“What the hell are you talking about?” I demanded, shaking my head. “She can’t perform magic if she’s a vampire. And who the fuck is Desmond?”

  Morgana sighed and strode to the door, shoving at it until the stone closed with another grinding sound of protest. She produced a piece of charcoal from somewhere inside her dress and began etching lines onto the wall.

  “This is going to take a while,” she explained. “And we can’t afford interruptions. You sit while I cast. It will take a few minutes to rebuild the ward you completely savaged. Rook will explain everything while I do.”

  I rounded on the vampire and jabbed a finger at him with a fresh scowl.

  “Spill it, bloodsucker. I want to know everything.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Astrid

  The song drifted over the moonlit fields, touching my ears like the sweet tones of a choir.

  I stood at the edge of a dirt path, transfixed by the sound. A sound which wasn’t really a sound at all. Instruments could be played, chants could be sung, but the essence of Autumn’s song took root in the heart and soul. It wasn’t something that could be interpreted by the ears. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as the utter rightness of it washed over me. This really was my home.

  Flax let out a happy sigh, leaning around my thighs to watch the shapes flitting around the bonfire. The thing was simply enormous, putting any Samhain celebration I’d ever witnessed to shame. For just an instant, I was grateful for my new and improved eyesight. My witch eyes could never have made out the individual faeries dancing around the flames.

  Their costumes were simply exquisite, made of fabrics so rich and vibrant it would have made Wanda weep. A few of them wore masks or helms shaped like their animal counterparts. Light refracted off golden and jewel-encrusted bangles and coronets, momentarily blinding any observer. Some of the faeries, like the kitsune woman I’d seen earlier, wore nothing at all, keeping their more sensitive parts covered with wings or inhuman body parts with all the coyness of a Vegas showgirl.

  Laughter and good-natured shouts echoed through the night, their joy so infectious that I couldn’t help a smile. Flax let out a muffled giggle.

  “Oh, I wish I could dance,” she said longingly. “But the guards will box my ears if I try. I have a job to do, and I’m better about doing it than Smudge is.”

  “Will they ever let you dance again?” I asked, feeling a small twinge of pity for the young faerie. I knew a little something about being left out of family celebrations.

  “Oh, yes, on Samhain everyone dances. Lots of us even get to go into the human world to collect offerings and play pranks on Trick-or-Treaters. But that’s still a few days away, and that’s so long.”

  Her small lip jutted in a tragic pout, and it was a real effort not to pinch one of her round, rosy cheeks. She was probably older than I was in reality, but for all intents and purposes, she was just a kid. Faeries aged even more slowly than witches did and they didn’t even begin to look mature until they were close to a century old. In Flax’s mind, she was even younger than Finn and sported a similar lack of patience when it came to getting or doing something she wanted.

  Then something she’d said suddenly struck home, and I stared at her, mouth popping open in shock. “Samhain is only a few days away?” Then that had to mean that time here moved very similarly to the way it did at Blood Rose. Then I wondered if the whole reason time and the seasons moved as they did at Blood Rose was owing to the faerie realm.

  She cocked her head to the side, eyebrows bouncing up to touch her hairline. A disbelieving little smile played at the edges of her mouth as she stared up at me like she was pleased to know a secret I didn’t. The expression reminded me so viscerally of Maverick for a moment that I wanted to thump her on the temple.

  “Well, yes, of course. You’re like us just... only dead, right?” I nodded. “So, can’t you feel it in the air?”

  Now that she mentioned it, I could sense something. At first, I’d put it down to the dancing faeries across the way, but it went deeper than that. I could feel the thrumming tension gathering in the air as the holiday approached as if everything was ready to burst into motion.

  But that hadn’t been the reasoning behind the question. So much had to have happened while I was gone. No wonder Oleander was lost. What had happened to Morgana and Rook in the meantime? Had they been captured? Would Valserak have told me if they’d been killed? Surely, they had to still be alive? Valserak would have enjoyed any chance he could to sucker punch me with the news of their deaths.

