The Autumn Court was coming. A chilly breeze brought with it the sounds of trumpets along with the burning scent of the raging bonfire that had been lit in celebration of the Feast of the Fae. The sky was alight from the blaze of it, casting orange glows against the dying summer light.

Shifting on my feet, I glanced up at Liam, who stood tall beside me. His scowl was as deep as the color of the orange sky. No one had seen or heard from the Autumn Court Royals in almost three months. They’d gone eerily silent after the battle in the Autumn woods, and any attempt to breach their lands had been denied. Finn thought it was a sign they’d given up and were licking their wounds. Liam, on the other hand? Well, he wasn’t quite so optimistic.

“Turns out you’re going to get a good look at Queen Viola,” he said, clenching his jaw as his gaze locked on the distant hillside. A winding dirt-packed path cut through the grass, leading down to the bustling festival grounds in the valley where we stood. “Though you’re going to have to make yourself scarce when the...event happens.”

It was Autumn Equinox, the changing of the seasons. The bright, sparkling, warm summer of Otherworld was transforming into chillier days where deep green leaves would fall from their towering trunks and die.

In the human realm, I’d always loved fall. But here, things felt different. It felt like a herald of terrible things to come. Probably because the Summer, Spring, and Winter Courts planned to ambush the Autumn Royals after the official Changing of the Seasons, a ceremony that would take place at the end of the night.

Their attacks on us had been considered treacherous and treasonous, and the other Courts demanded justice.

“You sound surprised she showed,” I said, body tight and taut from the anticipation of seeing those Autumn Court Royals crest over the hill. “From what you’ve told me, there was never a chance she was going to miss this thing, even knowing the other Courts are angry with her and her fae.”

“You’re right. Of course she wasn’t.” His jaw clenched tight. “She’ll want to lord it over everyone, especially us Summers. Her powers are strongest tonight, you know, and ours are weakest. She wouldn’t be Queen Viola if she didn’t take full advantage of that.”

I lifted my eyebrows at the wary tone of his voice. “You don’t think she’ll try something, do you?”

Something dark flickered in his orange eyes. “I wouldn’t put it past her, not after what her Court did against the Academy. That’s why we’ve made sure all the changelings are spread throughout the crowd. She can’t focus her viciousness on you if you’re not an easy target. Hell, I wanted to leave you all at home, but Alwyn was insistent that the Queen would know something was up if the changelings didn’t attend the Feast of the Fae.”

“Great,” I said, voice tight.

“Don’t worry. She’ll want to make sure the Changing of the Seasons ceremony happens. She wouldn’t risk attacking until after, and we’ll hit hard before she has a chance to do a thing.”

Chills swept down my spine. Queen Viola, I was warned, was nothing like Redmond, her underling I’d faced off against. She was much more vicious, much more cruel. And much smarter. Not to mention the fact that she was one of the most powerful Autumn fae alive, according to Rourke, my Autumn fae instructor.

I’d begged and pleaded for us to go after the fae responsible for the attacks, but not even Liam was willing to take the risk. It was far too dangerous, they’d said. Queen Viola would be expecting an attack. And she’d be prepared for it. Her “subjects” adored her. In their minds, any move taken against her was a terrible treason, and there would be hell to pay.

So, we’d gone back to Academy life as if nothing had ever happened, though I didn’t miss the whispered conversations between my instructors when they didn’t think I was watching. They’d been planning something. Biding their time. Waiting for the right moment to strike. Until now.

Over the glistening hill, six horses appeared along with their riders, all decked in varying hues of oranges, browns, and muddy reds. As if by instinct, Liam’s hand whispered across my back. My entire body clenched tight, and my lungs gasped for air. Liam’s touch had been an elusive thing these past few months, a fact that made me feel as though I hadn’t eaten in weeks. In truth, all of my instructors had put a strange, unspoken gulf between us—or at least that was what it felt like to me. Flirtations? Sometimes. Gazes that said more than their words ever could? Affirmative.

