“The sons of bastard elves,” Frank muttered from where he lay on the ground.

“No,” Adelaide said, stepping forward. For a moment I thought she was going to defend me and my heart warmed to the thought. I realized that I’d never entirely given up on the idea of my grandmother loving me. But then she crushed that hope. “That’s a false story. The nephilim are the sons of angels, not elves. They’re the only creatures who don’t need to go back to Faerie for Aelvesgold. They create it themselves. Look.” Adelaide stepped closer to Duncan, bowing her head reverentially, the first time I’d ever seen her do such a thing, and whispered something in a language I didn’t know. His upper lip twitched into a sneer that I could see, but Adelaide, on his other side, could not. Then he bowed his head and plucked one of his own feathers out of his wing and handed it to Adelaide. She brushed the feather against her face and the lines of age fell away, her hair turned from silver to gold, and her skin glowed with youth … and Aelvesgold. “Who but an angel could do that,” Adelaide said, practically purring with pleasure. “This is why the fey were jealous of them.”

“The fey recognized how dangerous they were,” Soheila said. “They were mating with humans, creating a race of heartless monsters. They would have destroyed the human race.”

“Which would have been very inconvenient for those of you who fed on humans,” Duncan snarled. “That is why the fey imprisoned us. But now we are free and once the door closes there will be no one to stop us.”

“I won’t let you close it,” I said, and then repeated the words of the heart binding spell.

Duncan’s lips curved into a slow, sensual smile. He ran the tip of his claw down my throat and in between my breasts. I took another step back from him, still repeating the words of the spell, appalled that I’d ever let this creature touch me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bill step toward us.

“Are you sure, Cailleach?” Duncan asked smoothly. “I’d rather keep you alive. I’ve enjoyed our time together, despite your reserve. I’m sure we could break through that in time.”

A growl came from Bill that wasn’t entirely human.

“I’d rather die,” I snarled, and then repeated the spell, louder now. QUAM COR MEA APERIT, TAM IANUA APERIT!

“Ah,” Duncan said. “A heart binding spell. How clever of you. But surely you read the caution in Wheelock? The best way to disarm a heart binding spell …” he lifted his hand, one claw poised in the air as if he were making a point, “… is to stop the heart of the doorkeeper.”