Page 152 of Primal Bonds

And she had her own reasons for wanting her cousin dead.

Corban was inside the ice fae castle. The weird tingle in her gut told her, the tingle that signaled her strategist’s Gift—half intuition, half data-crunching. Her quartz murmured agreement, sensing the closeness of another earth fada, maybe two.

She inched along the wall. A half hour passed. The chilly mist deepened until she couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead.

She stumbled into a bog and got mired in the cold black muck. It sucked at her paws, dragging her deeper until she sank up to her chest. She set her jaw and grimly fought her way back to stable ground.

She hung her head, chest heaving, her triumph at getting this far gone. She was moving in circles through the foggy night. King Sindre was an old, powerful fae with the Gift of chicanery. People said he could create illusions as real as a nightmare and use them to manipulate emotions.

If this were a trap, he might keep her creeping along the wall for days until she starved—or gave up.

She growled and set out again. She’d go through Hades itself to stick a knife in Corban’s black heart.

The goblins rushed by again, this time in a pack of six. She dove to the left and froze as they passed like an evil wind, chittering to themselves.

When she dared lift her head, she couldn’t see the wall—just thick fog in every direction. Dread lumped in her stomach. Digging her claws into the cold dirt, she swung her head back and forth, desperately trying to make out the black castle.

A hint of silver and iron in the air made her lip curl in a silent snarl. Her muscles coiled in preparation. The fog coalesced, moved—and a tall blond man stood beside her.

“Follow me,” he muttered without looking at her, his lips barely moving.

Fane? She did a double take and hissed angrily.

His strong dark brows snapped together. “God’s balls, woman—don’t argue. The huldufólk are looking for you.” When she gave him a blank look, he said, “The goblins and a few of the king’s tame elves. They’ll be on you any second. Now come.” He strode off.

She hesitated, afraid it was a trap, but Fane was clearly pissed off—at her. If it were a trick, wouldn’t he at least try to exert some charm?

And she needed to get inside. Corban was here. She was sure of that.

She loped after him. Fane waited until she caught up, then stooped to whisper, “Shift. Most of them can’t tell a fada from a human.”

She nodded and obeyed—and then almost didn’t make it when the cat blindsided her, fighting to remain in control.

No. I am strong. A picture of claws and fangs flashed in her mind. I will fight these goblins.

For several heart-stopping seconds, she wavered halfway between cougar and human. That was bad. If you got caught between shifts, you died, a twisted half-animal, half-human monster.

If she hadn’t taken the time to replenish her quartz, she might not have made it. She drew hard on the crystals’ energy, determined to complete the shift.

And then she was a woman, crouched at Fane’s feet, chest heaving.

He glanced around uneasily. “Bloody hell, can you hurry it up?”

She dragged in a breath. Holy mother, that had been close. But there was no time to think about it. Quickly, she pulled on cargo pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt, not bothering with underwear or shoes.

“Ready.” She tucked her quartz into her shirt’s neck.

Fane wrapped a wiry arm around her shoulders. She stiffened, but he muttered, “I’m a wayfarer.”

“So it was you following me.”

A curt nod. “Keep touching me at all times, and they won’t see either of us.”

He waited until she jerked her chin in assent and then set his palm to a crack in the weathered volcanic rock. The rock melted away to reveal an arched doorway. Together, they stepped through into a large tunnel.

Marjani’s eyes widened. Instead of the black she’d expected, the curved walls were a smooth and bluish-white, like the inside of an ice cave. Silver fae lights floated near the glossy ceiling, and bright blue tiles paved the tunnel floor. The temperature was comfortable, like a warm spring day, and the air crisp and clean-smelling.

Fane took her hand and crept forward, following the wall to the west. They passed a double door opening into a huge room at the center of the maze.

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