awake?

A sliver of unease wedged its waybetween them at the thought. Shepushed him back.

“Greta,” he murmured, leaving littlebiting kisses across her jaw.

She shook her head and steppedaway, taking several deep breathsas she thought of some way to guidethem both back into less explosiveterritory. His breathing was just asunsteady, hands trembling slightlybefore he jammed them into hispockets. “You’re not going to losecontrol and start to turn again, areyou?”

His lips curled, the sharp points of

his teeth flashing at her. “Would thatfrighten you?”

She made a show of looking himover carefully as she fought toregain control. “Since you’re notreally here, I’m not going to worryunless it looks like a problem.” Andsince this wasn’t really happening,it probably didn’t matter whetherhis physical self was or wasn’t onthe verge of transforming with themoons into a wild creature thatcould rip her to pieces without even

trying.

She refused to look into his eyes.Instead, she focused on his squarechin, and the telling muscle tappinghard in his jaw. The way each longbreath in and out fed his entirebody. She ran her gaze over hisarms, shoulders, and down,comparing the Isaac in front of herto the goblin she knew from the realworld.

“Nothing about this feels like adream,” she mused. “You look so

real. The small scar above youreye. The maddening way you tiltyour head when you look at me.That…kiss.” She realized she wastouching her fingers to her lips andquickly dropped her hand.

“What is reality after all, but theprocess of making connections,forging bonds? Where is it writtenthe only way to do that is skin toskin?”

Forging bonds? She couldn’t formbonds. Skin to skin, or otherwise.

She had Wyatt and the others toconsider now. And she wanted tokill Agramon. She wanted to gohome.

He’d distracted her from thosegoals, but she had to get it togetheragain. This was the first time sincefalling into Mylena that getting outof here felt possible. Did she daregive it up when it was the thingshe’d wanted for four years? Howcould she, when the boys wererelying on her to help them too?

Shaking her head, she spun aroundwith her hands over her face, tryingto find some control.

When she turned around, Isaac wasgone.

“What—?”

Can you deny that what’s betweenus is just as real as the stars thatshine above your sleeping body,and the snow that falls aroundyou? Once again, his voice wasonly a whisper woven into the

fabric of her dream. Can you denythat you’re going to remember mytouch even after you wake? Longafter the dream has faded?

She shivered, crossing her armsover her chest and closing her eyes.“It’s not the same.”

The construct of the dream wasfalling apart around her. As soon asIsaac had left, everything about itimmediately became lesssubstantial. She was waking up.

Will you tell me where you’rehiding? Let me protect you?

“No.” As much she wanted tobelieve he wouldn’t hurt her if hefound her, she knew she couldn’ttrust him with the lives of Wyatt andthe boys, and she couldn’t trust himto let her hunt Agramon, and find theLamia without interference.

Greta, please. The longer it takesto find you, the more dangeryou’re in. The call of the moonsgrows stronger.

“All the more reason for you to stayaway from me.” Her head swam, asif her conscious mind had decided itwas time to awaken but Isaac wasstill trying to hold her in the dream.

You’ll have more than me to worryabout if I can’t get you someplacesafe before the moons turn all ofMylena against you.

She could just imagine his idea of asafe place. Of course, it would haveto be secure enough so that nocreature could get in, which also

meant there would be no way out.And what would happen to her oncehe had her again? He was the king,yes, but a young king whose peoplewanted her dead or in chains. Howcould he possibly hold out againstthem?

A chill eased down her spine. “Allof Mylena is already against me. Iwon’t let you lock me up, Isaac. Notfor any reason. I’ll take care ofmyself.”

Stubborn human. I will find you.

“Arrogant goblin. I dare you.”

Find a safe place, then. Because Iwon’t be the only one coming foryou.

Chapter Thirteen

She awoke feeling surprisinglyrested despite the flood of irritationas Isaac’s last warnings echoed inher head. She almost expected tofind herself lying in a bed in her

childhood home, but of course, noneof that had been real.

Or had it?

She opened her eyes and blinkeduntil the ceiling of the tent came intofocus. The lines between reality andfantasy were too close, blurringuntil she couldn’t be certain ofanything anymore.

Did it count as a kiss if her bodyhadn’t been touched, even thoughher lips remembered the shape of

him, the taste of him? Greta didn’tknow, and she wasn’t going to thinkabout it. She had let it happen. Shehad encouraged it to happen, but itcouldn’t happen again. So that wasthat.

Thankfully, the crunch of snowoutside her tent distracted her fromthoughts of Isaac’s mouth, and amoment later, someone rapped onthe tent frame.

“I’m coming,” she called,immediately guilty. She should have

been up much earlier. If nothingelse, she could have been checkingher snares to see if they’d caughtanything interesting for the morningmeal.

When she ducked outside with hercoat over her arm, strapping hersword to her waist, Sloane waswaiting. He honed in on her weaponwith big blue eyes.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Uh, hi,” he stammered, jerking his

head up. “Did you want some tea?Wyatt makes it with leaves and treebark.” His lip curled, leaving nodoubt as to what he thought of thisconcoction. “It tastes like crap, butit’s warm.”

Greta choked at the description.“Thanks. I’ll give it a shot after Icheck the snares I laid last night.”

“Snares?” He looked like he wasgoing to ask her a question, but aftera moment’s hesitation he onlynodded and turned to go.

“Hey. Would you like to come withme?” The invitation sounded stiltedand overly formal, making herwince. He probably had duties inthe camp. Maybe he just didn’t wantto get stuck with her—

His expression went from guardedto excited in the span of a heartbeat.He actually rubbed his handstogether—although that might havebeen out of cold, the morning wascertainly brisk. “Can I show you thesnares I’ve been making, and maybe

you can help me figure out why Inever trap anything?”

She let out a breath and smiled.“Yeah, of course.”

With a grin, he ran off to get hisgear. “Don’t leave without me,” hesaid.

She pulled on her coat and waiteddutifully, waving to Wyatt when shesaw him standing by the gentlysmoking fire pit. He bent down andpicked something up, then started

walking toward her.

“Good morning,” he said, handingher a steaming cup.

“Is this your tea?” she asked,bringing it to her face and breathingdeeply. “Sloane says it’s reallygood.”

“You’re a horrible liar,” he saidwith a laugh. “But it won’t kill you,and after last night, it’ll help.”

“Help with what?”

“You weren’t freezing? Even underthe fur I gave you, it had to be prettycold.”

“Oh.” She blushed and dipped herhead. “Well, I sleep pretty hard.And ah, I’m used to the cold.” Shewas not admitting that a blizzardcould have dumped on her last nightand she probably wouldn’t havenoticed.

She took a small sip of tea andpaused, wondering what she couldsay about a cup of melted snow,

twigs, and bark. She decided to fallback on Sloane’s less inflammatorydescription. “It’s…warm.”

“That bad?”

She laughed, looking at him over thethick rim of the dented metal cup.“You sound pissed.”

“I am. No matter what I put in there,it just tastes like…”

“Dirt?”

He glowered at her, but his eyessparkled. “Not helping.”

“Sorry.” She gave it another chanceand gulped some more. Maybe ifshe didn’t breathe, it wouldn’t be sobad. But after swishing it in hermouth a few seconds, she stillcouldn’t swallow. It really wasawful. “Um, have you triedlinberries? You could steep themwith the bark and leaves for a littleflavor,” she said, thinking of the teaat Maidra’s place. “I’m going to go

check on those snares we set up lastnight, so if you want I can try to findsome.”

“Okay, thanks.”

She gave him back the mug asSloane loped over to stand besidethem.

“I’m going with Greta to check thesnares.” He spoke confidently, butwhen he glanced up at Wyatt, hepaused. “Okay?”

Feeling a rush of guilt, she hurriedto apologize. “I hope it’s noproblem taking him along. I shouldhave asked you first.”

“No, it’s fine.” He turned to her andinstead of the irritation she’d beenexpecting, there was something likerelief in his expression. “If you canteach him something to help himstay alive…”

Her hand fell to the hilt of hersword, fingers curling around ittightly. She cleared her throat and

nodded as the mantle ofresponsibility settled over her. Isthis what Isaac and Wyatt felt everyday?

She cleared her throat. “I don’tknow about that, but I can teach himhow to set a proper snare, at least.”

“Right,” Sloane interrupted with adramatic sigh. “So shouldn’t weactually go see the damn snaressometime this moon cycle?”

Choking out a laugh, she nodded

and stepped around Wyatt.

“Greta?” he called.

She stopped and looked over hershoulder. Worry lines pulled hisface tight “It’s okay. I’ve got this,”she assured him, hoping like hell itwas the truth.

…

They walked the same path she and

Wyatt had taken the night before, butGreta was glad for the morning’slight to see by.

“Oh, look. There’s a Teela bush,”she said to Sloane.

“What’s that?”

She bent over and plucked a fewhearty needles from the thin blackbranches. She held them out for himto smell. “It’s an herb. Tastes a lotlike sage…I think.” She honestlycouldn’t remember what sage

smelled or tasted like, but she knewthe Mylean version was safe andedible. Luke had taught her that, andthey’d used it often as a seasoningin food.

“Cool.” He plucked more of theneedles and stuffed them in a smallpouch. “Wyatt won’t let us pickanything he isn’t sure about.”

“Good policy.” She shuddered atthe thought of anyone eating fromthe wrong plant. “Um, stay awayfrom that one, then. Okay?”

He followed her pointing finger to aprickly thing with red-tippedleaves. “Poison?”

“Big time.”

“I’ll remember that.” She could seehim filing the information away. Sofar, he’d inhaled everything she saidlike he couldn’t ever get enoughknowledge. It was humbling,especially considering how muchshe’d always grumbled duringLuke’s botany lessons. She hadmuch preferred the weapons

training. But, like everything elsehe’d taught her, there’d been a pointto the lessons. Maybe he’d knownthere would come a time when hewasn’t around and Greta wouldhave to fend for herself in thishostile environment.

She and Sloane kept moving. Everyonce in a while she was able toshow him something else that couldbe eaten. They even found three tinytubers, practically a miracle sincenothing grew abundantly or very big

when the ground was always frozen,and what did grow in the wild wasusually picked over by the animalsbefore anyone else had a chance atit.

The first snare they found wasempty, but it had been tripped soGreta showed Sloane how to re-setit about two to three inches abovethe ground in the narrow, shelteredareas of the brush. She taught him aneasy slipknot and showed him howshe held the noose open with a few

well-placed, thin twigs stuck in theground.

He took over then and set one byhimself. She grinned when helooked up at her for approval.“That’s perfect.”

But neither of them were smilingwhen they re-entered camp a littlewhile later, even though theycarried two large hares for the pot.

They would have had a thirdcarcass to skin for stew, but the

animal caught in the last snare hadnot resembled anything wortheating. Already lost to the pull ofthe coming eclipse, the formerlysquirrel-like beast had been cakedin dried blood and dirt. Its fur wasmatted and patchy, dead eyes wideas its dead mouth froze in a silent,saw-toothed snarl—teeth thecreature didn’t normally possess.

There might not be as much time leftas she’d believed. The power of theeclipse was strong. How many

normally clear-headed Myleancreatures had already turned andwere roaming around, wild, hungry,and desperate? How many morewould there be once night fell? Andthen tomorrow?

Greta brought Wyatt up to speed onwhat they’d found and Sloanehanded their catch over to Niall andCarter. It wasn’t difficult to see thatevery single person knew theirplace in the group, and went abouttheir jobs without complaint. While

Niall and Carter were apparently incharge of meals, Jack and Charliecollected wood. Leo fetched water,cleaned up debris, and kept littleJacob out of trouble.

She was ushered to a seat by thefire while the boys tackled theirvarious chores like a well-oiledmachine. Her offer to help wasbrushed aside, so instead shewatched. Niall, who was thirteen,and Carter, twelve, argued overwhat was to be done with their

morning’s catch.

“You always want to make stew.Well, forget it.” Carter’s hair fellpast his chin as he made a face atNiall. Yesterday she hadn’t noticedjust how blond he was because he’dbeen wearing a hood that coveredall of it, but today with the sunshining down, he reminded her ofDrew. Her brother’s hair had beenpale blond like that. “I’m sick of it,”he said. “Your stew is nothing butboiled water and dirt, and it tastes

like it, too.”

“Curing the meat is going to take toolong.” Niall’s voice rose inindignation. He was the opposite ofCarter, dark skinned with dark hair.And it looked like someone had hada go at cutting it with a flat bladedknife. His hair stuck up around hishead in chunky, uneven sections.

“And how do you expect me tomake it taste any better when there’snothing else to put in the pot butwater and dirt?”

“You could at least try—”

“Relax, jerkwads,” Sloaneinterrupted. He stepped betweenthem, dangling the little pouch ofneedles and herbs they had gatheredtogether in the forest. “Try some ofthis stuff. Greta says it’s edible, andit’ll make the food taste…maybelike actual food.”

Niall was quicker than Carter,jerking the bag out of Sloane’s handand throwing the other boy a smuglook of triumph. Carter jabbed him

in the shoulder, but then theyhuddled together, each trying topeek inside the bag.

Carter looked up at her and theexpression of wonder on his facemade Greta blush. “Oh, this smellsgood. If only we had some potatoestoo, we could make a real stew!”

“You should have seen this kidwhen he first got to Mylena. Talkabout chunky monkey. I think hemisses his mama’s cooking morethan he misses her.”

Greta winced at Sloane’s crassinsensitivity. He laughed, but thenhe also ruffled Carter’s hair and putan arm around his shoulder like akid tormenting his annoying littlebrother.

Greta remembered the tubers, andstood so she could dig them out ofher pockets. She handed them overto Carter. “Here, these shouldhelp.”

Both Carter and Niall startedtalking a mile a minute and Greta

somehow ended up promising totake them out with her next time shewent into the forest.

After a quick morning meal, withthe hares simmering nicely in a potover a very low fire, Ray wasted notime pulling everyone together totell them about his plan to infiltrateAgramon’s fortress and rescue theother humans. Greta stood silentlybehind the small group, leaningagainst a thick tree trunk.

“Nobody’s going to be left behind,”

he said. “But everyone will have towork really hard if we have anyhope of doing this.” His eyesreflected a cold determination.Greta would have thought him thevery picture of a ruthless militarycommander if he didn’t haveJacob’s tiny hand engulfed in hisown.

Jack and Charlie murmuredfearfully and she didn’t blame themone bit. They were only nine yearsold and being asked to make a life

or death decision.

Wyatt stepped forward and thewhispers stopped cold. There wasabsolute silence as they all waitedfor him to speak.

Their respect for him was obvious.While Ray was the big brother,Wyatt—only two years older—hadbecome the father figure theyotherwise lacked. They worshippedhim. For his strength. For his wiseguidance. For keeping them alive,giving them hope. He would be the

final word on any plan to take themout of the cozy shelter they’dworked so hard to build. Gretadidn’t envy him that responsibility.

“Listen,” he started, meeting eachone of their wide-eyed gazes withcalm reassurance. “I know Raywants to do this, and I’m not sayingI like the idea of anyone being leftin those dungeons to suffer, but itwould be crazy dangerous.”

Nobody could argue with that.

“The truth is, whatever we decideis going to be dangerous, butthis…” He paused. “Basically,there are two choices. Each one ofthem means leaving the protectionof the Dugout as soon as possible.It’s not going to be safe here oncethe eclipse is full.”

Niall interrupted, “How do weknow this eclipse thing is reallygoing to happen, and how do weknow everyone’s going to go moonphase because of it? Sloane has

been here for three years and henever heard of it before.”

“That’s because I was locked up ina dungeon, you dumbass,” he threwin. “I didn’t know that the dementedshit going on all around me hadanything to do with the moons. But Iactually do remember that there wasa time when it seemed worse.” Hegrimaced and shook his head. “A lotworse. The ones who weren’tlocked behind bars died.”

“Greta tells me it’s coming,” Wyatt

continued. “She’s lived through twoof these, and I believe her when shesays it’s going to be bad.” Hewaited to see if anyone else wouldpipe in. “So, we either try to findanother place, somewhere moresecure to hide out until it blowsover. Or…”

She knew he didn’t want to say it.He didn’t want to make themchoose. Not when the choice wasbetween their own lives and thelives of others just like them who

would be left at the mercy ofAgramon’s minions while the worlddevolved into chaos.

Ray didn’t have the same conflict ofconscience. He didn’t seem to havea problem forcing them to takeownership for those lives. “Orwhat?” he snapped. “How can wekeep hiding in the bushes when kidsare being worked to death in thosedark caves as we speak? When theeclipse comes, it’s only going to beworse for them. What if it were us?

How can we sit back and only thinkof ourselves when we have achance to save the others and finallygo home?”

Sloane stood up and glared at Ray.“And how the hell are we supposedto do that?” he said. “You’re askinga bunch of kids to go up against alegion of gnomes and ogres, and thebaddest demon this side of hell—armed with what? Sticks andstones? And since when have any ofus ever stumbled across a portal

back to earth? If going home hadactually been a freaking option allthis time, someone forgot to mentionit to the rest of us.”

She liked his choice of words.Maybe if she’d put it as bluntly lastnight, Ray would have listenedwhen she said he was out of hismind.

A few of the other boys nodded inagreement and glared at Ray.

“Listen to me,” he repeated. “We

may not know where the portal isyet, but we know the creature whobrought us here wasn’t the only oneof its kind. All we have to do is findthe other Lamia. We have a solidlead that they’re somewhere in themountains. But,” he continued,raising his voice over the mutteredcomplaints and objections, “Wyattis right. With the eclipse coming,we have to relocate. Once we’vefreed the others, we head for themountains and ride out the storm.”His voice turned pleading. “We’ve

got to at least try. It’s high time wetook our destiny into our own hands,don’t you think?”

Like a slick politician, he made itsound so easy, as if they were allgoing for a stroll through the parkon a slightly rainy day. They mightget a little wet, but nothing a nicewide umbrella wouldn’t makebetter.

She understood. Ray’s desperationwarred with his sense ofresponsibility. It wasn’t that he

couldn’t see the risks. As shewatched him glance down at littleJacob, Greta knew he understoodthem perfectly, but his anger wasobviously stronger than his fear orhis guilt.

Wyatt stepped back in to calm themall down. There was a long silenceas they absorbed the ramificationsof what Ray was asking. Finally,Carter looked up at Wyatt with bigeyes that glistened with so muchhope. “Is there really a chance we

could all go home?”

Her heart lurched. She sensed ratherthan saw Wyatt’s hesitation, andwondered if he was going to give itto them straight, or try to influencetheir decision in his role asprotector. He looked at her overtheir heads for a split second, butthere was no way she could helphim with this. She lifted hershoulders and pursed her lipstogether. He glanced back down,meeting Carter’s expectant

expression dead on with allseriousness.

“If we try this rescue thing now, it’sgoing to be very dangerous. It’sgoing to take every one of usworking together, and even so, wemight not make it. Not all of us.”His gaze moved to rest on each ofthe boys in turn. “So tell me nowthat you don’t want to do it, andwe’ll just pack what we need andfind a safe place to wait out theeclipse. I won’t let anything happen

to you boys, and I promise we’llstill make a plan to free the othersand look for a way home once it’ssafe again—safer, anyway.”

Ray opened his mouth to object, butWyatt grabbed his arm tight. Theyargued silently for a long momentbut Ray finally nodded. Therewould be no guilt trips allowed.

Charlie was the first to respond. “Ithink we have to give it a try. Thiseclipse is going to hit everyone inMylena, right? Sloane thinks it will

affect the guards in Agramon’sfortress too, right? So we can’tleave the others there. Who knowshow many would die?”

Jack, Carter, Leo, and finally Niallagreed as well.

Ray turned to Sloane, but theyounger boy spun around andlooked at her. “Are you going tostay and help us?”

Wyatt cleared his throat. “Sloane—”

“No. If we’re really contemplatingthis, we need all the help we canget, don’t we?”

Both Wyatt and Ray had deftly keptany part she might play out of thediscussion up until this point, butnow the rest of the boys turned toface her, too.

Luke would have told her not tomake a decision based on emotion.Her heart pounded. She wanted tosay no. How could she look intotheir eyes and agree to lead them all

to slaughter?

How could she let them go on theirown?

She groaned and swore. A day ago,even hours ago, she would have.But now…“I’ll do what I can.”

Sloane nodded. “Then I guess webetter make some plans.”

…

After they’d agreed on a course ofaction for the day, Sloane camearound and sat beside her. She wasstill shaking inside, wondering howshe’d gotten herself into this mess.He was quiet for a few minutes, butfinally blurted out, “So, I’mguessing you know how to use thatthing?”

She followed his gaze and smiled.He’d been eyeing her sword everyother minute, so she had an ideawhere he was going with this. “I

was lucky. For some reason, thesprite who found me when I cameover decided to keep me alive andteach me.” She laughed, but thememory of Luke still hurt too much.“God, I hated him at first. Hedrilled me constantly. Self-defense,weapons training, and all that stuffabout Mylena. I don’t think I got afull night’s sleep for two wholeyears.”

“Why not?”

“He would attack me while I slept. I

never knew when it would happen.Sometimes it wasn’t for a week,and then maybe he’d get me threenights in a row, so I was always onguard.” She shrugged. “But I guessthat was the point.”

“How many of the Lost have youtaken down?”

She hesitated. “Enough to know thatyou don’t want to come up againstthem if you don’t have to.”

“Do you think we’re going to have

to?”

An image of the twisted, monstrouslooking squirrel came to mind andshe realized that wasn’t even the tipof the iceberg of what was to come.It was a snowflake on the tip of theiceberg. “Yeah, I do.”

With that, Wyatt called everyonetogether and gave her the floor. Shespent the rest of the day channelingher inner Lucius and drilling everyone of them as hard andunmercifully as he would have.

