Chapter 1

The game was easy.

A human woman, delectable and desperate—his favorite prey. A simple deal, a simple bargain. His rings in exchange for "Chinese Food" which barely even counted as the prelude to what he considered the true performance.

A wish granted in exchange for a soul.

All she had to do was want something. What kind of human didn't want something? That was all humans did—need and want and take and steal. So, when the beautiful young thing had insisted that she wanted nothing at all, the board was set.

Prove her wrong, and he would win.

The game was easy.

It had been easy when it started.

But that was the best kind of game, wasn't it? The kind whose rules changed as the players moved their pieces. Now, she had gone and thrown the board.

Who does that?

Izael dug his nails into his palms as he paced across the checkerboard tile of his home. Alex had thrown the board, and now he needed to come up with a plan.

In a desperate ploy to escape the game she had agreed to play…she had gone and stood in the sunlight where he could not follow. She was with the Seelie.

With every second that ticked by as the sun shone, it meant Alex was likely to inch closer to death—if she had not already been beheaded that was. Picking up the glass orb that bound her to him in magic, he ordered it to show him where she was.

He hadn't wanted to see it at first.

But now he was desperate.

The image, however, was cloudy. It swirled with a haze that made it impossible to see anything at all! Roaring, he dismissed it before he threw it against a wall and shattered it. Damnable Seelie magic! It must not be able to pierce the sunlight.

Damn, damn, damn!

Alex was in deep trouble. She was still wearing the glamor of an Unseelie—the Seelie would attempt to kill her on sight. Threading his hands into his hair, he yanked, trying to use the sting in his scalp to straighten out his thoughts. He had no time to bargain with Valroy.

No, Izael had to save her. Had to rescue her. Had to stop the Seelie before they made a terrible mistake and killed her. And it meant doing the unthinkable.

It meant asking for help.

From the half-breed.

Heading over to a large free-standing mirror that he kept underneath a black cloth, he gripped the fabric in his hands and yanked it free, revealing the smoky, silvered glass. Glowering at his own rippling reflection, he took a step away from the surface and braced himself for the inevitable gloating.

"Robin Goodfellow. I summon you."

Nothing happened.

Snarling, he fought the urge to smash it with his fist. "Robin Goodfellow, you rancid turd, I?—"

"Yeah, yeah, what do you want?"

Izael jolted. Puck had appeared behind him instead of using the mirror as any other normal fae should have done. Whatever. Now wasn't the time. He turned toward the impish creature and clenched his fists at his sides. "Alex ran off. You need to find her and bring her back to me."

"She—" Puck cackled in laughter. "Holy shit, you lost her? After you gave her all that power? What the fuck, man." He blew a chunk of his silver hair out of his eyes. "This sounds like a ‘you' problem. Why should I care?"

"I did not lose her! She ran and used her magic to disappear before I could catch her!" He grabbed Puck by the front of the shirt and dragged him closer. "She is in the daylight. You will go and fetch her and bring her back before the Seelie hurt her."

"What did you tell her that spooked her?" He arched an eyebrow, unaffected by Izael's threats. "Let me guess—you got impatient and tried to steal her soul. Or make her wish the treaty away."

Izael grimaced. He hated Goodfellow. He truly did. But right now, he needed his help. "Go find her. Bring her back to me."

"You did, didn't you? Which one? Oh, I'm betting both. Fuck, you're a moron. You never were able to restrain yourself." Puck shoved away from him and brushed his shirt, straightening it. "Fine. I'll go find her because I like her. But I'll take her wherever she wants to go. I'm not your little bitch."

Izael grinned. "That's not what you said a few months ago."

Puck rolled his eyes. "Douchebag." He disappeared in a blink.

It left Izael alone. Alone with his thoughts. And his growing, seething terror.

I cannot lose her. I cannot.

His heart was cinched into a knot, and it hurt beyond words. Was this the other part of love? The part nobody glorified, and nobody warned you about. The pain of worry, of fear, of thinking he had run his mouth and sent her away?

He settled down onto his sofa, buried his head in the pillows, and waited.

Perhaps love is not all I hoped it would be.

A shame it was too late for him. There was no escaping it.

He loved Alex.

