My thumbs hovered over the keyboard, then I stuck my phone in my pocket without sending a reply. I would provide an update in the morning as well. No sense in adding to their stress—and a famous bounty hunter connecting me to a wanted rogue was definitely cause for stress.

Lower lip caught between my teeth, I kicked my boots off and dropped my purse on the little table beside the stairs. As my head spun with questions about Shane and how the hell he’d gotten hold of my old shoes, I hurried into my living room.

“Twiggy?” I called again. “Where are y—”

I stopped dead.

The green faery was right there, but I could see why he hadn’t answered me. Bands of shadow pinned his small frame to the sofa, and his huge green eyes were wide with terror. On the cushion beside him, Hoshi’s serpentine body was bound with the same dark, semi-transparent restraints, the tip of her tail thrashing in agitation.

A huge black eagle perched on the back of the sofa above her prisoners, glaring at me with vibrant emerald eyes. Shadows rippled off her feathers like wisps of inky smoke, and her deadly talons were embedded in the cushions.

I stared at the eagle, my heart careening with a suffocating blend of alarm, anticipation, and cold dread. “Lallakai?”

Chapter Three

Lady of Shadow. The Night Eagle. Zak’s familiar. I hadn’t seen the fae in months, but if she was here, that meant …

I spun in a wild circle. “Zak?”

The enigmatic druid didn’t appear with a sweep of his long black coat. My apartment was silent.

“Zak?” I called. “You here?”

Lallakai snapped her beak, and I gave her a squinty look. Was she here alone? No way. She and Zak were never far apart.

I pointed at my two fae friends. “Would you mind letting them go?”

Another beak clack. The shadowy bindings on Twiggy and Hoshi dissolved, and the two fae leaped off the sofa. Twiggy skidded behind me and grabbed my legs, hiding from Lallakai’s glare. Hoshi circled me, her long body undulating weightlessly, and settled with her small chin on my shoulder and her tail looped around my waist.

“Is Zak here?” I muttered to them.

A flash of dark red in my mind—Hoshi’s telepathic reply. Twiggy confirmed her response with a trembling, “No, the Night Eagle c-came alone.”

The cold dread in my gut deepened.

Lallakai unfurled her wings. They spread wider than the length of my sofa, elegant feathers sweeping across the cushions. The shadows swirling around her deepened and she launched off her perch. Darkness rippled across her, obscuring her form as she landed on the floor three long paces away. The shadows dissipated.

My mouth hung open.

Gone was the eagle. In her place was … a woman.

Let’s be clear right now: I like dudes. Always have, always will. But my obsession with manly muscles aside, I’d never before seen an embodiment of sensual femininity like this—and I was getting one hell of an eyeful.

Tall, elegant, sexy. Her unfairly curvaceous figure was perfectly proportioned: shapely hips narrowing to a petite waist, flat stomach, full bosom, and long, lean legs. All those womanly attributes were unblushingly displayed by an outfit that, while made of beautiful black silk with bold green accents, was more or less a bikini top and a long skirt with equally long slits that ran all the way up to her hips.

Above her swan-like neck was an oval face with crystalline eyes that watched me from beneath slim, graceful eyebrows. Her full lips were distractingly red, her nose exactly perfect for her cheekbones. Knee-length black hair in loose waves drifted around her in a nonexistent breeze.

I scanned the fae’s alabaster skin from her bare feet back to her face. Holy freakin’ shit. Zak was totally banging his familiar. How could he not? I wasn’t judging, but damn was I glad I hadn’t slept with him. Not that I’d ever considered it. At least, not seriously.

Anyway.

Gulping back my shock, I cleared my throat. “Hello, Lallakai.”

“Victoria Dawson, human of the Crow and Hammer guild.”

Even her voice was ridiculously sensual, all purring and throaty. No human woman could compete with that.

“Where is Zak?” I asked.

The beautiful fae woman glided forward, her hair swirling around her like it couldn’t decide if gravity was a thing. Halting in front of me, she gazed down into my face with solemn tranquility, three inches taller than my five foot seven.

Hoshi hissed softly.

Lallakai’s pupil-less eyes turned to the sylph. Poor little Hoshi held her ground for about five seconds, then her nerve broke. She dove away and shimmered out of sight. I couldn’t blame her.

Twiggy tightened his hold on my legs, but I knew it wasn’t bravery. He was too petrified to move.