To her surprise, the boys werealready pros at stringing their ownmakeshift bows. They’d learned touse the softer, springy branches of aYew-like tree, and had beenchipping the thin shale rock layingaround all over the place intopointed heads that could be tied tolightweight shafts. They’d evenbeen saving the feathers fromwhatever wild fowl they’d beenable to catch, to fix to the end of thearrows.

Carter was their best shot. He hitthe bulls eye—a piece of clothpinned to a tree trunk about sixtyfeet away—nine times out of ten,but then he started to slip.

“What’s going on?” she asked afterwatching him miss the last threeshots, stopping a safe distancebehind him as he huffed and swore.

He shifted, holding the bow andarrow in one hand while he shookout his draw hand. “It’s nothing.”

She recognized the problem rightaway. “You need a guard to protectyour fingers and your arm from thebow string. It’s sharp when pulledtight, and that snap-back is awful.”

“I’m not a baby,” he said, gettingdefensive. “I can handle it.”

“This isn’t about how tough youare,” she said quickly. “You’re thebest shot in the group, so we’regoing to get you the equipment youneed to make sure you’re dead-onaccurate when we need you to be.”

He blushed and nodded, calling outto Ray who, it turned out, was theone responsible for putting togetherthe tents and making sure all theirclothes didn’t fall apart.

“Sure, I can get that made for youtonight.” Ray grinned. “Hey, maybethat means you’ll be able to catch ussome more of those squawky littlethings that look like overgrownpigeons. Now that we know whatherbs are safe to use, they mighttaste better.”

The look he turned on her was stillsnarly, as usual, but maybe a littleless so. Greta decided it was timeto put him to work.

“Are you ready?”

“Bring it on, hunter.” His smile wasa little too confident.

So she used him as her punchingbag for the next few hours, toprovide examples of her fightingtechniques to the others. That surlylook was gone in no time after he’d

spent a good portion of theafternoon flat on his back with thewind knocked out of him.

It was actually kind of fun to havesomeone to spar with. She grinnedas they circled each other. Shebounced lightly on the balls of herfeet, the blood rushing hard and fastthrough her veins.

This was good for her, too. Itsharpened her senses. And Ray wasno lightweight. He didn’t go downeasy. He was eager to learn and

caught on quickly, and when shemoved on to train the next person,he helped the other boys whoneeded direction.

It was near the end of the day whenWyatt finally stepped up. He’d beenin and out, working with a smallgroup to pack up camp while shetrained the others, and thenswitching them out.

A hush moved through the smallcircle that had formed around her.She had Ray in a chokehold and

when he stiffened in her arms, shelooked up and grinned when shesaw Wyatt with a sword in hishand. “Where’d you get that?” sheasked.

He smiled. “I’m good at slippingaround unnoticed and,um…liberating people of things.”

She laughed. “Don’t I know it. Youready to take me on?”

“Only if you’re done beating onhim.”

She shrugged and let go of Ray,giving him a gentle push. Hestumbled a few steps and threw adisgruntled scowl over his shoulderat her, but even he seemed eager forthe matchup.

“Sloane, give me my sword.” He’dbeen covertly manhandling herweapon whenever she wasn’tputting him through his paces andshe knew he’d get a kick out ofbeing the one to draw it from itssheath.

She held out her hand and caughtSloane’s gentle, straight toss. Witha few swift twists of the blade, shestepped back and made room forWyatt to come closer.

They started circling one another.The boys shuffled back to give themmore room. Wyatt removed his coatand threw it to little Jacob. Gretahad lost hers hours ago.

She sized him up, wondering whathis strength was. She already knewhe was stealthy and quick. “Are you

sure you can handle that thing?” Shenodded to the heavy lookingweapon in his hand.

He grinned. “Wouldn’t you like toknow?”

With a quick glance around, sheexamined the rapt faces watchingthem. How far to go with thisparticular lesson? She didn’t wantto eviscerate the guy in front ofeveryone and risk damaging theirconfidence in his ability to take careof them. But he needed to be

challenged and improve if he wasgoing to have any chance ofprotecting these kids when the timecame.

“Okay.” She motioned him forwardwith one hand. “Come get me.”

To his credit, he didn’t rush her, butcontinued to move slowly. Theground in the circle was mucky andblack after an afternoon of training,and their feet were covered in it.

She could tell he was studying her

the same way she’d done to him.After a long moment, he glancedpast her and nodded so slightly shemight have thought she’d imaginedit if Ray hadn’t cleared his throat atthat moment.

Even as her body shiftedinstinctively to glance over hershoulder to see what was going on,she realized she’d been duped. Sheveered out of the way just in time toavoid Wyatt’s swinging blade.

“Oh, so you’re a dirty fighter,” she

said with a grin, dancing out ofreach as he pushed forward andswung again.

“And proud of it.” He cross-stepped to the side and hefted thesword up. She was impressed withhis moves, but sadly, he would soonrealize that any chance he had totake her off guard was gone.

With an agile feint, she went on theoffensive, swinging low to high andknocking his weapon up. He barelyavoided a blade to the chin as he

jerked back and threw her a sharplook.

Serious now, they took turnsadvancing and retreating. Withcalculation, she pushed forward,swords clanging over and overagain. She forced Wyatt to keepretreating until he realized he washeaded right for the line of bodiesmaking up the edge of the circle.With a grunt of exertion, he shovedback to give himself room tomaneuver back into the middle of

the battle area.

She had to admit, he had her fightinghard. And yet, she was going easyon him. He knew it, too. It was inhis eyes, filling with a determinedsteel. “Come on, hunter,” hegrowled. “You can do better thanthis.”

Their swords locked together. Hegrabbed her arm and dragged herforward to pull her off balance.Suddenly her face was inches awayfrom his, framed between the two

blades vibrating from the force oftheir collision.

Her body tensed. They were bothbreathing hard and fast, gazing intoeach other’s eyes. His breath caughtthe same time hers did.

In the frozen moment of stillness,the wind picked up. She felt it ghostacross her sweaty skin and the chillbrought her back to her senses. Shetwisted her wrist and slipped herankle behind his left foot.

He anticipated her move andnarrowly avoided being thrown tothe ground, but in his attempt atsome fancy footwork that wouldhave put him at her unprotectedback, he slipped in the mud andwent down.

Before he could move, the tip of hersword was at his jugular. Behindhim, Sloane turned to Ray with anopen hand, who jerked off his nicefur lined gloves and slapped theminto Sloane’s palm. They’d been

taking bets?

“You’re dead.” She held out herhand to Wyatt.

He ignored it, getting to his feetwithout any help before bendingback down to grab his sword. Heswiped at his muddy pants andwouldn’t meet her eyes, bright spotsof red staining his cheeks.

Was he upset that she’d beat him?Or was there some other reason forhim to feel uncomfortable suddenly?

She felt heat rise in her own cheeksat the thought.

“So it seems,” he murmured.

Chapter Fourteen

Greta fell onto her pallet late thatnight feeling many different things.Exhaustion warred withrestlessness. Optimism warred withfear.

They hadn’t had any moreencounters with rabid woodlandcreatures, but that didn’t make herfeel much better. The forest hadbeen quiet all day. Too quiet.Deathly quiet.

According to what Isaac had said,the eclipse wasn’t due for two moredays, but things were alreadystarting to unravel.

They needed more time. As of rightnow, they weren’t even close tobeing ready. Not ready to move, and

definitely not ready to take on ademon the likes of Agramon.

Her anxiety had been mounting allday, despite the relativelyuneventful afternoon. More thanonce, she’d tried convincing Wyattto ditch this crazy plan, but after theentire group had voted, they wereall committed to it.

How could she have agreed to walkthem right into Agramon’s territoryright as the world was about toexplode? If only she hadn’t felt

certain that leaving them here to dieinstead would have stripped awaywhat was left of her soul.

The old Greta would have weighedthe odds and taken the safest pathfor herself, but so much hadchanged in a short time. She hadchanged.

With a sigh, she turned onto herside, hoping to make the whisperingin her head shut up. Luke’s voicewas telling her she’d taken on aduty she wasn’t prepared for,

heading into danger she didn’tcomprehend.

There was another voice in herhead too, telling her she could do it.That she was strong. The voice wastelling her she had been made forthis and needed to use her skills forsomething good. It said that theseboys were hers now, that she wasresponsible for them in a way shehadn’t been responsible for anythingever before, and she couldn’t letthem down. It wasn’t Luke’s voice.

It wasn’t even her own, or Isaac’s.

She thought it might be her father’s.

She closed her eyes. Tomorrowwould be a new day. One daycloser to the eclipse, but also oneday closer to the thing she hadn’tdared hope for in four years—thepossibility that she might be able togo home again.

Why did the thought cause littlepinpricks of discomfort behind hereyes?

It wasn’t because of Isaac. Shecouldn’t possibly be upset becausegoing home would mean neverarguing with him again. Her heartwasn’t aching from the idea that shemight never see the intense look inhis eyes again, or hear his voice.She wasn’t going to credit heranxiousness with the idea of leavinghim behind. He belonged here andshe didn’t.

Really?

If Greta didn’t belong here, then

where? After all this time, couldshe return home anyway? Did shedeserve to go home? After whatMylena had made of her, wasn’t thisexactly where she belonged, justlike he had tried to tell her?

Fists clenched beneath her cheek,she desperately tried to banish hisface, but that only made her moreaware of the low noises coming toher through the thin canvas. Smallbodies shuffling, snoring, andwhispering softly in the tents

surrounding hers. Sleep wasn’tgoing to come easily tonight, whichwas probably more a blessing thana curse.

Deciding to embrace sleeplessness—and thwart Isaac in the process—she rose and loaded up, strappingon her sword and daggers beforeleaving her tent and stepping outinto the chilly night. She might aswell make herself useful andrelieve Ray and Sloane of sentryduty.

The moons were almost full. Bytomorrow night they would be likebig pink snowballs in the sky—oneslightly larger than the other—andnobody would even notice thecluster of stars glittering aroundthem in fierce, cold glory. Howmany other worlds were out there,she wondered? Enough to fill thatsky?

Circling the outer perimeter of thesmall group of tents, she foundSloane standing on the edge of the

glade with his back against a treetrunk. He wasn’t asleep, but helooked pretty close, making her feela momentary twinge of guilt. She’dworked everyone hard today—except for Jacob, who had excitedlyfilled the position of waterboy/cheering squad. Sloaneespecially had thrown himself fulltilt into her weapons training.

He looked up now as sheapproached. The weariness in hisstance vanished, and he straightened

his shoulders and narrowed his eyesto see who was coming.

“Why don’t you go on to bed,” shesaid, wrapping her long woolenscarf around her neck to ward offthe chill.

Damn cold. She made fists of herhands and stuffed them under herarms. Sometimes she wanted a pairof thick mittens so bad. They wouldkeep her fingers toasty warm, butthe trade-off was not being able toget to her dagger as quickly. She

resigned herself to the thin leathergloves with no fingers. “You’regoing to need some sleep if youintend to survive what I’ve gotplanned for tomorrow.”

He groaned good-naturedly. “I don’tknow if I’ll be able to movetomorrow, but I’ll take whateveryou dish out, especially if it meansgetting to watch you kick Ray’s assagain.”

She chuckled, having heard Ray’ssoft step approaching behind her.

“What are you two doing?”

Greta turned around. “I was thinkingof taking my turn on the night shift alittle early.” As much as she’dpushed Ray’s buttons since herarrival—intentionally and not sointentionally—Greta had come torespect him for his devotion,loyalty, and sense of honor. The lastthing she wanted was to underminehis position as Wyatt’s second incommand in front of the others. “Ifthat’s okay with you.”

His smoky breaths floated awaylike little clouds in the cold air.“Okay by me,” he said with an evilsmile as he turned to Sloane. “Takeadvantage of the extra rest buddy,because tomorrow you’re mysparring partner.”

Sloane looked horrified. “Well,then I guess I’ll see you both in themorning.”

Greta almost felt sorry for him, butSloane was going to come upagainst much worse than Ray in just

a few days, and it was her job tomake sure he lived through it. Nocoddling allowed. “Bright andearly,” she added.

She watched as the brave kidsauntered off in the direction of histent. Only fourteen years old, shethought, and he was far from theyoungest of them.

Dealing with humans was a strangeexperience. Different from Myleanspecies, humanity relied deeply onemotion. Greta had almost forgotten

that. She’d gotten so used to pushingaside emotion to make way forexpedience, practicality, survival.This was a motley little group, eachone of them with more guts andstrength of character than she couldever hope to match, and they testedher boundaries.

“Why don’t I run a quick perimetercheck?”

Ray stepped in her path as she madeto go by him. “Answer somethingfor me,” he said, voice low so as

not to disturb anyone’s sleep.

She was surprised he wanted tochat. Even if his frosty contempt forher had thawed during the long dayspent sparring with one another,they weren’t exactly friends. Shewaited as he seemed to be trying forthe right words.

“How have you been able to stand ithere so long?”

Greta could taste Ray’s anxiousdesperation. Having lost a brother

to this place, he must hate it heremore than the others. They all achedto see their families, but at least theyounger boys had been blessed tosome extent, with forgetfulness.They could also feel confident inthe knowledge that their loved oneswere safe at home, maybe stillwaiting for them to return one day.Ray, though, he knew that even if hesomehow made it back, his brotherwould still be lost forever, acasualty of Mylena.

“I guess I didn’t have much choice,but I was also very lucky.” Shesighed, realizing just how true thatwas…although maybe her luck wasfinally running out. “I kept mybrother from being tossed into thatfire, even if I couldn’t save myself.And it was luck that I didn’t end upa prisoner of Agramon like you.Luck that I found someone willingto protect me and teach me tosurvive here.”

“But you do want to leave, don’t

you?”

Startled by the question, sheswallowed hard. “What do youmean?”

“You’ve built a life here andeverything. I just thought maybeyou’d given up on going home.Maybe you like it here now, or youdon’t think there would be anythingto go back to anymore.”

“I didn’t give up.” You so did.Greta frowned. “I searched. For

years, I searched for a portal. But Ialso owed a debt to the sprite whotook me in. I couldn’t just leavehim.” For the first time, thatreasoning sounded like an excuse.She shook her head. “Not that itmatters now.”

“There’s nothing holding you to thisplace, right?”

Glancing from Ray’s speculativeexpression into the dark of thesurrounding bushes, she wassurprised that the memory of Isaac’s

glowering face stood in the way ofa simple agreement. She clenchedher hands into fists at her side.“Why do you ask, Ray?”

“Would you stay? I mean, if wearen’t able to pull this off and youknew some of the others would bestuck here, would you still go if youcould, or would you…stay?”

Greta thought about her brotherDrew, about how she might feel ifhe’d been dragged through theportal along with her and died here.

If the opportunity came, how couldshe go back to the family they leftbehind and explain that only one oftheir children was ever cominghome? How would she explain whyshe had lived and Drew had died?Could she look into her parents’face and be the cause of their horrorand disappointment?

Her chest tightened. Ray’s youngface was shadowed deeply by thenight, but she recognized the tormentin his glistening eyes.

“That’s a hard question. Maybeimpossible to answer,” shewhispered. “I’m not sure anyonecould make a decision like thatunless the choice was forced onthem.” She put a hand on hisshoulder and squeezed gently. “Andyou shouldn’t have to make thatdecision now either. Let’s take thisjourney one step at a time, okay?”

“It’s just…I was thinking…” Hepaused. “If it comes down to it andwe can’t get everyone through the

portal, I’m the one who has nobody.Wyatt would be against it becausehe thinks he has to protect everyone,but I think maybe I should be theone who stays to take care of theboys that don’t make it through.”

Greta took a leaf from Luke’s book,steeling her expression and her toneto show no sympathy, since thatwouldn’t help anyone. “This wasyour crazy idea, Ray. Don’t youdare fail us before we’ve evenstarted. We haven’t found a portal

yet anyway, but if we do, you’redamn well going through it.” Noway was she going to let it go downany other way.

He looked unconvinced and staredback at her for a long moment. Washe searching for assurances in herface? Would she fail him in the endlike she had failed Luke?

“Why don’t you go on to bed.”

He shook his head. “I should—”

“Forget it. Wyatt will be up inanother hour. I wouldn’t mind sometime alone until then.”

He considered it and nodded. “Ok,then. I’m actually pretty beat.”

Greta didn’t doubt it. The boy hadtaken hit after hit from her all daylong. His sigh was much lessantagonistic than normal, as if hedidn’t have the energy to keephating her just on principle.

He turned to go, but stopped and

looked back over his shoulder.“Thanks.”

She shook her head and waved himon. She couldn’t possibly acceptthanks for her pep talk, or anythingelse she had done in this camptoday, not when she knew herwords were meaningless, hergestures worthless.

It wasn’t going to matter how muchthey all wanted this plan to succeed,or how much training she gave themin the next twenty-four hours. She

had a feeling it was all too little,too late. Odds were, people woulddie before the dilemma of whetherto stay or go even became an issue.

She swallowed against the steelshavings lining her throat. Tearswelled up and there wasn’t anythingshe could do to stop them. They ranhot and fast down her cheeks,already cold as they fell off theedge of her chin. She glared into theinky black sky and cursed both Godand the Great Mother—and

everyone else who might be upthere looking down on them.

What the hell happened to thewarrior Luke had spent yearstraining? If there was ever a timewhen she needed to be strong andmaintain her stolid detachment, itwas now.

“Greta? Are you okay?”

Swiping both hands across hercheeks, she kept her face averted soWyatt wouldn’t see her weeping.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

His footsteps crunched in the snowas he came up behind her and turnedher around by the shoulders to facehim. “You don’t look fine. Do youwant to talk about it?”

She groaned. “What are you, mycounselor now?” His eyes dulledwith disappointment and she feltabout three inches tall. “I’m sorry.I’m just not used to this, youknow?”

“Used to what?”

“All of it. I’ve faced danger before.The critical, never-going-to-get-out-of-this-one-alive kind. As a humanplaying at being a bounty hunter,that’s just the way it was—the wayit is. The only way to survive.” Shesniffed. “But, God. Recently, I… Idon’t know what’s happening to me.I’m falling apart.”

His fingers were cold as he took herhand, his touch hesitant and gentle.She blinked up at him through a

pathetic sheen of tears. “Maybe youjust figured out you still havesomething to lose. If it were me, I’dprobably be scared shitless.”

She searched his face, marvelingthat his features had become so dearto her so quickly. She thought of allthe people counting on hersuddenly. All of those newconnections had the capacity tobring her pain.

One connection in particular cameto mind. She didn’t want to think

Isaac was important enough to hurther, or admit there was anythingbetween them for her to lose. But itwas time to stop lying to herself. Hewas part of this. Whatever they hadwas shaky and thin…but it wasmore than just a dream.

And surprisingly, it was precious toher.

Too bad it was destined to break. Ifthe eclipse didn’t do the job, thedecisions and promises she’d madetoday were going to. Her chest

ached, like it was something she’dalready lost.

She couldn’t see Wyatt’s facebefore his lips pressed against herforehead. She felt the rhythmic inand out of his chest as he breathed,and the warmth of his arms comingaround her like a wide blanket.

His embrace was almost timid. Hedidn’t crush her to him like Isaacwould have. He didn’t consume hersenses and threaten to swallow herwhole. He treated her as if she were

made of something treasured andbreakable.

Greta opened her eyes and lookedup into the smooth chocolate of hisgaze. “Wyatt, I don’t think—”

“Shh. You think so much,” hechided, tapping her temple with thesecond knuckle of his forefinger.

In his own way, Wyatt had crept upon her with as much stealth andpremeditation as Isaac. She wassurprised by how twisted-up and

confusing her feelings had alreadygotten. As if one impossiblerelationship weren’t alreadycomplicating her life enough.

The moonlight played with theshadows, giving him deeperhollows in his cheeks and hiding hiseyes. He dragged his thumb lightlyover her bottom lip, continuing upthe slope of her jaw. His handshook a little bit, but his touch madeher feel as if she were beingwelcomed home after a long

absence, as if every good memoryof being human was wrapped up inhim.

Isaac was so different. Fierce andbold and commanding. Daring herto embrace the future and forgetabout the past. But she remindedherself that half of what she’d feltwith him had been fabricated—allin her head. And that the part whichhad been real was also dangerousand self-destructive. This was real.Wyatt was real, and he was here

with her now in the flesh.

Being with him wasn’t a violentexplosion attacking all her senses atonce, but true intimacy—the kindshe could trust—needed time togrow.

Didn’t it?

A cough from inside one of the tentsbrought her to her senses and shejerked back. “I should probably runa patrol.”

“Wyatt? Greta?”

Alarmed by the sound of Jacob’scall, she turned and raced to theopen flap of his tent. He stood thereshivering but smiling up at her.

Wyatt followed with considerablyless urgency. “What’s the matter,Jake?”

Jacob looked up at her and down atthe ground, his face a mask ofundisguised longing that put all newcracks in Greta’s armor. “I…I can’t

sleep.”

Feeling uncertain about her place inwhat was, in essence, a kind offamily, she went down on one kneeso they would be at eye level witheach other and rubbed her handsbriskly up and down his arms tohelp warm him from the harsh nightair.

“I couldn’t sleep either,” sheadmitted, glancing up at Wyatt witha raised brow. He nodded,understanding what she was asking.

“It’s pretty dark, and I think maybe Ineed some company. Do you wantto come and share my tent?”

“Yes. Yeah, sure!”

The young boy grabbed her hand soquickly Wyatt chuckled softlybehind her. “Go on then, you slydevil. Tomorrow is a big day andyou both need your sleep.”

Jacob waved at Wyatt and starteddragging her away. “Good nightWyatt.”

Greta looked over her shoulder, arush of warmth flooding her. “Goodnight Wyatt,” she whispered.