But my skin burned from the absence of their physical touch. Not even Kael would allow himself to be alone with me, not even after the way he’d kissed me as though he’d been gasping for air.

And every time I tried asking why, every single one would have mysterious plans that made them disappear before I’d even finished voicing my thoughts and questions aloud.

They were still my ever-present, overprotective instructors, of course. But it was almost as if they were trying to push away that bone-deep bond I knew we all felt.

Or, at least, I’d thought we felt. Maybe I’d been wrong.

Liam jerked back his hand, almost as if he’d suddenly realized how his body had betrayed him, and he glanced around furtively. Frowning, I narrowed my eyes.

“You look far more worried about someone seeing you touching me than you are about the arrival of Queen Viola.” My words came out in a snap.

“I wouldn’t want to give anyone the wrong idea.”

What the hell does that mean?

Liam’s eyes cut toward the procession of Autumn Court Royals. They were now close enough to make out their distinguishing features, and it was clear in an instant just how Autumn they truly were.

In the front strode a row of three males with one female fae slightly ahead of the others. She had long, flowing auburn hair, the color of falling leaves. The low light of the sun glistened off her dark strands, casting a burnt yellow glow across her sharp face. Her cheekbones were hollow, her jawline and nose sharp and pointed. She was beautiful in a breathtaking kind of way, but she was also severe, sharp, and uncompromising.

“Well, I can see now why people find her intimidating,” I murmured to Liam.

“And her bite is a hell of a lot worse than her bark, darling,” Liam said in his familiar drawl.

At the sound of darling, my insides quaked. It had been a long time since I’d heard him use that term of endearment. We were no longer inside the Academy grounds, and it was almost as though his mask of indifference was starting to slip out here in the “real” world. Because I’d still felt his heated gazes all these weeks, regardless of how much he tried to hide them.

I opened my mouth to speak, but a strange electricity sizzled around us. The buzzing crowd had been replaced by a strange and eerie quiet mass of faeries and changelings. Everyone’s gazes were locked on the approaching Autumn Royals. Fear flickered across some faces, and anger boiled on others. No one was happy to see them, a fact that Queen Viola didn’t seem to mind at all. Her face was pure steel, her lips turned up into a smug smile.

As the heavy thud of horse hooves grew closer, Queen Viola’s eyes suddenly cut straight to me. Her gleaming red eyes flickered, and her thin lips pressed tight together. There was something strange about her gaze, one that lasted far longer than a casual glance. She cocked her head when I frowned, as if in curiosity...or recognition. Did she know who I was? The girl who had defeated the fae she’d sent to take down the Academy?

Or did she recognize me as a changeling, one she was desperate to destroy?

Suddenly, the Queen vanished from sight when a large muscular form with blazing red hair slid just in front of me. His body was taut with tension, anger rippling off his fisted hands like violent waves at sea.

The Queen passed on, along with her companions. With a frown, I wrapped my hands around Liam’s arms and pulled him toward me.

“What was that all about?”

He kept his gaze distant, focused on the Royals. “Nothing.”

I narrowed my eyes. “If it was nothing, then why did you throw yourself in front of me like some kind of bodyguard?”

“Because I am your bodyguard, Norah,” Liam said. “And I didn’t want her to look at you for too long and realize you’re a changeling.”

Irritation flickered within me, particularly when I saw the tremor in his jaw. Liam might have been telling the truth, but it wasn’t the entire truth. He was hiding something, just like he and the others had been doing for weeks.

There was more to this than he wanted me to think.

* * *

The crowd dispersed after the Procession of the Autumn fae. Now came the celebrations. The lively dancing, the games, and the feast. Long skinny tables were set out, dozens covered in the most succulent foods from the Harvest. And in the center of it all sat a bowl three times the size of my head and filled to the brim with glistening, freshly-picked blackberries.

Liam gave a nod toward the fruit and smiled for the first time all day. “You’ll want to try the blackberries before the end of the night. It’ll be your last chance to have them until next summer.”

