Eventually they stop and pivot, creating a makeshift aisle of sorts. Another uniformed fairy heads down the aisle, pausing at the end of it.

“It is my eminent honor to present, from the radiant heavens above, His Majesty Janus Soleil—the King of Day!” he announces.

I cover my eyes against the brightness that flares at the entrance of the ballroom as someone strides down the aisle, coming to a full stop in front of the soldiers. It takes several seconds for the glare to die away.

When it does …

All I see is golden hair, tan skin, and eyes the clear blue color of Caribbean waters.

My flute of champagne slips from my hand, shattering against the ground.

It breaks whatever spell has been cast over the room. Fairies turn from the fae king to stare at me, their frowns deepening when they realize that it’s the human, the one who shouldn’t be here, that’s causing the commotion.

I’m too distracted to care, my gaze pinned to the fairy.

The King of Day.

I begin to shake, my mind screaming, screaming.

Des moves his hand, and under his magic the glass pieces itself back together, the champagne refilling into the cup. Surreptitiously, he looks between me and the man who was, only seconds ago, glowing like the sun.

“He took me,” I whisper. “He was the one that took me. From your house. He took me to Karnon.”

The person who delivered me to my attacker, the person who could very well be the Thief of Souls himself, is another fae king.

I feel more than a little nauseous.

Des’s gaze is on me for a hot second, and then, in the blink of an eye, Des disappears, both of the champagne flutes he held a second ago falling once more to the ground. They shatter a second later, glass and bubbly wine soaking the floor and the hem of my dress.

Des reappears in front of Janus, the air around him cloaked in shadow, his talon-tipped wings splayed out.

Shadows billow about the room, beginning in the far corners and creeping between fairies’ legs like some dark, sinister fog.

The room is still silent, still frozen when Des grabs the King of Day by the collar and cocks his arm back. His fist slams into Janus’s face with a meaty smack, the sound reverberating.

Whatever strange reverie overtook the room, that one single action breaks the spell. The hall erupts into shouts, and people begin to move.

Des’s arm is like a sledgehammer, pummeling the Day King over and over again. Janus’s uniformed soldiers close in on Des, while Night Kingdom soldiers run into the fray.

Before I know it, soldiers have turned on soldiers, guests on guests. The room is suddenly in an uproar as fairies begin fighting each other. The Fauna fae are pointing to me, and several of them begin to weave through the crowd, heading in my direction.

Awww, shit, I almost forgot about the little vendetta the Fauna Kingdom had out for me and the Bargainer.

A little distance away, Malaki, Temper, and several Night Kingdom soldiers are now trying to shove their way towards me.

In all directions, wings are unfurling, each more beautiful than the last. They shimmer in all sorts of colors, and it would be breathtaking if it didn’t mean that hundreds of fairies were losing their shit.

The cavernous room no longer feels quite so large, and ho, am I developing a massive case of claustrophobia.

I did this. I set Des off. And even though the cruel, vicious part of me savors his retribution, the rest of me is horrified that I set these events in motion.

I begin pushing my way through the crowd, determined to get to the two kings.

If anyone is going to have their vengeance, it will be me, my siren purrs.

Fairies are taking to the air, ripping at each other. Meanwhile, Des and the King of Day are still tussling, one bright as the sun, the other dark as the night.

The Fauna fairies are almost to me, and the Night guards coming for me are still too far away to offer me any sort of protection.

I’ll have to take these fairies on my own. The thought sends a shiver of delight down my spine, and I feel myself beginning to smile.

My nails are on the brink of sharpening when Mara’s voice cuts through the noise. “There will be no death in my house!”

All but Des and Janus, the King of Day, pause, no one willing to cross the queen that’s hosting them.

The Bargainer doesn’t appear to give a flying fuck what Mara thinks. He has the King of Day pinned beneath him, and he keeps hammering into the man’s face.

“Desmond Flynn, King of the Night, by law of my kingdom, I order you to stop,” Mara’s voice booms.

Arm pulled back, Des hesitates, his breathing heavy and ragged. His hair, which he’d previously worn combed away from his face, now hangs in wild tendrils. I’ve seen my mate when he’s all coiled rage, but I have only rarely seen him like this, messy with his anger. There’s something so very … raw about it.

Reluctantly, he drops his fist, his breathing heavy. Leaning in close to Janus, he whispers something into the King of Day’s ear, and then he stands, his eyes moving about the crowd. They still when they land on me.

He looks like a hurricane contained in a man. He has speckles of blood on his face and a small line of it at the corner of his mouth. But it’s the leashed fury in his eyes and the deep shadows swathing the room that are the true indications of how upset he is.

The King of Day pulls himself up to his feet, giving Des a murderous look.

Mara begins to clap, and the attention suddenly swivels to her. She swaggers across the room towards the men, the crowd parting for her.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” she says, “I present to you, the first mate challenge.”

Mate challenge?

Everyone else in the room stirs, their assessing gazes moving between me and the men. Mara follows their lead, her eyes finding mine. She smiles at me, her lustrous lips making her face look equal parts lovely and wicked. The rest of her face is flinty with anger.

“Congratulations go to the King of the Night and his siren mate,” she says. “Now, everyone, sheath your excitement and please, carry on as before.”

I don’t quite understand how she does it, but Mara manages to bring this place back from the edge of chaos. One by one, fairies’ wings are disappearing and people are smoothing down their rumpled outfits. While a few dirty looks pass between the guests—several thrown my way by some disgruntled Fauna fairies—conversation and bits of laughter begin to bloom across the hall.

Des wipes the blood off his mouth, glowering at the King of Day, who glowers right back. But Mara isn’t done with them. The Queen of Flora leads the two kings away from the room and out a side door.

My heart stutters a bit at the sight. Without Des, I’m acutely aware that I’m a lamb in a den of lions.

“Get out of my way. Get out of my way—if you step on my dress, I swear to the saints you’re not going to have toes.” Even amongst the rising noise of the crowd, Temper’s voice carries over to me. “Who do I have to cunt punch for a little room? Move!”

Malaki follows on her heels, his face set into severe lines.

“What in the ever loving hell was that?” Temper says when she gets to my side, glancing back at where the two fairies tussled not a minute ago.

I shake my head, my throat working.

“Are you okay?” Malaki asks, coming to stand next to Temper.

I nod, swallowing. Now that the fight’s over and the adrenaline is subsiding, it hits me—the man who took me is a fae king, and he’s here. I’m going to have to be around the King of Day for the rest of this visit. I might even have to interact with him. The thought sends a wave of nausea and nerves through me.