“And there’s the other idiot,” said the killer.

  “Excuse me,” Elaith said, “Who are you calling an idiot?”

  “All of us,” I said, “Whoever this is has been listening in on our conversations.”

  “Well, at least you know I wasn’t the one who tried to kill you.”

  “Wait a minute, you thought Elaith was trying to kill you?” asked the assassin.

  “Uh… yeah,” I said, “Who else?”

  “I could think of at least five different Fae who would want you dead. Isolde, Violet, Invidia,” The assassin started checking fingers off, “Petal.”

  “Petal? She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  “She looks stupid, but she’s probably the smartest of all of you.” The assassin pointed their knife, and their nightmarish, distorted voice, at me. “I won’t ask again. Give me the necklace.”

  I looked over at Elaith, then turned my eyes on the assassin. “You know I can’t do that. This doesn’t belong to you.”

  “It doesn’t belong to you, either.”

  “A—Kady,” Elaith said, “Maybe we should just—”

  “—let them have it?” I asked. “Who knows what they’re gonna do with this thing? For all we know, they’re going to turn it into a weapon and use it to burn this place to the ground.”

  “We’ve lost the element of surprise. Without it, I don’t think we can win.”

  “You can’t,” said the assassin.

  “So, we should just give it to you?” I asked, “If you thought you could take us both on, you would’ve by now.”

  “Or maybe they’re trying to spare our lives,” Elaith said.

  “Are you seriously siding with this lunatic?” I asked. “That knife was at my throat earlier today.”

  “And that knife was inside my abdomen. I believe I win.”

  “That was a misunderstanding,” the assassin said. “You were in my way.”

  “I’m not dead. No harm done.”

  “No harm done?” I asked, “Are you insane, too? That shadow tried to kill us both today, and you want to just give it the thing it’s after?”

  “I just think we don’t both need to die over it.” Elaith paused. “I also think that’s probably enough.”

  “Enough?” the assassin asked, “Enough what?”

  A sly smirk spread across my lips. “Enough time for Rell to get into position,” I said.

  “Cannonball!” Rell yelled, and he plummeted from the sky like a meteor, horn-first. He was wreathed in light, like a little comet with a golden tail trailing behind him.

  By the time the assassin turned around, Rell had struck them hard enough to make them fall over and hit the ground. I sped over to the assassin and kicked the knife out of their hand, making it clatter across the gravel and into a bush. Elaith was with me, and together we stood triumphantly over the downed killer.

  Rell settled on my shoulder and pretended to dust his hands off. “Not a bad job, if I do say so myself,” he said, looking proud of himself.

  “You have us to thank for the distraction,” Elaith said.

  “Yeah, good performance.”

  “Performance? I was serious.”

  “Oh…” I nodded. “Good to know. Now, can we break the spell that’s making them look like that?”

  “I believe I can,” Elaith said, and with a wave of their hand, the shadows that clung to the assassin’s body began to drift apart and flake off, revealing the person underneath it. I almost couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

  Hidden under all that writhing shadow was a man I hadn’t seen in what felt like a lifetime. A man I thought was dead. A man we all thought was dead.

  “Holy shit,” I said.

  “Tut, tut, Vito,” Elaith shook their head. “I should’ve known your supposed death was too good to be true.”

  Vito snarled at us from the ground. He was small, and round, and his face was grey and warped; nothing like the shadowy avatar he had been wearing to throw me off his scent. He was the most hideous Fae I had ever laid eyes on, and proof that they were out there, somewhere. Proof that some Fae wore their awfulness on their skin as well as underneath.

  “How is this possible?” I asked, “He’s dead.”

  “He’s not,” Rell said.

  “I can see that.”

  “You should have just given me the necklace,” Vito said. “I only wanted the necklace. It doesn’t belong to you.”

  “It doesn’t belong to you, either.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong. It is mine. It was my mother’s.”

  “What?”

