This darkness was different than the shadows that circled Azriel, trailing behind every move he made. The man was so large it had taken a massive force of will to keep from shaking in his presence, but the reminder that he was one of my mate's closest friends had propelled my fears away. I made a mental note to ask Rhysand why his sense of night seemed so different than Rhysand's, but maybe it was just that was the way all of the Night Court was. I wondered if I would ever possess my own brand of shadows, but I quelled the thought. Their night was magic - something I would never be able to feel, not beyond the bond in my chest.

That other-worldly pull led me forward into the cave. I lost my vision a few minutes in, but I could feel Rhysand watching over me through the bond. It was so freeing to feel him surge me onward, embracing my role I chose for myself - something I knew Tamlin would never have done.

I didn't want to think about that though. I didn't want to think about anything Tamlin did or didn't do, not anymore. That part of my life was over now.

I crept through the blackness with a hand over my stowed knife, unwilling to take any chances despite knowing if I was captured it would be by something inconceivably stronger than me. Still, I felt encouraged by being prepared. I wore a full quiver, two daggers at my waist, and a bow strung over my shoulder. Better than nothing. I held my breath steady as I felt the first corner along the wall. When I turned there was something ahead of me. There was something glowing on the ground. Hesitantly, I approached the enchanted thing that provided the only light in this too small cavernous hall. It shone a deep, treacherous blue-green that muddled and moved within itself.

It was a stone.

I reached for it and found myself pausing when my fingertips drew inches from the brilliant gem. Small zaps prickled against the skin of my hand. Without giving myself anymore time to ponder, I snatched up the enchanted stone feeling its delicate chain whipping at my wrist. It was as if the stone were alive, the chaos of its gloomy colors alive like a roaring sea testing the sailors with its braying storm.

I slipped the strange thing into the pocket of my pants and continued my trek through the endless cave.

After what felt like an eternity, a crack of orange light cleaved through the dark. And then came the voices.

Hissing and howling, eloquent and guttural - a cacophony bursting the silence like a firecracker. I pressed myself against the cave wall, but the sounds passed and faded.

I crept toward the light, blinking back my blindness when I found the source: a slight fissure in the rock. It opened onto a crudely carved, fire-lit subterranean passageway. I lingered in the shadows, my heart wild in my chest. The crack in the cave wall was large enough for one person to squeeze through - so jagged and rough that it was obviously not often used. A glance at the dirt revealed no tracks, no sign of anyone else using this entrance. The hallways beyond was clear, but it veered off, obscuring my view.

The passageway was deathly quiet, but I remembered Rhysand's warning whispered through my mind days ago and didn't trust my ears, not when faeries could be silent as cats.

Still, I had to leave this cave. I had to find Amarantha and hopefully not run into anyone I shouldn't in the process. Killing animals, even the naga beast that had attacked me after I trapped the Suriel so long ago, had been one thing, but killing any others…

I took several breaths, bracing myself. It was the same as hunting. Only this time the animals were faeries. Faeries who could torture me endlessly - torture me until I begged for death. Torture me the way they tormented that Summer Court faerie Tamlin had once found whose wings had been ripped off.

I didn't let myself think about those bleeding stumps as I eased toward the tiny opening, sucking in my stomach to squeeze through. My weapons scraped against the stone, and I winced at the hiss of falling pebbles. Keep moving, keep moving. Hurrying across the open hallway, I pressed into an alcove on the opposite wall. It didn't provide much cover.

I slunk along the wall, pausing at the bend in the hall. I reached into the bond and tugged, then followed the answering pull. I turned the corner to another hallway curved out of the mountain's pale stone, lined on either side by torches. No shadowy spots for concealment, and at its other end my view was obscured by another sharp turn. It was wide open. I was as good as a starving doe, ripping bark off a tree in a clearing.

But the halls were silent - the voices I'd heard earlier were gone. And if I heard anyone, I could sprint back to that cave mouth… No, this wasn't a time for fear. Rhysand was leading the way. But his magic was stretched so thin. Was he just pulling me toward him blindly or could he see - feel - my surroundings? Would he know if I were approached? The bond hadn't reacted to the zings from the enchanted amulet I now kept in my pocket. What if he'd already been found out and was being tortured into leading me to a trap?

No, he wouldn't let them do that. He'd rather die than see me hurt. I knew it because I felt it too. I steeled myself, clinging to the bond, and made to slip around the corner.

Long, bony fingers wrapped around my arm, and I went rigid. A warmth lit within my pocket, fiery hot - so hot I just knew it would burn through my bottoms and leave a mark on my skin. A slow sizzle hummed and burning flesh filled my nostrils as the hand yanked away.

A pointed, leathery gray face came into my view, and its silver fangs glistened as its vicious smile faded and it hissed at me. "What's something like you doing here?"

I knew that voice. It haunted my nightmares since I'd first heard its wicked caress in the garden on a walk with Tamlin and Lucien. They'd shielded me with a glamour to protect me from it, but had also shielded its ugly face from me. At least I had one thing to thank them for.

I took a step back, holding in a scream as its bat-like ears cocked, and I realized I stood before the Attor.