Chapter Fifteen

After tucking Jacob into the coverletbeside her, Greta listened to hisexcited chatter for several minutes.The boy had too much energy for hisown good. He seemed to thinkhaving Greta all to himself wassome kind of treat, and chattered

like a little magpie, telling storiesabout the other boys.

Jack had apparently caught his firsthare last week, but Jacob thought ittasted yucky. Once, Charlie andNiall both got sick with ugly reddots all over their faces, and almostdied. Ray always gave him all theseeds whenever they found amocker nut bush. And Sloane criedin his sleep sometimes, but hedidn’t want anyone to know.

Even when the little motor mouth

started to wind down, he refused toclose his twinkling eyes, almost asif he were afraid she would be gonewhen he woke up.

“Oh, and—”

“Magpie, shh,” she whispered,testing the baby fine strands of hairat his temples with her fingertip.“Go to sleep now. You can tell memore in the morning, I promise.”

As soon as he stopped talking, ahuge yawn erupted out of him. He

tried to fight it, but another fewminutes and his eyes flutteredclosed and he was asleep, just likethat. Greta lay back, listening as hisbreathing evened out and his littlebody slumped bonelessly into thecurve of her arm.

After rethinking everything thatcould go wrong tomorrow andcoming up with all newcomplications but no alternatives,Greta herself fell asleep a long timelater, feeling more confused,

terrified, and unsettled than ever.

The dream started almostimmediately, taking her deep intothe dark forest. There was nopreamble this time, no muddiness,and Greta wasn’t surprised. She’dbeen expecting him, knew what washappening and exactly where theywere—the magical circle nearLuke’s house.

Although she wasn’t the least bitcold, a heavy, wet snow fell softly.Mylena’s two moons peeked from

behind a layer of clouds. Shenoticed they were almost in linewith one another, proving that shewas worrying about the eclipse allthe time now, even in her dreams.

He stepped out of the darkness infront of her dressed in black, andGreta couldn’t stifle the thrill thatshot all the way through her. Assoon as their eyes met, she wasthinking about that kiss. Pressing herspine hard against the trunk of a treewas the only way she could keep

herself from running to him.

A stricken look flashed across hisface as he noted her hesitation, butit was gone so quickly she probablyimagined it.

“Why are we here?” She crossedher arms in impatience, ignoring theflip-flop of her stomach. “What is ityou want from me now?” Her tonewas harsher than she’d intended, butit was better this way. Less chancethey would end up kissing if both ofthem were too busy being

defensive.

“Tell me where you’re hiding,Greta. I’ve narrowed it down, but Ican’t find you.”

Grateful for small favors, shethought of the tiny body cozied nextto her back in the real world, andshook her head. “You know Ican’t.”

“You still don’t trust me.”

“Should I?”

His lip curled. “If you knew whatI’ve been through to keepAgramon’s gnomes and the legionof bounty hunters out of my countyand off your trail…”

Greta stepped forward. Truthfully,she did trust him—to a certainextent. And she believed he feltsomething for her. But as much asshe cherished that, she had toconsider the lives of Wyatt, Ray,Sloane, Jacob, and the others now.

“Why would you continue to put

yourself and your people at risk forme?”

His gaze fell to her mouth. “Youknow why.”

She shoved her trembling handsbehind her back. Damn him. Thiswas his dirtiest game yet. A fewdays ago, she would have givenanything to find someone who knewthat she was human and still wantedher, but it was too late. Now, evenif she survived, she and Isaac couldnever bridge the gap out there in the

real world. They could never haveanything between them but thisdream. “I’m not one of you. I don’tbelong here.”

“Who says you’re not one of us?”

“Please,” she said. “I’m human, asmuch as you may have decided toignore that fact. You hate humans.”

“I haven’t ignored anything. I knowwho and what you are.”Exasperation colored his tone.“And I’ve already told you it

doesn’t make any difference. Whycan’t you accept that this is yourhome?”

Home. No, Greta refused. Damnedif she would ever call this frozenwilderness home, even if she livedout the rest of her life here. It washer prison, not her home. “If I’msuch a perfect fit for Mylena, why iseveryone out to kill me?”

“Your gracious personality?”

She gave him the look of death.

His teasing smile faded. “Greta, bereasonable. If you let go of yourmonumental stubbornness, I can takecare of the price on your head. Andif you tell me where you are, I cankeep you safe through the turbulenceof the eclipse.”

“Even if I could trust your motives,I don’t need your help.”

“Just because you don’t want it,doesn’t mean you don’t need it.”

She squared her shoulders. “Did

you worm your way into mysubconscious just to be anargumentative, overbearing ass?Because I’ve got better things tospend my time dreaming about—”

“You can’t pretend with me. Notanymore.” He stopped in front ofher with a smoky, purposeful look.“We both know I would be in yourdreams whether you had asked mehere or not.”

Isaac would be the subject of herfantasies for as long as she drew

breath into her body, but she wouldnever let him know it. “Asked?” shechoked. “Shall we revisit theprocess by which you manipulatedyour way into the so-called‘invitation’?”

He swung away, throwing his handsin the air before turning back to herwith a snarl. “Don’t refuse what Ican give you. Don’t reject myprotection. Don’t try and force meout. The stakes are too high now.”

“I can’t do this anymore,” she

whispered.

His frustration vibrated betweenthem. “Even if I could leave you,should I promise to stay out of yourmind when it’s the only way I haveof knowing you’re safe?”

“Since when has my safety becomeyour concern anyway?”

“Around the same time you setyourself on the path of personaldestruction.” His voice was filledwith desperation now, as if he were

fighting for his life…or hers.

Was it so obvious she’d taken on asuicide mission?

It hadn’t been her humanity that gother through the last four years, butthat other part of her—the partwhich had taken pleasure in everyhunt, rocked every kill. The part thatwas born here in Mylena. She hatedthat he knew her so well, that hecould see the darkness in her.

It had already occurred to her that

this quest she was embarking onmeant there was a good possibilityshe wasn’t going to see the realIsaac ever again. Something thatwould have been a blessing just afew days ago now made her hearthurt.

She found herself wishing thingswere different, that she hadn’t metWyatt and Jacob and Ray. Hadn’tlearned of the human slaves, anddidn’t know what horror wouldbefall them if they were left to rot in

Agramon’s dungeons. All of thiswould have been so much simpler,her choices easier.

Because the only choice she hadnow was killing her inside.

“Whatever path I decide to takeisn’t any of your business. Youdon’t have the right to interfere. I’llfind a way to bar you from mydreams even if it means cutting yourcursed name from my very soul,”she warned. “We’re done.”

He flinched before his whole bodywent rigid and the light faded fromhis eyes. She blinked back the tearsbefore he could see them.

She took a step back. “I’m tellingyou now, Isaac. You had better stayout of my dreams—and don’t bothertelling me I don’t mean what I say.Don’t keep trying to find me either,because you’ll only be wasting yourtime.”

Suddenly, his expression narrowed.“Greta, by the Great Mother, what

have you gotten yourself into?”

Her stomach clenched. “Just get out.This has nothing to do with you. Iwon’t let you stand in my way.”

“Is this about Lucius’s death?Revenge is a fool’s—”

“This is so far beyond revengenow.” She choked on bitterlaughter, realizing just how true thewords were. “Revenge would besimple.”

His jaw tightened. “Whatever it iscan’t be worth your life.”

“You know, you’re wrong aboutthat. In fact, this might be the onething that has made my life meansomething, and if I have to give it upto get the job done, then so be it.”

His lip curled and the fake forestbackground around themshimmered. Was he losing control?Had she finally pushed him close tothe breaking point? “What’sbetween us is too strong for you to

just walk away.”

He better be wrong, or they wereboth in for a world of hurt. “Therewon’t ever be anything between usnow.”

Greta.

“Liar,” he said with a snarl. “I’mimpressed you were able to say thatto me with a straight face.”

Greta…

Her head pounded like someone hadstarted tapping on her temples witha pickaxe.

Please…you have to…

Dizzy, she closed her eyes andshook her head, trying to get rid ofthe feeling, but it only increaseduntil everything was spinning.

…up…please.

“What is going on?” she asked. “Doyou hear—?”

Someone was trying to wake her.On the other side, something waswrong.

Please, Greta. Please wake up.

She snapped her head back. “Isaac,get me out of here.”

“Where are you? Who are youwith?”

“There’s no time for that. Just letme go.” Her heart in her throat, shespun around, absently looking for a

way out, a tear in the fabric of thedream. Hell, a good old-fashioneddoor would do the trick—anything.

The fake forest, fake trees, fakemoons—all of it warped around herlike waves on the surface of a deep,black lake. “Isaac! I have to wakeup now. Right now!”

He grabbed her shoulders, shakinghard. “Tell me where you are.”

She shoved at his chest, desperationa crazed thud in her brain telling her

to hurry, hurry, hurry.

Glaring into his dark, hard eyes, shetried not to think about anything hecould pluck from her mind. Nothingexcept for the constant thumpingrefrain of wake up, wake up, wakeup— “I’m not playing, goblin. Getme out of this dream before I—”

Please, Greta…scared. Please.

Jacob.

Oh, God. She was going to be too

late. She cracked. “Isaac, please.I’m begging you. Please let me go.”Her fingers curled into his sleeves.Her voice caught on a sob. “Theyneed me.”

“The humans,” he spat. His gazecooled as he stood over her, hisface turning to stone before hereyes. “Is this your wish?”

“My wish?” Her head snapped backas if she’d been slapped. “You sonof a—”

Greta!

She nodded. “Yes, damn you. Thisis my wish. Just do it. Get me out ofhere.”

Her vision blurred, the sick feelingin the pit of her stomach sucking herdown farther and farther into thedarkness.

“Fine. Go,” he said. “Awake.”

Chapter Sixteen

Greta surged upward with a harshgasp for air, shaking off thetormenting cobwebs of the dream asquickly as she could.

Jacob was on his knees beside her.He jumped back with a breathlessshout. She clasped his shouldersand pulled him into her arms. Hewas shaking badly and she tried tosoothe him with a few awkwardpats on his narrow back. She felt thewarmth of his tears on her neck.

“Shh, Jacob. Hey, it’s okay.”

He shook his head and hiccupped,keeping his nose wedged tight in thecrook of her neck. What must hehave felt when he tried to wake herand she didn’t move?

“What is it? What’s happened?”

He swallowed hard, but before hecould speak, a sharp cry slicedthrough the silence outside. Jacobjerked, his fingernails digging intoher arms.

“Jacob, I want you to stay herewhile I’m gone, okay?” It hurt topull his little arms from around herand set him aside. She reached forher sword and stood to belt it inplace around her waist. Since she’donly planned to lie down longenough for Jacob to fall asleep, andthen take patrol duty with Wyatt, shehadn’t bothered to unstrap herdaggers earlier, but quickly checkedto make sure they were still secure.

“Greta, I’m scared,” the boy

whispered. He’d curled up into atight ball in the center of the pelts.“Are you going to come back?”

She knelt before him and took hishand. Placing a kiss in his palm, sheclosed his tiny fingers over it. “Ofcourse I’m coming back, magpie.You keep this safe, because I’llwant it back, do you hear me?”

He nodded and cradled his handclose to his chest, ducking his head.Another shout, followed by a crackof something loud splintering and

breaking made him screech and cryout.

“Shh. Don’t be afraid,” she said.“You’ll be safe as long as you’revery quiet and you don’t come outof this tent. Not unless one of uscomes to get you. I’m going to helpWyatt and Ray now. You wait rightin that spot just like I said, okay?That’s an order.”

She didn’t want to leave him, butshe told herself Jacob would be thesafest of anyone if he stayed inside

and stayed quiet. Standing, sheforced out a deep breath and willedher heart rate to slow down. Sheducked out of the tent and folded theflap tightly over the opening withoutanother look back, knowing if shegave in she wasn’t going to be ableto go.

Not sure what to expect—morecrazed Mylean timber cats?—shepaused instead of immediatelyrushing headlong toward the sourceof the racket. But the sounds of

clashing steel spurred her forward.No timber cat would strike backwith a sword.

Sloane was running out of hisshelter with a dagger in his handjust as she raced past. Greta pointedbehind her. “Go and get Jacob in mytent. Then do what you can to gatherthe boys together and keep everyonesafe.”

She couldn’t stop to make sure hewould listen, but even though hewas young, Sloane was smart,

strong, and capable. They all were.She had to trust that they had a planin place for this type of emergency.

As she closed in on the disturbance,she squinted through the darkness,trying to get a bead on the threat.She could make out a pattern ofheavy shadows swirling back andforth, with the odd reflection ofmoonlight off the blade of a swordslashing through the air. An icyblock of dread settled in her throat.She had a terrible feeling she knew

what was attacking them.

“Wyatt! Ray!”

Please don’t let me be too late.

She jumped over the fire pit. It hadbeen stomped out hours ago, but afew embers continued to glowweakly and its heat warmed thebacks of her thighs as she landed onthe other side between the twoengaged figures.

One of them was Wyatt—on her

left. The other…

Lazarus.

He had found her again…and fromthe looks of those dark eyes andlong claws, the moons were ridinghim even harder now than last time.He hadn’t turned completely, but thearrival of the eclipse would be justa formality for this guy.

Unnerved by the wave of relief thatat least their attacker wasn’t Isaac,Greta turned her back to Wyatt and

faced the deadly faerie. Sheblocked his quick thrust with herblade, but the hits didn’t stop there.She took a hard shot to the nosewhen he countered with his fist,snapping Greta’s head back so hardshe bit her tongue and lost herbalance.

“Ah, crap.” She winced. The bloodstarted to well in her nasal cavityand she sniffed it back withimpatience and a shudder of disgust.Damn it. Why did they always have

to go for the face?

She forced herself to stay on herfeet, keep her body between Wyattand Lazarus.

Wyatt tried pulling her behind him.“Greta, what are you doing? Getback!”

She shrugged him off. Lazarussnarled, his sword lifting in adeadly arch over their heads. “Getout of here, Wyatt. Go get the othersto safety.”

Wyatt jumped forward to stand ather side. “Ray’s got it. You need myhelp.”

“Those kids need you more,” shecried, kicking out to knock Lazarusback a few steps with a high shot tothe chest. “You think if you die heretonight Ray will be able to take careof them on his own?”

“If I die tonight, hopefully it meansyou’ll live,” he retorted, his face amask of ruthless determination.“And I trust you to take care of Ray

and the kids.”

The guy was delusional if hebelieved they could manage withouthim, or that she was an acceptablesubstitute for his compassion andleadership. Greta may have beendesignated the muscle of thisoperation, and Ray was mostdefinitely the guts, but Wyatt was itsheart and soul, and every boy backthere would fall apart without him.The whole group would crumble.

But Greta didn’t have time to argue.

She kicked out again as Lazarusmoved on her, catching him hard inthe kneecap. He stumbled and shestayed on the offensive, movingforward right away with a slash ofher blade, but he dropped androlled before coming back on hisfeet a few steps away.

His roar was filled with such hateand venom she wondered when thishunt had turned personal for him.That’s all she needed was to havethe most ruthless bounty hunter in

Mylena after her blood instead ofthe money he’d be paid for takingher alive.

Lazarus sprang at her so fast shedidn’t even get her sword back up.Both his hands closed around herthroat. Tightened.

Her mouth opened, but there was noair to scream. She couldn’t gasp,couldn’t choke, her windpipecollapsing under his iron grip.

“Greta!” Wyatt’s cry sounded

muffled and far away.

The sword fell from her fingers andshe lifted her hands, tearingdesperately at the faerie’s wrists.She kicked every part of his bodyher boots would reach, and it didabsolutely nothing.

Her strength was failing quickly andevery move was slower, liketrudging through thick sludge thatonly pulled her down deeper theharder she fought.

Her vision blurred and darkened.She was going to loseconsciousness.

She felt rather than saw Wyattlaunching himself at Lazarus with aknife aimed at the faerie’s back. Shewas jerked roughly to the side asLazarus swung around in an attemptto throw Wyatt off without letting goof her throat. The pain that joltedthrough her was so extreme, shewas afraid her neck had justseparated from her spine.

Certain she was done for, sheclosed her eyes. But the faeriesuddenly howled and dropped herinto the snow.

Gasping for air, she pulled it intoher lungs quickly and deeply eventhough it hurt like knives tearing ather throat. She dug in her heels andscrambled backward to put spacebetween her and the twocombatants. Forcing her fists tounclench, she leaned over her kneeand lifted her pant-leg, pulling the

long-handled dagger from her boot.

She battled dizziness while the fightcontinued in front of her.

Lazarus growled.

“Come on then, you monster. Let’sdance,” Wyatt taunted.

Stupid, stupid boy.

She blinked, trying to find himamong the shifting shadows. Hervision was still spotty. She got to

her feet and managed to stayupright, but couldn’t move her neck.Oh yeah, that’s going to be funtomorrow.

Lazarus swung his long, sharply-clawed arm at Wyatt with a growl.He ducked to the right and barelymissed having his head separatedfrom his body.

“Wyatt, get back!” Her voice cameout as a pained, soundless whisperthat neither of them heard. Better notto bother. The stubborn idiot

wouldn’t listen anyway.

She forced her way back into thefight with dagger in hand and abuttload of strength of will—if notstrength of body—but even twohumans against one massivelyaggressive faerie was like a coupleof bees buzzing annoyingly around aT-Rex. They were just pissing himoff. She could feel it in the air, thatsame gathering of energy, of cold,of power, as the last time.

“We have to run,” she croaked,

holding her hand out for Wyatt.

“He’s turning!” Wyatt called to herin the same moment. He grabbed herarm and they both stumbled a fewfeet away as the vortex of ice beganto form around Lazarus.

Greta knew they wouldn’t get far,not if she tried to leave with Wyatt.She could probably stay and stallthe faerie long enough for him totake the boys to safety, though. Thebounty hunter had been tracking herafter all, and might not bother with

the others if she wasn’t part of thegroup anymore.

She shoved Wyatt out of the way.“It won’t work. Go without me. Youhave a responsibility to those boys,not to me…I’ll be fine,” she lied.

Spotting her sword in the snow, shejumped for it just as Lazarus lungedfor the two of them in all his gnarlyfaced, fangy glory. She dodged hisgrasp and maneuvered behind him,grabbing his arm as she went andspinning him around until he gave

Wyatt his back and the only thing hehad to focus on was her.

A bestial cry sounded in thedistance. Filled with suchmonstrous rage everyone paused onhearing it echo toward them throughthe night.

It was still far out, maybe a coupleof miles, but the next thunderoushowl confirmed that it was movingfast, getting closer by the second,and whatever it was, it wasn’thappy.

Her hopes for getting out of here inone piece plummeted some more. Itwas also clear that no matter whatshe said, Wyatt wasn’t goinganywhere without her. Hestubbornly placed himself back ather side as they faced off withLazarus, who seemed newlyinvigorated by the prospect of moreguests to the party.

Fine. She’d tried. She couldn’t beresponsible for his death if hewasn’t going to let her save him

from it.

Swallowing her anger, she focusedon the battle. She was doing herbest to take the brunt of Lazarus’sattack, but she couldn’t last muchlonger. They defended themselvesas best they could. She tried not tothink about the other creature on itsway, looking for a piece of theaction, but the furious calls thatcame every few minutes cut her tothe core.

Suddenly, she knew who was

coming. Knew what it meant.“Wyatt, you’ve got to go!”

“Enough.” The faerie’s voicegurgled with the force of his moonphase. He straightened and glared ather with ice in his eyes.

As she watched, his pupils cloudedover and again she felt that stirringof the air. It quickened, imprisoningher suddenly within a circle ofsmoke. She tried to push through,but touching it was like plunging herhand into the fiercest, coldest ice

storm Mylena had ever seen. She’dnever felt anything so cold. If shetried to walk through it wouldprobably stop her heart.

He’d just turned their fight into theequivalent of a cage match.

In the distance, as if from milesaway, Wyatt called her name. Shewondered if he was locked out asmuch as she was locked in.

Trapped within the maelstrom ofLazarus’s power, oxygen was thin

and the fog so thick Greta couldn’tsee her hands in front of her face.She sensed the faerie shiftingaround her—first in front andsuddenly behind—but heardnothing. It was as if all her senseshad been fried until she was leftflailing about without any of herskills to lean on for balance. Notsight, or sound, or touch.

She took a swipe of Lazarus’sclaws across her chest and didn’teven sense it coming, but she sure

as hell felt each one of his razortalons tearing through her clothesand pulling at her skin.

She bit off the cry of pain, refusingto let it pass. He shoved her frombehind, blew frigid wind in her faceuntil she couldn’t breathe. He bither shoulder, and his next pass left adeep gash in her thigh. This timeGreta couldn’t stop the harsh groanthat escaped, but she didn’t daremove. Holding absolutelymotionless, she concentrated on

clearing her mind of insecurity,doubt, pain, and crushed allthoughts of Wyatt, Jacob, Isaac, andanything else that could make herweak.

She closed her eyes, which actuallyhelped her focus. When he movedon her again, this time coming upalong her left side, Greta wasready.

Her fist shot out and she sluggedhim in the jaw. His sharp teethscraped the skin of her knuckles

before he jerked back, but shebarely felt it, the satisfaction ofhaving taken him off guard in hisown game trumped the pain bigtime.

“I see you,” she murmured. Notwith her eyes, but with her othersenses. She realized he wasn’t asinvisible as she’d first thought.Greta just had to reach past his fogand mirrors tricks and listen for himin the spaces between theemptiness.

He roared and lunged at her. Shehad a bead on him now and wasable to slip to the side, but he justturned and came for her again. Itbecame obvious that he could haveslit her throat at any moment, buthadn’t.

He was toying with her.

“I commend your will to fight theinevitable,” he growled into themist.

She was surprised he retained

enough control to form basicpronouns, much less actualsentences. Most of the Lost shehunted forfeited that function ofcivility to answer the pull of themoons.

