Mrs. McDonough and Tryst were waiting for us on the porch again, this time with satchels of herbs for us to hang around our necks, and a salve for our eyelids and ears, to prevent glamor from deceiving us. It seemed quaint, but I knew the power of a suggestion, if it was strong enough, could convince a man to kill himself, or his friends.

“You know the rules, Missy. Tryst gets you in, the pit strips your power, and you’re helpless. I can’t give you magic in the prison. I can’t even get through the door.” She hugged me, fast and tight. “Magic is all that keeps me going.”

“I know.” The crone may have only looked as old as my mother should have been, but she was centuries older. Stripped of the magic that kept her alive, she’d simply turn to dust. So, no handy witch on the tour.

But she came with us to the hillside at the back of her property and uncovered the door that lay hidden behind a honeysuckle trellis.

“It was here all along?” She nodded. “I protect the humans who could fall prey to the pit, and if any escape, I feed and clothe them…It has been an eternity since that has happened.”

Gray scoffed as he gave me a look. “Are you really going to drive to Fairy to ask your father if you can do this?”

“Are you really going to trust that Tryst isn’t trying to help a monster escape?”

The power broker gasped at us, but I ignored him and raised my eyebrows at Gray, who inclined his head in agreement.

“Shit. Better to ask forgiveness, right?” I quipped.

This time, Tryst was the one who scoffed. "The Fae aren't big on forgiveness if you care to remember."

I smiled sweetly at him. “I wholeheartedly no longer give a fuck what the Fae like, Tryst. I had to turn my best friend into the one thing she’s scared of because of them. I’m saving Fairy for the Goddess, and for Pippi, and for Rosalind. The high Fae can hang.”

We stared each other down for a long time until his mouth slowly turned up in a predatory smile. "Well, well. I must admit, Morgan, I would not have expected that. You wanted so badly to be more Fae. I'll take my fee now, then, before your father has your entrails torn out for disobeying him."

Niall threw his arm up between us as Tryst reached for me. “Would he do that to her?” Tryst shrugged. “Then take your payment later. I’d prefer you in a position to protect your investment.”

“That wasn’t our deal, Princess.” He was right, but Niall had a point. What was to stop Tryst from taking whatever it was a kiss could be for him, then leaving us to rot until my father found us and finished the job?”

“Sorry Tryst, but Niall’s right. I’m not breaking our contract, just changing the terms to keep us all alive and as safe as possible.”

He chuckled. "Someday, I hope you understand that I'm not the one you should mistrust." He glanced at Gray, but Gray remained stone-faced, and I was in no mood for whatever fight the trickster was trying to start.

“When you prove it, you’ll be the first to know.”

I wrapped my hand around the small, ornate doorknob in the little wooden door. It was ordinary, no magic or even a lock. Somehow the fact that the prison that held the lesser Fae was unlocked and unguarded made me more afraid. After all, there was no real reason to stop someone from going into a prison. The trick was that once you were in, you weren't supposed to get out again. And I'd already entered and left once. I knew the oubliette would make it that much harder on the second attempt.

“Is it supposed to be this easy?” I glanced at the men in turn, and Grayson stepped in and tried the door, the knob turning easily in his hand. But he couldn’t make himself push it open.

“I don’t like it.” He looked at Tryst. “What’s the angle now, Broker?”

But Niall was the one smart enough to look behind us, instead of ahead. He scented the air, backing away from the door as he did. “Shit, Gray.” Guards materialized out of the trees, their weapons pointed at us. “What the hell?” He looked at Tryst too. “What did you do?”

Tryst’s eyes were wide, his hands spread in confusion. “Me? Do you know what they’ll do to me for even being in the state?”

He and I turned to the witch at the same time. She spread her age-spotted hands and lifted her shoulders. “Sorry, sweetie. The magic that holds me together is failing me. Your cousin offered me true eternity.” She walked past Gray, who was shaking with the effort of not tearing her apart. She opened the door and held it while the soldiers, all of them clad in my father’s crest, herded us inside.

“Not you, Princess.” The guard who spoke grabbed my arm. “You’ll stand trial for your treachery and face the executioner.” Behind me, Gray roared his fury and Tryst threw himself at the guards, only to be pushed back at the points of their lances.

“Don’t do this,” He screamed at them, his emotion startling me. “She is the rightful heir. She is destined to save us all!”

The door was shut, silencing their shouts. “There is no room on the throne for a mongrel,” once soldier sneered.

But the captain spun on him, and the wicked smile slipped off his face. “Her mixed blood is more royal than yours will ever be, Connell. Do not forget you are in the presence of the Princess of the light court, and you are not her judge.”

Of course. The Fae may be spiteful, petty beyond measure, inclined to dramatic gestures like duels…but they’re also the last living true feudal society, and even on my deathbed, my future was better than what Gray, Niall, and Tryst had to look forward to.