“He doesn’t look like the others,” I said, thinking of the bulbous eyes and slimy black skin the Fomorii I’d already met.

Bres gave me a wry smile and a wink I didn’t understand. “Ta more powerful ta Fomorii, ta more human they look.”

“We can’t go after them Quinn,” Luke said, his hands clasped loosely in his lap. “I’m sorry, but the likelihood is they’ve both been killed already.”

I was shaking my head even before he finished speaking. “No, I saw Ashling. She’s still alive. And Balor, he said she was beautiful; that he was going to keep her for his own. Does that mean what I think it does?”

Luke and Bres exchanged a look, one that tightened my heart with fear for my sister. “Tell me,” I said.

“She’ll become his mistress, if all goes well.” Bres lifted a hand to stall me but I barrelled over him, my voice hitting octaves and decibels I hadn’t known I could reach.

“If all goes well? Are you out of your mind? That’s rape!” I was breathing hard, anxiety and urgency battling for control of my body. “We have to get her out of there!”

Luke stood, his face a drawn with anger. “We can’t!” he shouted, his power filling the room; the air thickening until I was pushed to my knees. “It is done and there is no undoing it Quinn. There will be no more talk of rescue.”

“Not to mention ta bounty on your head, if you were to step into ta Fomorii kingdom, eh Luke?” Bres said, drawing out each syllable.

Luke glared at Bres. “Yes—that would be a problem, if we were going after them. But we aren’t. You don’t have bounty on your head; would you like to tell Quinn why?”

Bres shrugged, his lips quirking over some joke I didn’t get. “It don’t be bothering me none. You see Quinn, I don’t have a bounty ‘cause I be half Fomorii.”

~~

10

I couldn’t sleep after I’d kicked the two boys out; I found myself pacing the room in the semi-darkness.

Balor had Ashling; Bres was half Fomorii which made me wonder how I could trust him. What if he was a double agent? Would he try and kill me for Balor? I crossed and uncrossed my arms several times, agitated and scared. Luke wouldn’t help me rescue Ashling, of that I had no doubt. The minutes were ticking by, the seconds rushing past me. How long would Ashling have before Balor took her to his bed? What if her temper flared and he decided that her beauty was not worth the trouble?

“Ashling, just play along a little while,” I whispered into the night air.

Midnight tomorrow. That wasn’t enough time. For some reason I did not doubt Balor’s words. As crazy as the events were, I knew that they were truly happening and they felt like a chess game to me. But I didn’t know all the players or what they were capable of, and I was a single pawn left facing the entire board on my own.