“Yeah? That’s nothing. Let’s seewhat you think of my will when I’mgouging your heart out.”

“You stand a much greater chanceof keeping your limbs if you giveup.” His arm suddenly came out ofthe mist, those deadly claws

narrowly missing her as she hissedand jumped back. “But I’m notbringing you in for the bounty, so itdoesn’t matter to me how damagedyou are when I carry you out ofhere.”

She kept looking straight ahead,straining with all her other sensesfor him to betray his position. “Ifyou don’t want the money, what areyou doing this for?”

“For the sake of all worlds, youcannot be sacrificed to the demon.

You will be brought before QueenMinetta to answer for the crimes ofyour race.”

She frowned, only more confused.Oh, goody. Yet another Myleanmonarch who wanted a piece of her.And just what crimes was shesupposed to have committed now?

“Sorry to disappoint you, but I’mgoing to have to take a rain check onthat one.” Her breathing came inrasping coughs, the gashes in herchest pulling painfully with every

movement. “It was nice chattingwith you, though.”

They continued to circle each other.It took a concerted effort to ignorethe pain in her chest and the bloodtrickling down her calf. She wasstill technically flying blind, butrefused to make it easy for Lazarusby standing still like an openinvitation, so she took a swing atevery whisper of air in front orbehind her.

It was obvious she was out of her

league. He avoided her all tooeasily, but at least he couldn’twatch for her next shot and sliceher throat open at the same time.

She began to hear things from theoutside—the muffled sounds ofanother battle. Either Lazarus’sstrength was weakening and hiswhirling cage was thinning, ormaybe Wyatt had started to make adent in it.

Greta’s shift in focus cost herdearly. Lazarus was suddenly

behind her with his arm lockedbeneath her chin. If he’d wanted herdead, she would have less than asecond before he snapped her necklike a fat spring hen’s.

Legs bent, she pushed her bodybackward full into his chest andsent them both careening into thethick haze that continued to keepthem trapped together, biting hertongue at the instant flash of iceattacking her. Lazarus’s hold on herrelaxed as he moved to brace

himself. Greta’s arm was engulfedwithin the wall of smoke. Shescreamed and scuttled back, but herhand was so cold it burned.

Suddenly a shout breached thebarrier. It sounded like thunder, thekind that rumbled through the skyand shook the ground, heralding thecoming of a drenching that wouldtake up small children and washthem away down the street.

Greta knew it wasn’t thunder. Sheknew it wasn’t Wyatt, either.

Isaac.

Her breath caught and warmthflooded her in deliberate oppositionto the icy calm she had been fightingto maintain. She was stupidly gladthat he’d found her, and stupidlyterrified.

She started to push herself to herfeet, but Lazarus was quicker and hethrew her hard onto her back beforeshe could regain her balance. Hiseyes glittered as he came over her.Greta hauled her knee to her chest

and kicked him in the face. His headsnapped to the side but otherwiseher attack made little impression.

She could only hope Wyatt had beensmart enough to run, get the boys outof the line of fire and to a safe placewhere they could ride out theeclipse.

“Isaac,” she whispered, wishingshe had the strength to send himaway to safety, too.

The circle of fog was suddenly

falling away, dissipating rapidly.

No doubt because of the large handreaching through it, wrappingaround Lazarus’s throat.

The faerie choked, fighting to drawair just as Greta herself had foughtnot so long ago. She groaned as hewas pulled off her and sent flyingthrough the camp. He landed in theremains of the fire, scattering thefew glowing embers every whichway across the tracked-up snow.

When she dared look up, it was tofind Isaac glaring down at her, hisface a twisted mask of raw ferocity.

This was no dream lover, or eventhe infuriating goblin king who hadbaited her endlessly. She didn’tknow what he was anymore, but shecouldn’t look away.

Sprawled flat on the cold earth, shewhimpered. He stood over her,their gazes locked together. Thepower of the eclipse shone from hiseyes, but beyond that was something

even more compelling. An absolutepossession lit his dark gaze, evennow when the moons were strongand the instinct for blood shouldhave overridden everything else.

Her emotions numbed by pain, shewatched the plumes of wintery aircoming from his nostrils. The quickrise and fall of his chest. Theclenching of his heavy fists at hissides. Everything about his posturespoke of blood lust and promiseddeath.

Yet it wasn’t Greta who bore thebrunt of his fury.

When Lazarus got to his feet, Isaacturned away from her and directedall that wildness toward the faerie,his angry cry a clear warning thatthe hunter’s remaining momentswere numbered.

She shrank back as Lazarus lurchedfrom Isaac’s torturous grip andreached for her again, but Isaacjumped over her and slammedLazarus to the ground a few feet

away.

“Greta!”

Wyatt.

Turning onto her side, she put a legunder her and levered herself to herknees. Wyatt was hunched over alog not far from her. He got to hisfeet and took a shaky step forward.A long gash crossed his face, bloodsmeared across his cheek andforehead, and he favored his rightside.

Her chest locked with fear. “Whatare you still doing here?”

“Shut up,” he snapped in a sharpwhisper. “I wouldn’t have leftwithout any one of the others, andI’m not leaving without you. Nowget up. We have to go while the twoheavyweights are keeping eachother busy.”

She shook her head. “It’s no use. Nomatter who comes out of it alive,neither one is going to stop. They’llkeep coming for me.”

“Then we’ll just have to gosomewhere they can’t follow.” Hereached for her arm. “Come on.They aren’t the only ones we haveto worry about. Can’t you hear it?”He glanced over her head. “Thewhole forest is shaking. We won’thave much time. Have to hurry.”

He was right. Even though theeclipse was still at least a dayaway, its effect was alreadywidespread. She could hear it in therustling, screeching, snarling echoes

coming from all around them.

The world was turning. Greta andWyatt had no choice now but to runand to hide, or become easy prey.

She found herself looking uneasilyat Isaac’s intimidating form andwinced as he was hit with one ofLazarus’s icy tornado blasts. Hestumbled backward, giving thefaerie an open shot with thosedeadly claws.

When they tore through Isaac’s

shoulder and he fell to his knees,her scream was drowned out by hispained shout.

She lurched forward, but Wyattyanked her back. “Greta, I swear, ifI have to throw you over myshoulder and carry you out of here,I’m going to be really pissed.”

Lazarus hit Isaac over and over.Greta flinched and bit her tongue,drawing her own blood to keepfrom screaming. She knew she hadto go. She couldn’t help him. If she

tried, they would all be dead andshe’d made a promise to Wyatt, toher own kind. They needed her toget them through this.

“I’m okay,” she said. “Go on, I’mwith you.” She spotted her sword afew feet away and stumbled over topick it up. She spun around inresponse to Isaac’s roar, but beforeshe could rush to help, Wyattyanked her back.

“Come on!”

With a firm inward shake, shefollowed Wyatt without anotherglance back. A sharp sliver of painsliced her heart in two as she triedto determine whether she wasrunning toward something…oraway from something else.

Chapter Seventeen

Greta and Wyatt dashed out of theglade, but she soon realized they’djust stumbled out of the cauldron

and into the fire.

Her gut said it was only Isaac’sfearsome presence that had beenkeeping the other creatures at baythis long, and now that they hadwalked away from him, the humanswere apparently fair game.

What had she done? Isaac. Oh,God. Isaac. I’m sorry.

“They’re closing in quickly,” shecalled to Wyatt.

Early morning moisture chilled theair, but it was still very dark, toodark to see. That didn’t mean theycouldn’t hear everything. Crunchingsnow and snapping twigs, and themore ominous snorts, grunts, andgrowls that came from everydirection as more and more ofMylena’s inhabitants turned on oneanother, transforming the forest intoa battle zone.

She hoped to God Ray had beenable to find a safe place for the

boys.

Something close by snarled, and along, creature-shaped shadow flewout of the bush-shaped shadows offWyatt’s left.

He went down. The thing thatlanded on top of him was huge andlunged right for his throat.

“Wyatt!”

It was impossible to determine whatthe animal had been before the

moons turned it into a rabid thing,but thankfully, Greta didn’t need toknow what it was in order to kill it.Ignoring the screaming protest ofher injuries, she jumped on its backand drew her dagger across itsthroat. The creature’s howl turnedinto a choked gurgle.

She threw its dead weight off Wyattand gave him her hand to help himup.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

Wiping the blade on her alreadygrimy pant-leg, she flipped it andhanded it over to him. “Take it. Ihave another.”

He nodded and accepted theweapon.

A howl echoed, sounding somedistance away, but not far enough.

Not Isaac.

Another beast pitched into theirpath, eyes glowing yellow. She

thought she recognized the animalfrom the length of the snout, butthat’s where its resemblance to theMylean equivalent of a wolf ended.Wyatt stood protecting her back asthe beast hunkered down in front ofher, but instead of attacking, itlaunched itself at the dead thingbetween them, tearing the creature’sthroat out.

“Move,” she whispered, taking astep away from the wolf. It lifted itshead, hackles raised, but its

attention wasn’t on the two of them.

More of them were coming, though.Likely drawn by the scent of blood.

“Follow me,” Wyatt said.

They took off again. They weren’tfollowed by the wolf, but Gretakept her eyes and ears open to thesounds of carnage all around them.“Where are we going?” No placewould be safe, not from thosecreatures that had already picked upon their scent.

“We have a back-up place. Ray andthe boys all know to run there ifsomething happens in the camp.”

A tortured howl echoed in the night.Greta finally looked behind her, thelight in Isaac’s eyes haunting her.

“Come on!”

She stumbled forward as Wyatt ranahead. Her vision was blurred bytears and pain and she struggled tokeep him in her sights.

She hoped he knew where the hellthey were going because Gretaquickly became lost. The forest wasa maze of white snow and darkshadows that disoriented her. Dizzyand weak, she was failing fast.When they were attacked by yetanother pair of crazed wolves, shebarely reacted. Wyatt threw herbehind him, snatched the swordfrom her limp hand, and faced offagainst them both.

Then he was holding her in his

arms. The two of them knelttogether on the cold ground. Gretablinked at the pair of beasts lyingdead a few feet away with surprise.Where had they come from? Shedidn’t recall the blows that killedthem.

“What happened? Where are theboys? Did he get them? Are they—”She sobbed, suddenly certain shewould never see them again. Shewould lose Jacob and Ray, Sloaneand the others, just like she’d lost

everyone else. Her brother. Luke.

Isaac.

“We’ve got to keep moving.” Wyatttried to push her to her feet, but sheshook her head, all the fightbleeding out of her.

Noises hit them from all sides.Growling sounds. Clawing sounds.Chomping sounds. Even the treesshook. The entire forest roared,sending a shiver down her spine.

Something screeched and droppeddown on them from above. Wyatt lether go, and both of them slappedfuriously at their faces and head.Bats. Hopped up on the eclipse, andwith fangs as long as any freakingvampire.

One of them sank those fangs intoher wrist. She hissed and waved herarm trying to dislodge it. Wyattpulled it off and threw it hardagainst a tree trunk. He wrappedhimself around her and tucked her

head into his chest, holding on tightuntil the mad beating of wingsscattered.

Had something else scared themoff? What would attack them next?

“Come on, get up. We have to keepmoving. You can do it. I’ve gotyou.” He anchored her arm over hisshoulder and pulled her upright. Shebit back a groan as the raw, tornskin over her chest stretchedpainfully.

He pulled her along. “It’s not far,baby. Just stay with me a littlewhile longer.”

She drifted in and out ofconsciousness as they continued at amuch slower pace. She knew thisonly because every once in a while,she heard Wyatt calling her back tohim and felt his hands tighten on herwaist and wrist as he hitched herbody closer in an attempt to keepher on her feet.

Just as the sky started to lighten and

she squinted up at the beginnings ofthe new day—a day that would onlyheighten the instability of each andevery living thing already huntingthem—Wyatt pushed her down infront of an odd reddish stone pokingout of the ground. It was shaped likea long cone.

Something moved in the treesbehind them. Greta opened hermouth to shout, but she was tooslow and weak to do anything aboutthe snarling gnome flying at her

from the branches.

An arrow whizzed past her face. Itlodged in the gnome’s thick chestwith a meaty thud, but the thingseemed not to have noticed that thewooden protrusion sticking out ofthere meant it should fall down. Itrocked back on the balls of its feet,screaming and shaking its head.Wyatt stepped in front of Greta withher sword held in his hands.

“Sloane, now!”

Ray’s voice called to action a flurryof movement from all sides asSloane led the charge and four boysattacked the intruder with daggers,rocks and more arrows.

This time the gnome got the picture.Ray put one last arrow into abloodshot eye for good measure, butit was already falling over dead.

Which would have been peachy ifshe wasn’t falling over herself.

…

Greta came to suddenly with acrushing feeling weighing down onher chest.

She hadn’t dreamed. Not at all.

He’s really gone.

Her stomach roiled. She opened hereyes but couldn’t see and flung herarm out blindly to grab ontosomething, anything.

Her hand only scraped against rockon the one side, and nothing on theother.

Her lungs clamped shut. Shecouldn’t breathe.

Shut in.

The eclipse was here and she’dbeen shut in the darkness onceagain.

“No,” she moaned. “Oh, no.” Shewas aware of the mewling whisper

of her sore voice, but only in asmuch as she was also aware that thedamp had seeped into her bones,and the air she tried dragging intoher lungs tasted stale and gritty.

They’d brought her under theground. They’d buried her and lefther alone in a tomb of darkness.

I have to get out. Get out. Get out.Outoutout.

Her head thrashed back and forth,fingers clawed at the dirt. Part of

her recognized her extremeresponse as a childish reaction toremembered fear, but it didn’tchange how she felt. Helpless.Alone. Buried alive.

Her aching muscles protested whenshe tried to get up, almost as muchas her other varied and manyshooting pains. She fell back downwith a sob.

Out. Out. Out. Get out. “I can’t,”she mumbled. “I can’t stay here. Letme out. Please, let me out.”

“She’s awake.”

She gasped and jerked her headtoward the whisper. Pain shotthrough her chest, but it didn’tmatter. She recognized that voice.That had been Ray’s voice.

Not alone.

The knowledge made it immediatelyeasier to breathe. Greta closed hereyes, focusing on the in and out fora long moment before she turnedonto her side and drew her legs to

her chest, forehead hitting herknees.

A shuffle. Movement. A handtouched her shoulder. She knew itwas Wyatt. She would know hissure, solid touch anywhere. Ithelped ground her, bring her part ofthe way back from the scary placein her own mind, even though thatlittle bird continued to flutterdesperately against the glass.

“Shh, you’re all right,” he said.

As the nightmare of hersurroundings lessened and shebecame more aware of reality, shestarted to soak up the warmth of theother bodies filling the close spacewith her. How many of them hadmade it?

“Where are we?” Her voice washoarse and her throat dry andpainful—no doubt a result of gettingherself choked almost to death.Once again, she tried struggling intoa sitting position, helped on one

side by small hands. Carter?

“Greta?” The small voice echoed inthe pitch dark. Jacob’s palpablefear pierced the veil of her panic.She pulled herself together as muchas she could and held out her hand,but the arm she touched was biggerthan Jacob’s. Wyatt took her fingersand brought them to his lips. Shesighed before pulling away gently.

“I’m here, Jacob,” she replied withas much calm as possible.“Everything’s okay.”

Such a horrible liar.

“I can’t see you,” he whispered.“Can I come sit on your lap?”

“Jacob, not now.” Sloane’s sharpimpatience didn’t quite cover hisown fear.

Now that she was emerging fromthe cocoon of self-paralyzing terror,Greta could feel the same emotionscoming off everyone. That fear mustbe more potent for the boys becauseof her incapacitation. After all, they

were relying on Greta the bountyhunter to be the strong one, and sofar, she’d done a real bang up job ofprotecting them, hadn’t she?

“It’s fine Sloane. Jacob, you candefinitely come sit with me. I needsomeone to help me get warmagain.”

There was a little bit of shuffling,and then Wyatt handed the smallboy over to her. She settled him inher lap and wrapped her armsaround him tight, ignoring the pain

in her chest and thigh.

She felt his tiny shoulders relaxwithin her embrace and wished itcould be that easy for her to findsolace, but images of a certaingoblin’s broken and bleeding facehaunted her.

Greta peered over Jacob’s headinto the darkness where she knewWyatt sat. Not that she could seehim. Not even a faint outline of hisshape. If she didn’t have Jacob inher arms, she would have thought

she was dreaming and the voiceswere all in her head—obviously notthe first time she’d blended fantasyand reality.

“Where are we?” she asked again.

“A very small bunker that we duginto the ground, for just this type ofemergency,” Ray said.

“We’re in the ground?” In a grave!“I thought I touched…rock.” Sheshivered again. Jacob reacted to heruneasiness by softly caressing the

back of her hand with his tiny one,as if he were petting a skittishkitten.

“Yes, we used the rock to shore upthe walls.”

That did not make her feel better.Now all she could think about washow they would suffocate and dieslowly if the walls and roof cavedin on them…

She swallowed and took a deepbreath. “How big?”

“Not very,” Wyatt responded.“Maybe ten by six, shored up everyfew feet. Enough for us to lay low,but no room to move and no roomfor provisions. We won’t be able tostay long.”

Wyatt was all about theunderstatements. “How well is theentrance protected?”

He didn’t answer her right away.“We lowered a pretty solid slab oflimestone over the opening, and it’shidden within some dense foliage.”

“Oh, God.” The close feeling creptback up her throat until she wantedto tear at the walls to get out. Theonly thing keeping the scream fromescaping was the distinct awarenessof Jacob’s little hand on hers, softlysoothing.

Going ballistic in front of these guyswouldn’t do anyone any good—although it might not be very longbefore Greta didn’t have a choice inthe matter. Her insides wereburning with the need for clean air

even though she recognized that shetechnically had no difficultybreathing. “Where is the oxygencoming from?”

Niall piped up this time, fromsomewhere behind her. “I buried athick, cored-out log in the groundwith us. One end opens up in hereand the other on the surface so thatwe won’t run out of air.”

“How ingenious,” she mumbled.

Wyatt’s hand landed on her

shoulder again. More than justoffering support, this time he wasdemanding that she keep it together.Greta swallowed and nodded. “Sonow what?” she asked.

“Well, the good news is that nobodywas badly hurt in the raid and we’reall here,” he replied.

Raid? Is that what that had been?Greta would have called itsomething else—if there weren’tlittle ears listening intently. “Whatdo we have in terms of weapons?”

“Not much,” said Niall. “A coupleof knives. Sloane and I have a fewarrows left. And we’ve got yoursword.”

Greta worried her lip with herteeth, turning the possibilities overin her head. Sadly, no matter howshe looked at the situation, shecouldn’t find an upside. They werein the thick of the eclipse withoutgear and food.

“Nothing has changed. We weregoing to leave the camp today

anyway. Now we just have to travelmore carefully. The plan is stillessentially the same.” Thedefensive tone of Ray’s voicegrated on her nerves.

“The plan was flawed to beginwith, Ray,” she said, biting hertongue against the more colorfullanguage she knew she shouldn’tuse in front of the younger boys.“And it was made before we knewthe eclipse was going to have such apronounced effect this early.”

She didn’t even bother to mentionthe problem of Lazarus. He couldstill be out there, still coming forher. That particular doozy waswholly hers to deal with and for aslong as she could, Greta was goingto try and keep the others out of it.

“We can’t stay here for long, sowhat do you propose we do?” Raysnapped. “You’re supposed to bethe bounty hunter, renowned far andwide across this goddamn hellhole,and yet all we’ve done since you

showed up is save your ass. Whythe hell are you even here if you’renot going to be of any use?”

“Ray,” Wyatt warned.

“There’s a lot more to what I dothan being a badass,” Gretasnapped. “And obviously, it lookslike I’m here to be the voice ofreason in the face of your reckless,impetuous—”

“Hey, not that I don’t find your twodisembodied voices going at it

highly entertaining and all…but doyou really think this is helping thesituation right now?” Sloane pipedin. “Can we try and focus onsomething a little more constructivefor five minutes?”

“Sorry.”

“Sorry.”

Both Ray’s and Greta’s echoedapologies fell flat in the suddensilence that followed.

“All right, then,” Sloane continued.“I hereby call this first meeting ofthe Lost Boys to order.”

Greta could sense the grin in hisvoice and shook her head. Theirpresence had made being stuck inthe dark…almost bearable. And thediscussion had helped keep herfrom thinking about Isaac.Wondering if he was still out theresomewhere, or if…

“We get the point Sloane,” Wyattsaid with a long-suffering sigh. “But

he is right. Greta. Ray. Both of youtry putting that energy into helpingus come up with a plan that willwork.”

“This hole isn’t going to hold us forvery long.” Ray let out a huff. “Tostart, we get out of here, and thenwe can make a break for Agramon’sfortress.”

Greta could agree with at least partof that. “Let me go back up,” shesaid. “I’ll check things out and makesure it’s safe to leave.”

“And then what?” Carter cut in,sounding apprehensive. “How arewe going to survive with those…things roaming the woods? We’llhave a hard enough time keepingourselves alive. I can’t see how wecan rescue anyone else.”

Good point. Greta hadn’t forgottenthe kid was only thirteen years old.That they were all much too youngto even be having this discussion,not to mention too young foreverything else that went along with

it.

“I think maybe we should focus onone thing at a time,” Wyatt said.“I’m not sure it’s realistic anymoreto think that we can make it toAgramon’s castle with all ofMylena baying at the moons.”

“We have to try!” Ray’s shoutcaused Jacob to cringe in her lap,but he stifled his cry behind a handpressed bravely to his mouth andshe didn’t think anyone else heard itbut her.

“No. I’m sorry Ray, but I have aresponsibility to everyone here firstand foremost, and that meanskeeping us alive. Once the eclipsehas passed—”

“Once the eclipse has passed half ofthe others will be dead and it willbe too late, don’t you see that?”

