‘We’re not going to the hangar.’

‘What? Why?’

‘The plane took off. They’re headed back to Corvinestri.’

She stepped back, shaking her head. ‘They’re going to kill her.’

Mal’s hand settled on her shoulder. ‘Not if we kill them first.’

Dominic nodded. ‘We need a plan. We can’t just stampede in and hope for the best.’

Chrysabelle sank into the nearest chair. She leaned back and blinked hard to clear the tears threatening to spill. The sacre pressed into her spine. Maris’s blade. Chrysabelle swallowed. What defense did her crippled aunt have against those two monsters? Especially back on their own soil. This was all her fault. ‘I should go alone. Get the ring. Tatiana will give up Maris if I offer her the ring and myself.’

‘You will not offer yourself. Or go alone.’ Mal’s voice shook her with its vehemence.

‘I still have to retrieve the ring from my suite at the Primoris Domus. I can’t leave it where it is – look how much trouble it’s already brought.’ Her house could not become the focus for Tatiana’s anger.

Mal shoved a hand through his hair. ‘I’m starting to think no good can come of giving Tatiana the ring.’

Chrysabelle had begun to think that too. ‘At the very least, I will get it and destroy it. Then Tatiana can twist in the wind over her precious ring.’

‘But not alone.’ Mal’s stance broadened into something battle-ready. ‘I’m going with you.’

‘Agreed.’ After all, she had promised to talk to the Aurelian about his curse. He might as well be there to hear what she had to say. She rubbed her forehead. What was she thinking? The Aurelian wouldn’t tolerate Mal’s presence any more than Madame Rennata would allow a vampire beyond the great room of the Primoris Domus. And Chrysabelle would be lucky to get an audience with the Aurelian if Madame Rennata found out about the danger Chrysabelle had put the house in with that stupid ring.

Dominic said something. Chrysabelle glanced up. ‘What?’

‘I said I’m going too.’ Dominic’s gaze shifted to a mother of pearl-handled falchion on the wall. The sword looked like it had never been used. ‘I’m not without skills myself. And I will not allow them to hurt Marissa.’

The letter opener fell out of Katsumi’s hand and clattered to the desk. The woman leaned back in the chair, and crossed her arms, looking very much like a woman scorned.

Chrysabelle tucked her hair behind her ears. How long had Dominic and Katsumi been sleeping together? ‘That’s all well and good, but you’re both anathema. The wards will keep you out of the city. I’m basically going alone anyway.’

Dominic’s rich laugh brought her head up. His finger wagged at her like he was talking to a child. ‘But you see, I have a secret weapon.’ He turned and gestured into the dark recesses of his office.

A broomstick of a man emerged from the shadows, the pale skin of his face and hands marred by oddly shaped freckles. Bottle-glass green eyes took her in. For a moment, she stared. Then her brain caught up with what she was seeing.

Dominic swept one hand wide toward the room’s newest occupant. ‘Chrysabelle, meet Solomon, one of the few pure-blooded cypher fae.’

Cypher fae. Those weren’t freckles. Those were numbers. She held out her hand to the rare creature. ‘Pleasure to meet you.’

He splayed his six-fingered hands in front of him. ‘I am not gloved.’

Still holding out her hand, she shrugged.

Solomon’s brows rose and his eyes widened. ‘You would voluntarily touch me?’

‘I have no codes to hide.’

‘Codes?’ Mortalis snorted. ‘He’ll strip out every bit of personal info in that pretty little head of yours, including passwords, relevant numbers, and the personal configurations necessary to deceive wards that recognize you. And some that don’t.’

Chrysabelle’s hand dropped to her side.

Solomon sighed. ‘My unfortunate kin tells the truth. But your trust is endearing.’

Mal stepped up next to Chrysabelle. ‘And you’re going to help us why?’

She shot him a look that hopefully he understood as shut up and be nice. ‘He can get all of you into the city.’

‘I understand that,’ Mal said. ‘But why should he? What’s in it for him? No one does anything for free.’

‘Indeed,’ Katsumi interjected.

The smile returned to Solomon’s face. He lifted one shoulder. ‘There is much I can glean in Corvinestri.’

‘Yeah, that, and Dominic has his number.’ Mortalis kneeled beside Nyssa, taking her hand in his.

Impressive. Getting a cypher’s number was no easy feat, but if you could find the sum of their freckles, you owned them. What alchemy had Dominic used to achieve that?

Mortalis scooped Nyssa into his arms. ‘I’m going to take her to the physician, then I’ll be ready to leave.’

‘Is she going to be okay?’ Chrysabelle couldn’t help but hope so, even if she didn’t know the girl.

Mortalis nodded. ‘She’s half shadeux. Very resilient. If the Nothos hadn’t put iron cuffs on her, she probably could have taken it out on her own.’

As Mortalis left, Mal questioned Dominic. ‘How soon can we leave? I assume you have a plane?’

‘I do,’ Dominic answered. ‘It will take half an hour to get to the airfield, but the plane and pilots won’t be ready for another hour and a half. I don’t know if Tatiana had time to refuel or not before they left, so that may mean another stop for them before they hit Corvinestri. Either way, we won’t be far behind.’