“Viscount,” someone said, “The portal awaits.”

  Viscount?

  There was someone else in the apartment now. Through the one eye I managed to keep open, I could see the fluorescent glow of the kitchen light casting on the floor and the wall ahead of me. My head was spinning, my heart pounding, and I was in a whole heap of pain, but for some reason, all I could think about was Kady.

  And somehow, Rell.

  They both needed my help, but I could barely move, there were intruders—more than one—in my house, and it was still possible I was in the middle of a nervous breakdown. Let’s also not forget, still kind of drunk. What the hell was I supposed to do?

  Get up, asshole.

  “You have broken every rule that has been imparted upon you,” Haircut said, “You broke into this world, hid from our search parties, and worst of all… you have chosen to live like the filth that inhabits this place.”

  “Hey…” I managed. “Am I the filth?”

  They ignored me.

  “You don’t know what it’s like!” Kady hissed, “If you were female, you would hate this as well. The only difference is, I wouldn’t be forcing you to do go back and take part in this ridiculous pageant.”

  A pause. “The choice belongs to neither of us,” Haircut said. “Now, do as I command.”

  I hated myself for wanting to get back up, but my whole life I’d been stubbornly stupid, and I didn’t see a reason to let that stop tonight. I planted my hands on the ground to get myself up, summoning what was left of my strength.

  “Wait no!” Kady screamed. There was a struggle, the cups sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch fell off and smashed to the ground, I heard another scream, and that was when the adrenaline kicked in and helped me get all the way up.

  I saw now, for the first time, the man who had come rushing into the apartment—the one who’d knocked me over. He was wearing… armor. Shining, silvery armor with gorgeous, green and gold patterns all along the breastplate. He also had on a large, green cloak, emblazoned with gold designs and a crest of some kind, though I couldn’t see exactly what it was.

  He had Kady gripped by the arm. Next to me was the landline phone we never used. I grabbed it, yanked the chord out of the wall, and hurled the old box at him, striking him on the side of the head. Of course, he was wearing a helmet, so the phone bounced harmlessly off the metal with a chime, succeeding only in pissing him off.

  The soldier glared at me through the slit in his helmet, his green eyes burning bright. “You’ll regret that, dru’varesh.”

  Letting go of Kady’s wrist, he grabbed the pommel of the sword he kept strapped to his belt and went to draw it, but Haircut intervened, placing his hand on the soldier’s arm. “No,” he said, his voice cool, and low.

  “Viscount, it attacked me!” the solider argued. I could tell he wanted to absolutely murder me.

  “Would you sully your sword with the blood of a rat?”

  Did he just call me a rat?

  “I would not, my Lord.”

  “Then take no heed of this one. Escort Kadeera to the portal.”

  The solider nodded. “At once, Viscount.” He went for Kady, and she shrieked and screamed again, even if she couldn’t stop him from grabbing her and pulling her away. Watching her flail, her limbs whipping and kicking, was heartbreatking. I made a move toward her, I wanted to help, but Haircut’s gaze was warning enough to keep my distance.

  “Don’t hurt her!” she yelled as the soldier dragged her out of the apartment. “Please, don’t hurt her!”

  Haircut stared at me, eyed me up and down, and drew a thumb across his lower lip. “It’s too bad you have seen too much,” he said, as he started slowly moving toward me. “You have spirit.”

  “Where are you taking her?” I snarled.

  “She is none of your concern.”

  I backed up, instinct driving my body, now. By the look on his face, I knew, this was a man capable of just about anything—even murder. “Stay back, I’m warning you.”

  “Your threats mean nothing to me. I promise to make this quick.”

  The scent of his body seemed to bloom and rise, enveloping me. For a moment I was lost in it, my eyes shut, my lips parted. All I could do was smell the air, take in the sweet scent of flowers, of roses in the spring, of life, vitality. I was numb to the rest of the world around me, oblivious to the predator about to run me through with the dagger in his hand.