“And if we try to go in there now,then we’re all dead!”

Greta put her hand out to stop thetwo of them from arguing before she

remembered that they couldn’t seeher. “I’ll go.”

“What?”

“Not a chance,” Wyatt said.

“I know of a place where you andthe boys can hunker down for thenext few days. Once I get you theresafely, I’ll trek out to this fortress ofAgramon’s and take a look around. Ican’t promise I’ll be able to rescueanybody, but if it looks like I can…Iwill.”

“Then I’m going with her.”

There was absolutely no way shewas bringing Ray along. Sherefused to have a loose cannon onher hands on top of everything else.

Luckily, Wyatt was of the samemind. “Forget it,” he said. “I don’twant either of you out there in themiddle of this craziness.”

“Honestly, it’s better this way.” Shesighed. “I’ll have slightly lesssuicidal odds of staying off

everyone else’s radar if I’m notdragging all of you with me. AndRay’s right about one thing: If weleave the rest of the kids to rot inthere during the eclipse, they’regoing to be sitting ducks. At least ifI’m able to get them out into theforest we all have a fightingchance.”

Wyatt was silent for a long time, butGreta knew he was going to agree.“How much time do you need?” heasked.

“Tell me where this place isagain?”

“North. The fortress is built into themountains and its levels go deepinto the rock,” Ray said. “But youdon’t need to know, because I’llshow you the way.”

“No, you won’t.” Wyatt’s voicetook on a hard edge that defied theyoung man to keep arguing. “LetGreta do her job, Ray. I trust thatwhen she gets there, if she sees anopportunity to rescue the others,

she’ll take it. What I don’t trust isthat you will use the samereasonable judgment, and I can’trisk losing you to something soreckless. I need you too much.”

Ray didn’t reply. Greta hoped hewould be able to see the wisdom ofWyatt’s decision, but the hostilitycoming from his general area of thedarkness was palpable.

Everyone else was very quiet asGreta and Wyatt continued to makeplans. “It will take three hours to

make the trek to Luke’s place, andthat’s if we hoof it. Once there, youshould be able to find enough foodand blankets to bring down withyou.”

“Down where?”

“Underneath the cottage. It’s kind oflike a bomb shelter, with a realsteel door that you can bolt from theinside.” She didn’t mention that itcould also be bolted from theoutside, like Luke had done whenhe locked her into it. “It kept me

safe the last time Mylena wentthrough an eclipse.” Sheswallowed. “But it’s easily bigenough for all of you if you don’tmind close quarters for a couple ofdays.”

They hashed out a few more of thedetails, making sure everyone knewwhat their job was so there wouldbe no confusion once they pushedthe stone off the top of the crypt.Greta took a few moments to workthe tension out of her muscles. She

felt stiff and sore, as if she weremade of machined parts that hadrusted up on her, but she was usedto working through the pain.

Finally, it was time. Wyatt and Raystood and shoved at the heavy stoneslab until the light started to filter inand they could see one another forthe first time in hours. Greta let outa long, relieved breath.

Everyone was grimy and tiredlooking, but nobody seemed to havebeen injured—

Turning toward Wyatt, she gasped.How could she have forgotten thathe’d been hurt last night? “Ah crap.Wyatt, why didn’t you sayanything?”

“I’m fine,” he argued. Two raggedlines marked his face, cuttingthrough his eyebrow and down hischeek, having just missed beingdeep enough to gouge out his eye.The other eye hadn’t fared anybetter, it was swollen and hadalready turned a deep shade of

purple.

“What happened?”

“Crazed goblin.” He stopped andgazed at her with a hooded look,then shook his head. “It doesn’tmatter now. Come on, let’s get amove on.”

When Greta hesitated, he urged heronward with impatience. “Go. Wearen’t going to have a lot of time.”

She looked over Wyatt’s shoulder

at Ray. He nodded and movedforward, notching a handmadearrow in his short bow. “I’ll returnin five minutes,” she said, “and if Idon’t, that rock goes right back overthe hole with everyone inside.”

Chapter Eighteen

When Greta returned to the others,she was sporting a new gash in herforearm and breathing hard.

The woods were not safe. Not by along shot. And getting everyone toLucius’s bunker wasn’t going to beeasy…not that anything was evereasy in Mylena.

“We good to go?” Ray stepped outfrom behind the dense brush in frontof the hideaway.

She nodded. “But it’s got to be now,and we have to be fast.”

Both of them knelt on either side ofthe large stone they’d replaced over

the entrance to the hole earlier. Raytapped the top five times in quicksuccession, waited until Wyattstarted to push from inside, and thenall three of them moved the slabaway as quickly as possible.

“Hurry,” she whispered, helpingJacob up out of the hole and thenpassing him back over to Sloane,who was to be responsible for thelittle one along the way.

Greta took the lead. As theywalked, she remained on guard. The

first twenty minutes of absolutesilence might have given her a falsesense of security if she hadn’tsensed the unrest lurking justbeyond her sight.

The skies were dark with cloudscovering both suns and anyevidence of the eclipse’s progress,but she could see the needles thathad been shaken from the trees andscattered across the snow. Shecould see the broken remains ofsmaller animals—too many of them

—littering the path she’d chosen.

At her side, Ray jumped. “Whatwas that?”

She shook her head and urged himto continue. “It doesn’t matter. Nomatter what you hear…to stop isworse. Keep going.”

Worry was making her edgier thelonger they were out in the open.

She tensed at a crunching sound inthe bushes on her right, then her left.

Her heart pounded hard and fast.The night teemed with sounds, all ofthem terrifying.

She glanced behind her. Wyatt andSloane had Jacob sandwichedbetween them. Wyatt’s face was adetermined mask of shadowedangles. Sloane couldn’t hide hisfear. He winced and started at everyhiss and crack.

Someone behind her stumbled andlet out a sharp grunt.

She spun around with a gasp. Niallwas helping Jack back onto his feet.“He just tripped.”

“Are you okay?” She asked,glancing over Jack’s shoulder. Hertone stayed composed, but insideshe was screaming at them all tohurry.

Jack nodded and wiped the snowfrom his pant legs. “I’m good, let’smove,” he said.

Something huge lunged from the

writhing foliage. It knocked Niallover like a bowling pin and landedright on Jack, propelling them bothoff the path into the bushes.Covered in matted black fur, therewas no telling what it might havebeen before the eclipse, but now,like everything else, it sported a setof extra long teeth and claws that itwas already using to tear Jackapart.

The other boys’ screams rang out asGreta swore and sprinted forward.

She jabbed the creature with herblade and shoved it as hard as shecould. It fell back and snarled up ather. Jack’s blood coated its chin,and its eyes glowed red as it lungedfor her.

Greta’s back hit the ground and shedropped her sword as she tried tohold its violently snapping jawsaway from her face. Her armstrembled with the strain. Thoseteeth were less than an inch fromher nose.

Wyatt was there in an instant. Hegrabbed up her weapon and stuckthe creature again, just as one ofCarter’s arrows lodged in the sideof its head.

It slumped over her. She pushed thedead body aside, ignoring the bloodstaining her arms and her clothes.She got up, heart in her throat.“Jack. Is he—?”

Niall held the crying Jacob, and theother boys had all gathered aroundJack’s body. Greta went cold when

Sloane turned his tear-streaked faceup to her and shook his face.

Wyatt was trying to calm themdown, but Greta looked down. Shecouldn’t take her eyes from thelifeless body.

Another sharp noise rebounded outof the thick forest.

There was no time to issue awarning. She grabbed Niall andJacob, shoving them behind her justas a gnome lurched from the trees. It

had turned, topping her height by atleast two feet when it normallywould have reached her shoulders.Its bulbous, deformed head wassquished between massive, hunchedshoulders. Its long arms bulged withmuscle the likes of which no gnomecould hold on his short, stockyframe without the added impetus ofthe eclipse.

Its knuckles dragged the grounduntil it saw the group, and then itraised its fists into the air and

roared.

Wyatt, Ray, and Sloane corralledthe younger boys into a small circleas per the emergency plan. She’ddebated the wisdom of telling themto bolt, but ultimately decided that ifthey ran into trouble, it wouldn’t doany good to separate, in case theboys ended up in more—or bigger—trouble.

The gnome snarled and swung forthe boys. She jumped between themand leveled her sword, but it

hesitated. Looking at her, it gavewhat she was certain was supposedto be a grin. It mumbled somethingunderneath its breath that sounded alot like “Kill. Kill. Kill.”

“The feeling’s mutual,” shemuttered before charging, just tomake it stop torturing her with itslame attempt at speech. But it wasjust warming up and as shelaunched a roundhouse kick to thething’s sternum, she realized “kill”wasn’t what the thing was saying at

all.

The gnome reached for her. “Key.Key. Key. Master want. Masterneed.”

Key?

The gnome was freaking her outnow. She’d dealt with the Lost longenough that the snapping andsnarling didn’t faze her at all…butthe idea that this creature was ableto retain some shadow ofpremeditation in the face of an

eclipse that was turning everythinginto mindless monsters hinted at amotivation more persuasive thannature, something more powerfulthan the moons.

Agramon. The gnome was one ofthe demon’s creatures.

It came for her, but its tactics hadchanged noticeably. It no longerswung wildly, intent on destruction,but was actually trying to grab her.

Greta gave no quarter. She didn’t

need to know what the hell the keywas and what made her so damnimportant this creature would try tooverride its own powerful, rawinstincts. There wasn’t time for aninquisition, only death. Swift andabsolute.

Wyatt tossed her sword, and shegrabbed it and swung at the gnome’sreaching hand in one smoothmovement. Before the gnarledappendage struck the snow, she’dstabbed it in the chest and the

creature expelled a final breath, therest of its body crumpling to theground as well.

The entire encounter wasdisturbing, and the kill ultimately alltoo easy, but everything else hadbeen hard enough that coming out ofone battle without sheddinganymore of her own blood was ablessing.

So why was she terrified?

She turned to find Wyatt watching

her. “We have to get out of herebefore the blood draws any more ofthem,” he said, glancing down atJack’s body. There was a catch inhis throat, but his voice was sternwith command.

Everyone protested. Wyatt wasright, but Greta couldn’t move herfeet, couldn’t look away from thatyoung face covered in blood,sightless eyes staring up at her. Jackhad trusted her. All these boystrusted her, and she was failing.

People were dying. And shecouldn’t guarantee that therewouldn’t be more deaths before thiswas over.

“Greta.” Wyatt grabbed her arm andshook her. “Snap out of it. We needyou.”

She forced her gaze away, andnodded at Wyatt, taking a deepbreath. Nobody wanted to leaveJack, but the noises were escalating,getting closer. More creatures wereapproaching. There was no choice

in the matter. “Hurry,” she said,finally pushing ahead. Ray fell inbehind her and Wyatt took the rear.

Before the group reached theboundary of Luke’s property, Gretafought two more gnomes—neitherof which were particularly chatty—and they were attacked by a trio ofbear-like creatures. She and Wyattstood side by side against themwhile Ray and Carter kept theirarrows at the ready.

Luckily, they suffered no other

major injuries—or losses. By thetime they approached the cottage,everyone was quiet, tired, andshell-shocked.

Greta was the first up the porchsteps so she could go in and makesure nothing had taken up residencesince she’d been gone. She openedthe door and stopped, peeringinside but seeing nothing.

Wyatt met her there, his handlanding firmly on her arm,expressing both support and a gentle

urgency.

She looked up at his strainedexpression, aware that her own faceshowed him each raw, painfulmemory she’d been trying to ignorefor the last week, but she couldn’tkeep it in anymore.

A week. God, had it been that longalready? Had it only been that long?

“I don’t think I can go in there. Thelast time I was here…” She shookher head. “All the blood, Wyatt. It’s

all still there,” she whispered.

He lifted his hand to her cheek andleaned forward. Shying away, sheglanced meaningfully over hershoulder at the boys.

“Do you want me to go insidefirst?”

Greta shook her head. “No, it’sokay. We don’t have time for me tobe a wimp.” She looked back intothe house. “If nothing has been hereto ransack the place since…well,

there should be a store of non-perishables and some salted boar inthe cupboards, and you can grab asmany blankets and whatever elseyou’ll need to stay as comfortableas possible while I’m gone,” shesaid.

As they walked inside, she forcedherself to keep her eyes open andsee everything.

The house was as it had alwaysbeen. Sparse, but neat and…clean.

“What the…?” When she’d lastwalked out this door with Isaac,thinking it would be for the lasttime, it had been a disaster. Now itwas as if the violence that tookplace here had all been herimagination.

The broken furniture had beenremoved, the floor had beencleaned up. Greta rushed throughthe cottage to the door of Luke’sbedroom. It was gone. All of it. Allthe blood had been washed away

and no matter how closely shelooked, she couldn’t see a stain inthe newly refinished floor.

“Isaac,” she whispered.Swallowing the lump in her throat,she pressed her hand to her chest.He had to have arranged this.

“Is everything okay?”

She opened her mouth but couldn’tspeak so she just nodded and took astep back. Wyatt looked as if hewanted to ask, but didn’t. Only his

eyes spoke, expressing concern andunderstanding, and somethingdarker…like resignation.

“I’m all right,” she said, finally.“I’m just going to grab a few things.The trap door to the shelter isbeneath the big table in front of thestove. Go ahead and open it up. I’llbe right there.”

Wyatt’s mouth tightened before heturned and left her alone in Luke’sroom. Greta tried not to think of thatas she hurried to get the blankets the

boys would need, and she tried notto look at the wall where Luke’sblood had splattered. Although thestain had been washed awaycompletely, in her mind she couldstill see the pattern it had made.

Ten minutes later, they were ready—as ready as they would ever be,anyway.

She fingered the handle on the trapdoor. “You can keep this lockedfrom the inside,” she said.

“We’ll be fine,” Wyatt reassuredher, obviously reading the strain inher face. “All of us have been inworse places than this. The eclipseis full this afternoon, so it’s onlytwo days, three at most—if weassume it’ll take as long foreverything to settle down again as itdid to get started.”

“I’m sorry.” Greta shivered. “Youknow…that it isn’t more—”

“If it keeps us safe, then that’s allwe can ask.” He looked stoic and

had already told Greta not to worry;the dark wouldn’t bother him or theboys in the least. She had a feelingit was the memories of the one whodidn’t make it that would torturethem all.

She marvelled at his strength. Evenif he was lying to her, she’d neverknow it. No matter what his realfeelings about being shut in anunderground tomb with no light fortwo days, he projected nothing butcalm competence in front of the

others, and she admired that abouthim so much.

“Greta.”

She jerked her head up. “Sorry.”

“Go.”

Yes. She should go. She’d alreadyloaded up with more weapons,changed her clothes, and tended herwounds. Her leg and chest burnedfrom the cuts left by Lazarus’sclaws, but once the blood was

cleaned away, she’d been relievedto see they weren’t as deep as shefirst thought.

There was nothing more she coulddo here and she needed to makegood time while there was stilllight.

Taking a deep breath, she pushedback her coat and shoved her handin her pocket.

“What are you doing?”

Her fingers closed around thewalnut. She pulled it out and gave itto Wyatt, and then reached up andunclasped the chain from her neck,handing him the locket as well.

“What is this?” he asked, lifting abrow and rolling the walnut aroundin his hand. Greta couldn’t see it,but she’d memorized every smoothcontour of the nut and knew the feelof its raised grooves by heart. It hadbeen in her pocket when she wentthrough the portal. Drew had found

it and given it to her that day beforerunning off toward the witch’s cave.

“Nothing, really.” She shrugged.

He caught the chain with his fingerand lifted it high before clasping thelocket in his hand and opening it upto look at the picture inside.

“Why are you giving these to me?”

“If I don’t make it…”

“Don’t talk like that,” he snapped,

dropping the locket into his fist andholding it out to her.

Greta shook her head, refusing totake it. “These are the two things Ihave from home. I want you to keepthem safe for me.”

Wyatt glared at her, as if he wasseeing what she herself would notadmit. “Ray, get the boys down intothe shelter,” he ordered. “I need aminute with Greta before sheleaves.”

Carter had his arms around Niall.They were both crying softly. Infact, all the boys looked like theyhad reached the limit of theirtolerance for pain, death, andheartache.

She hated to leave them.

Jacob ran to her and threw his armsaround her legs. “Don’t go,” hecried.

“I’m sorry, magpie. I have to. Butyou’ll be safe here with Wyatt, and

I’ll come back as soon as I can,”she promised, leaning down toreturn his hug.

“Sloane said Jack isn’t comingback,” he whispered with a chokedgulp, his face pressed hard into herbelly. “What if they get you likethey got him?”

She swallowed, seeing Jack’sbloodied body in her mind, hearingthe screams. “I’ll be careful, Ipromise.”

He turned tear-filled eyes up. “I’llmiss you. Will you forget aboutme?”

“How could I ever forget aboutyou?”

His fingers clutched at the folds ofher coat like he was afraid to let go.“There are lots of things I can’tremember since I came here, and ifyou don’t come back I’m afraid I’llforget you, too.”

Her heart tightened painfully and

she glanced up at Wyatt, whoseeyes were still stormy and dark.He’d clenched his fists at his sides.

Looking back at Jacob, she said, “Iwon’t be gone long enough for youto forget me.” God, she hoped itwas true. “And in the meantime, Ineed you to be strong and brave,okay?”

He nodded and hiccupped, huggingher again.

Ray took Jacob’s hand and tugged

him away gently. His voice washoarse and thick with emotion, butshe was impressed by how well hewas holding it together. “Come on,big guy. Get your butt down there.Sloane is going to need your helporganizing the supplies.”

Jacob’s teary smile made her heartmelt. “Come back soon, okay?”

Greta stood and looked at all ofthem. Sloane nodded. Charlie stooda little closer to Niall and Carter.All of them looked terrified.

Finally, Wyatt took her arm andwalked with her to the doorway.“This isn’t goodbye,” he growled.“So don’t you dare tell themgoodbye.”

She stiffened. “Wyatt, be realistic—”

“I should be going with you. Or youshould be staying here.”

“I have to go. Ray’s right. Thosekids in Agramon’s fortress deservea fighting chance.” She sighed and

pointed back inside. “And someonehas to protect them. I can’t bringeveryone with me and keep themalive at the same time. They’ll besafe here, but they need you.”

“Just make sure you come back,because they need you, too.” Hepaused, his gaze somber andpenetrating. “I need you.”

Her mouth fell open in shock.

He nervously shoved his hands inthe pockets of his chinos. “I know

it’s complicated, but I can’t stopthinking about you.”

“Only because I’m the first girlyou’ve seen in years,” she insisted,drawing back.

He took her hand. “It’s more thanthat. And I think you feel it, too.”

“Wyatt, I don’t think now is—”

He pulled her closer and leaned in.She knew what was coming anddrew in a sharp breath. His lips

touched the corner of her mouth,warm and soft.

And real.

He was tentative at first, and shecould almost convince herself itwas just a platonic, come-back-safe-and-sound sort of kiss. But thenhe shifted, covering her mouthcompletely, and there was no longerany doubt what he meant.

Her hand shook until she finallyrested her fingers on his arm. She

tried not to compare him with Isaac,but it was so hard not to.

Isaac had been pushy, infuriating,and confident. Real or not, hisexplosive kiss had churned up thealready turbulent feelings ragingbetween them, whereas Wyatt wassweet and gentle and a littleawkward. He made her want toburrow into him and let him take heraway from everything.

She knew if she stopped him rightnow, that would be the end of it. He

would respect her boundaries andnever make another move unless shetook the first step. But she didn’tstop him, and he gripped her waist,his kiss deepening as he gainedconfidence. He pressed his bodyand his lips to hers as if he wantedto make sure she wouldn’t forget hewas going to be waiting for her toreturn.

The kiss was a promise Gretawasn’t sure she could ever accept,even if they both made it to the other

side of this eclipse alive.

She twisted away with a gasp,pressing her fingers to her lips. Hewatched her for a long minutebefore nodding and moving back tolean against the doorframe of thecottage.

She gathered herself together. “Ishould go.”

“Before you do, I need to ask,” hesaid slowly. “Who was thatgoblin…to you?”

“What?” she stammered, fingersfluttering at her throat. “I don’tknow what you mean.”

“The goblin,” he repeated. “Heshowed up in our camp out ofnowhere, looking for blood. He wasready to take mine. I thought I wasdead—until he heard you scream.And then he dropped me like a badhabit to get to you. You want to tellme why?”

She flinched as her gaze flicked tothe thin red marks tearing across his

face. “No. Actually, I don’t.”

“What’s between the two of you?”

She glanced away. Her mouthopened and closed but nothing cameout.

“I saw the way he looked at you,Greta. It went beyond the eclipse.He looked at you as if he woulddefy the law, the moons, and theGreat Mother herself to—”

“That’s ridiculous,” she cut him off.

“How could you have possibly seenall that? It was pitch dark, for onething, and—”

“I saw it because I feel the sameway. And because I knew evenbefore he showed up that there wassomething you weren’t telling me.”

Her chest squeezed. “You’re right, Ihaven’t told you everything aboutme. But where does it say I’mrequired to open a vein for someoneI just met?”

He glared down at her. “That’s notfair.”

“Probably not,” she agreed, “but alot of things aren’t. I don’t havetime for this now, Wyatt.”

“No, I suppose you don’t. Just tellme he isn’t still following you, andI’ll try to believe it.”

“He’s not coming for me, not afterthat fight.” Greta glanced down,swallowing hard. “And even if heis…he’s Lost now. Which means if

he crosses my path, I deal with himlike I deal with all the rest.”

He swore. “Come back, do you hearme?”

“Sure. What could happen?” Shepasted a cocky smile on her face,but it wasn’t fooling anyone.

