Oh geez, I forgot where we were.

The Thief was right about one thing: the dead don’t ever really die if you’re kicking it in the Kingdom of Death and Deep Earth. They just change form.

A chill runs over me. Is that what happened to the Thief? Did he just change form?

No, I refuse to believe that.

Des stands, grimacing down at the man. “I wonder if it’s possible to beat the shit out of spirits …”

I take Des’s hand as Galleghar’s spirit begins to separate from his body. “Leave your father to his fate.” I’m sure even the afterlife has its own form of punishment for the wicked.

With that, the two of us leave the room and Des’s father behind.

Before we leave, we free the prisoners locked in the castle’s dungeons. There are forty-four of them in total, all that remains of the prior ruling house.

Their bodies are scarred and emaciated, their eyes have lost that spark hope. One look at them and it’s clear that the Thief won’t be the last struggle this kingdom faces.

And yet, not an hour after they’re released, several of them have moved to the dock, pointing at this or that section of the neglected ship. And the ferryman I saw earlier now wades through the Well of Resurrection, pulling out the spirits, one by one. It’s one of the strangest sights I’ve ever seen, and that’s saying a lot at this point.

Des steps up to me, his fingers entwining through mine. “Much as I’ve enjoyed our revelries here, I do believe it’s time to go, Callie.”

God, I couldn’t agree more.

We make our way through the castle and back out the front doors.

Above us, the darkness has fled. There’s a sun low on the horizon and cotton candy skies above us. Under the light, even the pale gardens look different—less ominous and more peaceful.

The two of us walk down the path that winds its way from the castle entrance to the archway I passed through earlier, only from this side, the doorway doesn’t quite look the same.

We come to a stop in front of it. On this side, two stone doors are fitted into the enormous archway. Extending from either side of them are massive stone walls that encircle the palace grounds.

I eye the barred gates in front of us. Just before I think we might have to smash into it, the doors creak open, revealing the inky darkness of the Pit beyond it.

“That was … easy,” I say.

All the myths promised that escape from the land of the dead was impossible. But what do I know? No one gave me a guidebook to this place.

“The hard part is coming up,” Des says ominously.

The two of us walk through the gateway, and I only have to struggle a little against whatever enchantments have been placed on it.

When we enter the Pit, Des illuminates the space. He whistles at the sea of skeletons. “That’s a lot of dead bodies.”

It’s a sad sight, but at least the fairy who drove these soldiers to their deaths has now been stopped.

Des comes over to me and wraps a hand around my waist. At his back, his talon-tipped wings shimmer into existence.

“Hold on, cherub,” he says.

“What are you—?”

He launches us up, and the rush of air steals away my words.

Unlike the trip down, nothing touches either Des or me as we ascend. The creatures are either still under my glamour … or they know better than to harm their king.

We barrel upwards for who knows how long before I start to feel it.

Magic.

It bears down on us, pressing against my skin, wanting us to stay in the land of the dead. The higher we climb, the heavier it is. And then it’s not simply pushing down upon us, but inside us, clawing against our flesh from the inside out. It feels like the time I flew on an airplane when I had a sinus infection. My ears are screaming at the pressure, my skin is starting to sting.

We’re never going to make it.

“There’s no easy way to do this, cherub, but it’ll be over soon,” Des says against me.

You mean it’s going to get worse?

The thought has hardly crossed my mind when it does in fact get worse. God it does. My skin lights up as I begin to moan. My entire body is getting crushed by the weight of the magic.

I’m just about to let loose the mother of all screams when—

BOOM!

The magic explodes around us, rippling over my skin.

And then we’re through.

I can sense it stitching itself back together beneath us. I glance down at the darkness, unnerved. It was so easy to enter the land of the dead, like easing into a tub, but near impossible to escape it.

It’s as I gaze into the Pit that I see the glint of a pair of eyes, trapped on the other side of the magical barrier. They stare at me for a moment before plunging back into the inky shadows.

A shudder works its way through me. Good riddance.

When we crest the ridge of the Pit, I catch sight of hundreds of fae who’ve have gathered around it.

News of my face-off with the King of Death and Deep Earth clearly spread.

And at the front of them is Temper, who looks immensely relieved.

As soon as the crowd sees us, they begin to cheer, the night alighting with the sounds of claps and whistles and sparks of light.

We land in front of Temper.

She grabs me, hugging me tightly. “Thank fuck you’re back,” my best friend says. “You were gone for too long.”

Des steps up to us, and Temper opens one of her arms. “You get in here too, Desmond. You’re my brother now.”

He steps in with a shy smile, letting my best friend crush him in our embrace.

“Did you kill that motherfucker?” Temper asks, releasing us.

I meet her eyes. “What do you think?”

She stares at me for a moment, then lets out a laugh. “Ha-ha, you badass bitch. I hope you gave him my regards before you blew his ass to smithereens.”

I shake my head, a whisper of a smile curling my lips.

Des breaks away from us to rise into the air.

The crowd, which had been murmuring upon our arrival, now quiets.

My mate’s eyes move over the group of them. “For the last decade, our kingdom has been plagued by the Thief of Souls.” Magic amplifies Des’s voice, and it booms out into the night. “He kidnapped our soldiers, raped our women, and started a war among our world. He destroyed our peace and the sanctity of our kingdom.

“It was only recently that we discovered that the Thief of Souls had raided the Kingdom of Death and Deep Earth and taken the throne by force. Days ago, he took me hostage, keeping me prisoner in his castle.

“When all the world thought me lost, my soulmate—your queen—marched down to the gates of the underworld and faced the Thief head on.”

No one speaks, though I feel all sorts of eyes move to me.

Des gestures for me to join him where he hovers in the sky. Reluctantly, I do.

Once I’m by his side, he stares at me. I can see an entire universe in his moonlit eyes.

“But Callypso Lillis, Queen of the Night, didn’t just face any foe. The Thief of Souls was none other than Euribios, the primordial god of death and the dark.”

There are intakes of breath throughout the gathered crowd, then thoughtful murmurs as they take me in.

“Your queen faced Euribios, and she vanquished him.”

Gasps. I can feel those gazes on me like the hands of the dead. But it’s the Bargainer’s gaze that holds me rapt. He gives me a soft smile before announcing to the gathered crowd. “The Thief is no more.”

Back in Somnia, the royal prison is suddenly full of very confused fae soldiers. Among them are Janus and Malaki.