The woman, who Kara knew must be fae since she’d flashed in, lifted her hand and turned in a slow circle. Her lips moved, though no sound came from them. When she’d made a full rotation, she lowered her hand and then took the last empty seat. Kara frowned and stared at the woman. Something about her was familiar, but she couldn’t figure out why.

  “We can speak freely now,” the woman said.

  “Ember,” Dyna said. The warmth in her voice made it clear she knew the fae well. “Thank you so much for coming.”

  Ember nodded. “We agreed that if we ever needed one another’s help, we’d be there. We can’t survive against the Order on our own.”

  “You’ve managed to stay out of their clutches,” Coya said.

  The fae shrugged. “I’ve been in hiding for a long time. I’ve learned some tricks along the way.”

  Kara stared hard at the fae trying to figure out why she felt as if she knew her. Ember. She hoped the name might trigger a memory. But there was nothing.

  Ember looked at Kara. Her intense gaze was unnerving. After several heartbeats, the fae said, “I remember you, child, from Perizada’s house last year. When Volcan was still alive.”

  “Peri?” Kara said the name. It sounded foreign on her lips, but at the same time it resonated with something inside, as if this person was somehow important to her.

  “Ludcarab has altered her memories.” Dyna motioned toward Kara’s wrists. The markings of the bracelets on her skin were still there, a constant, silent reminder that the elf king held power over her.

  “What do you remember?” Ember asked. The fae’s body was slim. She carried her shoulders pulled back, and her spine was so straight it made Kara want to stop slouching.

  “What do you mean?” Kara asked.

  “Before he put on those.” She pointed to the markings encircling Kara’s wrists. “How much do you remember of your life before?”

  Kara bit her lip. She focused on what she could recall of her life before she was taken by the Order. She frowned when she realized she couldn’t even remember what she’d been doing when she’d been kidnapped. When she’d seen Nick in her mind, he’d said something about her needing some space from him. Had she gone somewhere?

  “You obviously remember some things about the supernatural world,” Ember pointed out. “You didn’t scream. And you know that Ludcarab is the elf king, or at least he was at one time.”

  Kara nodded.

  “Do you know what you are?”

  “A gypsy healer,” she answered.

  Ember nodded. “And what about the other gypsy healers? Do you remember them?”

  Kara’s mind immediately pictured the faces of the four girls she’d thought of earlier. “Stella, Anna, Heather, and Jewel,” she said. “Yes, I remember them. We went through hell together. We fought a psycho high fae and lived to tell about it.”

  “There seems to be a common thread with you fae,” Coya said, “going crazy and attempting to take over the world.”

  Ember shrugged. “Why do you think I live in the human world, away from the supernaturals? People in power, no matter how pure their intentions might start out, always grow to want more power. It is the nature of any race.”

  “The prince of our race has been on the throne for a very long time, and he has not become a tyrant,” Dyna said.

  Ember shrugged. “Maybe he will be the exception to the rule.” Then she looked back at Kara. “Those markings on your wrists.” She motioned to Kara’s lap where her hands rested. “Alston put them there using a pair of bracelets?”

  “Yes,” Kara answered, lifting one hand to rub the other wrist. She glanced at the three female elves. “They have them as well.”

  “Ours are different,” Dyna said.

  “They haven’t caused us to forget,” Coya added.

  “Their purpose is so we don’t forget,” Reena said, seeming to finish the thought of her two comrades.

  “Alston, as you have figured out, is very powerful. He uses dark magic and blood magic. No doubt, he has figured out that using the blood of an ancient power such as Ludcarab could create things like those bracelets.” Ember looked up and around the room, as if seeing something the rest of them couldn’t. “If this was Alston’s castle, I wouldn’t have been able to ward this room. And if Ludcarab returns while it is warded, he will sense the magic. So we need to get on with this.”

