“That’s not to say that everyone in his harem loved him. In the years after his death, I started to uncover the details of their lives. In the ledgers, we found evidence that some of his wives died untimely deaths—usually after they openly mourned their dead children or objected to the Purge.

“Someone had also diligently recorded the dozens of suicide notes from Galleghar’s various concubines. I later discovered that those who survived their suicide attempts were then brutalized by the king. He took it as a personal slight that they dared to leave him.

“And of course, there were other escape attempts by other wives, and those too were violently punished. Hell was a kinder place than my father’s court. To think my mother dared to escape under these circumstances …”

Brave, brave woman.

The fire snaps and pops between us. Des is still lost in the past.

“Did you know that when I executed my father, I was expected to inherit the harem he left behind?” He gives a humorless laugh. “Doesn’t that make your skin crawl? To inherit a lover like some sort of heirloom?”

It’s sickening. But then, this entire story has turned my stomach.

“I broke with tradition went I sent them all away.” His eyes move to me. “I knew about you even then,” he admits, a soft smile spreading across his face. But then it disappears. “As did my father,” he adds.

A chill slides over my skin. In front of me the iridescent fire dims as the Bargainer’s shadows close in on it.

“To answer your question, cherub, I never knew much about Galleghar Nyx. Only that he was a mean sonuvabitch, that he tyrannically ruled over the Night Kingdom, and he killed my mother in cold blood. And now, somehow, he is alive.”

Chapter 10

“Still no closer to finding me—or Galleghar—it appears.”

The Thief stands on the other side of the fire, peering down at me with his onyx eyes.

I sit up so fast a wave of vertigo washes through me.

“That was a neat trick you did there, back in Somnia,” he says, circling around the fire as he approaches me.

I scoot backwards, but there’s nowhere to go out here in the Banished Lands. I look for Desmond, but other than the Thief, I’m utterly alone.

He crouches next to me and tilts his head, studying me. There’s something detached and reptilian about him.

“So you can glamour fairies after all,” he says.

I can glamour fairies—I can glamour him.

My skin brightens. “Get away from me.”

He continues to stare at me, his eyes inky. Slowly, he begins to smile. “Enticing, but no. I think I’ll stay right here.”

It doesn’t work on him.

Dear God.

“Shame your wiles don’t affect me.” He reads my face. “Don’t fret, enchantress. I am tempted.”

“Why did you wake them?” I ask as my skin dims.

“Why did I wake them? That’s your most pressing question? Don’t you want to know why I kidnapped them in the first place? Or why I put the women in caskets and the men in trees?”

Of course I do.

He takes a seat next to me, and it takes a great amount of willpower to not recoil at his nearness.

The Thief sighs. “Because I wanted to.”

He leans in. “I put the men in trees because, as the Green Man, I could. I took the women savagely and caged them like I have been caged.” I can feel the sick heat of his anger and his excitement as he talks. “I hid the men and showcased the women,” he continues, “and oh how I enjoyed watching all those fairies fear the unknown. It’s been so long since any of them felt true fear, but now they do.

“So,” he says, facing me more fully, “is that what you wanted to hear?”

Yes. No.

All these years I’ve spent hunting criminals, and the worst ones give these kinds of answers. They committed atrocities because they wanted to. Because they could.

But even as the Thief of Souls gives me this glimpse into his mind, he manages to evade the answer that I really wanted to hear. I want to know what his plans are, not how his sick mind works.

“Enough about me,” he says softly. “I know, enchantress, that if you’re scared or excited enough, your baser nature will expose itself.” He reaches out and strokes my cheek with the back of his knuckle.

I flinch at his touch, my nostrils flaring. I should be sprinting far away from the Thief, but my muscles are locked up. I couldn’t move if I tried.

“The question is,” his hand slides to my lower jaw and he drags my face to meet his, “which route do I explore—your passion or your fear?”

His eyes dip to my lips. God save me, I might as well be back in the Fauna Kingdom’s prison because right now I’m staring at Karnon. It’s a different body, but the same eyes.

My breath hitches at the reminder, and a few seconds later my skin illuminates as the siren unfurls, stretching out beneath my flesh like a stiff muscle.

A fierce fury rises in me, eclipsing my fear.

This barbarian thinks to intimidate us? Scare us?

I grab his wrist and pull it away, leaning into his space. “Whatever you think to do to me, I dare you to try.” I take my other hand and press it to his chest, tapping a clawed finger against him. “But you should know that, if given the chance, I will gut you and make a necklace of your innards.”

Not going to lie, my siren is a real piece of work. But it’s times like this that I appreciate her particular brand of crazy.

The Thief smiles at me, looking like his interest’s been piqued. “I do hope you make good on your threat. I’d hate to see all this vehemence go to waste.” He moves in closer, our faces inches apart.

His breath fans against my cheek. “Find me, Callypso. I’m eagerly awaiting our reunion.”

“Cherub—”

My body startles, roused from sleep by Des’s voice. My eyes sweep over our campsite.

Swear the Thief was here just a second ago.

His presence was so vivid that my mind isn’t convinced I dreamed him up.

But then I’m distracted by Des’s warm body and his penetrating stare.

“Everything alright, Callie?”

I swallow—an action his eyes dart to—and nod. “I’m fine.”

That earns me a frown. But rather than pushing the issue, Des squeezes my hip.

“Someone’s coming,” he whispers.

I begin to get up, looking madly out at the darkness, but he gently presses me back down.

“If you could be a peach and pretend to be asleep, that would be wonderful. I want the fae to come closer.”

Pretend to be asleep after the dream I just had? I think not.

But I do force myself to relax for Des’s sake, even if I don’t close my eyes. Instead I strain my ears and eyes to hear and see anything beyond the fire. One long minute slips into another.

All at once, the Bargainer’s power rushes out of him, thickening the air like darkness is a physical thing. I sense it close in on its prey like a snare, trapping them in place.

The caught fairy shrieks like a wild beast, the guttural sounds punctuated by a string of curses.

In an instant, Des is gone from my side, dissolving into vapor like he was never there. I flip over just in time to see my mate looming over a fairy in the distance. The fae is uselessly fighting the magic trapping him in place, his scythe-like weapon striking the magical barrier over and over again.

Des folds his arms, appraising the man and looking as though he finds him wanting.