His expression turned so dismal,she immediately felt guilty for herglib response. “Listen, you wereright about one thing. I havesomething to lose now, so I’ll be

back,” she whispered. “You’regoing to see my face again…whether you like it or not.”

“Good.”

She made it a dozen paces beforeshe had to turn back again. He wasstill standing there watching her andshe waved, committing his face tomemory.

With each step that took her furtheraway, she was more certain sheshould have said goodbye.

Chapter Nineteen

Greta was still near the edge ofLuke’s lands when she stopped andturned around.

“Ray, show yourself or I swear I’mgoing to kick your morbidly stupidass all the way back to the damncottage.”

He stepped out, not an ounce ofregret showing on his face, but a

heck of a lot of attitude.

“Why aren’t you back there helpingWyatt protect the others?”

He shrugged. “Wyatt doesn’t needme. But you do.”

Greta laughed. “Like hell.”

“I’m only a year younger than you,”he pointed out.

She lifted a brow. “True enough,but I still don’t want you with me.”

“Well, I’m not going back, so youeither take me along or you bear theburden of being responsible for mydeath at the hands of fairytalecreatures gone wild.”

“That’s not fair to Wyatt. He’sgoing to have kittens when herealizes you’re gone.”

“Just what kind of irresponsiblejerk do you take me for? I wouldn’tleave without telling him, and Iwouldn’t leave without beingcertain he could handle himself. He

knows where I’m going…and healso knows he can’t make me stay.”

She shook her head. “He has moretolerance for idiots than I do.”

“That goes without saying.” Theway he looked her up and down lether know she could easily belumped in with that group.

Without another word, she turnedaway and continued walking.

“So I can come with you?” Behind

her, he rushed to keep up.

She spun back around and pointed afinger in his face as he slid to a haltin front of her. “So long as youunderstand that you are not mypriority. I know what’s goingthrough your head, Ray, but I’m notgoing to feed your insanity. You’relucky our ultimate goals happen tomesh for the moment, but know this,if your agenda and mine diverge atany point in time, you’re on yourown.”

Greta hated the wounded look hetried to hide behind righteous anger,but she refused to coddle him. Shereminded herself that he was not achild, and she would leave him if hegot in her way or jeopardized theirlives with his irresponsiblebehavior.

“Fine. At least I know where Istand,” he snapped, tightlipped.

“Good, I’m glad we got thatstraight,” she muttered. “So whydon’t you lead the way?” She held

her arm out for him to precede her.

At first, they traveled slowly,carefully. But soon she ramped upthe pace and they were slippingthrough the forest at a steadyrunning clip. She had to stop once tocheck the bandage on her leg again,but it seemed to be holding up.

For the next few hours, she and Raymanaged a relatively cooperativecoexistence, and if neither of themwere particularly talkative, that wasso much the better.

Greta had to give him credit, he wasmore than capable with a bow whenthe situation called for it—which itdid every so often—and even betterat the stealthy stuff than she was.

They came close to running rightthrough a pack of ogres that haddevolved into little more than giantssnarling at each other over thebloody carcass of a large malegoblin. Ray veered silently aroundthem but Greta halted in her trackslike a deer trapped in a pair of

headlights, unable to move untilshe’d convinced herself it wasn’tIsaac’s body being torn to pieces.

By the time she snapped out of itand moved to follow Ray, he’dvanished. She looked up and downthe path they’d been travelling, butfound no sign of him. When hesuddenly showed up at her side afew meters away, she jumped.

“I told you I could take care ofmyself,” he said with a grin.

She punched him in the shoulder,but from that moment forward, shedidn’t say anything about himslowing her down again.

It was mid-morning when theyapproached the mountain pass. Rayknelt in the snow behind a tall rockformation, waiting for her. “This iswhere things are going to get reallydifficult.”

“Oh goody,” Greta mumbled,shoving her gloved hands in herarmpits with a deep shiver. Why

did the temperature always plummetwhen she was nowhere near aroaring fire? Just more proof thatthis place had it in for her. “Whereare we going?”

She peered around the small walltoward the tiny path that led into themountain.

Ray shook his head and pointed.

Up.

“We have to go there.”

“What?” Her mouth dropped openas she lifted her gaze up the rockwall in front of them. She could feela tic starting to hammer away in herleft eyelid. “Isn’t there another wayin?”

“Sure. If you want to walk throughthe front door and be mobbed byeverything Agramon’s got.Otherwise, we climb. About fivehundred feet up there’s a smallopening in the rock. I don’t thinkanybody knows about it—”

“How can you be sure?”

He shrugged. “Last time I was hereit was easy enough to get in and outfrom up there.”

“And when was that?”

“About one moon cycle ago.”

Greta shook her head. “So whathappens if they’ve found this secondentrance since then and now it’sbeing monitored?”

“I guess we’re shit out of luck andwe’ll probably get slaughtered.”

“Shouldn’t we have a plan B?”

“If you’ve got another option, I’mhappy to hear it.”

Greta rubbed her temples andgroaned. She looked up, noting thenear alignment of the suns andmoons. The full eclipse was close,so close. It might even happenwithin the hour now. If they made itup that cliff face and inside, they

were headed into a war zone eitherway.

“Okay, so we’re climbing.” She hadto laugh. If she didn’t, the entiresituation would be too much tohandle. “Get a move on. You’regoing first.”

“Don’t worry.” Ray startedforward, inching around the rock.“They’re just gnomes. Nastylooking bastards, but I’m sure youcan handle them.”

She snorted, following closebehind, eyeing the steeply slopingpath upward. She didn’t bother tomention that besides dark, enclosedspaces, heights were her leastfavorite thing. He might figure it outsoon enough though, because if heso much as breathed on her while hemade her climb this thing, they weregoing to have serious problems.

She watched as he scaled ten feet ofsheer rock face in less than tenseconds flat. He made it look easy,

but she knew it was going to behell.

“Oh, sure. It’s not that high up,” shemuttered, brushing the snow off atiny ledge before gripping it withher already frozen fingers. “Andhey, just a couple of gnomes. No bigdeal.”

Finding a corresponding ledge forher boot, she lifted and then paused,already stumped as to where toreach or step next. She looked up.“How many of them are in there,

again?”

Ray looked down. “You going toturn back?”

“Does it look like I’m turningback?” she shot up at him.

“It looks like you’re having troublekeeping up. There’s a spot abouteight inches above your head. Grabthat with your left hand and thenbring your right boot straight upabout two feet. There’s a narrowridge that should work. Yeah, like

that. Now keep your body flush withthe rock and pull yourself up. That’sgood.”

Even though she was probably onlyabout seven feet off the ground, itwas already impossible to lookdown. Instead, she glared up at thespace between Ray’s shoulderblades and wondered whether herbones would shatter if she fell fromthis height. “Shouldn’t we have arope or something, in case one of us—?”

A startled shout was torn from heras her leg was suddenly seized frombelow. Panic caused her stomach toheave and her throat to close. Sheheld onto the tiny jutting protrusionsin the cliff for all she was worthand looked down.

Right into Isaac’s twisted features.So full of anger, hunger, madness.

He’s alive!

Was she imagining that there wasrecognition in his face? That he

hadn’t lost himself completely to theeclipse? Even as he growled up ather, she could still see his soul inthose glowing eyes.

“Greta, hold on!” Snow dropped onher shoulders and into her face asRay kept climbing.

Below her, Isaac stood with hislong arm outstretched, clawspenetrating the thin leather of herboot and digging painfully into herankle—he’d just been able to reachher. If she had been less worried

about falling, and quicker up thewall…

“Greta.” Nothing more than agrowl, his voice made her heartlurch.

He pulled on her leg. Her kneebuckled, but she recovered andscrabbled to hold on.

His nails went deeper. Shescreamed. The savagery in his eyescut her, made her ache all over withfear and regret. She couldn’t bear to

see him like this; reduced to avessel for all of nature’s violenceand rage.

She kicked, trying to make him lether go and catching him in the facewith the heel of her boot. He onlyheld on tighter.

“Isaac, don’t do this. Please,” shebegged, pressing her cheek to thefrozen rock. He yanked hard. Hergrip slipped. She cried out andcurled her fingers deeper into theoutcropping of rock, but one more

good pull and she’d tumble to theground at his feet.

Something whistled over her headand an arrow lodged itself high inhis chest—just above his heart. Shescreamed. “No! Isaac!”

His hold on her leg loosened beforehe let go with a chilling roar of furyand pain. She looked up to see Raystanding on the edge of a narrowshelf high above her. He’d alreadynotched another arrow. Gettingready to fire again, he pointed the

thing at Isaac’s heart. “Ray, stop,”she cried out. “Don’t shoot him.”

Reaching over her head, shegrabbed another protrusion in therock and pulled herself up the wall.Desperation gave her speed, but shewasn’t fast enough to reach Raybefore he let another of his arrowsoff.

“Eat tail feathers, asshole.”

“Ray, no!”

She reached the ledge and hauledherself onto it. Jumping forward,she shoved his bow aside and stoodin front of him.

“What are you doing?” he snapped.

Spinning around, she looked backdown, but there was no Isaac. Nodead goblin lying at the foot of thecliff, and no furious goblin surgingup the rock after them.

“Oh, God. That can’t be good.Where did he go?” Looking out into

the woods, she didn’t know whatbothered her more—the idea of amoon-mad Isaac lurking in wait forthem somewhere, or the image ofthat arrow lodged in his chest.

“Come on. We have to hurry.” Raypulled on her arm. “The eclipse isfull now.”

That wasn’t entirely accurate, butthey didn’t have a lot of time beforeit would be true.

So focused on Isaac, she hadn’t

even noticed that the sky wascompletely clear for once, as if thefalling snow which rarely subsidedfor anything dared not encroach onthis particular event. But it hadturned dark now that the moonswere almost completely lined up infront of the twin suns.

She let Ray take the lead as theysqueezed through a small fissure inthe side of the cliff and foundthemselves in a dank tunnel.Slowly, she drew her sword. “I

want you to stay behind me now,”she whispered. Even that low-voiced sound carried in the darktunnel and she looked back andforth, expecting to see Agramon’sgoons charging toward them fromall directions.

Now that Ray had gotten her here,he seemed to have no problemletting her take charge. “Left,” hewhispered at her back. “About fivehundred feet.”

She nodded and took a deep breath.

Although it was dark, there wererandom breaks in the cavern walls,letting in small amounts of lightfrom some source on the other side.Greta realized this area must havebeen part of a larger chamber, but atsome point the ceiling hadcollapsed and all that remained wasthis narrow passage.

Her next step landed on nothing butair. She stumbled and would havefallen if Ray hadn’t grabbed her armand sharply hauled her back.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “I forgot tomention there’s a bit of a drop.”

She glared back over her shoulder.“Yeah, that would have been goodto know.”

He only shrugged.

She shook her head. “Where tonow?”

“This is where things get a littletricky.”

“Wonderful. Because it’s all been awalk in the park up to this point.”She peered down. “A bit of a drop”was actually a pit of sheernothingness that went at least acouple hundred feet straight down.She could see the bottom, but onlybecause huge fires blazed fromdifferent spots on the ground.

Greta hated to think what washappening down there at this verymoment.

“We have to step out there and

scale the wall around to the otherside. There’s a tunnel leading downto the cells.”

She’d had a bad feeling he wasgoing to say something crazy likethat.

“You look nervous,” he said. “Areyou going to be able to do this?”

“I guess I don’t have much choice,do I?” Truthfully, she was stupidterrified. The thought of hanging byher fingers and toes above a chasm

that would eat her whole and breakevery bone in her body if she fellwas ten times scarier than whatshe’d felt climbing that walloutside, worse than the prospect offacing any number of the Lost.

She might as well go first. If therock crumbled beneath her and shefell, at least Ray would feel guiltyover her death for the rest of hislife.

Inching to the edge, she peeredaround. There was a narrow but

passable shelf running the length ofthe wall. Without thinking aboutwhat she was doing, Greta steppedout onto it and plastered her wholebody to the hard surface, refusing tolook down.

“Crap. Crap. Crap.” The going wasslow, and she did it mostly with hereyes clamped shut.

Besides one heart-stopping momentwhen she lost her footing andscrambled to press her spine to thewall, she finally reached the other

side and waited for Ray, trying tomake her heart step back down to ahalfway normal rhythm.

He joined her in considerably lesstime, and jumped down beside herwith a grin. He wasn’t evenbreathing heavy, the jerk.

Without a word, they made theirway through the next corridor,which angled steadily downward ina spiral, heading deeper and deeperinto the heart of the mountain. Atfirst, all she could hear was the

sound of her own breathing and thesoft crunch of their footfalls in thedirt, but soon enough Greta startedto hear other things, things thatchilled her blood.

Screaming, shouting, and the growlsof creatures that could not possiblybe human.

Each step brought them closer tothat madness, compounding heranxiousness, and making her certainthey would be too late to saveanyone.

She held her hand up to signal Rayand crowded against the wall. Hestopped close behind her, peeringaround her shoulder.

A few feet ahead of them, thecorridor opened up, most likely tothe large chamber they had roundedfrom above. Watching the chaos, itwas obvious the eclipse was fulland had left no creature unscathed.Fires burned high, but thetemperature in there had little to dowith the heat, and a lot to do with

the gnomes, ogres, and otherdistorted beings Greta couldn’tidentify, all trying to murder eachother. “Let me guess. We have to gothrough there.”

“The cells are located on the otherside,” Ray said, “but maybe they’llall be so wrapped up in destroyingeach other, they won’t notice us.”An optimistic thought, but shedoubted he believed it.

“All right. I want you to head out ofhere now.” Greta stripped off her

long coat to streamline her form forfighting, and drew her sword.

Ray just crossed his arms over hischest and waited.

“Damn it.” She shook her head andsighed. “Then here’s the way it’sgoing to go. We run. You stay close,right behind me. Obviously, we’renot going to try and take them all on.Just barrel through anyone who getstoo close and hope for the best.”

Ray nodded. His bow was ready,

his old eyes reflecting acceptance—of his choices and theirconsequences, maybe of hisapproaching death. “I’m sorry Idragged you here with me.”

It was a gracious lie, but Gretadidn’t fault him for it. She wanted totell him they’d get through this.Instead, she gave him the truth.“You didn’t drag me, Ray. Anddon’t start writing us off just yet.I’m tired of getting spit on, beaten,and clawed up. I’m in the mood for

some payback.”

Turning toward the mouth of thewrithing chamber, Greta waited amoment until she saw their opening—a small break in the throng rightalong the side of the room.“Ready?”

She didn’t wait for hisconfirmation, but leapt forward at adead run, trusting him to stick to theplan.

Maybe because their sudden

presence was so unexpected, ormaybe Ray had been right andAgramon’s minions were caught upin the turmoil of the eclipse andhaving too much fun pounding onone another, but they made ithalfway across the chamber beforethe first ogre attacked.

And that’s where their luck ran out.He was a big one, and the look thatcame over his face when he spottedthem made her feel like theChristmas turkey for a starving man

—a turkey that still needed to beplucked.

Greta didn’t stop. Instead, she ranfaster and ducked her head at thelast minute, hitting the ogre with hershoulder, using as much momentumas possible. As it staggeredbackward, Ray lodged an arrow inits left eye.

Neither of them paused, just kept onmoving—but their very slightadvantage of surprise was gone.One after another, snarling heads

stopped and turned. Bodies lungedtoward them. Greta started hacking.There was no finesse in herdefensive moves, it was all aboutsurvival.

She sliced the throat of a gnomebefore spinning in a circle to seeanother barreling down on Ray.“Behind you!”

“Greta!” He lifted his chin over hershoulder and raised his bow.

In a smooth move, they switched

places and Greta met the goblin thathad been coming for him, whileRay’s arrow found its target in theogre that had been moments fromcrushing her skull between its hugeclubs-for-hands.

“Crap.” Looking left and right, sherealized she’d lost sight of thedirection they’d been heading—notthat it mattered when death wascoming at them from all sides.

Suddenly, Ray went down, sluggedin the face by a gnome with

glowing, beady little eyes and atoothy, wide-mouthed grin. Beforeshe could do anything to help,Greta’s braid was yanked viciouslyand her head snapped back.

Her sword clattered to the ground.Thick fingers closed around herthroat, and she felt the creature’s hotbreath on her cheek. From the sizeof the body at her back, she wasbeing held by an ogre—an ogreabout to take a bite out of her.

She kicked back, elbowed, and

clawed at him—all the whilewatching helplessly as Ray waspummeled in the ribs and stomach.

Another gnome joined the fray,looking to get himself a piece of thehuman on the ground, and the twoturned on each other, buying Greta afraction of a second. But the ogrewasn’t letting up no matter what shetried, and the pressure on her throatwas steadily choking the strengthout of her. They weren’t going tomake it.

Through the muffled thudding in herears, she heard a commotion fromacross the chamber. Their attackersnoticed it at the same time. Gretadidn’t care what the hell was goingon, she only knew it was adistraction she could make the mostof and nailed the ogre hard in theshin. Her fingers scrabbled for thedagger at her waist. She pulled itand stabbed backward into theogre’s thick thigh muscle. It finallylet her go.

Spinning fast, she ignored itsenraged cries, adjusting her gripand swinging the short blade in ahigh arc across the creature’sjugular.

Without waiting to see if he wouldfall over, she immediately went forher sword and then threw herself atthe gnomes on top of Ray, slashingand hacking until she reached hisside.

He was curled up into a tight ball,unmoving. Blood disguised the

extent of the injuries to his face, butwhen she reached out her hand tocheck his pulse, he jerked andsnarled at her. Good. At least hewas still alive.

“It’s me, Ray. I’ve got you,” shesaid. He settled down and triedcracking open his swollen eyes.“Come on,” she urged. “It’s just alittle farther. We can make it, noproblem.”

“Liar,” he croaked, but he pushedhimself to his feet. She handed him

her dagger, since his bow lay inthree broken pieces across the dirtfloor.

Greta pushed forward once again,slower this time so Ray could keepup. It forced her into direct combatwith more of Agramon’s minions,but surprisingly, they weren’toverwhelmed. Whatever otherdisturbance had invaded thischamber, Greta was glad for itbecause it had divided thecreatures’ attentions.

Then again, whatever it was, sheand Ray were headed right for it.

“Greta!”

With a hard thrust, she finished offthe gnome in front of her and turnedto fight off the two coming upbehind them.

Her strength was flagging. Thegashes in her chest and thigh pulled,her throat was on fire, and heroverworked muscles screamed asshe parried and blocked, but there

was still no relief in sight. For allthe bodies littering the ground intheir wake, it seemed as if Gretahadn’t even made a dent in thethrong. They kept coming, so manyof them she could see no way ofleaving this room alive.

A gnome went for her face and sheducked in time, only to have herlegs kicked out from under her. Shewent down hard, the breathwhooshing out of her and her teethcoming together with a hard crack.

Before she could bring up her handsin defense, the gnome was on top ofher.

Ray shouted. It sounded so faraway, and she felt a rush of panicthat he was unprotected. It gave hera surge of adrenaline and she thrusther arms between her and the gnomebefore it tore out her throat. Tworows of jagged teeth snapped andsnarled an inch from her face.Blood coated its lips and chin, andfoam dripped from the corners of its

mouth like a rabid dog.

Just when she was sure she couldn’thold on any longer, the creature waslifted off her and thrown sidewayslike a bowling ball into theoncoming horde.

Greta forced the pain aside andjumped to her feet with sword inhand, looking wildly back and forth.Ray was at her side and she pulledhim close, reeling around to findherself only inches away from ahuge goblin.

Isaac.

Whether it was the eclipse, the furyof battle, Ray shooting at himoutside—or a combination of allthree—the goblin king had fullyturned.

Huge. Angry. Skin almost black.Teeth made for ripping. Handscurled into thick fists. Eyes lit by afierce, wild light.

She lifted her blade between them,heart hollow and empty. She hadn’t

wanted it to come to this.

Chapter Twenty

“Isaac,” she whispered. Even likethis, she couldn’t think of him as amonster. The real Isaac must still bein there somewhere.

Her throat constricted. Now itseemed so natural to say his name,so right. What had once beenanathema was now a plea, her last

link to the boy who’d invaded hercarefully guarded heart and daredher to accept herself for the personthis world had made of her.

“Greta.” His voice rumbled overher like steel wrapped in velvet,startling in its controlled clarity.“Come.”

She could sense the pull in him—between beast and man—and wasamazed by the blunt power of hiswill.

Greta made the decision to put hertrust in Isaac’s strength. “Ray, let’sgo,” she yelled. When he hesitated,she grabbed his arm and pulled himwith her. “He won’t hurt us,” shepromised.

Isaac made short work of any whodared get in their way. When theyreached the other side of thechamber and passed through thewide doorway carved out of therock, he stayed back so nobodycould follow them through.

Ray sprinted ahead down a darkcorridor. “We have to go this way!”

“Wait,” she called, turning back.“Isaac, hurry! I’m not going withoutyou.”

He slugged a gnome and sent itflying back before growling at herover his shoulder, but then hestepped over the threshold, lookingup and down at the loose rockstrewn across the ground. His gazestopped on a particularly largepiece. She knew what he was going

to try to do.

She held her breath as he lifted themassive boulder over his shoulderswith a great roar. He surged upwardand pushed it out of his hands andinto the stone above the entrance tothe chamber, releasing a cascade ofrock that tumbled downward andblocked the way.

It also started a rumbling throughoutthe mountain that echoed all aroundthem.

Greta grabbed his clawed hand andpulled him with her as she rantoward Ray. “Where are the cells?”she asked.

He pointed down a narrowcorridor. “That way.”

Isaac gripped her arm. When sheturned to him, he shook his head.“No.”

“No, what?”

“Leave now.” He started to pull her

in the opposite direction.

She yanked her hand back. “I can’t,”she said. “Not without the others.”

