“Are you working for him?” I ask, glamour dripping from my words. I don’t want a replay of the last time we learned of Galleghar’s whereabouts.

“Nooooo.”

“Does he know you’ve spotted him?”

“Nooooo.”

The Night King stops tapping his cheek. “What else do you know?”

That strange mouth twists. “He hidessss in the wildssss, in the tunnelsssss oooof ooooold. Many hellllp him. They willlll killlll any whoooo harm the ooooold king.”

“Why do they help him?” I ask.

“Theirrrr mindssss belooong toooo anooootherrr.”

I still in my seat.

Des stands, his frame imposing. “Who?”

But we already know.

“The Thief oooof Ssssoooulssss.”

“We need to make a decision,” Malaki says once the room clears. All that’s left are him, me, Des, and a handful of guards.

Desmond glances at me. “What should we do about Galleghar?”

He’s asking me like I’m a co-ruler.

I shake my head. I don’t want to make a decision like this. This is the whole reason why I’ve been running from the idea of being a queen. It’s one thing to handle a threat or interrogate a few fairies. It’s another to make a decision with an outcome you cannot know, one that might have far-reaching consequences.

I’m about to say, I don’t know, but damnit, my pride suddenly feels like it’s on the line, and I don’t want to disappoint Des.

Actually going to make a decision on this one. Fuck.

To go after Galleghar or not?

We know where the old king is, but we knew where he was last time, and he still got the drop on us.

However, if we do take him by surprise, then this could be the beginning of the end for both Galleghar and the Thief. The two share a bond. A bond I’m eager to break.

“I think it’s time we captured your father,” I say slowly.

Des stares at me for a long moment. Ever so slowly, a wicked smile spreads across his face. “The queen has spoken.”

Barbos isn’t as I remember it.

As Des and I descend onto the island—Malaki and Temper behind us—I get my first good look at the place since I last visited. The streets we fly over are more subdued, the sights and sounds muted. The rough crowd that usually revels out here is now largely gone. Those that remain seem to be looking over their shoulders, like they’re being watched.

The whole thing gives me chills.

You’re just reading into things.

At least we weren’t ambushed en route. I held my breath through most of the journey, waiting for Galleghar to drop in and fight us. But he never appeared.

Either we’re lucky, or the enchantments are doing their job.

I can feel the spells clinging to my skin, the magic insulating me like a coat. Before we left, several of Des’s men warded Temper, Malaki, Des, and I against enemy magic. Among other things, these enchantments hide us from our opponents’ view, rendering us all but invisible to fairies like Galleghar.

As we fly inland, the city gives way to dense jungle. Here and there the trees are illuminated by the glowing lights of various fae. It doesn’t look like a frightening place, and yet somewhere in there lurks a killer king.

Can’t believe we’re doing this. All because I gave Des the go-ahead. I still expect Galleghar to manifest in front of us, or for the Thief’s sleeping soldiers to close in from all sides. Nothing ever goes according to plan; why should this?

Yet it doesn’t happen. Galleghar and what’s left of the Thief’s army stay away, and the group of us fly sedately on, the only sound the whistle of the wind against our ears.

Des begins to dive towards the land, though this patch of jungle looks like all the others. I follow his lead, descending on the thick, dark foliage until my hands and feet skim the treetops, the leaves rustling against my skin.

The tangle of dense shrubbery doesn’t leave much room to land. I watch Des, seeing the way his wings tilt around trees, and I think I get it … until my wing clips a tree branch I didn’t see.

I yelp at the sting of pain, and my wing closes up reflexively. I tumble through the trees, hitting every branch that’s ever existed. I fall to the forest floor with a plop.

Motherfucking ow.

In an instant, the Bargainer appears at my side. “You’re still the clumsiest siren I’ve ever met,” he says, extending a hand to help me up.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I mutter, taking his hand and letting him help me up

Malaki drops down next to me, Temper in his arms.

“Why don’t you wake up the entire jungle while you’re at it,” my best friend says when she steps out of the fairy’s arms.

Giving Temper an annoyed glare, I dust off my battle leathers, picking branches out of my hair. At least I didn’t lose my daggers; the twin blades remain strapped to my sides, their stone hilts gleaming.

I pat a back pocket. All four of us were given a pair of iron shackles, in case we happened to get in range of Galleghar. Like my knives, my set of handcuffs is right where it ought to be.

Des’s eyes sweep over the thick foliage. “Follow me,” he says to the group.

We walk for fifteen minutes, our footsteps silent. Around us, the jungle seems to be holding its breath.

It feels like the four of us are wandering aimlessly until Des stops. He toes the earth in front of him, then with a wave of his hand, the earth in front of him clears, revealing a flat, circular stone carved with symbols in Old Fae.

He glances up at me. “We’re here.”

Turning his attention back to the stone, the King of the Night whispers an incantation under his breath. The Old Fae symbols glow emerald for a moment, then the stone slides aside, revealing another freaking hole in the ground.

What is it with this dude and holes?

“Nuh uh,” Temper says, eyeing it the same way I am. “No one said anything about a tunnel. I got claustrophobia.”

Des’s eyes briefly flick to her before landing on mine. “You can opt out too,” he tells me.

I shake my head. “I’m coming with you.”

I go where Des goes.

His eyes glitter. “Then I’ll be waiting for you at the bottom.” With that, he takes a step and drops into the earth.

“Shiit,” Temper swears behind me.

I glance at her, then Malaki. The general looks menacing in the darkness. He’s not too pleased that Temper and I are here, putting ourselves in the line of fire, but he hasn’t tried to stop either of us the way he tried last time.

Taking a breath, I sit down at the edge of the hole, dipping my feet into the darkness. My boot bangs against a ladder set into the side of the hole, and I slide my body down until I can grab the handholds.

And then I begin to descend.

I can’t say how far down I have to climb, only that when I reach the bottom of the hole, Des is there waiting for me, his form illuminated by orbs of light.

“Brave siren,” he says as I drop the last few feet to the ground.

This isn’t bravery. Bravery is facing whatever lies at the end of these tunnels.

Before I respond, I hear Malaki’s heavy weight as he clambers down the ladder. It’s only once I step away from the hole that the general releases his hold on the ladder and drops the rest of the way to the ground, landing heavily on the damp earth.

The general straightens, looking back up at the opening.

As if on cue, I hear angry muttering far above us, followed by the agitated pound of Temper’s feet against the ladder.