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  “Or if they turn on us,” one of the extinguishers stationed about the room muttered.

  A chill went down my spine, but I ignored it.

  “Fifteen-hundred?” I asked Daxon. “I thought you were each bringing a thousand?”

  “Let's just say that I don't trust my fellow underworld leaders,” Daxon smirked. “I like to be prepared.”

  “We have five-hundred extinguishers to add,” Teagan said as he warily approached.

  “So, two-thousand soldiers total,” I summed up. “We're going to be fine, Killian.”

  “All right,” Kill gave in. “But I swear to Goddess; if we get cornered, I'm turning into a snake and eating those bastards. I don't care if I have to puke up skeletons later.”

  “That's disgusting, dude,” Conri muttered.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  “Can I speak to you privately before we leave?” Daxon asked as we left the living room.

  “Of course.” I turned to Killian and said, “We'll meet you outside.”

  “All right.” Killian gave Daxon a suspicious look before he wandered off.

  I led Dax to my suite and waved him inside. As soon as I'd shut the door behind me, Daxon swung me into an embrace. One hand went to my back, to clutch me closer, and the other went to my face, to hold me in place while he kissed me savagely. That passion rose again, racing through my body like a freight train. I could almost hear the horn blaring, and someone shouting; “Get off the tracks, you fool!” Instead of pushing Daxon away, I kissed him back, my hands sliding into his indigo hair to pull him even closer.

  The hand at my cheek slid back into my hair and tightened. Daxon's mouth became more demanding as his pelvis pushed against mine. I slid a hand down to his ass and urged him closer as I kneaded his muscles. There was barely enough room for breathing; no space to even move our chests—we had to push into each other to exist. It seemed like my new truth. Being with Daxon would be constrictive—a constant push against his pull—but an existence without him would be a true prison. The closer he held me, the closer I was to freedom.

  Daxon's kiss gentled, and I was finally able to pull away. We stared at each other with only inches separating our lips, and it took all of my willpower to widen that gap. I let go of Daxon and backed away slowly—as if he were a wild animal I didn't want to startle. One sudden move and he'd pounce. Then I'd be a goner.

  Daxon reached out and took my hand, his expression softening. “You're a wild ride, Seren Firethorn.” He shook his head. “You had me worried in there. I thought you were cutting me loose, and then suddenly, you were standing with me. You gave me more confidence than I've ever had. Thank you for what you said.”

  “It was the truth,” I said softly. “I think you're a good man, Daxon. I wouldn't kiss you if I didn't. Even more importantly, Danu believes in you. She did call you 'King,' and I trust her. But my position requires that I only partially use my instincts to make judgments. I can't ignore the facts.”

  “And the facts say that I could be playing you,” he whispered.

  “The facts have yet to be determined,” I corrected. “The evidence to date does not look good, but it's all circumstantial. I cannot prove your innocence, but neither can I prove your guilt. I know that upsets you, but I hope that what I said in there makes up for it. If I'm proven wrong, and you are a party to this crime, then my ambassadorship will come into question.”

  “I know,” he said gently. “I've played with risk for most of my life. I've learned to see every aspect of an action. Standing up for me like that risked everything while it gained you nothing.” He smiled and added, “Nothing but my affection, that is.”

  “So, we're good?”

  “Sweetheart”—he grinned wickedly—“we're beyond good.”

  Daxon pulled me forward and gave me one more, quick kiss.

  “But I'm still holding you to your apology,” he murmured.

  “Ugh!” I pulled away from him and went to the door. “You're an asshole, and you're not getting an apology now.”

  “Yes, I am,” he said confidently.

  I was about to argue further when my gaze fell on an iron raven. I doubled back and pulled the dagger out of my overnight bag. I smiled at the raven head pommel before I stuck the dagger in my boot. A few tugs and my jeans covered it. I don't know why I hadn't thought to bring it before; I already had my iron sword strapped to my waist, I should have automatically added the dagger. Whatever the reason was that I'd forgotten it, I was glad that chance had corrected matters. Because I had a feeling that I was going to need every weapon I could carry.