He glowered, looking fierce andwild as if her refusal just mightpush him over the edge into totalmadness. “Agramon needs you,” hebit out. “To complete his circle andgive his spell the power to open aportal. Can’t let him.”

“What spell? What are you talkingabout?”

“He’s a prisoner here. Wants to tearopen the gate, escape this world.”

“Why doesn’t he just make theLamia open it for him?”

“Witch’s magick…not powerfulenough to break the spell keepinghim imprisoned.”

“We can make Agramon use hisown spell to send all of us humansback home,” Ray said.

Isaac snarled at the boy, taking a

menacing step forward. Greta heldhim back. When he turned to her,she could see he was fighting tocontain the fury of the eclipse.

“Let me guess,” she said. “The spellAgramon has concocted requireshuman participation to make itwork, doesn’t it?”

Isaac nodded. “Human blood.”

Of course it did.

“If all that’s true,” Ray said, “if

Agramon needs human blood to fuelhis magic, why has he put us towork as slaves? Why doesn’t hejust do it already?”

Without the fires of the chamber togive them some light, Greta couldn’tsee more than Isaac’s great hulkingshadow…and the glow of his eyes.He paid little attention to Ray now,his focus wholly on her. “Have tobe special.” A low grumble.“Humans descendant from aparticular bloodline. The rest were

used to build the…altar.”

She’d been clenching her hands sohard her fingertips were numb. Sowere her lips, her legs, and feet.She felt disassociated from her ownbody—everything but her heart.That hurt so bad she couldn’tbreathe. It felt like a mortal wound,as if her blood should be pouringout onto the floor in front of her.

“You knew.” She took a step back,not wanting him to see that he waskilling her with every word. “You

knew all about this from thebeginning. When Luke died and Iasked you…you lied. When I foundout about the contract on my head…you lied. And in my dream when Iasked you again… You told me youhad no idea Agramon was holdinghumans prisoner, and you didn’tknow what he wanted them for.”

When did it end with him? The lies,the tricks, the games? She thoughtshe’d finally begun to see the trueIsaac, but now she wondered if

there was any such thing. Hadanything he’d shown her ever beenreal, or only delusions of her mind—all of it a dream she couldn’twake up from?

The guilt in his face was the laststraw. Greta’s blood chilled untilthere was nothing left but theunfeeling skill of the ice-coldbounty hunter rushing through herveins. “Why are you here now?How did you get in?”

Would he deny it still, or finally tell

her the truth?

“You’re actually in league withhim, aren’t you? With the demon.What do you do, return the humanslucky enough to escape hisclutches? Do you watch them beingtortured, maybe you like to wieldthe whip yourself every once in awhile?”

Isaac came forward, but Greta tookanother step back, and another.“Ray, go on ahead and get theboys.” She didn’t look at him,

didn’t dare break eye contact withIsaac. “I’ll hold off the goblin andany others.”

“Are you sure?”

“Just do it. Before it’s too late.”

Isaac didn’t even blink when Rayturned and ran. She’d known hewouldn’t bother with him, becausehe hadn’t come here for just anyhuman. Not today.

He’d come for her. Only her.

“Return with me, Greta.”

She gripped the hilt of her swordtighter, finding little comfort in itsfamiliar weight. “Not going tohappen. Now…or ever again.”

“No time to explain.”

As if he could. “You don’t have toexplain, I get it. Anything’s fair foryou, isn’t it? You’d betray your ownmother—”

Both his hands snaked out and

grabbed her arms. She sputteredwith outrage as he dragged herclose, trapping her sword armbetween their bodies. He glowereddown into her face, and she wassurprised by how controlled heseemed. Was it because he was stillyoung enough, the moons didn’tovertake him completely? His skinhad almost returned to normal, if notthe length of his teeth and claws.Could it be that his fury in thatchamber had come not from theeclipse, but from within—maybe

even out of fear? For her?

She couldn’t bear to be so close tohim. So close his scent teased, hiseyes mesmerized, his touch…

Damn him. “Let me go.”

“You must understand.”

“I understand perfectly.” Shetwisted and writhed, but that onlybrought home to her just howseriously outmatched she was.

“You do not. You have no ideawhat this monster has done to myworld.”

“And I don’t care!”

At that, he shoved her away fromhim in disgust and swatted hersword. It went flying from her hand.“No. You don’t care about Mylenaor its people, do you? I don’t thinkyou care about anything at all.”Looking down his nose, he said,“But I do. And after centuries ofsuffering, when the leaders from all

the counties finally forcedAgramon’s evil underground,believe me, it was worth the price.A price my father paid, and a priceI was expected to pay when Iassumed leadership over the goblinterritories.”

“What price?”

“The faerie magick keeping himhere wasn’t made to last. When Itook the throne—for you,” hereminded her with a harsh look, “Ilearned that my ancestors had

agreed to help Agramon find thehumans he requires to open the gate,in return for his promise that hewould finally leave Mylena onceand for all.”

Greta felt the wave of vehemenceradiating off him, the utterconviction that he’d done nothingwrong. “So you all made a dealwith the devil. All the counties,”she whispered. The light dawned.“That’s where the moon madnesscomes from, doesn’t it? All those

stories about humans bringing on thecurse of the moons, the eternalwinter…it was all a lie to hide thetruth—you brought it on yourselves.You broke the laws of nature byaligning yourselves with Agramon’sevil, and the Great Mother ispunishing you for it.”

His face contorted in a snarl.“Humans brought Agramon hereand we have suffered theconsequences. But we finally hadthe chance to banish his poison from

our world. Don’t tell me you wouldnot have done the same.”

As much as Greta wanted to deny it,could she say for certain shewouldn’t have paid a similar pricefor something that was important toher…like the chance to go home?“Thankfully, I don’t have to answerthat question.”

“I was not so lucky. The burdenwas set upon me whether I wantedit or not.”

“So screwing with my dreams wasjust an extra thrill before it cametime to hand me over?”

“I won’t apologize for doing what Ithought was necessary to undo thedamage humans have wrought on myland. But I never agreed…it wasnever about that between us—”

“How do you know it washumans?” she yelled up at him,punctuating the words with a hardshove to his chest, tryingdesperately to push all her rage into

him. “How exactly did humansbring a demon to your world?” sheyelled. “Well? Give me the details.Show me some—” Shove. “Damn—” Shove. “Proof!” Shove.

He grabbed both her shouldersagain, baring his teeth. Herbreathing ragged and painful, Gretahad a moment before he shook herto notice that her goblin—no, nothers, never hers—looked almostcompletely normal now, but for theimpatient curl of his lips.

It was Greta who felt like a ragingbeast without any control.

“You are all the proof I need. Yourblood will prove it!” With glowingeyes and a muttered curse, heclasped her head in his tremblinghands and crushed his mouth to hersin a hard kiss that proved just howstrong Isaac’s control had been untilnow, how tight a leash he had kepton his true emotions.

She shivered and clutched hisshoulders.

Real.

The tips of his claws grazed theback of her neck.

Real.

His pointed incisors nipped the softflesh of her lips, and his body wasrock solid against her.

Real.

This was no dream. It was morereal than anything she’d ever felt.

More real…and more devastating.

She’d convinced herself that theirkiss two nights ago had only been asintense as she remembered becauseit had been a dream. She’dconvinced herself that the realitycouldn’t possibly compare. She’dsteeled herself for disappointment.And yet, as her senses reeled andher body bloomed with heat, theopposite was true. In his kiss, shefelt what she’d never completelyexperienced before—the melding of

Isaac who plagued her dreams, andIsaac who tormented her wakinghours.

And nothing had ever felt so vivid,so consuming, so amazing.

When he drew back, it was with awhisper of her name against herforehead in a hoarse and brokenvoice.

A harsh cry of protest escaped herthroat. She didn’t want to let him goyet. His thunderous gaze met hers

and he groaned in defeat atwhatever he found looking up athim, finding her lips once more asthe thing that had been buildingbetween them refused to be deniedany longer, sweeping them both upin its fiery storm.

There was no mistaking hisfrustration and anger, even his pain.It came off him like a fever,engulfing her with a blast of terribleheat, but she still felt safe,protected. It may only last for as

long as he held her, but for now thatwas enough.

His tongue slid past her lips and shegasped with shock and excitement.A deep shiver ran through her asclaimed her, harder and deeper withevery thundering beat of theirhearts.

His hands were on her waist now,gripping her, holding her to him.Her head spun, she was spiralingout of control, and couldn’t let thathappen. Not here, not now.

Finally, she pulled away, gulpingair deep into her lungs. Guiltovertook passion. Had Ray foundthe others? Was he even nowcalling for her help?

The grip on her waist tightened. Shelooked up and steeled herexpression. “If you’re going to giveme up to Agramon, then let’s get itover with.”

“You still believe the worst of me.”His tone was flat, but for once, hecouldn’t hide his true feelings

behind his royal mask. Greta shrankfrom the despairing intensity in hiseyes.

“Don’t you understand anything?”He shook her. “It never matteredwhat you are, or what I should havedone. Not since the very beginning.I fought my own uncle to keep yousafe, I’ve fought my own people. Ihave no intention of letting thedemon have you now. You’remine.” A distinct growl ofpossession. “Agramon will have to

make do with—”

With the blood running fast and hotthrough her veins, she pounded hischest with her fists. “Don’t tell meyou could coldly substitute anotherhelpless human in sacrifice to him.Agramon won’t make do withanyone else. We’re getting them allout. Even if you stop me, Ray willsucceed.”

His hands fell away. “You can’tsave all of them. Your friend mightreach the cells, but he won’t find the

ones Agramon has kept separate tofuel his spell.”

Her chest tightened like a visearound her heart. “Damn it, Isaac.”The weight was suffocating her tothe breaking point. She felt thecracks travelling, widening, andsplitting off in all directions.

I can’t keep doing this. She was sotired, and there was still so much toovercome. She felt sure he sensedher bone-deep desperation. Wouldhe use it against her? “I can’t leave

them.”

His punishing stare held her, cuther.

“Please.” A murmur. She couldn’tmanage any more than that.

He knew what she was asking. Heknew, too, what she would beforced to do if he refused. Shedidn’t want to fight him anymore.

Finally, he nodded. She let out along sigh. Even after everything,

Greta had hoped he would help her.She should hate him for hisbetrayal, should hate him for whathe would have done to her ownkind, should hate him for all thelies.

She didn’t. She couldn’t.

A month ago, she would have beenable to deny how she felt. Even aweek ago, she could have tried.Now, Greta understood what itmeant to feel a responsibility thatwent beyond her own needs and

desires, and she didn’t have room inher to hate Isaac. It would be likehating herself—and she didn’t haveroom for that either.

“Come with me,” he said.

They followed a dark corridor.Instead of going deeper into thedepths of the mountain, it climbedsteadily.

After ten minutes or so, the corridorcame to an end, opening into a largechamber illuminated by natural light

from the open ceiling, whichconfirmed that the eclipse was over.Mylena’s suns still looked almostcompletely aligned with oneanother, glowing as lightly as theyever did, but her twin moons hadpassed completely in front of themand were beginning to break apartback into their natural orbit.

Greta gasped as she entered theroom, stopping before she crossedover the distinct line marking acircle that vibrated with magick.

“Oh my God. What is this?”

The area had been divided into apie of twelve, marked at eachoutside point by a stone figure. Inthe center was another, smallercircle, empty except for a tall dais—no, it was an altar.

Isaac didn’t respond, but she didn’tneed him to. Her head thumped withthe force of the circle’s power, herheart pounding in time with it, soloud that the echo was all she heard.

Approaching one of the figures, shewas startled to discover that shewas looking at an inanimate statueof a human child. She continued onto the next.

“Why would he build these…?”

The sickening, stomach turningfeeling of horror built slowly sinceit took her a long time to accept thetruth of what was right in front ofher. And then it took every bit of herwill not to fall to the ground andweep.

“These aren’t statues. These are…”Walking from one to the other, sheglanced over her shoulder at Isaacin a demand for confirmation, but heremained silent.

She stopped again at the fifth figurein its place in the circle.

This time her knees did meet thefloor, having lost the ability to holdher weight. She pressed both herfists to her mouth and bit down onher knuckles, but the strangledscream forced its way out anyway.

No. God, please no. It must be somekind of trick.

“Isaac, tell me this isn’t what I think—” She looked up as he stoppedbeside her, but her gaze was drawnimmediately back to the silent stoneface of one young boy in particular—a boy who, in life, had grinnedwith irreverent dimples in hischubby cheeks, and blinked up ather with bright blue eyes that couldnever quite hide his impossiblestubborn streak. “There has to be

some other explanation.” A waverin her voice. “Please.”

“They were all real humanchildren.” Such finality in thosewords. “Once.”

Boys. All boys. Each one a differentage, each frozen with such anexpression of terror…includingGreta’s own brother. She reachedout, touching her hand to his cold,gray one. How had this happened?When? The thing she’d been certainof all these years was that Drew

was safe. To find out she’d failed inthat one thing, the most importantthing…

“How is it even possible?”

“This is the Lamia’s work.” Astony, unfeeling tone that madeGreta feel all the more isolated inher anguish. “Agramon knew itwould take time to find the numberof acceptable humans required toopen his gate. The witch hecaptured to retrieve them wascompelled to give him a way of

safeguarding the vital componentsof the spell.”

“What do I do to reverse it?” Therehad to be a way. Greta wouldn’tleave here without every one ofthese boys—even if it meant shedidn’t leave at all.

“Agramon needs the blood ofthirteen humans,” Isaac confirmed.“But the final piece is special. Onceit’s in place the rest will bereleased from their dormant state tocomplete the spell and set the

demon free.”

Her heart pounded as her gaze wentto that empty space in the center ofthe chamber. She somehow knew ithad been reserved for her. Could itbe because she was female, whileall the others were male? Was ither specifically he needed, or justone more body—any body—whocarried her bloodline, like Isaachad said?

Isaac’s shuttered expression warnedher that if she did this, chances

were she wasn’t going to be gettingup and walking away from it.

Taking the first step over theboundary of the circle, she couldfeel the power drumming in herhead increase into an earsplittingstaccato beat.

A hand on her arm. Like beinggrounded, the beehive hum wasforced to slow, to wait. “Don’t dothis.”

She would not be swayed by

anything she saw in his face—evenher own fear and longing reflectedback at her. “I have to.”

“You’re going to die.”

His chest heaved, his eyes glowed.God, he was so fierce. “I can’t do itanymore,” she said. “I can’t live inthis world or any other if it meansbeing responsible for the loss ofthose innocent lives.”

She stole some of the goblin’sferocity for herself and smiled. “But

that doesn’t mean I’m giving in. Ican feel the power of the circlecalling to me. I think I can control itand direct it.” A pause to breathethrough the urgency that had herheart tripping along double-time. “Ihave to at least try. Hopefully if I dothis now, before Agramon showsup, we can all get out of here.”

The hard line of his mouth and thecreases in his forehead were a deadgiveaway of how fiercely hecontinued to fight the wildness

inside. The eclipse was still in hisblood, even though its urgency hadstarted to wane.

“I know what it means if I destroyAgramon’s only chance for escapeand he takes it out on this world.And I do care, Isaac. I cared aboutLucius, and I care about Siona,Maidra, and all the rest. I careabout Mylena.” She squeezed hishand. “Even more importantly, Icare about you. More than I thoughtI could care about anything.”

She steeled her heart to continue.“But these are children, and itshouldn’t matter if they’re onlyhuman. One of them is my brother,my family. My responsibility.Maybe it makes me as much amonster as Agramon, but I’llsacrifice myself, this world…everything to save him.”

Bracing herself for his argument, hisphysical retaliation, she wassurprised when he attemptedneither.

“I know.” A murmur. An admissionthat stripped them both in an instant,made them both vulnerable.

She gasped in response to the burnspreading through her. Oh God, ithurt. The damned goblin had nevermanaged to hurt her as much as rightnow, in this moment when the bleakshadows in his eyes told her howmuch he loved her, and there wasnothing she could do about it.

“Isaac, I—” What to say, when herown emotions were still so divided

and uncertain.

“Later. We’ll do this later.” A finaltouch, tracing the hard line of hertemple where her pulse beat in anerratic rhythm. He was going tostand with her. Protect her.

For the first time, she had no doubtsabout his intentions. Isaac was herefor her. He’d always been here forher. He would give up the onlychance his people had to be free.He’d sacrifice himself and hisbeliefs…all for her. And as selfish

as she was, Greta would let him.

“Hurry up, sweet Greta. Time—asalways—is not on your side.”

Again, she stepped into the circleand was instantly flooded withenergy. Each step forward wasmore and more difficult as shefought an invisible wall like thepush of a magnetic field. It left herbreathless and weak—until shemade the final step into the center.And then it was as if the magnetwas reversed and she became the

attracting end instead of theopposing end, drawing the sameenergy in thick currents.

Magic washed over her like thewaves of the ocean crashing uponsmooth, weathered rocks. Gretadidn’t buckle and break under thepressure. In fact, it fed her, makingher stronger, helping her to see.

“Holy hell,” she managed on ashuddering moan. Her eyelidsfluttered. The sizzle rushing throughher body fired all her nerve

endings, sensitizing every inch ofskin until her entire body throbbed.

Fighting to pull herself together andfocus, she clenched her fists tight,forcing her gaze on the statue ofDrew straight ahead of her. Herpresence in the circle had definitelystarted something. With her mind,she reached out for the elusiveenergy rippling all around her, but itseemed to slither away just beyondher grasp.

And then she realized that the boys

were the source of the circle’spower, that Greta was the mediumthat would focus it, like sunshinebeing narrowed through amagnifying glass. It wasn’t a matterof chasing the energy, but lettingdown her guard enough so it couldflow the way it wanted to naturally—right through her. Once she didthat, the magick was hers to control,and she could feel it bending to doher will.

One by one, each of the twelve

stone figures started to shake off theLamia’s enchantment. Shewondered which one of them wasJason, the boy Wyatt had tried tosave from the Lamia’s fire. Gretaheld her own breath as the first tinychest expanded to draw air, andthen she kept her gaze on Drew,waiting for his cheeks to turn pink,his eyes to lose the lifeless slategray color and return to a beautifulblue.

Finally, he blinked up at her, his

child’s face reflecting confusionand fear. She wanted to call out andreassure him, but it took all herconcentration to keep the magicksharply focused.

As each of the boys awakened inturn, she sensed the power passingthrough her increasing exponentiallywith their consciousness. When thetwelfth and final little boy drew hisfirst breath, she tried to shut it alldown and step out of the circle’scenter—and couldn’t move.

She’d popped the cork off thisgenie’s bottle, and it would nolonger fit back in the small mouthfrom which the magick was a free-flowing cascade. The power keptgrowing, filling every nook andcranny of her body, mixing with herblood and twining around her souluntil she and it were the same.

Ahead of her, a ripple was formingin the air, and she saw Drew as ifthrough a sheet of running water.The aperture grew slowly but

steadily, and Greta realized that shewas somehow opening a portal.

Hope warred with fear as the slicein space spread, about two feet tallalready.

All the boys in the circle hadawakened, looking from one to theother with matching expressions ofterror.

From the corner of her eye, Gretasaw Ray rush into the chamber. Shewanted to call out to him to stay

back, but the words disintegratedfrom her lips. Maintaining controlover the magick took every bit ofher concentration.

“Holy Mother of God,” he muttered,grinding to a halt as he took in thecircus show.

Isaac stepped in front of him,blocking him from getting to her.She worried that human and goblinwere about to face off against eachother, and managed to lift her handas if to stop them, but only a

fraction of an inch, and they didn’teven notice.

At that moment, their party had onelast joiner and Greta didn’t need anintroduction to know who it was.

Agramon was everything she’dfeared and nothing she could haveimagined. Years hunting downMylena’s biggest and baddest hadtaught her to expect horns andclaws, dangerous oozing fluids, andripping teeth in her adversaries, butthe demon looked nothing like any

Mylean creature…although thatactually made sense considering,like her, he wasn’t from Mylena atall.

In fact, besides his huge size—which rivaled even Isaac—and theglowing whorls that traced everyinch of his naked torso, the dreadedAgramon looked…human. He hadblack hair and his cheeks wererazor sharp slashes that highlightedhis crazy wide grin. But thedifference was in his red eyes. One

look in those eyes and it was morethan obvious that he was not onlyevil and powerful, he was wickedinsane.

“You started without me.” He didn’tsound overly worried ordisappointed. In fact, he soundedexcited.

He stared at her over Isaac’sshoulder, those intense, bloody eyesboring into her with cold purpose.Greta’s blood would have run to iceif it wasn’t infused with all the fire

of the circle’s power. Trapped inits steel-gripped riptide, she coulddo nothing but watch in horror asIsaac held his ground, honoring hispromise to protect her.

Agramon waved a hand for him tomove out of his way. “I wonderedwhether the new goblin king wouldfulfill his obligations and follow inthe footsteps of his successors. I’mimpressed. You’ve brought me thelast—most important—componentof my spell.”

Isaac growled, hands clenched intotight fists. “You can’t have her.”

Agramon’s brow lifted in surprise.“You can’t save her. Why wouldyou even want to? She is the key tomy freedom…and yours.”

Isaac didn’t move aside. “I won’tlet you sacrifice her. Mylena willfind some other way to get rid ofyou and break its curse.”

His selfless devotion broke herheart. She tried to blink away the

tears that blurred her vision, but itwas impossible to control even thatmuch of her body, and she felt thewetness slide down her cheeks.

Agramon only laughed. “It’s toolate, anyway. The human hasconveniently set everything intomotion and now nothing will keepme from her.”

He glanced over his shoulder atGreta with a smile so filled withevil and a dark possessiveness, shefelt it like a snake slithering over

her skin. Isaac must have takenexception to that look, because helunged forward with a roar.Agramon met him eagerly,anticipation apparent in his stanceas they crashed together.