  “My mother died and was buried with the very necklace that hangs around your neck. I know. I was there. Then you turn up with it around yours. How does that happen?”

  I shook my head. “No way. That’s… not true… is it?”

  “I can prove it to you.”

  “But, that doesn’t make any sense. You sent someone to kill me to get it. You told them not to come back to you without it. Why would you send someone to die over this? Why not just ask?”

  “Do you think I hadn’t already?!” Vito hissed, spittle flying from his lips. “Invidia denied it, lied to my face. That wretched family have looked down on mine for generations. They took everything we had; our wealth, our prestige, our looks. And when my mother died, she took her necklace—the thing she had said for decades would look better on her daughter’s slender neck. The most beautiful necklace in all of spring…

  The image of my necklace being yanked off a dead woman’s throat made my stomach churn. “Oh God…” I shrieked, and I took the necklace off and tossed it onto a patch of grass yelling, “Gross!”

  “Hold on,” Rell said, “You don’t even know if he’s telling the truth.”

  “If he isn’t, I’m not taking any chances with that thing.”

  “I promise you, I’m not,” Vito said. “I’m desperate. First, I sent my apprentice to get it. His blood is on my hands, and I won’t forgive myself for that. But if I could have the necklace…”

  “You tried to kill me,” I said, “Twice. And you expect me to just give that to you? And then what?”

  “I’ll leave and never come back. Right now. No one will ever see my face here again. I just want something to remember my mother by.”

  I looked over at Elaith, then at Rell. Rell shrugged. “Don’t look at me,” he said.

  “I think he should be brought in,” Elaith said, “And taken to the Duchess—let her deal with him.”

  “Please,” Vito groaned. “I want to be done with this place. I had to fake my own death just to get another attempt at restoring some of my family’s prestige. Don’t send me to my death now.”

  “Someone died because of you,” I said, “I would’ve died if you’d had things your way.”

  “I know, and there’s nothing I can say to change that… but you can have compassion for an old fool…”

  I watched his eyes, shifty, and small, and I knew… he knew. He knew I wasn’t Kadeera. He had been following me, watching me. If he had heard the conversation the three of us had had in my room before coming out here, then he knew I wasn’t the Duchess’ daughter. He may have known for much longer, and he had kept my secret.

  He could’ve ratted me out to the rest of the Fae, and then what? That secret alone was enough to topple Invidia, her house, her family, and everything else she held dear. And me? It would’ve meant the end of me. Humans didn’t belong here, after all, and there was no way anyone was going to send me back.

  I walked over to the patch of grass where the necklace lay and picked it up. Elaith’s eyes narrowed. I knew where they stood on the issue, but I wasn’t like them. I wasn’t Fae, and I wasn’t about to condemn that man to be imprisoned for a couple of centuries, or outright murdered.

  “Take it,” I said, offering Vito the necklace. “Leave, and don’t come back.”

  With a shaking hand, Vito reached out and took the necklace. He nodded. “Thank you,” he said. “You won’t see me again.”

  “I hope not,” I said, “Because if the Viscount catches you, he’ll do worse than Invidia would.”

  “Thank you,” Vito said as he stood. “Thank you, a thousand times.”

  I shook my head. “Just get out of here, but before you go, I have a question for you.”

  “Question?” Vito asked.

  “Black rose was missing from the stores… and daggervine. Did you take them?”

  “I did…”

  “You could’ve killed him. Why did you want him dead?”

  “I have nothing to gain from his death, but it was a necessary distraction. I needed time to figure out my next move. I never wanted to kill anyone, even you… I am sorry.” Vito slunk away, entering a patch of shadow under a large, flower-shaped hedge and disappearing entirely.

  “That was a mistake,” Elaith said.

  “Not for me, it wasn’t. You know, you guys could learn a little compassion.”

  “That’s not what I meant. Invidia is going to kill you when you turn up without that pendant.”

  My blood turned cold. “Oh… shit.”