  “What was that?” Daxon asked as I started out again.

  “Avian Insurance.”

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  It was a good thing we were heading into the Underground so early in the morning. The dark, the cold, and the hour kept people off the Boise streets and gave us fewer witnesses to our underground invasion. We tromped two-thousand soldiers through our access point with a surprising lack of noise.

  That number dwindled as soon as we hit the Underground streets. Not because of any attack; we simply needed to split up to search our assigned area. This was why numbers were so integral; without them, we couldn't have broken off into teams, and it would have taken far longer to find Barra. Not to mention the fact that he could have simply outmaneuvered us. This way, we could form a search wall of soldiers and sweep from one end of the Underground to the other. Nothing would get past us.

  My Star's Guard, all of the hunters (they refused to leave my side since Danu had sent them solely to protect me), Killian, Daxon, Daxon's Elite, thirty-five of Daxon's soldiers, and thirty-five extinguishers joined my team. That gave us just over a hundred people in our party; a number we shot for with all of our groups. That was large enough to give any assailant pause while being small enough for us to navigate the streets easily.

  We started at the end of the section of Underground we'd been assigned and moved forward methodically. We cleared streets by searching four houses at a time—two on each side of the street—so that no one could jump from house to house without us knowing. We split into teams of ten per house, leaving roughly sixty soldiers in the street to watch our backs.

  The people of the Underground were mostly cooperative. I got the feeling that they'd experienced searches like this before. But I tried to be as polite as possible when we entered personal living spaces, and I hope that helped. Some homes had doors, and some didn't. Some were just large rooms that were shared by several fairies. I took the time to explain why we were there to everyone we encountered and then told them that the Fairy Realm was safe to return to if they'd enough of HR. And if they didn't, I promised to be back after we caught Barra, so I could help them live better where they were.

  My words were met mostly with hostile glares, despondency, and flat-out disbelief, but some of them looked hopeful. There were fairies who had heard of me and the things I've accomplished. They had heard rumors of Fairy being safe again but hadn't believed them until they spoke with me. These fairies grabbed what little belongings they had and headed home to their own planet. I told them to go to the castles first and tell their kings that I had sent them. I promised them shelter and food until they could be settled in their homes again.

  “Do you think King Raza and King Tiernan are going to approve of that, Your Majesty?” Ro asked as we watched one group of fairies make their way down the street—heading to the surface and then to the closest rath.

  “Why wouldn't they?” I shot back.

  “Refugees at Court?” Ro lifted his brow. “I can't see how any royal would like that.”

  “As their queen, I am responsible for their welfare, Ro,” I said sternly. “My husbands feel the same way. I've seen Raza treat a flock of kuperi with the same respect that he shows his knights. And Tiernan was an outcast for far too long to ever turn people away; be they his or members of another court.”

  Ro blinked in surprise.

  “Told you,” Dax
on said as he gave Ro's shoulder a pat.

  “You told him what?” I asked Daxon.

  “That you'd use this as an opportunity to send people back to Fairy,” Daxon said with an approving grin.

  “Well, of course,” I huffed and headed toward the next house.

  “Who does she think she is?” Ro asked in an amazed whisper.

  “Danu's Chosen One,” Daxon whispered, “and I'm inclined to believe her.”

  I smiled to myself as I made my way over the potholes and puddles of filth in the street. Killian came up beside me, his eyes scanning the surrounding buildings. They were far more dilapidated than the ones in the worst parts of the LA Underground. Most of the windows were broken and covered with wood slats, blankets, or cardboard. Nothing had been cleaned in years; dirt stained the walls of every structure. The evidence of apathy littered the streets; empty bottles, pieces of broken furniture, and rats fighting with pixies over garbage. A meager illumination drifted down from the sporadically-placed streetlamps, making more shadows than light. The rock ceiling above us had a few sunstrips—all dimmed for the night—but there weren't nearly enough of them to light the area we were in. It would be dismal down there, even during the day.

