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“Some of us have wings. Some of us do not,” he said, the words tight and clipped. I didn’t dare ask him which category he fell into. I didn’t think I could handle it if he sprouted wings, too. “Few of us are cute…or little. And even those who are can be deadly. No one but humans would mistake us for little or cute, and the humans that do tend to die.”
I drank in his massive body again. Fae. He was fae. I turned the word over again and again, but I still couldn’t process it.
“It’s best to remember that here.”
My head bobbed again. “Here?” I blurted out. “You mean, the Otherworld?”
“It is always wise to remember that in the Otherworld, but especially wise to heed it at the Nether Court.”
“There’s a nether court? You’re making that up.”
Gage lifted a brow, looking like he was seriously considering strangling me. Then, he turned and walked away without another word. Perhaps because it was the last thing I’d expected him to do, I darted after him. Or tried to. I made it one step before my shoe caught in the mud and stuck. I cursed loudly enough that Gage paused, turning to watch as I pulled my foot out of the stuck sneaker. I didn’t bother to salvage it. I doubted I needed footwear in a prison cell. Instead, I reached down, ripped off the other one, and tossed it on the ground before stalking toward him.
“I could carry you if you’re having trouble,” he offered in a low voice that sent my traitorous body clenching. More of his fae magic, screwing with my fight-or-flight response by targeting my hormones.
“I can take care of myself,” I grumbled.
He looked down to my bare feet. “Noted.”
He continued walking, but this time, I kept pace with him. The grass was cool and damp against my skin, almost pleasant enough to soothe me, but I surveyed the world around me with suspicion. A low-hanging willow branch drooped in our path, and before I could duck, Gage lifted it with one tattooed hand and gave me my first real glimpse of where he’d taken me.
I’d been impressed by the Avalon, but it was nothing compared to what lay ahead of me. It was a palace, constructed of black stone that sprawled in every direction, especially up. A pointed spire rose from its center like a spear thrust toward the sky, as if to keep heaven out—as if the two couldn’t bear to touch.
Half walls and arcades extended to outbuilding after outbuilding. The compound spread as far as I could see like a never-ending labyrinth. Lancet windows glowed with green light, the colored glass a shimmering field of emeralds. It was like nothing I had ever seen before, and the sight of it hit me squarely in the gut. My eyes skirted to Gage, to those elegant, inhuman ears, to the power that shimmered around him like an aura. He belonged here in this strange world. He belonged to the same dark energy filling the air.
“This is the Nether Court,” he said as I continued to stare. “Your new home.”
I whipped toward him, his words snapping me from my daze. “I am not living here!”
“Is it not up to your standards?” He prowled a step toward me, the movement both graceful and lethal. “Is there a problem?”
“I can’t.” I forced the words out. “I can’t stay in the Otherworld. I have responsibilities. A job. People who depend on me.” The prickle at the back of my neck returned, digging deeper, until I reached up to rub it away.
“I believe you were on the verge of being fired and your brother was on his way to jail. It doesn’t sound like you have much going on at the moment,” Gage drawled, stalking closer. His tattoos swirled and moved distractingly on his skin. “Be honest, Cate. You’re here because of your foster brother. You’re an orphan. No family. You came alone to do something you knew was dangerous, so that tells me you have few friends, if you have any. No one knows you’re here. I can do whatever I please with you. You would do well to remember that.”
His words pressed in on me like a hand shoving me underwater, holding me there just to prove how vulnerable I was. He could save me, or he could drown me.
“And let’s not forget Channing.”
“Just leave him out of it.” The words tasted like defeat, bitter and foreign.
“I will so long as you remain here.” He nodded. “We can discuss the terms of the arrangement later.”
I scowled back at him, but he only laughed and strode toward the front entrance. He didn’t wait for me as he pushed open the arched door and went inside. I followed, stopping to stare at the twenty-foot-high doorframe and the massive oak door that he’d just opened like it was any normal entrance. Reaching for it, I tried to push it closed. It didn’t budge. I might as well have been trying to move a brick wall. Giving up, I pivoted to the foyer and gasped.
I’d walked into a fairy tale. The entry opened into a large foyer two stories tall. Gold veins split the black marble floors, and a sweeping staircase with brutal spindles spiraled to the second story. Hanging in the center was a golden chandelier with a thousand points, each ending in a tiny orb of light. To the left was a sitting room of some sort, its black leather couches spaced evenly before an unlit hearth so large I was sure I could walk inside it.
Before I could investigate further, Gage coughed impatiently.
I turned on him. “Is there a problem?”
“Tonight is the Equinox.”
I looked at him blankly. This was the second time he’d brought up this nonsense. “You might as well be speaking in Greek.”
He glowered at me. “It is the autumnal Equinox, and we are hosting, hence why I have the distinct pleasure of entertaining assholes like MacAlister. I’d rather not leave him to run amok in my city.”
“Don’t let me stop you. Just point me in the direction of home.”