And he would have her back.

The sun had risenon Tir n'Aill. The Seelie ruled the land as the sun rose and cast the landscape in amber tones of early morning light. It would have been an absolutely amazing sight, if it weren't for one troublesome little matter.

Alex was trapped. Wearing an Unseelie glamor.

Alone.

Sitting in the grass, she put her head in her hands and tried to think. She had gotten herself into this mess from the very beginning. She couldn't even really blame Izael for what was going to happen to her—he made no pretense that he was anything other than what he was.

A hungry, literally man-eating, totally bonkers, fae duke.

It was her fault for getting mixed up with him.

She had run until the sun rose in a desperate attempt to escape him. She wasn't sure if she regretted her choice or not. On one hand, this was gonna get her killed—at best. Tortured and kept as a pet at worst. On the other hand, Izael was threatening to torture her, steal her soul, and make her wish away the treaty that was protecting both Earth and Tir n'Aill from the Unseelie King, Valroy.

Whether or not he could steal her soul, she had no idea, but she certainly had no reason to doubt him.

Either way, she was probably going to get tortured by the Seelie.She wondered how long it would take for them to find her.

The answer?

Right about now.

"Stop!" someone barked from behind her. Jumping to her feet, Alex whirled to face them. There were six soldiers in full golden armor, holding spears and shields. They began marching toward her. "Stop, Unseelie scum!" one of them shouted.

"Uh. I'm not—please—there's been a misunderstanding." She raised her hands in a show of harmlessness. "I'm not Unseelie—this is a glamor—I'm human—I?—"

"You are trespassing. You know the price for such a thing. And by the order of Queen Abigail, you are sentenced to death." They kept advancing on her. "Surrender."

"Seriously, please, don't do this." She kept retreating from them, walking backward through the grass. "Just let me go."

When it was clear they weren't going to listen to her, she once more turned and ran for her life. She was already exhausted, and she suddenly wished she did more casual cardio, because it felt like her heart was going to explode. The soldiers shouted and were clearly chasing her, but she hoped she was faster without all the heavy armor.

Unfortunately, she was wrong.

She had just made it to the line of the trees when one of them grabbed her wrist and yanked, sending her staggering and falling roughly to the ground.

The lead soldier was standing over her. He pulled a golden sword from his sheath. "Now, you die."

"I—wait—please!" She tried to scramble away, but she was surrounded.

She was going to die.

She was going to die.

She was going to die.

The soldier swung his sword at her, meaning to cleave off her head.

She gestured with her hand as if to push him away.

And in that moment, the soldiers…changed. Instead of soldiers, there was an explosion of vines, flowers, and grass that covered the ground and trees. It was as though they had turned into a wave of flora that cascaded out from them in the direction of her gesture. Instead of gore, splattering all over the trees and the ground, was life.

She was shaking.

But she was alone.

Alone in the underbrush that was now covered in wildflowers that had once been people. The birds were chirping overhead, and a butterfly went to settle on a flower, entirely ignorant in its beauty to the reality of what had just happened.

She had just killed six people.

Kind of.

She had turned them into plants.

She had heard their music and changed it to something else.

Her head was spinning. She felt faint. Backing up, she pressed herself against a tree and slid to the ground, now no longer caring who found her or what they were going to do. Because all she could do was stare at the six patches of green that had no business being there.

What have I done?

Valroy knewthe moment something had gone awry. The moment someone crossed from his world of moonlight into that of the sun. He grimaced. No Unseelie had been taken prisoner by their damnable and insignificant "counterparts" in all his years. They were smarter than that—better than that.

It left only one option.

That bastard duke was to blame. The human witch he had caught in his coils was the key to unlocking the cage that kept Valroy and his kind at bay. With her simple wish, to end the treaty that kept them from ruling Tir n'Aill and destroying Earth, all would be set right.

But if Izael had gone and done something foolish…if he had frightened the girl away? All that would be lost.

Now, Valroy was left with two questions.

One. How did the human girl escape Izael to begin with? The duke was not precisely uncovetous of his things.

And two.

How much would it cost Valroy to bargain with his wife for the girl's return?

Sighing, he pulled his wings around him like a cape and braced himself for the manner of negotiation one could only have with one's wife.

