“You left him there with a fucking demon prince!” Fire pushed my wolves back, clamouring for freedom. I indulged her, allowing my fury to burn. Flames lit my arms, not harming me, but plenty lethal to everyone else. “I meant what I said. If he dies, then the gates of Hell will be the least of your worries, because it won’t be that demon army who destroys your world, it will be me. Connor is mine. My mate. And I protect what is mine.” I walked right up to the Winter King. “I might be the key to destroying this world, but that means I am also the key to saving it. If you want my cooperation then you will promise to help me get Connor and my friends back. If you do that, I will help you stop Berith and every other monster who dares threaten your world and mine.”
Walker’s eyes gleamed and my heart jumped as magic sizzled into my soul. His hand grabbed my wrist through the flames and steam rose as my skin burned. But it didn’t burn with fire; it burned with ice.
I looked down. A stunning ice white and blue dragon had been tattooed into my skin.
“I promise, so it's a bargain.” Walker’s mouth curled in a tight smile, though there was no humour in his eyes and he flexed his burned fingers.
Blue puffed out a breath and raised her hands, dropping them with a slap to her thighs. “When will you learn not to make a bargain with a fae without thinking about it first? You know you need to negotiate the finer points.”
Fire settled as I crossed my arms over my chest, unwilling to admit Blue was right. But right now I would do whatever it took to get Connor back. “If it gets me Connor back I’d bargain with the devil himself.”
“That’s the problem,” Blue said, glancing at B’nar, who watched me, his face nothing but a blank mask. “If you want them to trust you, they need to know you won’t do that. Not even for Connor.”
I turned to face my best friend, unable to remember how many times I'd worried about her over the past months, but here she was, free and well; not dead, not being tortured, not a prisoner. “What happened to you, Blue? I thought about you everyday since he took you away.” I nodded to B’nar. “I promised I’d find a way back to you. What have you been doing while I was imprisoned and fighting for my life? Did you strike your own bargain to save your life?” That question by itself, despite the look on her face, made me hold back some of the trust we had once shared.
“I’m as much a prisoner here as you are.” Her voice was quiet and her gaze dropped to the ground.
My brows dipped. “Well, trust goes both ways, Blue, you know that. And even when it is earned, it has to be nurtured.”
Blue frowned a little, but I faced Walker, rolling my head on my shoulders and loosening up my neck. He had walked to the opposite side of the room, stopping near Lance. He reached out and pressed the side of a metal panelled door. Silently, it slid open.
It was my kind of storage unit. Inside was all manner of weapons; blades of all sizes and designs gleamed, guns and bows were displayed, all made with modern faerie technology. Walker picked up a bow and chucked it at me. It slapped against my waiting hand. I curled my fingers around the cold silver and blue metal and studied the weapon, weighing its balance in my grip. It was perfect.
The others watched me with interest as I studied the other weapons and then the room. The round table was covered in some kind of glass with fae symbols etched on it. I read a little fae, but these were beyond my knowledge. The metal doors of the storage units continued across the entire wall space, also etched with symbols, and I could only assume more weapons were stored there.There were no windows and the main doors had some kind of fae glyphs glowing on them.
Curiosity got the better of me. “What is this place? And why is the High King and his son working with those he considers no better than bugs to be crushed?” I gestured with my free hand at the others. “One human, two shifters and a ‘half-breed’ like me. It’s true I