I cocked my head. “Why? Do they magically disappear after tonight or something?”

It sounded unlikely, but it wouldn’t be the strangest thing about Otherworld. That much I was certain of.

“Close enough,” he said. “After Autumn Equinox, pookas like to poison blackberries by spitting on them. They go rotten to the core, though they don’t look like it, so there’s no way to know which ones are deadly.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Every time I hear something new about the pookas, the more and more they sound like complete assholes.”

He dropped back his head and barked out a laugh. “That’s my girl.”

A wave of warmth went through my body, and I glanced up at Liam with hope in my heart. What I would give for him to pull me close right now, to feel his strong arms wrapped around me, to relish in the fiery heat rippling off his golden skin. Sure, we were in the middle of thousands of faerie. Most of the realm was here tonight. But I didn’t care.

His hand whispered across my back again, as if he could read my thoughts. Our gazes locked, and his lips curled into a smile. But just as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared again.

“Come on,” he said, his voice slightly gruff, betraying the emotions he didn’t want me to see. “They’re about to cut the barmbrack, and you’re going to want to be there. It’s one of our yearly traditions that every fae loves.” His lips spread into a grin. “Probably because it involves cake.”

Despite my disappointment at our lack of contact, my ears pricked up at his words. “Did someone say cake?”

He let out a low chuckle. “Cake made by the Summer Court, no less. Best kind of cake in the entire realm.”

Liam led me through the festival grounds, and it seemed as though every faerie present was heading in the same direction we were: toward a square table that squatted underneath what must have been the most massive cake I’d ever seen in my life. In fact, it was about ten times as large as a standard cake, perfectly square with elaborate frosting covering every inch of its surface.

Four Summer fae were bustling around the cake, slicing the cake into uniform square slices. Underneath the frosting, the cake itself was a beautiful deep red with swirls of brilliant yellow.

“It looks completely bizarre, but at the same time very delicious,” I said, smiling as one of the Summer fae passed me a plate. “What flavor is it?”

“It’s the taste of Summer.”

At the tone of his voice, a shiver slid down my spine. I glanced up at him, swallowing hard when I saw the heat of his gaze. It made my entire body quiver, despite myself. How could just a single look from him make me such a trembling mess?

“Liam,” I whispered, but he merely shook his head.

“Just try the cake, Norah.”

My heart beat hard. Why was he gazing at me so intently? Why did he look as though my reaction to this cake held far more meaning than it should? I dragged my gaze away from his handsome face and stared at the red dessert. Should I be wary of eating this? Would it cause some kind of magical response?

But even if it did, it wouldn’t be anything dangerous. Liam wouldn’t let me eat it if it was.

With my breath held tight in my throat, I brought the cake to my lips. My teeth sunk into the sweet velvety frosting, and a thousand different flavors danced across my tongue. Cinnamon and chocolate. Strawberries and cream. Pumpkin and spice. Dozens of combinations, one after another, an endless stream of delight. Until my teeth crunched against something rough and hard.

Frowning, I did my best to swallow down the cake before spitting out the rock-like object in my mouth. I held it up before my eyes, a strange sensation filling my gut. It was someone’s ring. How odd. One of the Summer fae must have lost it while she’d been baking the cake.

“By the forest,” Liam said, his voice full of awe.

I glanced up. He was staring at the cake-covered ring in my hand, his eyes as wide as a summer full moon.

“You were right,” I said with a laugh. “Barmbrack is a lot different than any cake I’ve had before. They usually don’t come with rings.”

It was a joke, but one that was seemingly lost on Liam. He still stared at the ring like it was some kind of bizarre object from another solar system.

“Excuse me,” I said, turning toward the Summer fae who was handing out the cake. “I think one of you lost a ring in the cake.”

When I showed her the ring, she raised her free hand and let out a whoop that echoed so loud, it must have been heard as far as the opposite end of the festival grounds.

