This shouldn’t be happening. Not now. Not here.

Shay stared at the portal opening in the corner of the bookshop. It was growing quickly. A couple more seconds and it would be large enough for someone to step out of. Not just someone.

Soldiers.

Fae soldiers. Sent to kill him and every other man in this room.

They were Exiles. Condemned prisoners from a world of magic—the Realm of Light. They’d been found guilty of crimes against the crown and sentenced to exile on the mundane world of Earth, where they were cursed to feel the ravages of time and eventually die.

But they refused to accept their fate. They were fighting back, attempting what no exile had ever done before—working to break the curse, and return home.

But it wasn’t going to be easy. The king had already sent two other forces to kill them. Those attempts had been unsuccessful. Now it looked like he was trying again.

It was no surprise how the king had found them. They’d been careful to hide all the traces of smuggled magic that they’d managed to scavenge…until now.

Nicole’s accidental awakening of the power hidden in the grimoire had been slight, but more than enough to alert those watching from the Realm. It seemed they’d just been waiting for the sign to strike. It had only been seconds from magical spark to the first signs of the portal.

There wasn’t enough time to grab Nicole Starling and get her to safety. The best he could hope for was that the Fae would find her mortal soul beneath their notice and focus their attentions on him and his fellow exiles instead. Right now, it was her only hope of survival.

Shay hated the waves of fear rising up from her trembling body. They were the polar opposite of the beautiful, bright emotions she usually emanated. The ones that were big enough to fill the whole building. The ones that were bold enough to work their way through the tiny cracks in the floorboards of his apartment and take over his space.

Dammit. Why had Emily come to this shop looking for some minor grimoire? Why hadn’t Geoffrey Merlin told Shay he was searching for it in the first place? He could have warned them to stay away from the Starlings.

Despite Emily’s harsh words, he’d done his best to minimize his impact on the family who owned the building. The ones who had no way of knowing the true nature of the creature they were sheltering above them. The least he could do was make sure that they never found out…or felt any of the repercussions.

He owed the Starlings that much.

Shay forced himself to step out from behind the counter as the vortex coalesced. He wouldn’t do any good standing next to Nicole. His presence would only make her into a target.

No, if he and the other exiles had any chance of surviving this battle, it would be by fighting together. Side by side.

Shay, Geoffrey, and Fenrir.

A jinni, a magician, and a wolf.

If that day ever comes, you’ll know what to do.

Well, it looked like the day was finally here. Too bad she had no freaking clue what to do.

Right now, she could barely breathe through the fear and stay quiet like Shay had told her.

Her hands shook as she wrapped them around her knees, desperate to curl up and make herself as small as possible. She didn’t know what else to do.

A few magical sparks were one thing, but ominous winds that came out of nowhere, growing lights, and warnings to stay down if she wanted to survive were another. Terrified thoughts whizzed through her mind, one after another, until somehow, through the din, her grandfather’s voice made it through.

The book will tell you.

The book. Of course.

Nicole sucked in a breath and pulled herself to her knees. She was eye to eye with the safe. The older one this time. The only one that mattered.

A part of her—a big part—couldn’t believe this was happening. After all, her family had kept the book hidden for over a hundred and fifty years now. Through six generations. And in all that time no one had ever come looking. There hadn’t been a single strange occurrence.

Until now.

She needed to be sure that she’d be doing the right thing by taking it out.

Nicole wrapped her fingers over the lip of the counter and slowly lifted herself up, just until she could peer over the edge.

Turned out she shouldn’t have worried about being so stealthy. No one was paying her the slightest attention. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the whirling blue vortex that had opened in the far end of the store, and the long-limbed men who stepped out.

Nicole’s breath caught in her throat. She didn’t have to be told what those were. She’d grown up hearing the tales of seven-foot tall men with stark white hair and cold, ethereal skin.

Fae.

Five of the creatures, all of them wearing the same black uniform and carrying a giant silver spear, walked out of the blue light and into her shop. Their overly slim bodies and pale color made them appear almost fragile, but Nicole knew they were anything but. These creatures were ruthless…and deadly. They lined up in a semicircle, leaving just enough room for one more in the center.

The last fae stepped out a moment later. Clad in a brilliant pearlescent suit, he was clearly the leader. The rich fabric shouted his status, as did the gold-braided epaulets draping down from his shoulders. Whoever this guy was, he was important.

Shay and his friends seemed to know it too. Their backs all stiffened the moment he took his place. The giant Emily had called her bodyguard, Fenrir, protectively pulled her a little farther behind his back.

Nicole held her breath as a strange silence filled the bookshop. Everyone was still. No one made a move.

No one except the center fae. His confident gaze swept the room, passing over Geoffrey, and Fenrir, and Emily…before coming to rest on Shay.

“Shay Madrid,” the fae said. His voice was soft, but cold enough to send a rush of goose bumps up Nicole’s arms.

“Fitch Marrow.” The timbre of Shay’s voice was amazingly even, given the threat standing in front of him.

A satisfied look came over the fae’s face. “You seem unhappy to see me.”

“Merely surprised,” Shay answered. “I never thought you’d fall so far from Oberon’s graces to be tasked with a simple assassination.”