As the goblin and the demon tradedviolent blows that would havedestroyed lesser beings, Ray inchedto the outer edges of the circle, hisbattered face filled withdetermination.

“Ray.” She gritted her teeth, slowly

lifting her hand and pointing to therift. “Portal. Go.”

Hands fell on his shoulders, andRay was thrown with such strengthhe went flying into the wall. Gretaheard the crack of his headsmashing against the rock. No!

Agramon stepped toward her. Whathad he done to Isaac? She foughtagainst the magick still flowingfrom the children into her, knowingshe had to cut it off and geteveryone through that portal before

—

The grinding pain of a handclamping hard on her wrist,squeezing until it felt as if her boneswould shatter, crashed through her.A strangled scream was rippedfrom her throat. He had her. He wasin the circle.

Immediately, she felt the shift as thedemon’s touch connected him to themagick, re-directing it through her—and into him.

His shout of triumph surrounded heras he pulled more and more power.She could feel its essence darkeningas his will tainted it, turned it into athick sludge in her veins, before itwas dragged from her, leaving herweaker and weaker.

She finally understood.

Like fuel in an engine, the boysprovided the power, while she wasthe key to getting it all started…andAgramon was the bastard siphoninggas for his own car. Nothing but a

dirty thief.

Beside her, the demon roared.“Yes!”

In front of them both, the portalwidened. There was something onthe other side. Through a blurry filmlike rippling water, she was sureshe could see the dirt floor of acave and even beyond, it opened upto the familiar sight of blue sky.

She could move more freely,probably because she was now only

the conduit for the spell’s magick,not its focal point. She fought to turnher head, grateful to see Raymoving, getting to his feet. Shecouldn’t see Isaac.

Agramon’s grip on her wristtightened until she thought he mightbreak her bones and dragged hercloser. It was impossible to pull outof his cement-like grip. She was hislink to the spell and he wouldn’t begiving her up before he was damngood and ready.

One of the boys locked in the circlescreamed. She twisted to lookbehind her just as he crumpled tothe ground, blood trickling from hiseyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

“What are you doing?” she yelled,frantic. Her voice came out as astruggling whisper. “You’ve gotwhat you wanted, the portal is open.Now let them go!”

The red light in Agramon’s eyesglowed brightly as he glanced downat her. His mouth clenched in a firm

line, as if the power he was stealingwas almost too much for even himto hold onto. “Sorry. Not going tohappen, little girl.”

The next boy cried out and wentdown, his small hand flung towardher.

“Stop it!” she pulled as hard as shecould, trying to sever theconnection, desperately counting thenumber of bodies between that poorchild and her brother. Five.

“Be still!” Agramon shifted andshoved her to her knees, holding herarm high as he reveled in the rush ofpower feeding him. “It isn’t gettingthe portal open that’s the trick.” Hegrinned down at her. “I have waitedan eternity for this moment, and allof you will give your lives—andyour blood—to keep the thing openso I can pass through. So I can passinto any world I choose.”

Agramon’s voice was drowned outby the choked cry of the next child.

The power he now wielded wasimmense, and continued to grow.She could feel it like a massiveriver of lava that burned everythingit touched. She swiveled to see themouth of the portal, but there wasonly a dense, endless darkness onthe other side now.

Drew looked so scared, so young.Four years wasn’t very long, butshe’d changed so much in that time.He probably didn’t even recognizeher.

Yanking up her pant leg with onearm, she slipped her only remainingweapon from the sheath at herankle. She struggled back to herfeet, determined that the next bodyto fall would not be his.

Drawing the dagger back, shetwisted and aimed for Agramon’sheart. He saw it coming, but Greta’sdesperation made her faster, and theblade penetrated his thick skin.

With her hilt protruding from hischest, the demon roared and turned

on her, but still refused to let go—until a fist landed on the handclasped around her wrist and priedit off.

Her gaze whipped up. Isaac’s facewas a brutal mask of rage, havingagain fallen prey to his raw form. Itwas also apparent that crossing thecircle had been no easy matter. Hisshoulders were tight and his jawclenched from the effort heexpended to withstand themaelstrom.

She stumbled and fell to her kneesas the goblin tore Agramon off thealtar. He spared her a quick glancebefore he turned away with ananimal roar, after his adversary.Agramon took hit after hit. Isaacpounded on him like he got a sickpleasure from it, but Greta knew itwouldn’t be enough. The demonwasn’t going to stay down for long.

“Ray!” Her voice croaked. Shecould already feel the spellreturning to her control, but without

all of the boys fueling it, the magickwas starting to fade. Glancing up,the view through the portal showedher that beautiful slice of blue skyonce more and she let out a relievedbreath. “Hurry and get the rest ofthem through.”

Ray nodded. He disappeared out ofthe chamber. When he returned, hewas ushering in a group of children,directing them to the circle. Ten,then twenty, then thirty boys quicklypassed through the portal before the

only ones left were the childrenfrom the circle. Ray ran, pullingeach of them from their pedestal andhoarding them together at the mouthof the rift.

Each time a spot was vacated,Greta felt the ebb of her power, andstruggled to hold onto as much of itas possible.

She had to keep that door open justa little while longer. But she knewshe wouldn’t be the one walkingthrough it. Even though she would

be sending Drew back…Greta hadto stay.

When Ray pushed her brotherthrough, she bit her tongue hard,fighting the tears, fighting againstthe need to call him back for onelast look and to at least say goodbye—but the portal was alreadystarting to close, no matter howhard she tried to keep it stable.

Ray paused, looking back at her.

“Go!” she cried. “Ray, you have to

go through that door right now!”

He shook his head. “What aboutyou? Wyatt? The others?”

“Take care of my brother like hewas your own, Ray.” She neededhis promise. “I’ll find another wayfor the rest of them. You don’t haveto worry.”

Still he hesitated, looking back intothe depths of the rapidlydisappearing rift. “It should be me,”she heard him whisper.

“There isn’t any more time! Get outof here!”

Mouth parted, he glanced back up totell her something, but the wordsdied and his eyes widened. With thelast tendrils of the spell slippingfrom her grasp, Greta turned, herchest aching with fear of what shemight see. But it wasn’t atriumphant Agramon charging her. Itwas Isaac.

Bloody.

Bruised.

Broken.

A black-skinned, barrel-chested,fully turned goblin with smokecoming from his nostrils and furyrolling off shoulders wide as ahouse. He was coming for her.

And Greta wasn’t afraid.

She glanced back at Ray, openingher mouth to urge him to hurrythrough the portal. But he shouted

her name, rushing toward herinstead.

“Ray, don’t. Don’t touch me,” shewarned.

When he grabbed her, his wholebody stiffened and he gasped. Shetried, but couldn’t keep the magickfrom funneling into him. When itdid, she felt the forces shift again.Ray gritted his teeth tightly andlooked into her eyes. “I should. Be.The one. To stay,” he bit out.

“No Ray, don’t!”

He pushed her into the portal.

As soon as she fell through, sheknew something had happened—both here and out there. She wasalone. There was no cave, no bluesky. Instead, she found herselfsurrounded by nothingness, andspun around to look back out. Outthere, Agramon was up again. Shescreamed to warn Isaac and Ray,but no sound came from her mouth.He wasn’t going for them anyway;

his gaze was glued to the doorway,glued to her.

She watched as Isaac tried to stophim, but he was right in front of her,coming through the portal…and thenhe disappeared.

The portal fractured, branchedapart. Wherever the children hadgone—God please let it be home—she was somewhere else, andAgramon must have been sent toanother place entirely.

No. No. No. She started screamingagain, pushing through the darknessback to the doorway, but couldn’tseem to get any closer to it.

She had to get out. But, oh God, itwas too late.

The doorway was almost closedand she was going to be stuck here.

In the dark.

Watching through the slim slice ofportal still open to Agramon’s

fortress, she saw Ray being tossedby Isaac across the room like a sackof feed before he lunged forwardwith a roar. He reached through therift, grasped hold of her arm.

His eyes. She didn’t want to losesight of those eyes. They held herfor a long moment as his claws duginto the flesh of her forearm.

His furious face was hazy, as if athin barrier of smoke had formedbetween them. She whispered hisname. If he didn’t let her go, would

she be caught here in limbo,somewhere in the middle of theworlds, for eternity?

With a final squeeze, he pulled andyanked her forward. She screamedas the portal tried to suck her backin, not wanting to give her up.

“I won’t let you go.” The lowrumble of sound penetrated theslight opening, through her achingchest, and took up residence in herbleeding heart. A voice she wouldnever forget.

The portal slammed shut.

Chapter Twenty-One

The sensations rushed to makethemselves known to her all at once,but she hesitated to blink her eyesopen. She could feel the warmth ofthe fire in the hearth, heard itcrackling away. Her fingers dugdeeply into the furs covering her. Abed, but whose?

Then again, did it matter where shewas, what she would see when sheopened her eyes? Could she trustany of it? She didn’t know any moreif she was dreaming or not. Thedreams had become her wholeworld, her only world, and it feltlike she’d been locked inside themforever.

No, not dreams, nightmares. Filledwith darkness and despair. Ofmoons dripping blood, glowingeyes brimming with anger and

betrayal, and the pain-filledscreams of children.

Through it all, his voice called toher, reminding her of their bond, ofhis claim on her soul.

She alternated between joy andterror. Anticipation and despair. Hewas the devil at her back. So close,always at her heels, but nevercatching her. No matter how oftenshe tried, she hadn’t been able toturn, to look over her shoulder, tostop running and let him catch her.

Until now.

“Isaac,” she whispered.

“He isn’t here.”

Greta forced her eyes open andblinked at Siona. She lounged in thesame chair Isaac had been sitting inthe last time Greta woke up in thisroom.

Sunshine filtered in through theopen window above her, makingher hair gleam and her pale skin

look like porcelain.

It wasn’t fair that the first thing shesaw was Siona’s blinding beautywhen there was no doubt Gretalooked like she’d been to hell andback. In fact, based on the way shefelt, she might still be in hell.

Struggling to sit proved a waste oftime, and she gave up after theshooting pain in her head forced agroan from her lips. “You’re gettinga kick out of this, aren’t you?” Gretamuttered. “Well, it isn’t a free

show, so get off your butt and helpme.”

With an evil grin, Siona stood andfinally sauntered over to the bed.She looked a little stiff and limpedslightly, but that seemed to be theonly remaining evidence of her ownbattle with Lazarus. She sat besideGreta and put an arm around hershoulders to help her sit up.

“Where is he?” Greta asked aftershe’d caught her breath, wincing atthe croak in her voice.

Siona frowned. “He’s been workingnight and day to bring some order tothe territory after the devastationAgramon’s army left behind.”

Greta winced. That had been herfault.

“Which is made more difficultbecause of his position.”

“He’s the king. What could be hardabout that?”

“Yes, but he’s a young king who has

yet to prove himself to his people.They know he didn’t want theposition in the first place, and nowthey are suspicious of hispriorities.”

Also her fault. “He can just orderthem to fall in line, can’t he?” Thatsounded weak, even to her, andfrom the dry look Siona gave her,the goblin was of the same opinion.“So, then, what happens now?”

“Yesterday he went before thecouncil, to answer charges of public

endangerment.”

She swallowed, trying to get somemoisture into her dry throat. “I don’tunderstand.”

“Leander accused him of harboringa gang of humans in the goblinforest.” She winced again. Anotherthing that was her fault. “Of course,the gnome king also named you astheir leader. If Leander makes agood enough case, who knows what—”

Greta knew he was there beforeSiona had stopped speaking. Shelooked up and saw him standing inthe doorway.

The wave of relief might haveknocked her to her knees if she’dbeen standing. He looked whole,healthy, and back to his non-feralself. She started to smile, but theshuttered look on his face as helooked her up and down made herlips wobble with uncertainty.

He’d heard what they were talking

about, she could see it in thetightness of his mouth. Was heangry? Worried? Should she beworried?

Did he have regrets already, basedon the trouble he was now inbecause of her? Should she plan tobe on her feet and out of here beforedark?

Siona got up from the bed with anexasperated sigh. Propping herhands on her hips, she narrowed hergaze on them both. “Stop it.”

Greta gasped, and Isaac lifted animperious brow in his cousin’sdirection. “Stop what?”

“All the doubt hovering in the airbetween you,” she said. “It’s sopalpable, I can practically seesteam coming off you both. Let go ofit, and see the truth.”

The truth.

Greta took in Isaac’s rigid pose. Heremained standing stiff and tall justinside the door. He wasn’t wearing

his cloak, only a white lawn shirt,sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Forthe first time, there was a bit ofscruff shadowing his jaw andcheeks, and he had dark circlesunder his eyes, which watched hercarefully. Her stomach twisted asshe realized it might not be regretthat darkened his face, but wariness.

In their tumultuous back and forth,he had always let down his guardfirst—and she’d always thrown itback at him, using her anger and

mistrust as an excuse to keep hidingfrom what he made her feel.

She let the smile she’d been holdingback break across her face,determined to take the first steptoward accepting her new life inMylena…her new life with him.

His expression cleared, but she stillsensed hesitation in him as hecrossed the plank wood floor withsolid thudding steps, taking Siona’sposition beside her on the bed.

Siona gave them a satisfied nod. “Iwill assume this means I’m notneeded here any longer.”

Before Siona could turn to leave,Greta held out her hand. “Thankyou.”

The female goblin lifted a sculptedbrow. “What for?”

“For watching over me. Forbeing”—she cleared her throat—“my friend.”

Siona gave her a baleful grin.“Don’t thank me yet, human. We’reboth going to need to get back inshape. You might change your mindabout being my friend when we startsparring together. I have everyintention of paying you back for thatsituation with the faerie.”

She chuckled, despite the scratch inher throat. “I look forward to it…and Siona?”

When she turned back around Gretagrinned. “I wouldn’t get your hopes

up,” she said. “Your only chance ofkicking my butt was when I wasunconscious. As long as I can stand,you know I’ll wipe the floor withyou any day of the week.”

“We shall see about that,” Sionasaid as she passed out of the roomwith a turn of her hip.

Isaac took her hand. His touch wasfirm. Real. “I am glad that you’reawake.” He sounded so formal.

“What happened with the counsel?”

she asked.

His eyebrows drew together. “Idon’t know,” he admitted with aworried frown. “I hope I succeededin convincing them that humans areno longer a threat to Mylena nowthat Agramon has been banished. Atleast, they haven’t posted a writ forthe capture of you or your…friends.” He choked out the lastword as if it caught in his throat likethe splintered bone of a wild gallo,and sent her a guarded look.

“What about your people? Will theystill follow you, accept you as theirking?”

He raked a hand through his hair.“Now that I’ve betrayed them byfalling in love with a human, youmean?”

She gasped at the word “love”.Nobody had said that word to her inso long, her memory of it might onlybe a dream. But for once, this wasno dream.

His expression had frozen as heanticipated her response. Sheglanced down at her hands twistingin her lap. “It might help if we canget Siona to spread the word thatthe human owns a sword and isn’tafraid to use it.”

“I suppose we’ll find out.”

She bit her lip, then took a deepbreath.“I still don’t understand howyou knew I was the key toAgramon’s spell.”

He sighed. “I didn’t know, butAgramon was certain of it. Heinsisted it was about your blood,something to do with yourancestors.”

“But how could my ancestors havehad anything to do—”

He jerked his chin up. “It doesn’tmatter. I’m only glad that you’resafe now. When that portal wasclosing, I thought you would be lostto me forever. And even though Ipulled you out in time, it was as if

some part of you remained trappedon the other side. You’ve beenunconscious ever since. I couldn’teven reach you in dreams.”

He’d been there, she rememberedhim. He was the reason she made itback. She plucked at a snag in thethick blanket covering her legs.“How long was I out?”

She squeezed her eyes shut,remembering the darkness of thatplace. “The others, did they getthrough the portal?”

Oddly enough, she felt in her bonesthat they were safe. Drew was safe.She only wished there’d been moretime. Time to tell him how sorry shewas for everything. Time to hug himjust once, and maybe give him amessage for their parents. But no, itwas better that they never knowwhat had become of her.

“All but the one who pushed youmade it through.”

“Ray. What did you do to him?”

“I should have killed him, but hewas gone before I’d even pulledyou back.”

“Oh, thank the Great Mother,” shewhispered. Her breath leaked out ina long sigh of relief. Ray would findhis way to Wyatt and the boys. Sheonly hoped they had been safe atLuke’s place throughout the eclipse.Had they returned to the Dugout, shewondered, or maybe headed to themountains in search of the Lamia?

Isaac dropped her hand. Startled,

she looked up in time to see theflash of hurt cross his face beforehis eyes darkened. “You would stillchoose them over me, wouldn’tyou?” he asked. “If you thought itwas possible, you would have leftwith them.”

She shook her head. “No—”

“Even now, you’re thinking aboutthe ones who are still out therehiding in my forest. You’rewondering when you can go tothem.”

At her hesitation, he shot up fromthe bed. She called him back, but hepaced back and forth across theroom. “After everything I sacrificedfor you—”

“Isaac.”

“Everything we’ve been throughtogether…”

“Isaac!”

He rounded on her with molten,glowing eyes and a guttural snarl.

Surprised by how quickly he’dstarted to turn, she gasped as thedark emotions rolled off him inwaves, but there was no hesitationwhen she clasped his hand andtugged him back to her.

“I made promises,” she said. “Ihave a responsibility to them. Butthat doesn’t mean I can’t still bewith you.”

He took several deep breaths andfought to regain control. She put herhand on his chest, conscious of its

fast, heavy rhythm. “I’m glad youbrought me back.”

His jaw clenched. “You’re mine,Greta. I would bring you back fromdeath itself if I had to.”

She smiled, curling her fingers inhis shirt, tugging him closer. “Let’shope that won’t be necessary.”

Acknowledgments

This book is a big deal to me. Huge.The whole process, from start tofinish, took a lot out of me. Fromfleshing out the idea, to writing thefirst chapters, getting feedback frommy brilliant critique partners,finishing and polishing themanuscript, submitting it forpublication, and then going throughthe editing process. By the end of itI felt like I’d been stripped rawfrom the inside out…but it wascompletely worth it, and there wereso many people holding my hand

and helping me through it that Iknow I won’t be able to thank themall, but I’m going to give it a shot.

First and foremost, I must thank myhusband and my son. If writing andpublishing is the deep dark lake inwhich I find myself swimming, thenthey are the solid slab of bedrock Ijumped in from, always there for meto climb back out of the water torest whenever I get tired and fearfulof drowning. And I love that thisparticular rock always has clean

laundry.

I have to thank the rest of my family,too. My mom and dad, brother andsister, and both of my grandmothers(in their eighties and reading mybooks!) have all been moresupportive than I could ever haveimagined. No matter what I write,they never turn down their nose at itand are proud of me.

I can never thank my critiquepartner enough for everything she’sdone to help me get where I am

today. Christine is not only smartand funny, talented, and experiencedin the ways of the Force, she talksme down from that jittery, neuroticplace I go to every once in a while.She has the most amazing gift forplotting I’ve ever seen. At the dropof a hat, she’ll take an idea and runwith it until we have a steampunkromance with aliens coming downfrom the sky to torture medievalwerewolves…and it all worksbrilliantly! As a critique partner,she balances my shortcomings

perfectly. I can’t say enough abouthow wonderful she is except tosend her a…Snoopy Dance!!

Other critique partners and betareaders I need to send out a shoutout to are Paula W, Amy R, KimberC. Also, the fantastic Teen authorsat Entangled Publishing have been ablast to get to know and are sosupportive it’ll make you cry,including Melissa West, RachelHarris, Tara Fuller, Lisa Burstein,Lea Nolan, and Cindi Madsen.

These are all super-charged writersand wonderful women whosefriendship means a great deal to me.I’m so thankful for their support andencouragement.

Mucho love goes out to publicistHeather Riccio, who is a goddess.The work she’s done to get thisbook into the hands of reviewersand readers has been massive. I amin awe of her powers oforganization. As everything startedto snowball towards release date,

no matter what question I had orwhat request I made, she wasalways completely on top of it. Ifnot for her, I might have fallen aparta hundred times, but she’s soamazing that I always find myselfsmiling instead. I could not havedone anything without her and I maynever let her go.

I also want to thank Deborah Cooke(also known as Claire Delacroix),Michelle Rowen (also known asMorgan Rhodes), Kelley

Armstrong, and Rachel Harris, whoare all epically awesome authors.Their support of my work has beenimmeasurably generous, and theirkindnesses made me cry hot, messy,destroy-your-makeup tears!

Along the way to publication, therehave been so many other peoplewho have been patient with myabsences or distractions, supportiveof my delusions, enabling of myobsessions, and who are greatfriends. Some of those people are

Stacey O’Neale, Shannon Duffy,Lori Leduc, Yvonne Blackmore,Laurie Pescod, Lisa DeGooyer,Claire Veitch, Gordon Robson, KaitBatte, Colleen Dyck, AdrienneDwyer, Jenny Schwartz, PG Forte,Stacy Gail, Tiffany Clare, ElyssaPatrick, and Maggie Robinson.Thank you all!

Finally, and most importantly, thankyou to Liz Pelletier and theEntangled Publishing Team. Specialthanks to Tahra and Jessica, and

especially my editor, HeatherHowland, who has so much skilland talent for what she does, itmakes me breathless with wonder.I’m still in awe that she was able tolook at the flawed story I sent herand see beyond it to the beautifulbook it eventually became. She sawthe tale I was trying to tell betterthan I did, and she understood myvision for it. She was sharp andbrutal and brilliant, and she helpedme become a better writer…allwith a thousand and eighty other

things on the go at the same time.

Before I go, let me thank YOU—dear Reader—in advance. I hopeyou enjoy the book!

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Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Acknowledgments