I hissed. He had better sources than the Nile, the Amazon and the damned Mississippi combined. First things first, though. ‘Are you alone?’

He pushed back his hood, displaying his face for the first time. His good looks were marred by several ugly bruises. I couldn’t be sure but it also looked as if his nose was broken. The dark shadows round his neck suggested that his croaky voice wasn’t down to an overly energetic karaoke session. ‘Yes,’ he said pleasantly, ‘I am.’

Truth. I relaxed slightly. During the Sidhe Games the previous year, I’d inadvertently stolen all of Kirsty Kincaid’s Truth-Seeking Gift. The action had almost killed her, although she was relieved when she discovered what had happened because she’d found being able to separate truth from lies too onerous a burden. So far, I was finding her Gift very useful. All the same, I wasn’t about to let my guard down entirely.

‘How did you know?’ I asked. ‘How did you know that I was still alive?’

Fergus’s mouth lifted into a half-smile, revealing two chipped front teeth. He had indeed been in the wars. Curiouser and curiouser. ‘A certain green-eyed assassin,’ he said. I stiffened. There was no way that Chandra had given me up. ‘She undertook a perilous job to kill a certain Sidhe and yet, despite the obvious dangers, she abandoned her team to complete the murder alone.’ He shifted his weight. ‘She could have killed this Sidhe on a previous occasion but she chose not to because they were old friends. However, weeks later, she changed her mind and suddenly assassinated her bestie in full view of the Moncrieffe heir and his mate.’ His smile grew. ‘And a couple of Fomori demons. I’m told this assassin still has no trouble sleeping.’ Fergus shrugged. ‘I like puzzles. And this one was easy to solve.’

I tried to breathe normally. ‘Who else knows?’

‘I’ve not told anyone, if that’s what you mean. As to who else is as intelligent as I am and has managed to work it out, I couldn’t say.’

It was difficult to intimidate someone when they couldn’t see you but I still tried. I hardened my voice and crossed my arms. ‘Yes, you can. You’ve proved you’re intelligent enough.’

Fergus nodded smugly. ‘Yeah, alright, you’ve got me there. I don’t believe anyone else has put two and two together. Not with the state Byron Moncrieffe has been in. He’s been marching up and down the Highlands and growling at anyone who so much as glances in his direction.’ He smirked. ‘Your boy is hurting.’

Pain stabbed at my heart. The urge to leap through the border and grab Fergus by his blood-stained lapels and demand he tell me everything he knew about Byron was almost overwhelming but I had to act responsibly. My role demanded it. ‘You’ve been in a fight,’ I observed, glad that my voice remained tremor-free. ‘Tell me about it.’

‘I’d love to. But, Chieftain, why don’t you let me inside first? You promised me sanctuary.’