Kai studied the human girl he’d fallen in love with as she stood to one side of the large fireplace, preparing to speak. Her brown eyes were downcast, and she twisted the hem of her tunic in her hands. She wore her brown hair loose, but it did nothing to hide the tension in her shoulders or the shadowy mark running up the side of her neck. She’d asked them to gather here because she had something important to discuss. Based on her apprehension, Kai had a feeling he already knew what it would be.

  As though sensing his gaze, Seraiah’s eyes darted to him and then away, landing on the door like she wanted to be anywhere else.

  “So what is this about?” Virelai asked from her seat at the table. “Did you have a vision? A plan? Or do you intend for us to sit here forever doing nothing?”

  They’d only arrived at the necromancer’s cabin a few hours ago after being forced to flee Nyrene. The journey had been slow, with only two horses between the eight of them.

  “You could leave any time you want, you know,” Kestrel said, from where she leaned against the wall near the door. “Not like anyone wants you here.”

  “What happened to being grateful I saved him?” Virelai flicked a finger at Eryx, standing next to Kestrel.

  “Doesn’t mean—”

  Seraiah cleared her throat, and Kestrel fell silent. “I asked everyone to gather here because I wanted to discuss our next steps. All of you know what we are facing now, and we have no time to waste. I’ve thought it over on the journey here, and I’ve come up with no other options. We must kill her.”

  Silence reigned.

  There was no need to specify who Seraiah meant for them to kill. They all knew she referred to his sister, Sterling. They’d failed in keeping her from Nyrene’s throne, just as Kai’s mother had failed before them, and now Sterling threatened to destroy their world and many others.

  Kai scanned the occupants of the room, trying to measure their reactions. Were they silent because they agreed with her or were they silent because they didn’t?

  Virelai tapped her fingers against the table in a restless rhythm, affecting a bored appearance. She may pretend not to care, but Kai wasn’t fooled. Gavaran’s daughter always had an opinion. Even now, she would be formulating a plan on how best to leverage this to benefit herself.

  He still owed her a favor of her choosing, and he’d been almost positive Virelai would call it in immediately. However, she still hadn’t brought it up, and it wasn’t because she hadn’t had the opportunity. He didn’t think she’d forgotten about it either. No, there must be some other reason she was waiting. Unfortunately for her, he had nothing of value left anymore—not even his title.

  His attention turned to the human man sitting across from Virelai. Seraiah’s father cradled his injured arm against his chest. Had he been one of them, the wound would have healed by now, but as a human, an infection from dirty dressings had set in, dragging out the process. He would be lucky if the wound didn’t bother him for the remainder of his life.

  His face was turned toward Seraiah, so Kai couldn’t read the man’s expression, but he could certainly read the despair in the way his shoulders slumped, curling in on himself. He may not have liked Seraiah’s announcement, but he wasn’t willing to argue with her, either.

  Wisteria sat in the last chair at the table, wobbling slightly on its uneven legs. She’d been more subdued than Kai remembered her ever being, but then again, the last time Kai had seen her was before the takeover—before Gavaran had turned all of their lives upside down.

  Or maybe Kai had been the one to do that when he went searching for his missing sister. Perhaps if he had left it alone and believed the lie his mother had tried to feed him, none of them would be here right now.

  Fate cannot be fought.

  Seraiah’s mother’s words rang in his head. Ever since Seraiah had told him, he hadn’t been able to rid himself of them. Part of him wanted to believe they were true. It would mean nothing he had done or could have done would’ve changed where they were now. But another, much larger part of him, wished Seraiah’s mother was wrong because otherwise, they had no hope of saving anyone.

  His eyes moved to Kestrel. Her lips were pursed as she mulled over Seraiah’s words, but she didn’t appear opposed to them. Eryx leaned over to whisper something in her ear, and Kestrel nodded. Kai couldn’t help noticing their hands were linked. He was happy for his friends. It had certainly taken them long enough to work things out. He only hoped they’d be able to enjoy their newfound happiness.

  Kai looked to the last person in the room. The necromancer stood in the open doorway leading to the cabin’s only bedroom. His eyes were unfocused as he fiddled with the gloves he always wore. Out of all the people in this room, Kai trusted him the least. Yet here they were, gathered in the necromancer’s home, protected by his wards.

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  Perhaps Ren was the one who’d encouraged Seraiah to say what she had. Kai had noticed the two of them talking frequently on their journey here. He wouldn’t have said the two were friendly exactly, but they seemed to have formed some sort of partnership. A time or two, Kai had been tempted to ask Seraiah about it, but he didn’t want her to think he was jealous.

  Kai’s focus returned to Seraiah. Determination burned in her eyes as she waited for a response. She reminded him of the way she had looked on the day he’d met her. When he’d knocked her into the snow to save her from being run over by a cart, she’d been quiet, apologetic even, but once he’d mentioned her sister, it was as if something had woken up inside of her. A fierceness had radiated off of her as she demanded to know what he knew about Sterling. Something had shifted in him then, though he hadn’t known it yet.

