Kimber was naturally pale, but she became even more so as what little color she had faded from her cheeks. “You aren’t thinking of actually doing it, are you?”

I stared into my mug, afraid to meet her gaze. “What if it’s the only way to free Ethan?”

“Then he’ll just have to live with being part of the Wild Hunt,” she said. There was a faint quaver in her voice, although she still managed to sound firm and decisive.

I risked a glance at her face, and there was no missing the determination in her expression. “Are you sure?” I asked.

She nodded. “I’m sure. Ethan wouldn’t want to be freed if it cost other people their lives. He can be a selfish, egotistical bastard, but he’s a good guy at heart. And if you ever tell him I said that, I’ll never speak to you again.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” I vowed, relieved that she and I were in agreement. “So, giving the Erlking what he asked for is out of the question. But there must be something else he wants, something that only a Faeriewalker can give him. I just can’t for the life of me think of what that might be.”

“And that’s where I come in, eh?”

I gave her an apologetic smile. “Well, you are the brains of this outfit, you know.”

Chapter fifteen

Kimber and I talked for more than an hour, and by the time we were done, we’d hammered out something that vaguely resembled a plan. A crappy, stupid, probably futile plan, but it was better than what I’d come up with on my own—which was nothing.

I felt better than I had for days, and I wished I’d called Kimber sooner. I hadn’t realized how much I’d come to count on her, or how much I craved the human—well, Fae, really—contact.

The trip back to my safe house was uneventful, though I was tense the whole time, thinking the Erlking might want to rub my nose in Ethan’s captivity some more. My ears strained for the sound of motorcycles, but the Erlking had apparently made his point, and he left me alone.

The smart thing for me to do once I got home was to give myself at least one night to sleep on my plan. Anything Kimber and I had hashed out in an hour’s time couldn’t exactly be the most bulletproof idea in the world. The problem was, I was afraid if I slept on it, I’d chicken out, and then I’d hate myself forever.

That night after dinner, I once more retreated to my bedroom to make a phone call. Only it wasn’t Kimber I was calling.

Hands damp with sweat, I scrolled through the caller ID log until I found the Erlking’s number. My stomach felt all tight and twitchy, and my mouth was so dry it would be a miracle if I could talk.

He answered on the first ring, like he’d been sitting by the phone anticipating my call. Maybe he really had been. It wasn’t like I knew all that much about his powers, beyond the fact that if you cut off his head he could pick it up and put it back on.

“So, you’ve changed your mind about negotiating,” he said. There was a hint of triumph in his voice. He must have figured parading Ethan in front of me this afternoon had broken me and made me see things his way. There was no point in arguing that assumption.

I swallowed the lump of dread in my throat. “Yes.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” he said. “I’m sure Ethan will be, too. Becoming part of my Hunt can be quite the adjustment for anyone, much less for someone as accustomed to power as he.”

“If you hurt him…” I wanted to slap myself for the pathetic, empty threat. If the Erlking wanted to hurt Ethan, he would, and there was nothing I could do about it.

Luckily, the Erlking passed up the opportunity I’d given him to mock me mercilessly. However, what he said instead wasn’t much better.

“I am ready to meet and discuss terms at your convenience,” he said.

Meet? Oh, hell, no! “I’m ready, too,” I said. “And we can talk just fine on the phone.”

“I prefer my negotiations to be face-to-face.”

“Well I prefer them on the phone.”

“If we reach an accord and I release Ethan from my Hunt, he will need your help. He will be weak. So weak he may not be able to walk, or even stand, without assistance.”

I closed my eyes and tried not to imagine what the Erlking had done to him to put him in that condition. Surely the Erlking or one of his Huntsmen could take Ethan home once he was freed. Or hell, just call him a cab. My gut instinct told me the Erlking wasn’t going to budge on this point, so I raised an objection I thought was more likely to succeed.

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m under twenty-four-hour guard here. Somehow I don’t think my dad or my guards are going to be okay with me meeting up with you.”

He chuckled. “No, I imagine not. However, I must insist that we meet in person. I will send you a charm that will allow you to walk unnoticed past your guard. It will also lead you to my house.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. People are trying to kill me, you know.”

“Yes, yes, I know. It isn’t just your guard my charm will lead you past. No one will see you, neither friend nor foe.”

I couldn’t count high enough to list all the ways this idea sucked. “This is so not happening,” I said, trying to sound strong and firm instead of scared and out of my league.

“If you want to free Ethan, you must come to me,” he said, and he had sounding firm down pat. “I will not harm you, nor will I allow anyone else to harm you.”