Page 169 of Primal Bonds

He looked at her feet. “Better take the boots off—I don’t want you clomping around.”

“Don’t worry.” She paced in a soundless circle around him.

His smile was wry. “I keep forgetting you’re a cat. Hang on, let me check the hall.” He cracked open the door. “It’s clear.” He beckoned her closer and took her hand. “You know the drill. Stay close to me and no will see you. Don’t talk, and be careful not to brush up against anyone.”

“Got it.”

Together, they strode into the hall.

Chapter 12

Fane had lost his bloody mind.

That was the only explanation. He’d worked hard to make his way in the ice fae court, even though he was only a quarter fae. Earned some respect.

Was he going to throw it all away on some fada he’d just met?

He looked at the somber assassin striding alongside him. Apparently the answer was yes.

The wolf shifter was in Blaer’s tower on the castle’s east side. Fane chose to walk back the way they’d come, avoiding Sindre’s tower to the north.

The maze had remade itself overnight, forming new paths, but since Fane was at the court with Sindre’s permission, it opened a passage for him, somehow sensing where he was headed. Fane was used to it, but Marjani glanced from side to side, clearly trying to recognize landmarks.

“Don’t bother,” he murmured. “It’s always changing.”

They passed a small pack of fur-clad goblins. Marjani stiffened. The goblins sniffed the air suspiciously, pig-like noses twitching, but when they couldn’t see anything, trotted on.

They took another few turns before coming upon twin fae lords—Sindre’s nephews—blocking the passageway as they murmured to each other in Icelandic.

When Fane was in stealth mode, no one could see him, but he’d adjusted the magic so that he was visible to Marjani and vice versa. He watched her eye the twins, gorgeous in flowing white shirts and black leather pants, their pointed ears poking through long, wavy blond hair.

Most women would’ve been stunned speechless at the twins’ unearthly beauty, but she merely nodded at the small space between the two men and the wall, and mouthed, “You first.”

He couldn’t help grinning. Perplexed, she tilted her head in a very feline way. He winked and slid through the gap, Marjani right behind him.

A few turns and they were at the east tower. There they had a piece of luck—the door was open. They walked inside.

Blaer might be equal parts ice fae and night fae, but the night fae was dominant. The large circular room they entered could’ve been decorated by a vampire. A brass chandelier brooded over the center with tiny fae lights flickering where the candles should have been, and a mist curled over the black marble floor. The walls were covered in red wallpaper flecked with black velvet, and the furniture dark and ornately carved.

Marjani exchanged a look with him, part amusement, part horror.

Setting his mouth to her ear, he pointed at the spiral staircase to the left. “The room with the fada is at the top of the tower.”

Together, they walked noiselessly up the three flights. But at the top, their luck didn’t hold. The door—a thick oak with steel handles—was shut tight.

Fane muttered a curse. He and Marjani might be invisible, but if a door opened, anyone in the tower would guess a wayfarer had just entered.

He placed an ear to the wood. Beside him, Marjani did the same. When he heard nothing, he lifted a brow at her. Maybe her shifter senses had picked up something he hadn’t.

She shook her head. “It’s quiet,” she whispered. “I don’t think anyone else is in there.”

“Stay behind me,” he whispered back. “If I have to, I’ll show myself and make up some story. But you can’t let anyone see you.”

He waited for her nod and then eased open the door.

The top floor was one large room. The skylights had been covered with some kind of magic, so that dim, constantly moving shadows slithered across the floor.

From his position behind the door, Fane could only see the black wolf’s cage, but he knew the room held a kitchenette, a couple of plush black couches—and five 10-by-15-foot iron cages. Bright, shiny cages.

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