RYDER WOULDN’T LOOK at me, but he didn’t stalk off either. Instead, he became a dark, brooding presence as the line of fae parted. He glowered behind me as Erskine drew the sword out of the ground a second time, and he shook his head when the Unseelie Court’s new King glanced in his direction, eyebrows raised.
No, Ryder wasn’t going to take over Erskine’s duties this time. The moment called for a joke, something to ease the stiffness in everyone’s muscles. But only silence came from my mate—was he still my mate?—as Erskine, the head cook, and Lupe set to work fixing what the Queen had broken.
At their behest, Aiti and the rat were captured carefully rather than maliciously. Two lightweight wicker cages didn’t seem strong enough to hold them, but the pair were now no more magical than the
