Cruce slanted his iridescent eyes half closed, and Jada could practically see him tallying his options and odds in columns the same way she did. After a moment he said, “I will offer you a deal.”

“We’ve already made a deal,” Jada said sharply.

“You forced concessions at a time of duress. I insist we renegotiate. I know what the Book wants and how it will go after it.”

“And what do you want in return?” Barrons said acerbically.

Cruce said mildly, “No more than I wanted before—to kill the queen and become the rightful ruler of my race. This time, however, you and your merry little band will help me accomplish it.”

Barrons was motionless a long moment then inclined his head in assent.

“You can’t be serious,” Jada exclaimed. What was he doing? They didn’t dare kill the queen. They needed her.

“You can’t bloody kill the queen of the Fae just to get your bloody girlfriend back,” Christian spat.

Cruce glanced pointedly at Jada and Christian. “Do you speak for them as well?”

“Yes,” Barrons said, shooting them both lethal looks.

“We’re in.” Jada flashed Christian a look that said, Trust that Barrons has a plan. “But if Mac comes to harm, the deal’s off.”

“Saving her without harm is your problem,” Cruce said, shrugging. “Mine is merely getting you close enough to place the stones.”

“And placing one of them yourself,” Jada added.

“We’re not using him,” Christian snarled.

“He’ll be there anyway,” she said. “The fewer people we bring into this the better.”

“But you have already impeded my plan,” Cruce continued evenly, “and must rectify that. MacKayla will not go after the queen until she has one of the immortal weapons in her possession.”

Jada said incredulously. “You want me to give Mac the spear back?”

“No. I want you to permit her to recover it in a way that convinces her she bested you. The Sinsar Dubh is deeply paranoid.”

Christian shot him a dark look. “She already came after us once and you want to put a weapon in her hands that can kill us both?”

“She thinks us out of her way in cocoons, and immortality is her priority. The longer the Sinsar Dubh inhabits MacKayla’s body, the more it will despise its limitations. The moment she has the spear, she will go for the queen to coerce from her the Elixir of Life. When she does, we will trap her.”

“But no one knows where the queen is,” Jada reminded.

Cruce said, “The Sinsar Dubh knows a place at which our queen can be summoned and Aoibheal cannot refuse to attend. I know that location, too. Both the Book and I possess a vast store of the king’s knowledge.”

Barrons glanced at Christian.

“Truth.”

“Where?” Barrons demanded.

Cruce said coldly, “I trust you no more than you trust me. Once MacKayla has the spear and begins to make her move, I will take you there. The quarters are tight and her army will be unable to accompany her. That is where we will trap MacKayla and kill Aoibheal.”

Christian narrowed his eyes. “If you know how to summon Aoibheal, why haven’t you done it already? What do you need us for?”

“Because he doesn’t have any way to kill her,” Jada said. “He’d have to put her back in the Unseelie prison and wait for her to die.”

Barrons smiled mockingly. “That’s not why. Both Cruce and the Sinsar Dubh covet the Fae queen’s power. The moment she’s killed, the True Magic of their race will pass to the next most powerful Fae. Historically, it has always gone to a female but legend holds if a Fae male is strong enough and the females are all dead, the matriarchy could become a patriarchy. Neither the Book nor Cruce is convinced the queen’s magic wouldn’t choose another if they killed her now.”

Christian shot Cruce a look of challenge. “So the legend is true, the power will jump when she dies, if she hasn’t passed it on first. Bring it on, bro.”

“Ah, now you call me brother. Save your challenge for another day, puppy. Your fledgling power poses no threat to me.”

“So you say,” Christian retorted.

Barrons said, “The Book believes the queen’s power might go to the Sweeper-enhanced Unseelie princess. Cruce fears it would choose Mac over him. Isn’t that right, fairy?”

The Fae prince’s eyes glittered dangerously. “You had better pray to your many puny gods—”

“I neither pray nor have gods.”

“—that never happens, because MacKayla would then be the Sinsar Dubh and the Seelie Queen, beyond deadly, capable of raining down infinite destruction on both our realms.”

Christian growled, “Which means we can trust you right up until the moment we help you kill the queen, because you’ll be both then, too.”

Cruce’s smile was all teeth. “Pretty much. Got a better idea?”

Jada said, “Once Mac has the spear back, how will we know when she heads for the place she can summon the queen?”

“We watch the Unseelie princess. After MacKayla uses her True Name to summon her, she will head straight for the queen. The moment the princess disappears, we know to go ahead and lie in wait.”

“While Mac conveniently removes the Unseelie princess from both your paths,” Barrons said dryly. “Then we remove Mac from yours.”

“Precisely. That is our deal.”

“What about Mac’s ability to sense the stones?” Barrons pressed. “Won’t that keep her from coming into wherever it is you’re taking us?”

“Her ability to sense objects of power is useless there.”

“Christian will sift me there. You will sift Jada,” Barrons ordered.

Christian shook his head. “I’m far from a reliable sifter. I’ll need to know the location so I have time to perfect it.”

Cruce spat contemptuously, “You are an unreliable sifter because you resist your true nature. You will never attain your full power until you relinquish your hold on your precious humanity. Let it go, puppy. Walk with the big dogs. Embrace what it is to be Fae, immortal and powerful beyond your wildest dreams.”

“That boat’s never leaving the dock. You’ll have to tell me where. I need practice or none of this will work.”