  Then, a voice, sharp and shrill, and sudden enough to snap me out of the trance.

  “I invoke the Rites of Protection and Hospitality!” Rell called out from the kitchen.

  Haircut’s expression darkened. After an instant of hesitation, he hurried past me, turned the corner, and stared into the kitchen, where presumably Rell was still sitting in the sink.

  “You,” Haircut said, his voice a low, dangerous growl in his throat.

  “With both Rites invoked, we demand safe passage to Arcadia,” Rell said.

  “We?”

  “Me and the human.”

  “You are a sprite, and cannot invoke Fae Rites.”

  “I’m also part drake on my father’s side, or can’t you see my teeth? As I remember, dragon-kin hold quite a bit of status in Kingdom of Spring, otherwise you would’ve killed me when you had the chance. Now, do you accept my invocations or not?”

  Dragons?

  Kingdom of Spring?

  What the hell is happening?

  Haircut—or Viscount—pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, shut his eyes, and sighed. “I accept your invocations,” he said, opening his eyes and entering the kitchen. “However, as the Fae in authority, I shall decide the terms of your transport and accommodation.”

  I didn’t know what to do. Where to go. Where to look. I could also still smell him in the air, and I couldn’t tell whether I was scared, angry, or incredibly turned on right now. I’ll admit, it wasn’t a great time to be thinking with my metaphorical dick, but he’d done something to me, and as much as Rell’s voice had shaken me loose from the trance I was in, I was still feeling light-headed.

  When Haircut came around the corner again, he had Rell in his hands.

  I stuck my arms out toward him, stopping him from going any further. “Look,” I said, “I don’t know where you think you’re taking him, or me, but I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Would you be quiet?” Rell asked, “I’m saving your life.”

  “What are you talking about? This guy can’t just come in here and kidnap and try to murder people—who does he think he is?”

  “You would do well to watch your tone. The Rite of Protection has been invoked, but that only means if I wish to kill you, I must also kill this… half-breed. My disdain for the paperwork that would follow is the only reason why you still draw breath.”

  “Pa… paperwork?” I asked, confused.

  “If he kills me,” Rell said, “He’s got to justify it to the King, and the King likes to have things in writing.”

  I shook my head, dumbfounded, but that kicked up a storm of dizziness that instantly took hold of me. I reached for the wall to stop myself from falling over, succeeding but only barely. I couldn’t see straight, my heart was pounding in the space between my ears, and my legs were about to give way underneath me.

  In fact, they did give way, just as I was about to open my mouth to speak again.

  The last thing I saw as I hit the floor was the confused drake’s face, his golden eyes burning brightly. And above him, the face of the man who had very nearly murdered me in my apartment a moment ago. The lights in my eyes went out, the world turned black, and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever wake up again.

  Chapter 6

  Don’t be so dramatic.

  That was the first thought to cross my mind as I regained consciousness. It was a long, slow process, like swimming up toward the surface from a great depth as oppose to being jerked awake by the cold, rough hand of panic. I took a deep breath, a couple of labored breaths, then tried opening my eyes, but I couldn’t see anything.

  I blinked hard and fast, at first not really sure I’d even opened my eyes at all, though at this stage in my life I wasn’t a stranger to knowing what being blindfolded felt like. A soft, almost silken bag had been thrown over my head; a bag that smelled strangely like freshly trimmed hedges and fragrant flowers.

  The scent quickly overpowered me, tickling my nostrils and forcing me to sneeze. I had tried reaching for my nose, only to realize that my hands were also bound together. I was sitting down somewhere, the world was rocking—or maybe that was just my head.

  “What the hell kind of party did I end up in last night?” I moaned.

  “Silence, human,” someone barked, his voice deep and gruff. Whoever it was that had spoken also elbowed me in the ribs, for good measure.

  “Okay, not a party,” I groaned. “Shit, have I been kidnapped again?”

  A pause. “Again?” came a familiar, confused voice.