  “This is depressing,” Killian muttered.

  “I know,” I whispered. “We have to fix this, Kill.”

  “Yeah; we do, Twilight.” He looked around the crumbling neighborhood as we broke into search teams again.

  Killian headed up some steps with our group and me. Daxon took his Elite across the street. Two other teams went into the structures next door. A hunter went with each team, while Cyrus held the fort in the middle of the road with the rest of them. Twenty hunters; Danu meant business. One hunter was impressive, but twenty with a Lord of the Hunt leading them? It was nearly overkill. But I knew that despite the good odds, we might still fall short. A goddess doesn't worry without reason.

  “You and Daxon seem better,” Killian noted.

  “We are,” I whispered as my eyes darted around.

  We were walking into an apartment building that looked like it had been pulled out of 1920's New York. The one beside it was more Wild West than West Side, with only three stories of groaning wood planks propped between the cement giants it had for neighbors. Another group of extinguishers and fairies headed into that building.

  “I feel like I can't breathe down here.” Conri pulled at the collar of his black T-shirt.

  “Yeah; every breath is filled with the smell of rot and smoke,” Torquil agreed. “How do these people live like this?”

  “They have no choice,” Gradh said sadly.

  We were about to split up to search the rooms on the ground floor when a whimper caught our attention. I cocked my head to see around a rotting stairwell and saw a bundle of rags in roughly the shape of a person. I began to head for it when Cleary stepped in front of me.

  “Allow me, Your Highness,” my guard said. “Wait here, and I'll investigate.”

  Cleary went forward carefully, one hand out in preparation for using his magic. The whimpering grew louder, and then a face appeared among the gray, torn, cloth; an old face with so many wrinkles on it, they almost obscured the warts. Her gaze wandered the room and then fell on me. Those watery eyes crinkled into slits as the old woman laughed.

  No, she wasn't an old woman; she was a hag. That's not me being cruel either; a hag is a type of unseelie fairy. There were several sub-classes of hag, and a few had even made names for themselves among the humans. Like Cailleach Bheur, aka the Blue Hag. She had once tried to wipe out the human race and had pixie-led me around the realms while she set her plot into motion. But in the end, Callie had been caught, reformed, and spared by Danu. The whole episode had shown me that no one was too far gone to be redeemed. I had even held out hope for my uncle Uisdean once, though that hadn't gone as well.

  This particular hag was unknown to me. She wasn't Jenny Greentooth; the river hag who liked to drown children. Nor was she the cannibal, Black Annis. Most of the hags had cannibalistic tendencies, so that really wasn't the best way to distinguish one, but Black Annis had made herself infamous through her distasteful tastes. This fairy, though, was just a run-of-the-mill hag who had been desperate enough to seek sanctuary in the Idaho Underground.

  And she wasn't whimpering; she was laughing. Chortling, to be specific. Her chortles grew louder and louder as we all frowned at her. Cleary sighed and headed back to us, but I went forward.

  “Are you all right?” I asked her gently. “We can help you if you're hurt or hungry.”

  She laughed harder. “The halfling asks me if I'm all right. Oh, that's funny indeed.”

  “You bitch!” Killian growled. “She was trying to be kind to you, and that's how you repay her?”

  “Killian.” I shook my head. “It's okay.”

  “Kind, eh?” The hag climbed to her feet, chunks of dead rats falling free of her rags. “Then let me show you a kindness in return, Seren Firethorn.”

  I went still and then turned, slowly, to face the hag. She seemed much stronger suddenly, and her gaze had sharpened. She hobbled forward, but I had the feeling it was all an act; a technique employed by her kind to lure people into believing that they were harmless. The hag's gaze went from watery to hazy and then started to glow.

  “You should not have come here, Child of the Between,” the hag intoned.

