“But thanks to you, my own beloved Queen ordered my execution and sent the Wild Hunt after me.” Her face twisted in a snarl, and the hate in her eyes was so intense I felt it almost like a physical blow. “With my life forfeit anyway, it meant nothing to me to sever my ties to the Seelie Court. And when I severed the ties, the geis lost its power to silence me.”

My mind reeled as I tried to take this all in. Things were starting to click into place in the back of my head. I could feel it happening, but I couldn’t seem to wrap my brain around it, and I was pretty sure I didn’t want to.

“Let me take a wild guess as to what you promised the Erlking in return for your boyfriend’s freedom,” she continued, her eyes aglow. “Did you by any chance pledge to give him your virginity?”

I really, really wanted to deny it, but I was too shocked to say anything. Even as hurt as Ethan was, he managed to raise his head and look at me with widened eyes. I hated my own cowardice as I dropped my gaze.

“Of course you did, because there is nothing he could want from you more than that. Because, you see, therein lies his secret power. When a virgin gives herself to him of her own free will, he can take from her everything she has, everything she is. All her power becomes his, all her life force becomes his, and when it is over she is nothing but an empty shell that once was a person but will never be again.”

Chapter twenty-four

Everything that had happened since the Erlking came to Avalon now suddenly made a sickening kind of sense. I had assumed that what the Erlking wanted was for me to ride out into the mortal world with his Hunt so he could get his jollies killing mortals. But I realized now he’d been playing me from the very beginning. He guessed correctly that I wouldn’t be willing to take him into the mortal world, so he made a big production about how he wanted it, and wanted it bad. Made me think that my riding with the Hunt was his ultimate goal, the Big Bad. When all along, he’d wanted more. Much more.

“So what you’re telling me is that if I, er, fulfilled my bargain with the Erlking, he’d become a Faeriewalker himself?” I asked, just to make sure I fully understood what Grace was telling me. I knew there was at least a slim possibility she was lying to me, but her words had the devastating ring of truth.

“Exactly,” Grace said, sounding incredibly self-satisfied. “And so would begin a reign of terror the likes of which the mortal world has never seen. Mab and Titania were similarly able to guess the Erlking’s intent, of course. He’d have a dramatic effect on the mortal world, but the Queens must be horrified at the idea of him absorbing a Faeriewalker’s ability to bring dangerous technology into Faerie. They’ll be even more eager to kill you now.” She made a mock pouty face. “Too bad they won’t get the chance.”

Yeah, that was a real shame. But I still wasn’t dead, and every word Grace spoke made me more and more certain that wasn’t a good thing. She touched her tongue to her upper lip, like she was literally savoring the taste of victory.

“I could kill you now, of course,” she said casually, moving the gun away from Ethan’s head and pointing it at me. I had the vague thought that I should take advantage of the fact that Ethan was no longer an inch from death, but I couldn’t imagine how. “But where would be the fun in that?” Grace continued, and Fred the Mountain Man laughed.

The gun moved back to Ethan’s head. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fred rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

“Naturally, I don’t know the exact terms of your agreement with the Erlking,” Grace said. “But I can make some educated guesses. He released your boyfriend from the Wild Hunt, so he must have felt he’d completely ensured your cooperation. Which means he has to have put in place a stipulation that there will be unpleasant consequences if you were not to preserve your virginity for him.”

My stomach heaved as it dawned on me just what Grace was leading up to.

“He can’t kill anyone unless given permission by one of the Queens, so he can’t have controlled you with threats of killing your loved ones. I suppose he could have threatened to kill your brother, since he doesn’t belong to the Courts, but you don’t even know Connor, so I hardly think that threat would be potent enough.”

She turned and looked at Ethan. “But this one is a different story. This one still bears the Huntsman’s Mark. And I’ll wager if you were to lose your virginity to someone other than the Erlking, that would void your agreement and lover-boy here would be bound to the Hunt once again.”

I tried to shut off my emotions, my fear and my horror. I didn’t want to give Grace any evidence that she was right, plus I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction. I failed miserably. My stomach heaved again, and this time I couldn’t get it under control. I puked up everything I had in my stomach, then followed that up with a few dry heaves.

“Disgusting creature,” Grace said, wrinkling her nose delicately. “Are you sure you want her, Fred?”

Fred laughed, the sound nasty and spiteful. “She’s not really my type, but for what you’re paying, I’m happy to make the supreme sacrifice.” I could hear just how much of a sacrifice he thought it would be.

I spit a few times, trying to get the foul taste out of my mouth, but it didn’t work. I sent Grace my most pathetic, pleading look, even though I knew it didn’t have a chance in hell of working.

“You don’t have to do this,” I said weakly. “It’s me you’re mad at, not Ethan. Just let him go. Please.”