  “Rell?” I asked. “Oh, God. Please tell me I’m still dreaming.”

  The brute next to me clasped a hand around the crown of my head and yanked it back. “Do you have a problem with your ears?” he growled.

  “No, but if you’re going to tie me up and blindfold me, the least you can do is buy me a drink first.”

  “That one talks too much,” said another guy from somewhere nearby. This one was a little more soft spoken than the first, but he also had a hard edge to his voice. “Cut off its tongue and let us be done with the racket.”

  “Cutting off its tongue would cause more of a racket,” came a growl from near my head.

  “Firstly, I’m not an it—I’m an American,” I said, “Secondly, no one’s cutting off my tongue.”

  “I see little you can do about it, whelp.” He was so close to my ear I could feel the heat of his breath against the side of my face.

  I whipped my head quickly to the side, hoping to crack his cheek or break his nose. As soon as my head made contact with the metal helmet he was wearing, I regretted every decision I’d ever made. My ears started ringing like my head was hollow, the world wobbled, and the pain was intense, but the worst part was the cackling.

  Both of the men who’d just spoken had broken out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, and I couldn’t blame them. As I sat there, thinking about my life’s choices and existing in the world of pain I had just walked right into, I thought I heard a third, lighter, smaller voice join in with the laughing.

  Rell, that little bastard.

  “It is true what they say about humans,” the man sitting next to me said, his voice full of mirth, “They are all so stupid!”

  “Yep,” I groaned, “I’m gonna have to agree with you on that one.”

  “Should we cut off its tongue anyway?” the other man asked.

  “I think the Viscount would be displeased if we broke his toy.”

  “Hey, Rell,” I called out, “I thought you invoked some hospitality thing. These guys aren’t being very hospitable.”

  “Please,” Rell scoffed, “At worst I commuted our sentence, but more likely, we’ll become slaves of the spring Fae.”

  “Slaves?!”

  The man sitting next to me jerked my head back again. “Silence, human,” he growled, “I will not ask you again.”

  I bit my tongue, purely because I didn’t want to have it cut off. As much as these guys seemed like they were having a great time, joking around and laughing, my self-preservation instincts had finally kicked in and were in control. These people would hurt me if they wanted to, and that meant I needed to start taking this seriously and figure a way out.

  I was going to become nobody’s slave.

  Shutting my mouth got the big guy off my case. He released my head, and I settled into the seat underneath me. It was cushioned, soft, and velvety; nothing at all like the kind of vehicle I’d ever been kidnapped in, and I had been once before. It was a long time ago, ancient history, really, and they’d turned out to be pretty nice guys in the end.

  You know, once I’d beaten the living hell out of their boss.

  Assuming the same rules applied here, all I had to do was find the guy in charge and beat the living hell out of him. Easy. Before I could do that, though, I had to survey my surroundings and figure out where I was being taken to.

  The ride was bumpy, so we couldn’t have been on a main road. The constant chirping of birds told me we were out in the countryside somewhere, but where in the hell we exactly were, I couldn’t know.

  All I knew was it was light out, and I wasn’t anywhere near Seattle anymore.

  The car I was in came to a slow, trundling stop. I heard footsteps somewhere nearby; hard, metal footsteps crunching on gravel or dirt underfoot. I heard a metal squeak, like a gate opening, and a moment later, the vehicle started moving again with a jerk.

  The sound of chirping birds intensified. Distantly, I thought I heard a fountain trickling away; and then, voices. Soft voices spoken quietly, in hushed tones, the kind you know are about you, the kind you feel like you have to listen to, but learn to ignore. I couldn’t ignore them now, because they were a clue as to where I could be.

  I’m in a compound.

  I had to be. The vehicle, the birds, the gate, the voices. I’d been kidnapped by some kind of freaky, live-action-roleplaying group who wore clothes and armor from the dark ages and lived in a compound, far away from real people. Great. Just great. What the hell could these people want with me, and why had they also taken Kady?

  No, not Kady; Kadeera.

