My father didn’t comment on it. “Ruadan is destroying our world. He kidnapped my daughter this night in an effort to try it again. He was thwarted, and your castle was damaged in the process.”

Her eyes flared. “He dare not.”

“Oh, he dared,” my father said. “And now he will be stopped. You can assist in that process, with a result that is beneficial to your interests, or we can do it without you.”

Silence fell heavy, a curtain drawn forward, interrupted only by the tick of the clock on the other side of the room.

“How do you propose to stop him?” she finally asked.

“You will send a message to Ruadan that you were captured by vampires and cruelly treated. You now see that he was correct, that the fairies must bring the green land here, whatever the cost. After studying the Ephemeris yourself, stolen from the Cadogan library, you have identified the optimal location for the process. You will wait for him there, and you will work the magic together and rule as king and queen.”

Her eyes were hard. “I am queen of the fae. I rule with no man.”

“Get it, girl,” Petra muttered.

“You don’t have to rule with him,” my father said coolly. “You only need tell him that you will. The humans will arrest him and his allies. You will be returned to your castle to live in peace with the fairies who chose not to join him.”

“I owe you no boon.”

“My daughter was kidnapped by one of your people,” my father reminded her. “A boon is owed, as you will recognize. But moreover”—my father moved closer, and there was no mistaking the cold anger glinting in his eyes—“you will help stop Ruadan, or you will lose what’s left of your people and your kingdom. You help us, and you will regain them. And we will deliver him to you to be punished as you wish.”

Yuen hadn’t been thrilled about that part of the plan, but he knew my father would need room to negotiate.

Claudia walked to my father’s desk, ran a fingertip across a chunk of quartz that held down papers. “And what do you seek in return for delivering him to me?”

“You will reverse the damage he’s done.”

“I could tell you that’s impossible.”

“You’re a powerful queen,” he said. “That would be a lie.”

She lifted her gaze to him again. “I could betray you.”

“You could. But you won’t. You may not like or respect us, but you hate him more. He has sought to depose you. To harm your subjects. To ruin your castle. To destroy your world. To harm what you have built here. You have no love of Ruadan.”

A pause. “They will be suspicious.” She looked at me. “You told him that I believed he was wrong? That he would harm this world?”

I glanced at Yuen, my father, got their nods before answering. And when I did, said, “Yes. But he didn’t believe me. And I think you could convince him pretty easily that I was lying to drive a wedge between you. That you weren’t sure it could be done, but the Ephemeris changed your mind.”

“You are their queen,” my father said, the words a challenge. “Make them believe.”

Claudia walked back to him, and my mother moved a hand to her katana, just in case.

“Your blade is not needed,” Claudia said, without looking at her. She looked down at her scrubs. “But I need garments befitting royalty. Something that will . . . inspire him.”

“That,” my father said with a slow smile, “can be arranged.”

TWENTY-THREE

Claudia was escorted back to her room, and we got to work on the details.

“We need a location,” Yuen said. “We need to ensure that area is evacuated. We need CPD personnel in place to capture the fairies, and transportation to get them to the facility.”

“Faster to just kill them all,” Miranda muttered.

“Mass murder isn’t the most diplomatic solution,” Gabriel said.

“We have time,” I said. “Because this is our con.”

“And I think I have a place.”

We all looked at Theo.

“Lake Shore East Park,” he said, gaze on the monitor.

He’d pulled up a satellite image of downtown Chicago that showed the small park north of the river and just west of Lake Michigan.

Walkways swept through a rectangle of grass in dramatic arcs. There was a playground near the lake end, and a water feature that moved downhill toward it. The walkways were lined with trees and shrubs, as were the outer edges of the park.

“It’s over the north-south ley line. It’s a manageable area, and it’s bounded by buildings. But it’s also near Lake Shore Drive, so most of the humans have already been evacuated. We’ve got the lake nearby if we need to make a quick escape. And it’s fancy.”

“It’s fancy?” my father asked.

Theo lifted a shoulder. “It’s a nice park. A modern park. It looks like the kind of place Ruadan would want to take a stand.”

“Now that you mention it,” my father said, nodding his agreement.

Yuen was already working on his screen. “I’ll contact Dearborn. Then we’ll work on getting everything else in place.”

“I’ll help.”

We looked back.

The prince of wolves stood in the doorway in jeans and a T-shirt, leather motorcycle jacket over it. Helmet in hand, Connor strode toward us, but kept his gaze on me. The look in his eyes was like lightning, and it sent a bolt of heat through my body and a frisson of magic into the room.

That magic was matched by Miranda’s rage.

She strode forward and grabbed his arm with painted fingers, fury radiating in her wake. “What the hell are you doing here? You were supposed to leave hours ago. You have responsibilities!”

Connor’s expression went hard, his gaze very cool. “I’m well aware of my responsibilities, Miranda. And you’re going to want to remove your hand. As much as you might want to be, you aren’t Apex of this Pack.”

Her eyes fired, but she pulled back her hand. “Neither are you.”

“I’m aware of that, too.” He looked back at his father, his competitor. “If the Pack determines they don’t want me, that will be their decision to make. But I’ll be damned if I’ll run away now.”

Miranda pressed on. “So you’re abdicating your responsibility to lead them to Alaska?”

“No. I’m taking on the responsibility of leading them here. There’s a battle to be fought on the road, and there’s a battle to be fought in Chicago.” He looked at me, his gaze searing right through my soul. “I’m joining this battle.”

“And Alaska?” Gabriel asked.

“I’ve found a replacement.”

Gabriel just lifted his brows.

“Aunt Fallon,” Connor said with a smile. “She and Uncle Jeff decided to take a vacation.”

Only a shifter would refer to a several-thousand-mile drive though enemies as a vacation.

“I’m here now,” he said, and slid his gaze to my father. “And I understand you’ve got a plan.”

* * *

• • •

It took hours to get the CPD team in place, the remaining residents evacuated. And, of course, to get Claudia suitably dressed.

When she walked back into my father’s office, her hair was gleaming and plaited and crowned with a golden diadem, the scrubs exchanged for a gown of stunning crimson with beading along the scoop neck and long, draping sleeves.

“Claudia,” my father said, walking to her, “you are a vision.”

As if the dress had restored her confidence, her acknowledging smile was haughty. “I am a queen,” she said.

“Of course.”

“Where’d you get the outfit?” I whispered to my mother.

“Lindsey’s been doing cosplay,” she said with a grin. Lindsey was her best vampire friend, and a whiz at reinventing herself.

Yuen showed Claudia the park, explained the general plan, then looked back at her. “The CPD team is in place and waiting. The rest of the team will move into place when you can get an invitation to Ruadan.”

She slid her gaze to Petra. “May I borrow your hand, aeromancer?”

Petra glanced at Yuen, got his nod, and walked toward her. She pulled off her glove and presented her hand, palm up, to Claudia.

Her eyes fixed on Petra’s, Claudia put her hand above it, then closed her eyes, murmured something that had magic lifting in the room and sparks crackling between their fingers.