Kenton was on fucking overkill with the number of bodyguards escorting me through the bustling terminal. I was traveling amidst a small army. An army I didn't need, but I followed protocol like a precious little heir whose parents were terrified he'd be abducted and put up for ransom.

As much as it irritated me, I got it. My entire family was at risk now that the Children of the Harbinger knew we possessed Nelle. If they got hold of one of my brothers, they'd use him to leverage her freedom. If I ever got in their sights, they'd go for my head. My death was the only way to free Nelle from the threat of the Alverac.

Grudgingly, I respected my brother's wishes.

I'd changed into my armor in the back of the limousine as we drove to the subway, buckling my weapons to my body, cinching and tucking in loose straps of leather, ensuring the bandoleer was a tight fit. And now, down here in narrow, cramped confines, the guards and I traversed the subway's rusted maintenance corridors, passing the pair of men who'd sent messages to me on behalf of Mela and my Second-In-Command, Jiao Zhang. Since our cell phones wouldn't work down here, there were teams strung throughout the catacombs, set up in a relay system, so messages could be passed from team to team to reach those stationed here above ground. More importantly, this team was set up so I could inform Sirro the moment I captured Yezekael.

We reached the ancient stone door leading to the catacombs. Stone scraping stone raked at my inner ears as the door swung open and we plunged into darkness. The bodyguards kept pace with me as we jogged through the tunnels and down crumbling steps, only because I'd slowed right the fuck down so they could keep up.

Strobes of light from the guards' flashlights stroked the walls. Water dripped down the jagged stone to pool on the pitted floor. The sound of our rapid approach spiraled out into the vast cavern as we reached the chasm that gouged the catacombs like a fat blade and split apart the honeycombed layers of tunnels.

The ancient voice of the Uzrek infiltrated my mind—Yezekael's on his way.

Like a dumbass, I asked—Now?

I could sense the smile in the Uzrek's voice as he murmured—Faster, Wyrm Tamer, if you want to get inside the hide before he arrives.

Hellsgate.

Urgency was a shot of adrenaline stabbed into my heart. Now. I had to go fucking now!

I launched into a run, stretching my legs long, my footfall echoing as I headed straight for the chasm, with the sound of startlement and vexation coming from my army of guards as I shot past them.

One stride—

Two—

A third—

The muscles in my thighs bunched and then released.

Loose rock rattled into the abyss as I leaped off the edge of the chasm, feeling nothing beneath my feet as I soared through the air.

Fucking glorious!

The thick rope hanging off the support bracing dangled into the pit of the pitch-black void, and I reached for it just as my body began to arc and plummet downwards.

My fingers clamped around the fat cord and I swung outward, dragging the rope with me. A swift loop of cord around my ankle, and I let my grip ease around the rope. I slid downward fast, the furious movement had a rush of icy air carving across my face, blustering my hair. I descended so swiftly that the hot friction scorched through my leather gloves to burn my palms and fingers, and I gritted my teeth against the fiery pain.

Down, down, down, I slipped.

Faster, faster, faster.

The ground rushed up to greet me.

I let go of the rope and jumped the remaining distance. Pain barked through my ankles as I hit the rocky floor, tucking and rolling, flipping to my feet.

And then I was gone, with the roaring sound of my name cutting through the darkness high above.

The team of guards were furious with me and I was pretty fucking sure I'd never hear the end of it from Kenton when he found out. I'd deal with his tongue-lashing later. I needed to get to Mela, now.

I hurtled along a narrow tunnel, heading deeper into the bowels of the earth. My fingers tightened around the wyrmbone dagger I'd snatched from my hip, as I concentrated on where to place my foot, how to place it—lightly, lightly, lightly.

I was an eruption of speed. Fleet-footed and light. An assassin stealing across a village's roofline on a moonless night. Only the swirl of displaced air gave me away to the teams of soldiers positioned along the network of tunnels and caverns that led to Yezekael's nest.