  CHAPTER 15

  With Vito gone, there was only one thing left to do; I had to go see the Viscount. Too much had happened now, and I couldn’t go any longer without talking to him. He had known I was in danger, he had felt Vito’s intentions even if he didn’t know Vito was around at all, and he had tried to warn me about all of it. The least I could do was go back to him and tell him the danger was over.

  But first, I was going to have to get back to the house and climb up to his bedroom window.

  It was a miracle none of the house guards had been sent out to look for me yet, but I didn’t question it as I carefully made my way back to the house. Already there were some men working on the pipe that had fallen, picking it up off the ground and placing it to the side. None of them seemed to have a clue how to get it back up there and secure it into place. I supposed they thought the house would fix it.

  Idiots.

  Rell had said he could go back to my room and put up a convincing illusion of me sleeping in my bed, but that it wouldn’t last if he fell asleep. Elaith, meanwhile, had no orders to stay in their room, so they chose to walk back into the house through the front door and get some sleep. In all the excitement, I had forgotten they’d been stabbed in the stomach earlier today, and I’d accused them of being an assassin and trying to kill me.

  They’d earned the rest.

  With those two gone, I was left alone with another drainpipe to climb. I had to get onto the next floor up, and then slink across just one window to reach the Viscount. I had a strong feeling I knew which window was his, but a feeling was all I had to go on. If the house had rearranged itself and placed the Viscount somewhere else, I was about to head into a really awkward conversation.

  I took my time climbing up the pipe. It was shaky, and a little rickety, but there were thick vines growing all over this side of the house that I could use for support. As long as I moved slowly, and carefully, I wasn’t at risk of falling, or bringing the whole thing down with me again.

  Still, my stomach flipped upside down as I reached the next floor up. I told myself I wouldn’t look back down, but I did, and even that short a drop was enough to make me feel a little queasy. I didn’t think I’d ever get rid of my fear of heights, but if I ever had a chance, then climbing up and down the side of this building was probably a good place to start.

  Using the vines to guide my hands and feet, I stepped away from the drainpipe and headed toward the Viscount’s window. I heard a guard shout somewhere, a voice that the night picked up and carried off into the distance. It made me freeze. It made my hands grip tightly to the vines, to the wall, to anything I could.

  For a moment I thought I was done, caught, finished, but the moment passed. That shout hadn’t been meant for me.

  Reaching the window, I held my breath as I peered inside, hoping to find the Viscount and no one else, and there he was, asleep in his bed. The bedsheet clung to his lower half, while shafts of moonlight shone on his chest, on his face, on his chestnut hair.

  His window was open just a little, enough to let the breeze in. I slipped my fingers under it and gently pulled, trying to lift it, but it squeaked. It was a slight sound, barely louder than the call of a rat on the sidewalk. Cringing, I turned my eyes up at the Viscount, but he wasn’t in his bed anymore.

  My heart leapt into my throat, I yelped, and I lost my handhold on the vines. I started to slip. Flailing, I tried to grab hold of the window ledge as the world turned upside down and my stomach turned with it. I was about to open my mouth to yell when the Viscount grabbed my hand and held me in place.

  I locked eyes with him as he held me.

  He looked equal parts confused, angry, surprised, and a little excited. “Avery?” he asked, his eyebrows pinching in the middle of his forehead.

  “Hey,” I whispered, “Uh, how’s it hanging?”

  “You’re hanging.”

  “Yeah… thanks for catching me. Think you can pull me up?”

  The Viscount peered around me, then without skipping a beat, pulled me up to his window with one arm. A moment later, I was sliding into his bedroom, and down his chest. Even without shoes on, with barely any clothes on, he still loomed taller than me, more imposing. My hands lingered on his bare chest a second longer than they should’ve, and I yanked them away.

  Silvan shut the window, then turned to look at me. “This is unexpected,” he said.

  “I know,” I said, “I didn’t think I’d make it up the wall to begin with.”