The Lady of Shadow refocused on me, and I could feel her attention like a tangible weight. Power sweetened the air, the room too dim, the shadows too deep.

She brushed smooth fingers across my jaw. “What do you think of my druid, Victoria Dawson?”

I ignored her touch with effort. “In what way?”

“You are drawn to him.” She leaned in, her honey-sweet breath on my lips. “As are all who know him, fae and human. It is his gift, his curse.”

“He’s my friend.”

“Your friend,” she whispered. “Though he is a dark druid? Though he treats with foul beasts, flaunts your laws, and kills when he sees fit?”

“I know all that about him already. I’m not a fan of murdering people, generally speaking, but he isn’t a bad guy.”

She studied me, twirling a lock of endless raven hair around her finger. “What would you do for my druid? Would you fight for him? Would you break human laws or take human lives?”

“That depends.” My muscles tensed. “Is Zak in trouble? I thought you and him were off building huts in the wilderness or something.”

Early last September, Zak had bid me farewell. His enemies had been getting dangerously close, so he’d shut down his farm and gone into hiding, druid-style. He hadn’t even taken a phone with him.

Lallakai combed her fingers gently into my hair in a way that was either maternal or loverlike, and it extra freaked me out that I couldn’t tell which. Talk about mixed signals.

Her gleaming eyes stared into mine. “I must know, Victoria. Can my druid trust you?”

“Of course he can trust me. I’ve kept his secrets this whole time, haven’t I?”

“His secrets, yes, but can I entrust you with his life?”

I was two seconds away from shaking answers out of her. “What’s going on, Lallakai?”

“My druid is in grave danger. He needs aid that I cannot give him.” She abruptly swept away from me, her hair flowing behind her in gossamer strands. “The news reached us but days ago. We were far from here, having wandered the lands of human and fae for many months.”

“What news?” I demanded, confused.

“News of … home.”

“You mean Zak’s farm?”

She faced me again, her expression oddly blank. “My druid’s territory, left to the witch to safeguard in his absence, was violated. An enemy breached its protections and …”

“And what?”

“And laid it to ruin—or so we were told.”

Cold horror swept through me.

“My druid was enraged that someone would dare befoul his treasured land. He was inflamed with fury. I could not soothe his raging heart.”

That sounded bad.

“He wanted only to return and discover the truth. With haste and without caution, he rushed to secure the fastest route home. We were waylaid at the crossroads—a place of fae power—and he was taken by bounty hunters. They think him a suspicious, unregistered druid. They do not know his identity.”

My hands tightened into fists and I sucked in air through my nose. Zak, the elusive and untouchable Ghost, had been captured? I would have said it was impossible, except I couldn’t imagine any other reason Lallakai would be here otherwise.

If bounty hunters had him, and if they figured out who they held prisoner …

A faint crease marred Lallakai’s perfect forehead. “The hunters are taking him to the city, where they will surrender him to the MPD. That cannot happen.”

I agreed one hundred percent. If he ended up in MagiPol custody, that would be it for him. But that meant …

“Hold up. You’re here because you want me to save him?” My eyes narrowed. “Me. The sort-of-witch human. You expect me to rescue Zak from bounty hunters?”

I tried to imagine rescuing Zak from the six Odin’s Eye mythics who’d been at the bar earlier. I couldn’t picture it at all—and I was pretty sure whatever team had managed to capture Zak would be even tougher.

Lallakai swept close again, getting way up in my personal space. Her hands caught mine, cool fingers gripping tightly. “You are his friend. You said this. You are drawn to him.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m drawn to—”

“When you look upon him, you see not a dark druid. Who else could I beg for aid, Victoria? Who would risk anything for him? Only you and I—but I cannot save him.”

I gulped, a squirmy feeling in my chest. Zak didn’t have friends. He might have allies, but none he could trust while in such terrible danger. Lallakai was right: it was me or no one.

Shit.

“In that case …” I inched back from her uncomfortable closeness and tugged my hands free. “How long until the bounty hunters turn him over to MagiPol?”

“One day, perhaps two. The location of his capture is remote, but they can travel quickly.”

That was so not enough time to plan and execute a rescue mission. “We have to get him away from them before they reach the city. Are they part of a Vancouver guild? Do you know the guild’s name?”

The slightest twitch tarnished her expression, gone in an instant. “He was not captured here. This is not the city where he will be taken.”

“Huh? Then where are they taking him?”