Now we were getting to it. ‘What’s the second?’

‘When you attain that’ – he pointed at the misty disc Card Bastien was holding – ‘I am to have first use of it before any other.’

I clamped down on my shock. He didn’t want my blood-bond? Was this a trick? I narrowed my eyes. ‘Will your first use in any way negate or destroy the disc’s power, or stop it from having the ability to join that which is sundered and release the fae’s fertility from the pendant, so that their fertility is restored to all as it was before it was taken, in an acceptable time frame – which I would nominate as no longer than three human-world days – or in any way deny the fae the use of the disc immediately after you?’

‘No.’

Nice unequivocal answer, so no deal-breaker there. Something which had suspicion twitching over my skin. Really, if I ignored Malik’s agitation about keeping his soul, it was way too easy. ‘What’s the disc?’

‘An item of great power,’ Bastien said, an ecstatic expression lighting his face.

Figured. ‘Does it have a name?’

‘The Hidden Rune of Iron.’

Well, at least it wasn’t the Holy Grail or a Golden Fleece. ‘What’s it do?’

He gave me a look as if it were a stupid question. ‘One of its other names is the Restorer.’

I cut him a look. ‘What do you want to restore?’

He smiled.

I shrugged. ‘So where is it?’

‘The Hidden Rune of Iron is also thus named due to its ephemeral nature which makes it difficult to locate.’

Damn. Easy just got hard.

A sly look crossed his face. ‘But I have it on good authority that it has been seen recently at The Court of Love and Beauty in the Fair Lands.’

Crap. Hard just hit dangerous. An impossible to find magical item, and— ‘The queen of that Court is Clíona, my grandmother.’

He inclined his head. ‘Then maybe she can be of assistance to you, my princess, and your quest will be concluded quickly.’

Concluded and quick it would be, but not because I’d find the Rune. ‘My grandmother wants me dead.’

‘Well, well, not everything in life is convenient.’

He’d got that right.

On the card, Viviane twirled her parasol. ‘The time has come for you to choose, bean sidhe. Do you accept Bastien’s price, or not?’

‘So I keep Malik’s soul and attain this Hidden Rune of Iron under the exact conditions specified, and at that point you will ensure that the person who has the Fabergé egg will give the egg to me, or to any of London’s fae, with all knowledge that they have about the item, in its undamaged condition.’

A frown lined his brows. ‘The egg will be undamaged from their possession, as for anything else, I cannot say.’

I grunted in acknowledgement. ‘Fair enough. So that’s it? There’s nothing else?’ Like wanting my blood-bond?

Bastien smiled. ‘There is one other condition.’

Of course there was. ‘What?’

‘Time is of the essence,’ Card Bastien said. ‘You must leave now. No stopping to converse with your friends or anyone else. Otherwise the opportunity to attain the rune will be lost.’

I rocked back on my heels. ‘You’re kidding me?’

‘He cannot lie, bean sidhe,’ Viviane said softly. ‘His spirit is guided by the cards.’

I looked away from the card to the open space, at those I loved gathered around Gold Cat the imposter. If I left now, with her there, they might never know I was gone . . .

An ache closed my throat; my eyes stung. I took a deep breath, swallowed the threatening tears back. No way would I give Bastien the satisfaction of seeing how much leaving would hurt. Then panic overwhelmed that hurt as something way more crucial hit me. Gold Cat was out for survival, her own and her pride, and ruthless with it. If I left now, who knew what she’d do to Katie, and to Finn. And Bastien’s price meant I couldn’t even warn them, let alone protect them—

I had Ascalon. I could kill her.

It would take no more than a minute.

Or ten.

Or she’d fight back, and even with Ascalon I might not be a match for a primal spirit. Then what if I killed her? There’d still be the fallout. Ten minutes could end up an hour or more . . .

But no way did I trust Bastien or Viviane’s tarot cards not to skew things in their favour. For all I knew I could have days, weeks even, before the chance to locate the Rune was lost. But could I take that risk when the fae’s fertility was at stake, and ultimately their lives too?

In a weird déjà vu moment, I realised I’d been here before, not this exact spot, and not this exact choice, but I was still making a decision that would affect them all. But as Tavish had told me, it was my blood on both my fae and vamp sides that had started this. I was the key. If I screwed up and chose wrong it wasn’t only Katie and Finn in peril, but Tavish and Ana and Freya and Sylvia and Ricou and Baby Grace and all the rest. They were all fae. They would all die.

My heart hurting as if it were being ripped in two, I turned back at Bastien.

‘Well, what choice do you make, my sweet sidhe?’

I pointed at Malik a get-out-of-the-deal idea sparking. ‘Unfreeze him, or there’s no deal.’

One eyebrow rose, then Bastien smiled. My stomach sank – he looked way too pleased with himself – as Malik’s hand closed on my arm. I turned and gave him a short and not-so-sweet update, then asked, ‘Do you know who holds the Fabergé egg?’

Malik’s eyes emptied, turning opaque as black glass as he flicked a look towards Bastien. ‘No, I do not.’

Damn. Bastien’s reaction had told me that would be Malik’s answer, but I’d still hoped. I clenched my fist around Ascalon’s ring. Maybe I should just kill the psycho vamp and take the chance that, with Malik’s help, I could find the egg.

Bastien laughed, the sound grating on my ears. ‘Oh, yes, one more point. If I die, then the one who holds the Fabergé egg will destroy it.’

Fuck. He was right. I couldn’t kill him. Not yet. Not till I had the egg in my hands. And no way was he going to give me that before I got the rune.

‘Genevieve.’ Malik took my hand in his and drew me aside. ‘You do not have to do this. I will fetch this rune you need. Give my soul back to Bastien, stay here and help your friends, and live your life. Let me do this for you.’

My heart filled with warmth, and more, that he would offer.

But I had to do this. I knew it in my gut.

I had to make this journey.

I kept my gaze on Malik, but spoke to Bastien and the magic. ‘I agree the terms.’

A chime split the air. The sound reverberated inside me. Bargain made.

I took a shaky breath. Then another stronger one, and gave Malik a grim smile. ‘Looks like I’m leaving for the Fair Lands.’

Malik’s hand tightened around mine, my own resolve reflecting in the black depths of his eyes. ‘Then, Genevieve, we shall go together.’

Acknowledgements

Writing a book is a solitary endeavour but getting it from first draft to publication takes a lot of hard work, encouragement and support from a wonderful and generous group of people. My deepest thanks and appreciation to everyone whose help has made this book a thousand times better, any errors are my own.

As with all my books, the characters in this one are a product of my imagination and bear no relation to any real people, living, dead or otherwise . . . except for where they do!

So grateful thanks to Steve Dean for his generous support in the Genre for Japan auction and for agreeing to be a bad-die and suffering a suitably horrible fate! I hope you like your tuckerisation! And to Jonathan Weir, publicist extraordinaire at Gollancz, for allowing me to take his and David O’Reilly’s names in vain, and for being eminently bribeable, err, kindly arranging for me to meet one of my all-time writerly heros – the fabulous Charlaine Harris.

Thanks to John Jarrold, my agent, for his belief in me; thanks to all the Gollancz crew for their support, commitment and the gorgeous new covers; and especially to Gillian Redfearn, editor magnifique, for her patience, her words of editorial wisdom, and her enthusiasm for Genny & Co.