Page 170 of Bride of the Midnight Prince

“I can evade him longer if you let me go.”

He shakes his head. “I’m afraid that isn’t how this works. I cannot simplylet you go. But I can bargain with you. If you can give me something that will give me power over the Nothril prince this moment, I will let you go.”

“Power?”

Rahk’s words about fae craving power return to me, bringing heat to my lungs.

“This city of mine rests in a precarious situation, not belonging to any Court,” says the Starborn Prince. “I intend to fight for its independence as long as I live. The Nothril Court has already tried to claim this city. Butyouhave evaded the Nothril prince long enough to have figured out a thing or two of his weaknesses. We all know his fondness for his youngest sister and how he will do anything and sacrifice anyone to keep her safe. Give me one weakness I don’t already know, and I will let you go.”

I turn this over in my mind. It seems like my only option, but I cannot give him something that could truly put Rahk in a vulnerable position. “I will tell you a weakness of Prince Rahk’s—”

“One that I don’t already know.”

“One that you don’t already know,” I repeat, sucking an impatient breath through my nose. “And in exchange, you will help me escape your city with the human slaves I came to free.”

His smile curves in ice. He shakes his head. “Once you tell me a weakness of Prince Rahk’s, I will release you and will not hinder your mission. Nor will I tell Prince Rahk of your presence—unless he asks if I’ve seen you. Then I have no choice but to tell the truth.”

I do not like it, but it’s better than my alternative. “Deal.”

“Let it be so,” he says.

My first bargain with a fae. A searing pain burns against the palm of my hand. I turn it over to find the tattoo of two swords, crossed at the middle.Rahk’s swords.I hope I don’t come to regret this foolhardy decision.

“Give me his weakness,” demands the Starborn Prince.

I swallow hard. “I’m his wife.”

True, pure shock overcomes his features. The invisible shackles fall off my wrist. I grab my mask—my tattoo already gone from my palm now that both of our ends of the bargain are fulfilled—and bolt for the door. I grab the boy from his hiding place and run.

We’re halfway out before Jack pulls me to a stop, tears streaming down his face. “I cannot leave without my sister!”

I cast a desperate look down the hallway, wishing the girl would simply materialize. Wishing I had time. Wishing Rahk wasn’t here. Wishing—

“We must go,” I tell him, my voice cracking, my heart shattering into a hundred pieces. “We’ve got to get out of here. I can try to come back later—”

“Not without my sister!”

That shadow reappears at the end of the hallway. Rahk’s two swords, paired with his almost silent stride.

He is coming this way.

I grab the boy by the shoulders and hiss under my breath: “You have a choice. You can come with me now and I willtryto come back for your sister another time. Or you can stay here.”

A hardness that should never be in the face of a child overtakes his features. “I won’t leave until she does.”

With that, he breaks free of my arm and dives back into the library. I stare at him for only a second, feeling as though I’ve just been pummeled in the gut. Then I grit my teeth and sprint in the opposite direction, away from Rahk.

I navigate the servants’ hallways and staircases blindly, operating on a mix of memory and instinct. Inexplicably, I make it out of the palace with my head still attached to my shoulders, my mask gripped tightly in my palm. The glowing fae lights along the street seem to scream my presence as I sprint to the place I told the woman to meet me.

The road that leads to the Wood is eerily empty. I search in every direction, turning on my booted heel, panting hard.

The woman is not here.

Was she found? Did she run away? I search frantically, looking for any sign of her. Maybe she found Bartholomew and stayed with her. I race toward my horse’s hiding spot. There’s Bartholomew, hidden from view of the city by the Wood, her ears back and her tail twitching uneasily. But no sign of the woman.

When I turn back toward the city, there is Rahk. Fully illuminated by the streetlights. Coming this way. Myolleamust have worn off. It’s impossible to tell if he has seen me yet. My hood came off while I ran. I quickly pull it low again and yank my mask back in place.

Cursing, I spring into Bartholomew’s saddle and kick her into a gallop. I can barely see the slight speckled glow of the Path through the sheen of my tears. In all the years I’ve been running these raids, I’ve never had a failure like this one. I can already feel the weight of those three souls settling onto my heart. A burden I will never be able to cast off.

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