Droplets of sweat trickled down my forehead and drizzled over my brows to sting my eyeballs as I twisted around a corner. My fingers fumbled with the button on my suit's collar to open up the fish-scale cuts on my armor to allow chilly air to flow through and help cool my overheated body. I'd strapped my weapons tightly to my body to keep metal and leather from rattling to ensure minimal sound gave myself away. I needed to be a wraith while bolting through the catacombs. There were things best left undisturbed. Otherworldly critters with a filmy sheen of light glinting off needle-like teeth crawled up walls and across ceilings in the distance.

Onwards I streaked down long straight tunnels that never seemed to end, dashing down awkward stairwells, and through a rabbit warren of crooked turns. All I had was darkness wrapped around me like a cloak and my thoughts.

If there was anyone in my family who had come to seek me out at the market, I was glad it had been Caidan. I didn't check myself in what I'd said quietly to Nelle, nor how I'd spoken to her either. I knew he'd have heard what we'd discussed, and caught the worry and timbre of warmth in my tone too. And maybe some unconscious part of me had chosen to do so to use it like a weapon. Out of all my siblings he was the closest to cracking. He knew what we were doing was wrong.

I could fucking kick myself for not taking the time to speak with my brother.

He'd arrived from the Keep with my weapons and armor—something he could have sent one of our staff to do, yet he'd chosen to do it personally. He'd wanted to tell me something, but it was too late. As soon as Nelle and I had stepped out from the secret passageway leading to the Purveyor of Rarities and strode down the corridor toward the market, I'd been bombarded with messages.

My phone's notifications had gone off. Messages had flooded in from my people and Mela's too. There were a slew of updates detailing each stage of the trap being constructed for Yezekael. I had to hand it to Mela, the Văduvas were fucking crafty, and pulling this off did need a delicate touch. And lastly came the message from Jiao, advising me to get to the catacombs now. The Văduvas had set the trap and were waiting inside the hide for the creature to appear.

Amongst the messages were a few from Caidan too, demanding to know where the hells I was, before announcing he'd arrived at the market. At the time I'd been overwhelmed by the onslaught of incoming information to think about why Caidan was there in the first place. I was too busy sending replies and mentally rushing through all the things I needed to act upon to give Caidan the time of day. I barely had enough room inside my head for Nelle.

Instead, I'd left feeling grateful to the obnoxious fucker that he could escort Nelle back to the Keep. Out of all my siblings, he was the only one I trusted with my little bird. And I wanted Nelle to spend time with Caidan so she could wear him down like I knew she wouldn't be able to resist doing.

However, Nelle had been unsettled for some time now. Her unease slithered beneath my skin.

Something's wrong...something's wrong...

As I sliced through the inky darkness with physical exertion centering my soul and clearing my mind, I had time to think about the last moments at the market. There'd been a flash of guilt on my tongue like the cold sting of metal. Guilt. Had it come from Nelle or Caidan?

And when I'd leaned closer to her, holding her hand and brushing my thumb across her knuckles had I detected a scent lingering on her, different to the floral soap that clung to her hands and clothes, one that was faint and masculine?

Maybe...?

Maybe I was just going fucking crazy.

When I'd left Nelle behind and strode through the market between an avenue of stalls, I'd experienced an irritating sensation that set my teeth grinding together and the tiny hairs hackling down the back of my neck, demanding I go hunt down whatever caused the spike of territorial aggressiveness, but then...

I'd been distracted by all the things I needed to focus on and I shoved my hostility aside. My bodyguards had hustled me out of the market and into the limousine hedged in by the cascade of SUVs waiting for me on the busy city street.

Just like Caidan, something had been up with Nelle too.

The memory of us at the market standing beneath the tree with the clockwork metal birds nestled on its supple branches echoed through my head. It had felt as if this was going to be the last time we were going to see each other in this light, with warmth and sincerity returned in her gaze. That the both of us were perched on the knife-edge of everything turning upside down between us.

It was fucking stupid...

But I couldn't shake the foreboding feeling.

Yet, cool relief washed through my veins like a soothing balm to vanquish the unease, and it unraveled all the knots in my gut.

One of my last remaining problems had been solved. The major one. I'd fucking known deep down in my soul that the answer to my mother and Nelle's situation had been tangled together in that book.