  I shook my head. I couldn’t dwell on this, or I’d go to pieces. No one had time for that. I had to find my faerie father and tell him what was going on. He could pass the news to whoever could help and then I’d be free to search for Oleander. The school came first. It didn’t matter how snooty the witches were, no one deserved to die for Valserak’s grudge.

  “Just take me to the circle, please. I need to find my father.”

  Flax cast the field a dubious glance and then gave me an equally incredulous once-over. “Those are faerie royals. Your father probably isn’t in there.”

  “He might be,” I responded. “Please, just help me.”

  Flax hesitated for another moment before twitching her tiny shoulders. “Fine, but I don’t want any trouble, okay? When we walk over, you’re on your own, deal?”

  “Deal.”

  The song grew even more potent as we approached, and it was difficult not to give in to the urge to leap into their midst, find a partner, and join the dance. It would be so freeing to let loose under the stars, calling the magic of nature to rain down on me, filling my heart with long-absent joy.

  Flax failed entirely, bobbing in place almost against her will, eyes glassy, only able to hold herself in check by clutching my ponytail like it was a ginger anchor.

  The shapes seemed even more exotic up close. I’d never seen faeries in their natural element before. Most of the ones I knew were low-level members of their courts like Bea, the spring faerie who worked in Fifi’s realty office, or Rowan, the dryad who ran a plant nursery in Haven Hollow. And they looked and acted human most of the time. Only Taliyah came close to radiating the sheer alien energy of the Sidhe. Being close to her when she was at her most dangerous was humbling, like watching an avalanche in progress. But even Taliyah was tethered by something very human—probably because she’d never released her human life and I doubted she ever would. Regardless, Taliyah in her full faerie form still wasn’t like this.

  There was nothing human here. Oh, some of them might have looked human, but the grace and fluidity with which they moved was like nothing found on earth. Gazelles? Stumbling lushes in comparison. A bird in flight? Drab and unimpressive.

  They didn’t seem to dance, per se, they just existed like the wind rustling through your hair or the river gliding easily over stones. They weren’t working any powerful magics or defending themselves from an attacker, the way I’d seen Taliyah do once. She’d humbled me with her strength. The Autumn Sidhe humbled me just by being themselves.

  I was so absorbed in their revelry, I didn’t notice a large, burly pair of them breaking off until they were standing only a few paces away from me. The pair were men, though it was difficult to tell at first glance. The first had hair that was as long or longer than Taliyah’s, falling in amber waves over his back, stopping just shy of his backside. It couldn’t quite conceal the antlers poking out from either side of his head. He’d removed his mask, revealing an androgynous face beneath. His companion was his physical opposite, silver-haired, pointy-featured, and rangy, with the eyes of a gray wolf.

  That one aimed a glare over my shoulder at Flax, who squeaked and ducked behind my back.

  “You’re meant to be minding the scarecrows,” he said in an airy voice that couldn’t quite convey the annoyance on his face. “And, instead, you bring an undead to our circle. What do you have to say for yourself?”

  Flax actually whimpered, nuzzling between my shoulders as if she could somehow absorb into my skin and be lost from sight. I reached back and patted her gently.

  “You did what I asked, just go.”

  “She will stay,” the amber-haired Sidhe said, aiming his glower at me instead. “You will go. This is Faerie, not one of your clans. Vampires aren’t welcome here unless they’re specifically invited. I don’t know how you made your way here, but find your way back out.”

  “I will,” I said, hands clenching into fists at my sides, because this kind of condescending male posturing pissed me off. “I just need to speak with Fennec first. It’s important. Members of Autumn are in danger, and only one of the Sidhe can stop what’s happening before it’s too late.”

  “How dare you invoke his name near one of our sacred circles,” wolf-Sidhe growled.

  “I wouldn’t have but this is important!” I almost yelled back at him.

  His eyes further narrowed. “Fennec is dead,” he said with a lupine growl.

  Dead?

  “He is?” I asked, my voice sounding hollow and light as my stomach dropped down to my toes.

  The fae nodded. “He was struck down by Janara’s loyalists years ago.”

