"If it isn't the silver rabbit who stole a wyvern from my lawn," Landon suddenly says.
The world tilts. My muscles lock as his words register.
No. No, it can't be…
I turn slowly to find him watching me. His mask is now removed and held loosely in one hand. Without it, his features are starker. Eirik Bloodhound's Master of the Hunt stands before me.
How long has he known? Since the dance? Was this entire evening a trap, letting me think I was clever while he played with his prey?
"Remove your mask," he says.
The words are soft but carry the weight of command. My hands shake at my sides. I could run… but I've seen him fight before. Landon is faster than me and stronger. I'm trapped on a terrace and there's nowhere to go.
"Did you think I wouldn't know you?" His voice is quiet, almost amused. "I've spent weeks thinking about the thief who had the audacity to break into my estate. I told you I would find you."
And he would kill me.
That was the threat he'd made that day as I fled with Coral. The memory of his rage echoes in my mind. What will he do now that he has me cornered?
There's no point in denying it. He already knows. I reach up and remove the mask. My fingers fumble with the silk ties at the back of my head. They've tangled somehow, or maybe it's just that my hands won't stop shaking. Finally the knot gives way and I pull the mask free.
The cool air touches my face and for a moment there's relief. It's an inappropriate feeling, standing before someone who wants me dead. I force myself to look at the Shadow Fae and face whatever comes next.
Landon's expression changes.
It's not anger or triumph at catching the Elven Queen in enemy territory. Instead, his entire body goes rigid. His maskslips from his fingers and falls to the stone terrace with a soft clatter. He takes a step back and nearly stumbles. His eyes are wide, locked onto my face.
"You're my mate," he says.
The words hang in the air between us. It doesn't make sense. I already have a mate.
Svenn.
This fae is confused and mistaken. The eclipse is playing tricks on his senses—
"You're my mate," he repeats, stepping closer now. His hand reaches toward me like he can't help himself. I back toward the balcony rail, genuinely frightened by the look in his eyes. Desire and devastation war across his features.
"No. You're wrong," I whisper against the whistling wind. "I already have a mate."
"The bond doesn't lie. I can feel it. You're mine."
He reaches out.
Instinct overrides thought and reason. My hands find the railing and I climb the cold stone quickly. One of my gloves catches on the carved edge as I scramble up, the delicate silk tearing. I yank my hand free, leaving the ruined glove behind. Wind whips my gown around my legs as I teeter on the narrow ledge.
"Wait." Landon lunges forward, hand outstretched. "Don't—"
I leap into darkness.
Landon screams.
The sound is terrified and full of an anguish that cuts through everything. He thinks I just threw myself to my death because of him. The ground rushes up toward me. For a moment, I wonder if he's right.
Feathers beat against the night air.
Coinneach catches me in his massive shadow owl form. His talons close around my waist firmly without breaking skin.Relief floods through me. I wrap my arms around his legs, pressing my face against his feathers.
"Thank you, Ken," I whisper.