  She reached down, slipped her hand into her knee-high boot, and pulled out a dagger. The blade gleamed and then glowed a soft blue light as Ember spoke again in a language that Kara had heard before. It was the language of the fae, she presumed, considering Ember was fae. Why was it familiar? Peri, she thought, as the name she’d spoken earlier floated through her mind. Kara felt in her gut that this is where she’d heard the fae language spoken before, even though she still couldn’t place the woman thanks to her altered memories.

  As Kara watched the blade’s light grow, she saw engravings begin to etch themselves into the blade, as if an invisible pen were writing on it. When Ember finished speaking, the light faded, but the etchings remained.

  “This is a fae blade,” Ember began.

  Kara raised a brow. “Not to point out the obvious, but you’re a fae and you just pulled it from your boot.”

  Ember’s lips raised slightly. “So he hasn’t broken you.”

  Kara frowned. “Sometimes I feel he has. And then I remember only I can give him the power to break me. My emotions are my own, and no one else controls them except me.”

  “Good.” Ember gave her a sharp nod. “You’re going to need that control if you are to succeed.”

  “Succeed at what?” Kara asked, her heart rate picking up a beat as the four women stared intensely at her.

  “At killing Ludcarab,” Dyna answered.

  Kara wouldn’t deny for a second that every part of her being practically screamed a resounding “Hell yes” at the elf’s words. Did that make her evil? That she was so willing to take a person’s life and actually look forward to seeing the light fade from his malevolent eyes? She inwardly shrugged. Kara couldn’t bring herself to care at the moment. What she cared about was knowing exactly what she needed to do in order to remove Ludcarab from the land of the living. “When?” Even she heard the eagerness in her voice. She wiped her mouth, wondering if the women could see her practically salivating for the opportunity.

  “Tomorrow night, when he calls for you once again.” Dyna’s eyes softened as she met Kara’s. Kara saw apprehension in the she-elf’s face.

  “What is it? There’s something you’re not telling me.” Kara scooted to the edge of her seat and leaned forward.

  “In order for you to even have a chance at killing the elf king, you must allow the night to progress as usual.” Dyna’s voice was filled with regret. Kara could tell the woman didn’t want Kara to have to endure Ludcarab’s defilement yet again. As usual, when Kara considered the things that the elf king had done to her while she escaped inside of her mind, bile rose in her throat.

  “Why?”

  “Because he doesn’t trust you.” Ember said. “Would he take food from you if you offered it to him, or a drink? Would you be able to fool him into thinking that you’ve finally accepted your fate?”

  Kara couldn’t help but snort. “Hell no.”

  “Exactly.” Ember tilted her head. “Then the only way to get the poison inside of him is if he gets it from you. From your body.”

  “Does he kiss you?” Reena asked. Kara appreciated that she kept her voice clinical. She didn’t hear an ounce of pity, which was good. Kara didn’t want their pity.

  “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’ve never been lucid when I’m with him.”

  “You’ve found a way to escape,” Coya said. “Inside of your mind. A sanctuary.”

  Kara saw tortured pain in Coya’s eyes. They had the haunted look that Kara saw in her own when she looked at herself in the mirror. “Yes.”

  “You will need to remain present this time,” Ember said, her voice hard as steel. “You will only get one chance at this. If he figures out what you’re doing, even the tiny sliver of freedom you have will be gone.”

  Kara shoved herself from the chair and began to pace. She wanted to claw the clothes from her sensitive skin. Just the thought of mentally staying with Ludcarab when he forced himself on her made Kara want to scream.

  “I’m sorry that this falls on you,” Dyna said gently. “You are the only one who is able to get close to him. Ludcarab doesn’t trust anyone. He only eats food he prepares himself. He only drinks what he pours himself. If I could take this from you, child, I would.”

  Kara believed the female. She’d seen the compassion in Dyna’s eyes as she’d helped Kara for the past month. She didn’t understand what it was that Ludcarab held over them to keep them from attempting to escape, but it must have been important. They could have been cruel to her while they performed their duties on Ludcarab’s behalf, but they were kind.