  My stomach plummeted even further as I realized what this meant. Fennec was dead, killed long before I’d ever gotten a chance to meet him. Even the vision I’d seen hadn’t given me a clear picture of his face. The nebulous plans I’d formed on my way through Autumn were now gone, dashed to pieces with just those few words. Not to mention the fact that my father was now no longer an option—aside from all this fae business. Now I’d never meet the man who had helped to create me.

  I searched for something, anything to say, and came up blank. What did I do now? Who did I tell that could get the message to their higher-ups? These Sidhe weren’t going to give me a chance to explain myself before they gave me the boot. Maybe I could beg them to open a portal to Haven Hollow. It was far, far away from the school, but I might be able to find help there. But the problem was, how did I get back to Blood Rose with a rescue team? Headmistress Aurea had the only magical gateway in or out and the path through the mountains was treacherous. We’d probably arrive way too late, only to find the students slaughtered.

  “Saffron. Cedar.”

  The pair reacted like they’d been hit with lightning, spines going straight, eyes flying open wide. The voice was familiar somehow, though I couldn’t place exactly where I’d heard it before.

  At some signal I couldn’t perceive, the pair parted like a curtain, revealing another inhumanly beautiful Sidhe. This one was unambiguously male, and again, somehow familiar, though I was sure I hadn’t seen his face before. He was tall, towering over both men and utterly dwarfing me. I wasn’t exactly short, but I hadn’t inherited my Sidhe father’s height. Maverick might have, now that I thought of it. He was abnormally tall. This man had more muscle than Maverick, built lean, the danger punctuated by a leaf-blade sword belted to his waist. His hair was the same gingery, dark red-orange as a fallen aspen leaf and... almost the same shade as mine, though a shade or so darker. The most elaborate crown I’d ever seen was woven through his thick locks.

  His vulpine features and hard amber eyes softened when they found me. His lips parted in surprise as he took me in.

  “Astrid?” he asked, taking a step closer. Even though that familiarity was still there, I had no clue who this guy was.

  “You know this... creature, my prince?” the wolf Sidhe... Cedar, I guessed, ventured cautiously. “The last I knew, you didn’t allow visitors at this time of year and especially not the undead.”

  I gulped but didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Her name is Astrid, and she wasn’t undead the last time we met,” the prince answered. He lifted a hand from his side as though he might touch my cheek, then thought better of it. “What happened?”

  “I was attacked,” I said slowly. “And... uh... have we met?”

  His lips quirked a fraction, and he inclined his head. One moment he was the breathtaking Sidhe and then he was human, shrinking by about a foot. The glamor was still undoubtedly handsome, but still a shadow compared to his true form. He now had a golden-brown tan, syrupy brown eyes, and tousled, auburn hair. But it was the impish grin that triggered my memory.

  “Fox Aspen?” I asked faintly.

  Not just a prince then. The prince. Reynard, heir to the throne of Autumn and Taliyah’s original intended. Maverick had thoroughly mucked up the alliance between autumn and winter by eloping with Taliyah before her spell could break and erase her human mind entirely. I didn’t blame Maverick for what he’d done. Honestly, if I’d been in his place, I would have done the same thing. You didn’t just get to erase someone like Taliyah for your own gain. Still, I didn’t imagine Maverick’s stunt would endear me to the prince.

  “The very same,” he said, bowing with a flourish. “Though I admit, I didn’t expect you here for some time and...”

  “You were expecting me?” I asked, surprised. And then it dawned on me. “You knew.”

  He hesitated, grin slipping. “I’ve always known about your parentage,” he answered. Then shook his head. “Your mother seemed quite determined to keep you in the mortal world. I wasn’t convinced she’d ever tell you.”

  “About my dad?” I guessed, and the prince nodded. “Yeah, I figured that one out on my own.”

  “How did you manage that?” He seemed amused.

