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That, should they succeed in their quest to find Aelin, the young queen would still be expected to pay the ultiods If Dorian Havilliard and Manon Blackbeak were able to recover the third and final Wyrdkey If the young king didn’t offer himself up as the sacrifice in Aelin’s stead

So Elide endured those occasional nudges, refusing to contemplate what manner of creature had taken such an interest in her In all of thehts as they’d co for any whisper of Maeve’s location The sun had set, Rowan snarling with each passing hour that yielded nothing As all other cities had yielded nothing

Elide hadthe merry streets, unnoticed and unmarked She’d reminded Rowan each tidoroup of Fae warriors was terrorizing cities in their search for Maeve, surely it would get back to the Fae Queen in no tiolden hills beyond the city walls, bonfires had kindled

Rowan had finally stopped growling at the sight As if they had tugged on soroup of Fae soldiers out drinking and Rowan had gone still Had sized the warriors up in that cold, calculating way that told Elide he’d crafted some plan

When they’d ducked into an alley, the Fae Prince had laid it out in stark, brutal terrew in the building above

Elide gri city bells "Should we help?"

Gavriel ran a tattooed hand through his golden hair The names of warriors who had fallen under his command, he’d explained when she’d finally dared ask last week "He’s almost done"

Indeed, even Lorcan noith impatience at theabove Elide and Gavriel

As the noon bells finished pealing, the shutters burst open

Shattered was a better word for it as two Fae h them

One of them, brown-haired and bloodied, shrieked while he fell

Prince Rowan Whitethorn said nothing while he fell with hirip on thethem ample space while they crashed into the pile of crates in the alley, splinters and debris soaring

She knew a gust of wind kept the fall fro fatal for the broad-shouldered e by the collar of his blue tunic

He was of no use to the by Elide’s side as Rowan sla kind in the prince’s face Nothing war the queen who held his heart

"Please," the ue

Rowan had found him, then They couldn’t hope to track Maeve, Rowan had realized on Sa the codoms on loan to mortal rulers--that, they could do

And the , was a commander A warrior, frohs Rowan still dwarfed hist the Fae, the three of theoes," Rowan said to the sniveling coraced the prince’s"First I break your legs, maybe a portion of your spine so you can’t crawl" He pointed a bloodied finger down the alley To Lorcan "You knoho that is, don’t you?"

As if in answer, Lorcan prowled fro and spine, your body would eventually heal," Roent on as Lorcan continued his stalking approach "But what Lorcan Salvaterre will do to you …" A low, joyless laugh "You won’t recover from that, friend"

The commander cast frantic eyes toward Elide, toward Gavriel

The first tio--Elide hadn’t been able to watch That particular coiven the unspeakable sort of brothel they’d found hiretted that Rowan had left his body at one end of the alley His head at the other

But today, this time … Watch See, a small voice hissed in her ear Listen

Despite the heat and sun, Elide shuddered Clenched her teeth, bottling up all the words that swelled within her Find soe the Lock Find a way to accept your fates to be trapped in this world, so we needn’t pay a debt that wasn’t ours to begin with

Yet if Anneith now spoke when she had only nudged her thesewords As all mortals were expected to For Aelin, she could submit As Aelin would ultiriling frorip "Tell him what he wants to know You’ll only make it worse for yourself"

Lorcan had nearly reached theers

There was nothing of the male she’d come to know on his harsh face At least, the male he’d been before that beach No, this was the ant Cruel