One he was likely to lose.

Alex hadno clue how long she sat there, staring at the patches of growing flowers and greenery that had, only a short time prior, been Seelie fae soldiers trying to do their jobs. She didn't have a problem with them. They were just following the rules.

And now they were gone.

Her ability to hear the music of life was one thing. The fact that she could change it at will had been wonderful at first. But now, she was staring down the dark side of her gifts. Six people. Six fae soldiers. Gone.

What if they had kids? What if they had family? Did she just leave six widows or widowers wondering where their fathers, sons, husbands, had gone?

She also had no clue when she had started crying.

She hadn't known the soldiers, but she knew they didn't deserve what she had done. She hadn't even really been trying to hurt them. She had just panicked, and apparently instinct took over. She had just taken their music and changed their instruments. She had no idea if she could put them back—she was honestly afraid to try. What if she screwed it up? What if they came back as puddles of goop? Or all as one twisted mess of limbs?

She hated crying. It was her least favorite thing in the world next to throwing up. It was pointless, it wasted time and effort, and it was gross. But there she was, weeping, because she had killed six people.

"Oh, dear." Someone sighed as they walked into the clearing. It was a beautiful young woman, dressed in a simple pair of dark green pants and a white blouse that was loosely tied in the front. Her hair was a fiery shade of natural red, with tight crimped curls that some folks would kill to have, and others would kill to get rid of. Her skin was tinted green at the edges, and tucked into her hair were a few scarlet flowers that almost resembled poinsettia. Her ears were pointed.

Seelie.

Alex froze, pulling her knees up to her chin. She didn't say anything—didn't dare.

The woman scratched her head, nudging one of the wildflowers on the ground with a bare toe. "Well, now. Isn't that something?" The stranger looked up at her and smiled faintly. Her lips were a matching crimson to the flowers in her hair, and something told Alex it wasn't makeup. Without another word, she walked over to Alex and sat next to her before scooching closer like they were the best of friends. "Seems like you are having a terrible day, Alex."

She blinked. "You…you know my name?"

"And I know that is a glamor you're wearing, yes." The other woman looked up into the trees, her bright green eyes shining in the sunlight. "Would you like me to take it off of you?"

"Yes, please. I'm not sure if being a human here will help any, but…can't get any worse than this." She gestured at herself, and her pale purple-blue skin.

"Indeed." The young woman chuckled and, reaching out, waved her hand over Alex as though she were pulling a spiderweb away from the air in front of her. Alex felt herself shift back, and looking down, her skin had returned to normal. "That's better. In my opinion, you look much nicer this way. Though I am certain Izael disagrees."

"He does." She frowned. "Who are you? Are—are you going to—I'm so sorry about them, I didn't—" She stared at the patches of greenery that had once been soldiers.

"You did not kill them. You did not even harm them, to be truthful. They are still part of the fabric of Tir n'Aill, and quite alive." The stranger chuckled. "Even if they are changed."

"Do you think they had families?"

"Oh, no. Soldiers of Tir n'Aill have no one to mourn them." The young woman smiled and leaned against Alex's shoulder as if they were old friends. "I saw to that."

Alex felt a sinking sensation come over her. "Who are you? How do you know me?"

The woman sighed. "My husband couldn't help but run his mouth. He's been so terribly proud of himself about all this nonsense, even if it was the duke who has cooked it all up and he's just riding the snake's tail."

That was all Alex needed to know to guess who the woman was. Putting her head in her hands, she braced for the worst. "Fuck me."

The stranger laughed and patted her on the back. "I know. This can all be a lot to take in. Trust me, I sympathize with you more than you might realize."

Straightening, Alex turned to the stranger. "Pardon my saying so, but…um…"

"I don't look how you expected?" The woman chuckled. Her smile put dimples on her cheeks and accentuated her freckles. "I know. I can't stand by all the pomp and circumstance. And this is so much more comfortable and practical." She gestured down at her basic clothes. "But it is nice to meet you after all this excitement. You've started quite the ruckus, you know."

Alex groaned and waited for the proverbial hammer to drop.

The fae woman smiled. "Hello, Alex. I am Abigail, the Seelie Queen."