And now I was left with one remaining problem.

The hardest one to solve.

Qualities.

The Uzrek's voice once more invaded my thoughts—She doesn't know what you're up to, does she?

She won't ever learn it either—I mentally bit back.

Its laugh rumbled in my head, reverberating like raining rockfall clashing against stone.

I mentally flipped it off.

Nosy motherfucker.

Its laughter grew louder, more hearty, before dying away.

My hair flicked across my forehead as I careened around a corner and burst into an enormous cavern. It reminded me of a beehive but with a hole at the center of its ceiling, a chimney flue of sorts, and a way out. And near the top, as the rounded walls flowed inward, were the gaping holes of passageways leading to who-knows-the-fuck-where.

There, straight ahead, directly across from me was the entrance to a corked stairwell littered with broken bones that would wind down through the earth further. I pushed harder, faster, ignoring the burning pain in my leg muscles, the tightness in my lungs, and the sweat rolling down the groove of my spine. I charged like an arrow across the chamber's rocky floor and erupted into the stairwell. Tripping down the steps winding round and round like a twirling ribbon, reminded me of leaving the Purveyor of Rarities. I was still reeling from what I'd learned from Florin.

I'd finally been given a sense of direction and a feeling of solace. Almost as if I'd been floundering in an empty ocean and wearily latched onto a broken hull, upturned and tossed about by wild waves. Exactly how I felt about that dusty old tomb filled with peculiarities, the moment I'd unearthed it in my family's library. I knew the necklace of yellow diamonds my mother had been wearing would lead me to an answer.

I'd received a boon. The Horned God had given me a lead.

If only Florin had paid closer attention, I might have more to go on than the Szarvas woman.

Who the fuck was she?

She'd caused my mother anguish over the years. So much so that Mom had worn a symbol of her marriage to my father when she'd met the Szarvas woman for afternoon tea at the Monarch Tower.

The Monarch Tower which had suffered a strange power outage from a rogue strike of lightning the same day my mother had been abducted.

And amongst all those puzzle pieces, why had they arranged to meet in the first place?

Was it to do with my father or something else?

Maybe it was simply a meeting between Houses to discuss possible unions between their children. Kenton would have been at an age where consideration of House alignments through marriage might have been stirred.

I mentally sighed.

Once I'd dealt with Yezekael, I'd figure out her identity.

But right now, down here, it was too far out of reach.

What could I do?

Nothing.

All I could do was keep moving forward, placing one foot in front of the other, choosing between left or right or straight ahead.

Mela and our combined forces had set the trap and I needed to get down there if I wanted to be a part of capturing Yezekael. Of course, I fucking did. The sooner I had my fist squeezed around this creature's throat the faster I was going to learn why Sirro was after it.

I ran through darkness, a whirl of speed and razor-sharp focus, down passageways, across chambers with a strange luminescence gleaming on their coarse walls, skirting nests of krekenns and dodging the burrows of slumbering Stone Eaters.

Down, down, down, until I reached the point where Mela and I had been guided to by the Uzrek yesterday. I slowed my pace, dragging in lungfuls of cold air to douse the burning in my chest, carefully navigating the debris of the dead serpent that was strewn across the floor of the tunnel like rubble. My men were there as well as Mela's team, armed and ready, still as statues inside the abandoned burrow.

I bent down and scooped up handfuls of dust and dirt and shedded stone eater scales from the crease in the floor where it met the smooth, circular walls of the serpent's burrow and rubbed it all over my armor and sweaty skin until I stunk like the catacombs. Slinking past everyone, I ducked inside the hide.

Mela turned her head over her shoulder and as I squatted down beside her, I caught a gleam of gold against her throat. A necklace I'd not seen her wearing before.

There was no time to dwell on it any further. The Văduvas had cleverly built a false wall within Yezekael's nest. Both of our lives were spinning out of control in regards to whom we cared about, but this at least was something that Mela and I could control—what we both were good at. Hunting.

We shared a grim grin. A flash of white teeth in the darkness.

Her thirst for blood simmered on my tongue and mine smoldered like shadowy flames beneath my skin.