Nicole’s hands began to shake against the wooden counter.

Assassination?

Oh God, this was every bit as bad she’d imagined. Worse even. These fae weren’t just here for the book. They were here for blood. There was no way Nicole could let that happen.

“Put away your smug smile, Madrid,” the fae said. “You’ve misread the situation. I’m still the King’s righthand man. And I wasn’t ordered to come here. I asked for this mission.”

Nicole watched Shay’s head cock to the side. “You volunteered?” he asked. “To come to Earth?”

“To be the one who puts a blade through your beating heart.”

“Now I am surprised,” Shay said. “You’ve never been one to get your own hands dirty.”

A cold smile appeared on the fae’s face. “For you I was willing to make an exception.”

“Why’s that?”

Who cared? That was the better question. Did it really matter why this fae wanted to kill them?

No. It didn’t, Nicole realized. That wasn’t the point of the question. Shay was just trying to keep the ghastly creature talking. He was trying to buy some time until someone could come up with a plan to save them.

It was a decent strategy, but, ultimately, a doomed one. There was no way Shay or his friends could defeat something as strong as a fae…let alone six fae.

But she could.

Nicole slid her fingers off the counter and slowly inched down to her knees. She reached out for the dial of the antique safe as everyone else continued to talk.

“But the allure of being the responsible for your death was all the inducement I needed.”

“I never realized you hated me so much,” Shay said.

“I don’t,” Marrow said. “But other people do, Shay. The King especially, and every day that you continue to breathe his hate grows.”

“And you want to be the one who relieves him of that burden.”

“Close. I want to be the one who receives the well-deserved praise and appreciation for doing so.”

“Of course. I should have realized the difference.” Shay paused for half a second. “So, this is nothing personal?”

Nicole was only half listening now as her fingers carefully turned the dial. She went slow, worried that too many muffled clicks in a row would be enough to draw the soldiers’ attention. So far they hadn’t seemed to notice her at all, and, if this was going to work, she needed to keep it that way.

She was pretty sure she was only going to get one shot at this.

“It’s never personal,” Marrow said. “Though it is fortuitous. I was, of course, hoping to find you at the other side of this vortex, but I never imagined I’d have the good fortune of finding Geoffrey and his attack dog as well.”

Emily’s bodyguard let out a low growl that reverberated through the bookcases. It was a terrifying sound, full of malice and warning. It was enough to make Nicole’s fingers still on the dial for a moment.

The snarl didn’t have the same effect on Marrow, though. He emitted a laugh that chilled Nicole down to the bone.

“Please don’t take offense, cur,” the fae said. “Just imagine the glory you’ll bring me when I return to the King with three heads instead of one.”

“I’m harder to kill than you think,” Fenrir snarled.

“Perhaps back home. But here, on this middle world, you are nothing more than another stray dog needing to be put down,” Marrow said. “Or perhaps you’re worried about the fate of the woman you’re so bravely trying to protect?”

“Don’t come near me,” Emily said with a shaking voice.

No. That pasty bastard wasn’t going to hurt her friend. Nicole turned the dial a little faster. Last number. She only needed a couple more seconds.

“You must be the mortal who has been helping these criminals,” Marrow said. “Don’t worry, my dear. There was no way your unsophisticated mind could fully understand the consequences of your actions. That’s why while your friends’ deaths will be long and agonizing, yours will be swift and painless.”

Nicole froze at his words. In an instant anger replaced her fear. Who did these bastards think they were, crashing into her store and threatening her friend?

Suddenly, she didn’t give a rat’s ass what these creatures were or where they’d come from. She clenched her fingers around the dial and wrenched it into its final position.

Thick inner bolts slid back, clanking loudly. Century-old hinges creaked as the door swung open, but Nicole didn’t care who heard.

The time had come.

A powerful force poured out of the safe. One that Nicole had felt plenty of times before, but never this strong, never this intense. The slight tingles she’d felt before when she’d held the book now shook her with the force of a storm crashing waves against the rocks.

Her grandpa had been right.

The book knew.

It knew, and it was ready.

And so was she.

Nicole reached inside the safe and grasped the ancient tome. Pulses of electric energy shot up her arms, meeting in the center of her chest. It stung, but she held on, trusting her grandfather’s words.

The book will tell you.

She hoisted the book out, jumped to her feet, and let the heavy weight fall down onto the countertop.

“What is this trickery?” Marrow snarled.

Nicole looked up to see everyone in the room, mortal and fae, staring at her with slack jaws.

“Nicole,” Shay cried out. “No.”

So, he did know her name.

The book will tell you.

Nicole slapped an open palm down on the cover. Her other she held out, straight and strong, in front of her. She drew in a deep breath. Her heart hammered. She listened to the thrum of power pooling inside her.

It didn’t tell her a damned thing.

Not until she saw Marrow grab the spear of the soldier next to him. He pointed it at Shay as he rushed forward.

“Get out!” The command poured out of her, and all the power that had pooled in her chest burst out all at once.

She had one second of complete and profound satisfaction as the store filled with a blinding gold light…and then searing pain swallowed her whole.