“The Barmbrack Ring has been found!” She grabbed my hand, the one that still held the ring, and held it aloft in the air. Everyone around us cheered. The fae began dancing, and a folksy tune began to play from random faeries who grabbed instruments from a nearby table.

Confusion rippled through me as the Summer fae dragged me away from Liam, who still stood staring at me with a dumbfounded expression on his face.

“I’m sorry,” I said to the Summer fae. “I don’t understand what’s going on. What’s a Barmbrack Ring?”

The woman’s face lit up with a smile. “Ah, you must be a changeling then if you don’t know about the ring. Every year, we put it in the cake. Whoever finds it means she—or he—is destined to be wed within the year. If you haven’t met your mate, you will soon, love. And a faerie wedding is always a cause for celebration.”

I blinked and stared at the female fae. If I’d felt confused before, it was nothing on how I felt now. Destined to be wed within the year? That didn’t make sense. It couldn’t be right.

“There must be some kind of mistake,” I said.

“No mistake, my dear.” Her grin widened. “The Barmbrack Ring always knows. It’s never been wrong. Not even once in thousands of years.”

* * *

I lost myself in the dance, despite my shock and confusion at finding the ring. It was as if my body took over, the fae magic filling me up and driving me forward. Indeed, it was as if my mind and my thoughts were drowned out by the overwhelming lure of song and dance. Moments flew by, and then hours. Soon, the sun had been replaced by a million sparkling stars. The crowd began to thin, and the music cut off. The celebratory atmosphere vanished, almost in an instant.

“It’s time for the Changing of the Seasons, love,” the Summer fae—whose name I learned was Rose—murmured into my ear. “You best get scarce.”

Chills swept down my spine. She knew then, about the ambush. How many of them did? Were they all in on it? Or only a select few?

A strong hand wrapped around my elbow and pulled me away from the dying celebration. Glancing up, my eyes locked on Liam’s glowering face. His jaw was tense. His eyes were full of fire. But there was a strange distant look, that bemused expression of shock, that still lingered.

“We’ve got to get you out of here before the ceremony begins,” he murmured. “I don’t want you anywhere near this.”

“Are you just going to pretend like this Barmbrack Ring thing didn’t happen?”

He grip stayed firm, his gaze focused on the ground ahead. “I don’t see how it can be right. You have two and a half years left at the Academy, which means you won’t be wed within a year.”

“Rose said the Barmbrack Ring is never wrong,” I countered.

He stopped suddenly and twisted me toward him so that he could look deep into my eyes. “It would be unheard of, for a changeling to leave the Academy early unless she’d been banished to join the Wilde Fae. And it would be unwise on top of that. The Academy exists for a reason. It teaches you what you need to know in order to exist in this world, to learn how to fight, to learn how to survive. Not to mention you would have to choose one of us....I mean, one of our Courts—in order to leave by then. Could you really do that? So soon?”

I wrinkled my forehead. “I didn’t think choosing had anything to do with it. Alwyn said that even with my varied powers, I would still only belong to one Court, and that it wasn’t something I could choose.”

He blinked and stepped back. “Of course. But because of your varied gifts, I can’t imagine we’ll know your Court for a long time to come.” He paused and gave a nod, as if agreeing with himself. “A long, long time to come.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but my thoughts were cut short when a hundred screams filled the night air. We both twisted in unison, gazing back at the festival grounds where fae were fleeing left and right, the flickering bonfire transforming everyone and everything into eerie shadows.

I took a step toward the chaos, heart rattling in my chest. I had the sudden urge to do something, to help, though I didn’t know what.

Liam grabbed both my arms and dropped his forehead to mine. My skin burned from where we touched. “Listen to me. The ambush must have started early. I know you want to help, but you can’t. You’re powerful, Norah, but you’re still not ready. Deep down, you know I’m right.”

I swallowed hard and nodded. Maybe he was right, as much as I hated to admit it.

“Good. Now, it’s time to get you out of here.”