Navan and I stayed at the festival a little while longer, but then he whispered to me that we should head back to the ship.

“Do you think it’s awake?” I asked.

“Yeah, I do. And I know it won’t be able to escape or anything, but I’d still like to get back there before it starts trying to get away.”

We slipped away from the festival, the music, the laughter, the warmth from the fires fading into the distance as we walked away.

“That was fun,” I said. “I’m glad we went.”

“It wasn’t on the agenda, but yeah, I had a good time.”

My arms swung back and forth slightly as we walked, and my hand brushed up against Navan’s. His fingers interlaced with mine, sending a surprise rush of pleasure up my arm. He glanced at me.

“This okay?”

“Yes,” I said breathlessly.

“Good.” He nodded. “I want to keep you close. Can’t risk Donnel trying to whisk you away again.”

I laughed. “It was Dolan.”

“He wasn’t that good of a dancer.”

“Hey, it’s an open invitation—whenever you feel like impressing me with your dance moves, I’m all for it.”

He squeezed my hand. “Don’t hold your breath.”

When we got to the ship, I was forced to let go of his hand and followed him up to one of the ship’s windows. I pressed my face against it and peered inside.

“It’s still asleep,” I said.

Navan stood next to me, a slight frown on his face. “No, it’s not,” he said. “It’s pretending to be asleep.”

“How do you know? It looks asleep to me.”

Navan continued to stare at it. “I can sense its energy. If it were sleeping, its energy would be at a much lower frequency. But what I’m picking up right now is basically off the charts, which tells me this thing is going to attempt to pull off some sort of ambush. Stay right here—I’m going to open the door.”

I stayed by the window and watched as Navan slowly opened the compartment door. The shifter suddenly sprang, though it didn’t get far because of the ropes it was tied up in. Navan gave it a kick and sent it sprawling. I went inside.

“Well, well, well, look who’s awake,” Navan said. “Good morning, sunshine. Damn, you things sure are ugly.”

The shifter growled, and its eyes swiveled to me. Navan was right—it was ugly, like a giant newborn bird, with its pale, wrinkled skin. Instead of a beak and fused-over eyes, though, it had a wide, flat nose, a gaping mouth full of shark-like teeth, and huge red-veined eyes that seemed mostly made up of iris.

“Give me the antidote,” it said. “And I’ll change into something more aesthetically pleasing.”

“Ha!” Navan’s laugh was like a bark. “Yeah, sure, let me get you that antidote, and while I’m at it, how about a bubble bath and a foot rub? You’re not getting anything. Nice try, though. We’ve got some questions for you.”

The shifter stretched its mouth into what was probably supposed to be a smile, but looked more like a terrifying grimace. “I’m not answering your questions.”

“Then you don’t get the antidote, and you’re forever doomed to be an ugly little sewer rat.”

The shifter stared at him, and I could see it weighing the possibility of having to spend life forever in one form. “At least untie me enough so I can sit up,” it finally said.

“Fine,” Navan replied after a moment. “But I swear, if you try anything, you’re going to wish I had killed you.”

“Does making idle threats to your victims make you feel more powerful, bloodsucker?”

“Shut up,” Navan said. “We’re not talking about me right now. We’re talking about you. I’m untying you on the condition that you’re going to answer my questions. If you don’t, these ropes are going to get a whole lot more uncomfortable.”

Navan undid one of the ropes, and the shifter sat up. Its skin gathered in loose pools of flesh around its elbows and knees. It saw me looking and it grimaced.

“Hey!” Navan snapped, kicking it. “Look at me, not her. Pay attention. Here are your first questions: How many shifters are out here in these parts? And what are you doing with the people that are disappearing—what do shifters want with humans?”

“Oh… I’d say there are a good few hundred of us,” it replied, smiling eerily. “And coldbloods aren’t the only ones with a taste for blood, you know. Human blood is particularly satisfying.” It looked right at me, baring its sharp teeth. I wanted to look away but I didn’t.

“Maybe we should just kill you,” I said. “No more human blood for you.”

“If you kill me, I won’t be able to answer any more of your questions. And that’s what this is all about, isn’t it? Your little lover here getting all the answers so he can swoop in and be the hero who saves the day?”

“He’s not my lover,” I replied, my cheeks heating.

The shifter smirked. “Yeah, right... A human and a coldblood,” it sneered. “I’m sorry but I have to say, I don’t see that being a long-term relationship. Considering how valuable human blood is to your kind.”

Navan frowned. “What the hell do you know about that?”

“She is pretty, though,” the shifter said, ignoring his question. “I can see why you’d be . . . attracted. You’ve probably spent many nights thinking about how good it would be to have a little taste.”

Navan lashed out with his foot, catching the shifter right in the side, sending it sprawling.

“You coldbloods certainly are bad tempered,” it wheezed as it sat back up.

“We’re done talking about this,” Navan said, and was it just my imagination, or were his cheeks a little flushed too?

He pushed a map in front of the shifter’s face. “Where is your base?” he asked gruffly. “Show us on the map.”

The shifter looked at the map, as though studying it. Navan and I both held our breath, but then the shifter shook its head.

“What is this?” it asked, pushing the map away.

“It’s a map,” Navan snapped. “I just told you that. We’re here.” He jabbed a finger at the map. “And you’re going to show us where your base is.”

“I’m not familiar with maps. This looks like a bunch of gibberish to me. I would be guessing if I tried to show you on here.”

Navan exhaled loudly. “Are you kidding me?”

“Amongst my kind, I am known to be one of the funnier ones. But I am not kidding here. I cannot read this map you have.”

“We’re not letting you go,” I said. “Just because you’re claiming you can’t tell us where the base is, that doesn’t mean we’re just going to set you free.”

“Do I look stupid?” the shifter asked.

Navan snorted. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

The shifter ignored him. “There’s nothing I’d like more than a nice taste of some young, virgin blood. Seems a bit torturous that I should be so close to it yet unable to do anything about it. But I’m still willing to help. I can take you there. I might not be able to read this map of yours, but I know the route by heart. I will take you there.”

Navan raised an eyebrow. “Really. And why would we trust you to take us there? You’d probably lead us into some sort of trap.”

“You have reason to trust me because my offer comes with a few conditions. The main one being that you give me the antidote to restore my shapeshifting abilities. What a lonely and disgraceful life I would live if I were doomed to inhabit no other form but this one for the rest of my days,” the shifter muttered. “It would be better that I just off myself now, if that were to be.”

Navan and I looked at each other. As much as I hated to admit it, the shifter’s bargain seemed fair.

Navan retrieved a length of chain, which he wrapped around the shifter’s neck. Once that was done, he undid the ropes.

“Okay,” he said. “Take us there.”