  “Why didn’t you use my door?”

  “Because there are usually guards posted at mine.”

  “Right…” he shook his head, then narrowed his eyes. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

  “Well,” I moved over to his bed and sat down. It was still warm. “I was almost killed today. Twice, I guess.”

  “You were what?”

  I nodded. “You called it, didn’t you? You told me I was in danger, you sensed it.”

  “I didn’t think it would lead to an attack on your life.”

  “Probably not, but you still knew something was about to happen, and it did.”

  “Are you alright?” he asked, taking a step toward me.

  “I’m fine, really. A bit of a bruised ego, and maybe I sprained my ankle climbing down the drainpipe, but I’m okay.”

  Silvan angled his head to the side. “Drainpipe?” he asked, confused.

  “It’s how I got out of my room. I may have broken it a little… if anyone asks, it wasn’t me. Sorry, my heart’s racing, so I’m a little all over the place.”

  He shook his head. “Fine, alright… just slow down, and tell me what happened to you.”

  “I’ll just skip to the good part,” I said, “It was Vito.”

  “Vito? The au pair? He’s dead.”

  “Nope. He was alive, hiding somewhere. He attacked me in my room earlier, almost killed me. I thought he was Elaith, because he was covered in shadows and I couldn’t see his face. But when I went to find Elaith, they’d been attacked too, so we got together and we made a plan to bait the killer out, and it kind of worked. Just now. Out there.” I pointed at the window.

  The Viscount stepped to his window and looked outside, as if he were hoping to find Vito skulking around out there. “Where?” he asked.

  “In the topiary. He told me he’s the one who took your cure, too. Said it was a necessary distraction.”

  “I’ll kill him.”

  “You won’t have to. He’s gone, and he won’t come back.”

  He turned his eyes on me again. “Did you kill him?”

  “No… I gave him what he wanted.”

  Silvan frowned. “What did he want?” he asked, his tone suggesting he expected a specific answer.

  I touched my hand to my neck. “Kady’s necklace.”

  “Tell me you didn’t…”

  I lowered my eyes. “I did.”

  “Avery… that wasn’t yours to give away. Invidia prized that necklace above all the others in her collection. She gifted it to her daughter in front of the entire court—everybody knows about the necklace.”

  “I’m sure it was important to Invidia, but it was more important to Vito.”

  “Why Vito?”

  “Do you know who it belonged to? Before Invidia got hold of it?”

  “It was crafted for her as a gift… the most beautiful necklace in all of spring.”

  “That’s not the story Vito told. He said it belonged to his mother, that he’s been trying to get it back for years.”

  “Vito told you she stole it?”

  “She didn’t just steal it—she stole it from a dead body, from a grave.”

  The Viscount paused. “And you believed him?”

  I shrugged. “Maybe I’m stupid, or naïve, but I did. I do. I looked into his eyes, and I saw… pain. Sincerity. Honesty. It’s something I don’t see often in the Fae. I like to think I recognize it when I do.”

  “And if he was lying to try to get the necklace off your hands?”

  “And if he wasn’t?” I asked, looking up at him. “If he wasn’t lying, then it means there’s no boundaries to what Invidia will do to get what she wants. She stole a pendant from a dead woman’s neck while she was in her grave. That’s messed up, even for Fae.”

  Silvan nodded, and then he sat down on an armchair near the bed. A shaft of moonlight danced delicately about his face, while another highlighted the rise and fall of his breathing along his bare chest. I rarely saw him without a shirt on, and I had to admit, he didn’t look half bad. The way the light danced along the bumpy landscape of his abdomen was—

  —focus, Avery.

  “She’s been spiraling,” Silvan finally said.

  “Spiraling?”

  “I’ve seen it over the years. I don’t know exactly what’s happening to her… perhaps the ongoing feud with her daughter, the looming Favoring. Maybe it’s all taken a toll on her mental wellbeing.”