  She turned back to Ember and forced her feet to keep from moving. “What do I need to do?”

  “You will drink the poison. It will not hurt you. It is a plant from the fae realm that has properties that affect the magic of an elf. He will be rendered powerless, unable to access his magic. His strength will be even less than that of a human male.

  “The poison will saturate your cells. The mucosa in your mouth, the pores of your skin, any place where your body produces any kind of moisture.”

  Kara held up a hand as she swallowed down the urge to retch. “I get the picture.”

  “The hard part will be waiting for it to fully take effect,” Ember continued. “He’s powerful. You will have to remain in the moment, Kara. If you don’t stay alert, you could do something to give yourself away and not even realize it until it was too late. You cannot escape to your sanctuary, no matter how badly you want to. Do you understand?”

  Kara’s hands tapped the sides of her legs, and she bit the inside of her cheek. “I do.” She had to force the words out of her mouth. It had become a habit to run away as soon as her body hit the elf king’s bed. She knew this would probably be the hardest thing she’d ever done in her life. She looked at the blade in Ember’s hand. “I assume that is the weapon I will use to kill him?”

  The fae nodded. “But it is also to remove those,” she pointed at Kara’s wrists. “Once they’re gone, your forgotten memories will return. That might give you the strength to do what you need to do. You will remember what you’re fighting for.

  “I am not a wolf,” Ember continued. “I do not have a true mate, but I’ve been around a long time, and those of us in the supernatural world know just how special that bond is. Many of us envy what the wolves have. A life partner who will always stand at their side. Your mate will never stop looking for you. He will destroy the world to find you. He will kill anyone, friend or foe, in order to have you back at his side.” She paused as her eyes took on a lost quality, as if she was thinking of another place and time. “Many would give up anything to have what true mates have. When you remember that—remember who he is to you and the emotions that bind you to him—then you will be able to survive Ludcarab. I do not ask this lightly, Kara. And if there was another way, I would not ask that you allow him to touch you ever again. But this might be the only chance we have to get close enough to kill him before he, Alston, and the vampire king are once again together, combining their power.”

  Kara knew Ember was right. They had a unique opportunity, and they couldn’t squander it, no matter how sick it made her feel. Kara had learned in foster care that there wouldn’t always be someone there to fight for you. No matter if you were only a child, you were your own advocate. You were the one who had to choose to fight or lay down and accept your circumstances. Kara never laid down, even if it appeared that way. She was simply biding her time. She always chose to fight. And she would fight now. “What do I need to do?” She walked over to Ember and stared at the blade.

  Ember looked at the three she-elves. “You’re going to have to hold her. I could use magic to keep her still, but I don’t want to leave a magical fingerprint on her that could alert Ludcarab.” Ember looked back at Kara. “I can remove the power of the bracelets, but I will have to leave the markings on your skin so he won’t be aware they no longer hold any control over you.”

  Kara hated the idea of keeping the bracelets on, but she’d deal with that later. “Do it.”

  “This is going to hurt,” Ember warned.

  “Physical pain is a welcome reprieve,” Kara told the fae. “Do your worst.”

  Dyna stood and walked behind Kara. She wrapped her arms around Kara’s waist and pulled her tightly to her chest. Then, Coya and Reena each took one of Kara’s arms and held them tight. They were much stronger than they looked.

  Ember took Kara’s left hand and wrapped her fingers around it until Kara’s fingers were scrunched tightly together. Kara attempted a slight tug to test the fae’s strength. The woman’s hand didn’t even flex, and her arm didn’t budge.