  Wasn’t it Kadeera?

  A flash of memory came back to me. Kady, the way she cowered from that man, from the Haircut. The way he’d waved his hand and I’d gone flying straight into a wall as if I’d been yanked toward it by a whole squad of huge men holding a rope tied around my shoulders. Hadn’t I dreamed that?

  My brain was scrambled. I wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t. It didn’t help that the air was so fragrant here, I was probably a few steps toward high out of my mind already. The vehicle came to a halt on what felt like sturdier ground. No one moved and no one approached, either, but there were voices up ahead.

  “Viscount,” came an authoritative, feminine voice.

  “Duchess Invidia,” was the response, soft but firm. It was Haircut. I’d recognize his voice anywhere.

  “Is she in there?”

  “Yes, my Lady.”

  “And did she resist?”

  “Somewhat, but she was subdued.”

  “I want to see her.”

  “At once.”

  A door opened, and a moment later I heard a scuffle, then a thud, and a sigh. After a pause, the woman I had come to know as Invidia spoke again. “Why do you have to make things so difficult, Kadeera?”

  There was a groan, then Kady’s voice. “It’s lovely to see you again, mother.”

  Mother?

  “Don’t take that tone with me, insolent child. Do you have any idea how difficult finding you was this time?”

  “It’s almost like I planned it that way.”

  “Exit the carriage at once.”

  “No.”

  “I would rather not taint the court’s image of you any further, but I will drag you out of that vehicle by your hair if I must.”

  “Rell, what’s going on?” I asked.

  “It’s probably best if you keep quiet right now,” Rell said.

  A chill moved through my spine in the silence that followed. “Viscount,” said Invidia, the sound of her voice lingering in the air. “Who was that?”

  “Of no concern, Duchess,” said the Viscount. “If I may, allow me to escort Lady Kadeera back to her quarters.”

  “Indeed… and post guards at her doors and windows this time. We do not want a repeat of her last escape attempt.”

  “As you wish, my Lady.” I could almost hear the way he had bowed as he spoke. Whoever this woman was, this Invidia, she was clearly used to being served respect on a dish, and then swallowing it whole as it arrived.

  “I’m not getting out of this carriage,” Kady yelled, “If you aren’t gonna drag me out, I’m staying right here.”

  “Your mother cares about your reputation with Emerald Hall and the other great houses of the kingdom of Spring,” the Viscount said, “But I don’t.”

  I couldn’t see what was happening, but something… something was going on. A strange tingle moved through me, pulling the hairs on my arms to their ends. Some kind of struggle broke out up ahead. I heard bumps, knocks, an animal whinnied, and then Kady—it sounded like she was being choked, like she was gasping for air.

  “Perhaps next time,” the Viscount said, “You will do as you’re told without hesitation.”

  “Hey, what are you doing to her!” I screamed, but I’d barely gotten the words out when the guy next to me grabbed the side of my head and slammed my face into the wall of the vehicle I was in. What little vision I had suddenly darkened. Instantly I felt the flower of pain start to bloom and engulf my entire skull in a dull, throbbing fire.

  “It is time for quiet,” he growled into my ear.

  “Fuck… you…” I snarled through my gritted teeth.

  “That can be arranged, human. Though you will not much enjoy it.”

  “Alright, that’s enough of that,” Rell interjected, “I’ll agree that she’s lippy, but there’s no need for those kinds of threats.”

  “You should also shut your mouth if you know what’s good for you, half-breed.”

  “And you should remember that we are under the Viscount’s protection so long as the Rites of Protection and Hospitality applies, and they do until he says they don’t. If you hurt her, or me, he’ll hurt you—and he sure does enjoy inflicting pain on people, or have you forgotten his reputation?”

  “And what do you and your half-breed friends know of the Viscount of Emerald Hall?”

  “That he’s a tyrant, an enforcer, a thug.”

  “The Viscount is a hero,” the man snarled, “A warrior. The shining jewel of Emerald Hall.”