  Kai opened his mouth to speak when it became clear none of the rest of them would. “I disagree.”

  Seven pairs of eyes swiveled to focus on him.

  “There has to be another way. There’s no need for murder.”

  Virelai stopped drumming her fingers on the table. “I thought the seer made it clear what awaits us if this shadow creature is not stopped.”

  “We can stop it without killing her.”

  “How?” It was Kestrel this time. “You felt that wall she threw up. We couldn’t do anything against it. I’m not even sure how we are meant to kill her if we can’t get near her. I fear we might have already lost our chance.”

  “We will find a way to remove the shadows from her,” Kai said with a confidence he didn’t feel.

  Seraiah frowned. “Where? How? And what if we can’t? Then what?”

  “I don’t know, but we will. We must keep searching. There must be a way to defeat this thing.” He knew Kestrel was right. It might already be too late, even if he agreed with Seraiah’s plan. He’d felt the power Sterling had used against them. Who knows how much it would continue to grow?

  “We’ve already been searching and have nothing to show for it,” Seraiah said. “We’re out of time, especially now that Sterling has taken her throne. With the Winter Queen manipulating her—” She shook her head.

  “Sterling is still fighting. She will not give in to the Winter Queen so easily. She wanted to make Nyrene better, not be the cause of its downfall. We must support her. We must keep trying.” He couldn’t let them give up hope when it was all they had left.

  Virelai snorted, and even Seraiah didn’t appear to be swayed by his words.

  “It doesn’t matter what Sterling wants. Fate has a path set out for her, and it will end in our destruction.” Bitterness leaked into her words. “The only way to stop it is to remove her. Your mother understood that. She wasn’t strong enough to make the choice that needed to be made.” Seraiah took a deep breath before continuing. “But I can be. I have seen what will happen if nothing is done.”

  “And what will happen if you murder your sister?” Kai asked. “Have you seen that future as well? Is that what made you decide this course of action was the answer? You say we cannot change her fate but wouldn’t ending her life be doing just that? If that is possible, then so might be another way.”

  Seraiah didn’t respond.

  “Until you can tell me this is the only way your visions show you we can preserve our future, I will hold on to my hope. We will work together and come up with another plan.” Kai held Seraiah’s gaze as if it were only the two of them in the room. “You were once unwavering on your quest to save Sterling. Don’t stop now.”

  Seraiah looked away, and he knew his words had met their target.

  Virelai clapped slowly. “While that was a very nice speech, Kaimana, it doesn’t offer us anything. What is your plan? Unless you have something specific, I’m inclined to agree with the seer. It will be easier to wash our hands of the problem before it becomes something worse.”

  A vague plan had already been taking shape in Kai’s head. “We seek out the Summer King,” he said, “and we gather an army.”

  “We’ve tried that already,” Kestrel said. “As you know, when Seraiah and I returned to this world before we even knew the Winter Queen was involved, my mission was to gather enough forces to take back Nyrene. The gnomes turned us down even when I offered a trade agreement.”

  “And the Summer King?” Kai prompted.

  “Do you see a fae army here?” Kestrel shook her head. “There was a price. I didn’t bother to ask what it was because I know it will be more than we are willing to pay.”

  “Perhaps things have changed now. I can’t imagine he is pleased with his sister’s plans.” Again, he could only hope this was true. The Summer King was immortal, after all. Perhaps he thought the shadow creature was of no concern to himself.

  “Unless he’s involved in them,” Seraiah said. “For all we know, he’s working with his sister and has been this entire time. She likes to play with us like we’re dolls, so why would he be any different?”

  “I agree with the elf prince,” Ren said, speaking for the first time.

  Kai’s brow shot up. The necromancer was the last person Kai had expected support from.

  “The Summer King knows about the shadows,” Ren said.

  “What?” Seraiah burst out. “When were you going to tell me?”

  “He offered to answer my questions about my . . . affliction if I was willing to pay for it. I did not accept the offer—”

  “Then we have to go back,” Seraiah said. “We have to pay whatever he wants. If he knows how to get rid of the shadows . . . it could change everything.”

  “There is another reason I think a visit to the Summer King would be useful, but it will depend on your willingness,” Kai said, looking to Seraiah.

  “What is it?”

  “Remember when you told Kestrel and I about the vision you had of Sterling in the prison?”

  “Yes.”

  “You mentioned you were able to touch Sterling, and you swore she could hear you.”

  Seraiah nodded mutely. She looked at Kestrel and then back to him again.

  “Do you think you could do that again? It would provide us with a way to communicate with Sterling—to dissuade her from listening to the lies Gavaran is sure to be whispering in her ears.”

  And to keep an eye on the shadow creature’s progression.

  Again, Seraiah looked at Kestrel, giving the slightest shake of her head, before responding to him. “I can try.”

  “That’s all I can ask for,” Kai said. “Now we’re all exhausted. Let’s get some rest, and then we’ll discuss the particulars of my plan in the morning.”

  There was a murmur of ascent, and the group broke apart.

  Kai ran his fingers through his hair as he watched them. Now he only needed to finish coming up with a plan.