  The fae took the flat of the blade and laid it on Kara’s wrist. Then Ember closed her eyes. Instead of speaking softly, the fae’s voice came out strong as she spoke in her language. There was a lyrical quality to her words, and Kara felt her heart picking up the rhythm of it. Several minutes passed. Kara was beginning to think the spell wasn’t going to work; she hadn’t felt the slightest discomfort. All of a sudden, her mouth clamped shut on its own as pain seared her skin. It felt like the blade was burning through every layer of her dermis, through her blood vessels, and straight into her bones. The heat radiated up her arm, through her shoulder and into her neck, and then up into her skull. She was sure Ember was attempting to cook her brain. The heat intensified, and Kara wanted to tell the fae to stop, but she couldn’t. Even though the urge to roar from the torture boiled up inside her, no sound could escape her vocal cords. Perhaps Ember had melted them.

  Kara tried to put up walls in her mind to keep the pain away.

  “Leave your thoughts open,” Ember snapped. “I have to remove all the magic from your mind. That’s why your memories are blocked.”

  Kara wanted to tell the fae that it wouldn’t matter if her memories were blocked if her brain melted out of her ears.

  “I’m not melting your brain, healer,” Ember said, somehow picking up her thoughts. “I’m killing the magic that Alston allowed to take root, like a parasite, in your mind. You get through this, and you’re one step closer to getting your life back.”

  The fae’s words were enough to make Kara accept the pain and drop the walls. Scalding waves of fire licked across her skull, down the right side of her neck, shoulder, arm, and straight into her right wrist. Kara instinctively wanted to pull away, but she didn’t fight the elves holding her. She simply gritted her teeth and mentally cursed Alston and Ludcarab to the deepest level of hell, praying that they would endure an eternity of unimaginable torment. The only thing that might make it even better is if she could have a front row seat and some popcorn to watch the show.

  “Keep those emotions at the forefront tomorrow night,” Ember said. “Keep the rage, the retribution owed to you for all they’ve done, Kara. They do not deserve mercy.”

  Finally, the burning subsided, and the elves released her. Ember also let go of her hand. Kara looked down at her wrists. The marks were still there, but something was different. She hadn’t realized that they’d felt heavy before, like she’d been wearing shackles. Now, there was no weight. The burning in her head was replaced with a tidal wave of memories so intense it drove her to her knees.

  Kara sucked in a harsh breath when Nick’s image filled her mind. No longer unfamiliar was his shaved head, handsome face, and black eyes. She remembered the first time she’d laid eyes on him. Every part of her had responded to him in a way she’d never done with anyone. He’d held her captive before he’d ever said a word to her. “Nick,” she whispered as the memories assailed her.

  She remembered being in the fae realm, lying in a field with him. He was in his wolf form, unable to speak with her because of Lucian’s punishment. Kara had poured out her heart to him. She’d been brave enough to do it because, at the time, he’d been unable to say a word to her. Not to mention, speaking to him while he was in his wolf form seemed easier. It had made her feel less vulnerable.

  “I don’t trust easily, Nick. No one has ever given me a reason to trust until I met Peri and her group of crazy supernaturals. I never believed there were men out there like Costin and Lucian. Men who would die for the woman they love but, even more impressive, will live sacrificially for her. Dying is easy. Giving up your own wants and needs for another, that’s the hard stuff. Can you give me that?”

  Kara couldn’t believe she’d been bold enough to say those things to him. But then she remembered how desperately she’d wanted what she’d seen in the other true-mate couples. And she still wanted it. Maybe even more so now.

  Her mind continued to play out her memories like a movie—memories Alston had stolen from her. One memory in particular made her smile. She realized the gesture was foreign to her lips. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d smiled. Nick had asked her if she was disappointed that he was her true mate. She’d been unable to keep from word vomiting all over him.

  “Disappointed? I’m a lot of things right now: shocked, excited, worried, flummoxed—is that a word? Whatever. I’m curious, overwhelmed, and, yea, even, ah, um, a little, well, aroused. Yeah, I went there. But disappointed? Of you? Have you seen yourself?

  “You’re tall and muscular, with these brooding good looks and devouring obsidian eyes. You walk around with this devil-may-care attitude. But you’re also kind and gentle. And really, really strong.”