Vaguely, I was aware of someone clearing their throat. It took me a moment to come out of the haze of the kiss. When a hand closed over my elbow—and I realized both of Rhys’ were wrapped around my hips—I jumped, yanking back and whirling on the third hand. A man stood there, masked and dressed in a tux with a red bow tie. His hair was slicked back, and his skin was pale. A vampire, maybe? His dark eyes were sharp enough as he studied me. I dropped my very human glamour long enough to let my senses read him properly.

I stiffened. A vampire, yes. Not that I was concerned. But he had another scent on him. One I recognized all too well now. The dark fae we were hunting.

Rhys took a step forward so that he was blocking me from the man. I could only guess he’d noticed it too. “Can we help you with something?”

The vamp rolled his eyes, not bothering to react to Rhys or the way he’d drawn up his chest and shoulders.

“Here,” the vamp said in a bored voice. He thrust a slip of paper at Rhys and wandered off.

While Rhys unfolded it, my eyes tracked the vamp, but he made a straight line to the door and ducked out of the ballroom. Huh. Someone whose aversion to this party outweighed my own.

Rhys growled, and I snapped back to the note he’d been handed.

“What does it say?” I asked.

“It’s from Elsmed. He has new information. Wants us to meet him out back.” Rhys didn’t move, though.

I bit my lip. “Do you think it’s a trap?”

“If it is, that means our guy knows Elsmed is helping us. It also means—I hate to say it, but . . .”

“He could be Elsmed by now,” I finished.

Rhys grimaced.

“The only thing we know for sure is that he isn’t you or me,” I said, trying to stay calm even though my heart was threatening to pound right out of my chest.

Suddenly, the partygoers filling the ornate ballroom before us were more threatening than festive. And I wanted nothing more than to be gone from this room.

“Right, but . . .” Rhys trailed off.

“But what?” I asked, because if Rhys was nervous, I was nervous.

He hesitated. “In order to protect ourselves from whatever’s waiting out there, the smart thing would be to split up. I go out to meet Elsmed and you—”

“Do not say ‘stay behind,’” I warned.

“Actually, I was going to say you should watch my back,” he said. “Let’s slip into one of the rooms upstairs with a balcony. You can let Ethan loose and watch me from there. If anything looks wrong, you have your tattoos and can help get me out of there.”

I mulled that over, but he had a point. Our entire plan tonight had hinged on improvising once we knew where “Walter” was hiding. I’d already assumed part of that would include splitting off to appear weaker to the dark fae we wanted to draw out. So, I couldn’t complain about this detour. Well, I could, but it wouldn’t do much good.

“Deal,” I said.

“Let’s go.”

I let him take my hand, and together we navigated our way back to the door. Thankfully, Michaela was nowhere to be found, so we didn’t have to explain our early exit. In fact, the lobby and stairs were all deserted, and we found our way upstairs without much trouble.

Out on the balcony, Rhys waited while I let Ethan out, and we watched as he took flight, soaring up and out of sight quickly. Then we both stared down at the east side of the inn’s property.

Immediately to my right, a third-floor turret rose and I had to lean around it to scan the rest of the lawn. From the balcony’s view, the large lawn was bordered by a narrow driveway that led down to a row of cottages on the right. On the other side of the cottages, a line of trees separated the inn’s property from the rest of the block.

To my left, the street and shop lights of Main Street sparkled in the distance, reflecting off the snow below, bright enough to see for a long way out.

Even with my fae sight and the brightly-lit night, I couldn’t spot Elsmed or anyone else among the trees that lay beyond the property’s edge.

“Something moved down there,” I said, “But I can’t tell who.”

“Same here.” Rhys turned to me. “If it turns out to be a trap, I want you to—”

“Rhys,” I warned sharply. “Don’t say something that makes me sound like a damned damsel in distress. If it’s a trap, I’m saving your ass. If it’s not, I’m still saving your ass.”

His lips twitched, and he laid a hand gently against my cheek. “Deal. If you need me—”

“I’ll send Ethan. And Rhys? If this guy shows up and he’s . . . I don’t know, got his claws in my power or something, get Elsmed.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, but something tells me he’ll know what to do.”

“Were you always this bossy and interrupting?”

“Were you always this overprotective?”

“Yes,” he said without pause.

I shrugged. “Guess we haven’t changed then.”

He grinned and pressed a quick kiss to my lips that left me panting despite the fact that it was over nearly before it began. Then he strode to the door, and with a final glance back that said everything with a single, smoldering look, he walked out.

I waited, biting my thumbnail until Rhys appeared on the lawn below. He didn’t look up or acknowledge that he knew I was watching him. I hadn’t expected him to. I watched in silence as he made his way around the cottages and toward the thick trees that lined the back of the property. He stopped just short of entering them, and I called to Ethan, trying to pick up on any hidden dangers he’d found.

But Ethan was quiet.

A moment later, my familiar returned, swooping low and coming to land on the railing of the balcony where I stood.

“Nothing to see out there, huh?” I asked him quietly.

Ethan offered a jerky motion that I knew was meant to be a nod.

I looked down again, but Rhys still stood at the edge of the trees, clearly debating something. Slowly, Rhys took a few steps forward until I could no longer see him from where I stood.

The moment he was out of sight, Ethan began to shriek. I gripped the railing, wondering if I should call out as well, urging Rhys back to the safety of the lawn. Too late, I realized the danger wasn’t down there after all. It was here. With me.