  Her voice had the echoing sound of prophecy to it, and shivers raced over my skin. The main reason a lot of hags became cannibals was for the power they received from consuming certain body parts. Like eyes, for example; it's possible to achieve a light version of prophecy by eating eyes.

  Killian narrowed his gaze on the hag as his hand shifted to a sword hilt. But I was hypnotized, unable to look away from that glowing, blue stare.

  “Your Highness,” Gradh said. “Do not listen to her. The hags give false prophecy when it suits them. And it usually suits them just fine.”

  “Not today, little Gradh,” the hag said, then chortled when she saw Gradh's surprise. “Yes; I know you. I know all of you.” Her bony fingers fluttered at my team. “I've seen you walk through these streets, and I've seen you die in them.”

  Ice hardened my blood, and doubt filled my heart. Had Danu sent us to our deaths? Had I led my people here only to watch them be slaughtered?

  “How was that a kindness?” I asked the hag. “You have only given us doubt.”

  “All is not certain,” the hag gurgled. “I tell you this so that you may change your fate. You offered me help”—she went serious—“and that is not something I've been offered in a very long time. Your snake-man is right; kindness should be repaid. So, I will tell you what I've seen and give you a chance to save those you love.”

  “But not herself?” Killian asked. “Is that what you're saying?”

  “She's fucking with us,” Conri huffed. “Come on, leave her. Let's get this search done.”

  “How do I save them?” I asked the hag.

  She nodded approvingly, her smile gone completely. “I saw that in you; the glint of gold on your soul. You have the courage it will require. The question is; will you have the strength of will to withstand your own fire?”

  “I'll have the will,” I growled. “But what have you seen? Tell me what I'll need to do.”

  “Your Highness,” Cleary urged.

  I quieted him with a glance.

  “Simply stand firm, Queen Seren,” the hag said. “Stand firm even if you burn.” She cackled abruptly. “Burn! Burn! Burn! Stand firm and burn!”

  I swallowed roughly, but I pushed past my fear and my revulsion for the show of insanity the hag was putting on. I knew this was her nature, and Danu had been teaching me to love all of her children by accepting them for who they are. I took the hag's shoulder in hand gently. She abruptly stopped laughing and stared at me with eyes gone watery again.

  “Thank you,” I said sincerely. “If you want to go home, you will be welcome at Castle Unseelie. Tell Ki
ng Raza that I sent you.”

  She gaped at me, and then a tear trickled down her cheek. “I'm sorry, Your Majesty.”

  “Tell him what you did for me,” I said softly. “Tell him that I love him and that I was strong enough... even if I'm not. Please tell King Raza that.”

  “I will, Queen Seren,” she said respectfully, then hobbled to the door. She paused and looked back at me. “They ordered me to trick you, and I did as they said, but I also didn't. I have not lied to you. You will need to stand firm if you're to save them, but the trick is in knowing when to stand and when to run... and where to run to. Trust your instincts, Your Majesty; they will never lead you wrong.”

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  We cleared the building, and as we did, Killian hounded me.

  “You can't believe what that hag said,” he growled. “She confessed that she was sent here to trick you.”

  “And then told me how she was meant to trick me and that she didn't lie.” I gave him a steady look. “Why do that? Why confess on the way out the door, if she didn't have a change of heart and want to help me?”

  “To make her lies seem more plausible,” Killian said.

  “Her prophecy included me standing firm against something,” I mused, “most likely an attacking force. It's specific enough that it may not happen, in which case, she couldn't be sure that I would hurt myself if that were her intention.”

  “But it's vague enough that you could interpret it in other ways,” Killian argued. “Any attack on us will now look as if it's the one she foretold. If anything, I think you should take it as a warning to not use your magic.”

  “And if she was sent to scare me into doing just that?”

  Killian's face fell.

  “Exactly.” I nodded. “I'm not a fool, Killian. I listened to her words with skepticism. I will consider them a warning but rely on my judgment in all things. Which is also what she told me to do.”