"What are you?" it seethed. I tried not to glance down at my pocket where the stormy stone had dulled its fire. The creature stalked toward me and without giving it much thought, I bolted.

I could feel the Attor inches behind me as I darted down the halls, swinging around every sharp corner. I never laid eyes on another being, faerie or otherwise. Just as I thought I'd reached a dead end I saw the split hall, leaving me the option of left or right. With no sounds but my pounding breaths and the demon creature's clawed feet screeching against the cave floor, I chose the right, but the Attor was there, easily sprinting ahead of me to block the way with its outstretched leathery wings. I was instantly turning to run to the left before I could even think of the way it was corralling me.

Then there were faces - leering faces, cruel and harsh, watching me go by. The faeries broke out into whispers, gossiping as I raced between them, the Attor at my back. For a brief second, I dared a look over my shoulder only to spot the creeping smile on the Attor's face before I slammed into two ancient, enormous stone doors - taller than Tamlin's entire manor - which surprisingly burst open at my effort. I felt a familiar burn singeing my hip from within my pocket.

I fell into a vast chamber carved from pale rock, upheld by countless carved pillars. That small part of me that had become trivial and useless noted that the carvings weren't just ornate designs, but actually depicted faeries and High Fae and animals in various environments and states of movement. Countless stories of Prythian were etched on them. Chandeliers of jewels hung between the pillars, staining the red marble floor with color. Here - here were the High Fae.

Two sets of hands grabbed at my upper arms, hauling me off the ground. Faerie sentries, I'd guess by their polished matching uniforms. The Attor stood in front of us, waiting until I was on my feet before leading us forward. Strange though, the way it couldn't seem to touch the amulet.

An assembled crowd took up most of the space, some of them dancing to strange off-kilter music, some milling about chatting - a party of sorts. I thought I spied some glittering masks among the attendees, but everything was a blur of sharp teeth and fine clothing.

It didn't take long for them to reunite me with the cold marble floor as the guards hurled me forward. The world spun, my bones groaning and barking. I pushed myself up, sparks dancing in my eyes, but stayed on the ground, kept low, as I beheld the dias from Rhysand's memories. Before me, a few steps led onto the platform. I held my head higher.

There, lounging on a black throne, was Amarantha.

She seemed more lovely in front of me than she had from Rhysand's point of view, though she wasn't quite what I would call beautiful. Petrifying, yes, but beautiful, no. Her red-gold hair was neatly braided and woven through her golden crown, the deep color enriching her snow-white skin, which, in turn, set off her ruby lips. But while her ebony eyes shone, there was...something that sucked at her beauty, some kind of permanent sneer to her features that made her allure seem contrived and cold. To paint her would have driven me to madness.

The highest commander of the King of Hybern, She'd slaughtered human armies centuries ago, had murdered her slaves rather than free them. She'd captured all of Prythian in a matter of days.

And she'd enslaved my mate in her bed.

My arms buckled beneath me and I tried to calm the rage that devoured the bond within me. My bones were singing for her death. Her nearness was too much. This fury could claw her ancient face off with my puny human fingers.

A perfect distraction, my eyes had slid to the black rock throne beside hers and I saw Tamlin. He was still wearing that golden mask, still wearing his warrior's clothes, that baldric - even though there were no knives sheathed along it, not a single weapon anywhere on him. His eyes didn't widen; his mouth didn't tighten. No claws, no fangs. He just stared at me, unfeeling - unmoved. Unimpressed.

I had to force myself not to reciprocate the look. Mustering that rage for inspiration, I looked back at Amarantha hoping she'd see a vengeant lover staring back at her.

"What's this?" Amarantha said, her voice lilting despite the wicked smile she gave me. From her slender, creamy neck hung a long, thin chain - and from it dangled a single, age worn bone the size of a finger. I didn't want to consider whom it might have belonged to as I remained on the floor. If I shifted my arm, I could draw my dagger…

"Just a human thing I found downstairs," the Attor hissed, and a forked tongue darted out between its razor sharp teeth. It flapped its wings once, blasting foul-smelling air at me, and then neatly tucked them behind its skeletal body.

"Obviously," Amarantha purred, but her eyes looked between the Attor and the guards who had held me. "But why should I bother with her?"

The Attor chuckled, the sound like sizzling water on a griddle, and a taloned foot jabbed my side and retreated quickly. The smell of burning flesh filled my nose again while my pocket filled with heat. What was this magic? But the Attor pressed on as if nothing happened. "Tell Her Majesty why you were sneaking around the catacombs - why you came out of the old cave that leads to the Spring Court."

I prayed to the Cauldron that the Attor was spewing assumptions and didn't have the power of the mind like Rhysand. If it knew my thoughts our entire plan was screwed. The Attor kicked me again, quickly as not to linger so the singe wouldn't grow audible. "Tell Her Majesty you filth."

This was it - the moment I'd been waiting for. My redemption and salvation. My fate, be it good or bad, lay here with Rhysand whom I could feel behind me in the room. His presence felt both subtle and outstanding within me, but I avoided clinging to the bond in Amarantha's presence. That was not a risk I was willing to take. I eased to me feet, keeping my hands within casual reach of my daggers. I stared into the deathly black of Amarantha's eyes.

"I came to claim the one I love."