  I shrugged. “I had a vision in school and heard his name. I was hoping I’d find him here, and that’s why I came.” I gulped audibly. “There’s danger at Blood Rose Academy, Fox, and I was hoping he’d help.” I dropped my eyes, blinking away the sudden, stupid desire to cry. It wasn’t as if I’d known the man, my father, but it hurt to know I never would. “I guess that’s impossible now since he’s gone.”

  Grief stuck in my throat, unexpectedly painful. It had always been a pipe dream to learn who my father was, let alone meet him. It just wasn’t done but I’d hoped... Hope. That had been my first mistake. Witches didn’t hope—we were supposed to be cynical. You’d think I’d learn to adhere to tradition once in a while.

  Fox’s fingers slid beneath my chin and tipped my face up. “I will help you, Astrid, but first things first... What danger are you talking about? What’s going on at your school? Is everything safe in Haven Hollow? My scouts haven’t reported anything there. Have more of Janara’s loyalists attacked?”

  I shook my head. “No, I’m not talking about Haven Hollow. I’m talking about Blood Rose. Someone has been kidnapping faeries from all four courts. We uncovered a plan by the vampires to turn as many faerie students as possible. Since the fae manage to retain their magic after transitioning, the vampires—”

  “They’re making soldiers,” he interrupted, cottoning on immediately. His amber eyes flashed dangerously and his grip on me tightened almost to the point of pain. “And the same happened to you?”

  I breathed out and frowned as I nodded slowly. “Yeah, something like that.”

  There wasn’t time for the whole sordid story. I was just grateful someone was willing to listen. Besides, the truth was embarrassing. Valserak hadn’t turned me for my powers. He’d killed me simply to erase one of the witnesses to his crimes. And because he apparently liked the taste of witch.

  Fox snapped his fingers, and the remaining faeries came to a standstill. I was suddenly the focus of dozens of sets of eyes. I almost backed away when they drifted forward, gathering around Fox. He pointed at each of them in turn.

  “You and you, send your quickest ambassadors to the other courts, informing them what’s going on. Cedar and Saffron will accompany the delegation to winter. I will lead a small detachment to the school with Astrid. I want backup on the way as soon as possible. Am I understood?”

  A general murmur went through the crowd. I just stared. This was all happening so fast.

  “You don’t have to come with me,” I protested. “Just the soldiers will be enough, I think.”

  Fox strode forward, motioning for me to follow. I didn’t realize Flax was still trailing me until the hand on my ponytail jerked my head a little. She let go sheepishly when I glanced back at her.

  “I’m coming with you,” Fox said with resolution, commanding my attention again.

  “But why?” I asked. “You’re a prince,” I continued, frowning like he’d lost his mind. I glanced around. “I mean, I’m pretty sure you have princely things to do, right? You shouldn’t put yourself in danger over me.”

  “It’s my job,” he said tersely.

  “Your job?”

  He cocked a brow at me and I was suddenly very aware of how handsome he was. It wasn’t even like he was handsome, actually—he was way too sexy for that. Yeah, he had sex appeal basically pouring out of him. He wasn’t handsome, he was hot. Like devastatingly so.

  “I’m accompanying you for the same reason I didn’t kill your thieving brother after he took Olwen from me,” he continued.

  “Yeah... about that,” I started and frowned, probably looking as embarrassed as I felt. Was I supposed to apologize? “Sorry about that.”

  He held up a hand as if to say he didn’t want to think any more on it. “The point is, I owe Fennec...” He looked at me. “I owe your father that much.”

  “You were really close friends then?”

  He half-turned, a small, sad smile twisting his lips. “Close... yes, we were very close. As close as brothers can be.”

  For the second time in a night, my jaw dropped. If Fennec was Reynard’s brother...

  “Then... I... I’m...”

  “My niece and a princess,” Fox finished for me with a flirty, little smile. “Welcome to your kingdom, Astrid.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Maverick

  The more I heard, the sicker I felt.

  The vampire had offered me a drink at one point, but I hadn’t taken a sip. I frankly didn’t trust him, no matter how often he switched out the doomsday supplies in this secret, magically reinforced bunker of his. The mug did give me something to cling to as they explained, keeping my hands on the ceramic instead of around his throat.