“Son of a centaur!” I threw the letter, not getting nearly enough satisfaction when it fluttered to the ground a couple of feet away. A feral growl rumbled in my throat as I stared at the open window. I was going to board that shit up. Goddamn fae sneaking in and leaving letters from their lord.

  It was like he knew I had plans and was determined to ruin it. I reached out to the team.

  “Guess what?”

  Akilah: “You sound pissed.”

  “I am pissed. Fucking Ashwynn summoned me.”

  Jake: “He’s like, pre-programmed to ruin everything.”

  Elora: Yawning, “Just go. Wake me when you’re done.”

  I stomped down the stairs to do the fastest peeling job I could without lopping a finger off. Then I equipped my armor and sword, still sheathed. I trampled through the mud onto the cobblestone street and headed toward the park.

  The Gleamholt guards challenged me at the entrance to the tree, and I was in a mood, so it set me right off. I grabbed the hilt of my sword and snarled, “I dare you to get in my way, right now.”

  When they saw the sword I carried, they backed off right away. One of them even murmured, “Our apologies.”

  So the sword was like a key? Good. Got it. I hoped there wouldn’t be much need for it. The sooner the fae lord got bored of me, the better.

  My eyes were rolling in my skull by the time I got to the top floor. Going around and around like a merry-go-round up the stairs caused my morning meal to sit in my throat.

  The Heartland Lord was out on the balcony, his golden hair lifted by the breeze.

  Stunning bastard. I strode toward him, stopping at the archway. His chin lifted, head turning. The stag horns on his head echoed the shape of the branches above, his pale skin cooled further in the light of the blue star, wolf mantle resting on his shoulders. I bowed my head, more to avoid looking at him than to show deference.

  “Dathai Orc-kin. I a task for you,” he murmured.

  Not again. Last time it had been pure luck and moxie that saw me through, plus a little help from my friends. He’d probably crafted something worse this time.

  I looked at his bare feet. God, even his feet were perfect. Fucking fae.

  “What would you have me do?” I asked, barely containing the annoyance that had driven me from Bauring Dath up to the top of Gleamholt.

  “I would have you fetch me…” His pause drew on long enough to trick me into looking up.

  His cold eyes sparkled, making me bristle. He held out a hand, and an actual bluejay landed on his finger. Showoff Snow White wannabe. His hand shifted hypnotically as if fascinated with a bird. Probably because time had no meaning to him.

  I shifted my weight and waited, looking at the grand view, instead. The massive termite mounds, the Colosseum, the dark shroud over Twilight, the rainclouds over Shade, and Subterania, where we were going after this.

  “The laughter of the dead.”

  I blinked rapidly at the suddenness of his words. “As you wish, Lord Ashwynn.”

  “I want it in this,” he said, flicking the bird off his hand. It fluttered away in a flash of blue.

  A crystal goblet appeared in his palm. I reached for it, but his long fingers folded around the base. He held it up, where it glinted, the curve accentuated by flares of light.

  “May I have the cup, my lord?” I said flatly. Laughter of the dead? In a cup? How in Tan’Fukshan’s asscrack was I supposed to do that?

  He was putting on a power play with his fae whimsy. The Heartland Lord wouldn’t be digging his careless claws into me. I had to start planning beyond the next bounty, to the point where I could leave the city, freeze my Rep with Heartland, and maintain the perks of a party.

  Meanwhile, I had to do what he asked.

  “You fascinate me,” he responded eagerly, almost desperately, leaning toward me to meet my gaze. “This is the third time we’ve met, and still, you have that look in your eyes. As if you aren’t—devoted to me. How curious.”

  “I am. Enough,” I replied, my jaw muscle ticking. His rich, cold tone made my stomach knot. By my estimation, my devotion was already too much. A small part of me got excited when I got the letter, which enraged me. Bowing to this stunning psychopath would be crazy. Stupid fae hoodoo. I let anger have the front seat.

  He held the goblet out, and I took it, slipping it into inventory. His brow lifted, as if I showed him a secret. Had he never seen anyone use inventory before? I mean, he used it. Duh. He probably thought us peasants were too dumb to know how.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “It may take me a while to complete,” I admitted, though I was already piecing the puzzle together. I knew where some real ghosts lived already, though they didn’t seem like the laughing sort.

  He looked out at the city and waved his hand dismissively. “You know my thoughts on time.”

  “I do, lord. I’ll—take my leave.” Cute. Did I pick that up from a fantasy novel? Asshat. I don’t talk like that. I turned on my heel and got out of his sight before blowing out a nervous breath. So far, status quo. Couldn’t ask for more than that.

  I ran into Elora on my way out of Heartland, and only just then realized she lived there. I’m garbage as a friend. She shuffled toward the vine archway, rubbing a knuckle in her eye.

  “Elora,” I called out, and her steps slowed. She looked over her shoulder and smiled.

  “Just in time,” she sighed, throwing her arms up like an entitled toddler. “Carry me?”

  I snorted and came up beside her and bent to a knee, holding my arms out. She flopped onto my back, arms around my neck. I stood, arms hooked under her legs, and started walking, her head resting sleepily on my shoulder.

  “Just met with Ashwynn. He wants me to catch the laughter of the dead in a cup,” I commented.

  “Sounds stupid,” she mumbled, cheek pressing against my shoulder. “Your shirt is too scratchy to be a good pillow.”

  “I’ll let my tailor know,” I snarked. The elf weighed maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet, so she wasn’t much of an encumbrance for now. She was walking to Subterania, though.

  We got to the Colosseum, and I let her down before we got to the meeting bench. I didn’t want anyone getting ideas about riding me on the regular. I showed everyone the crystal goblet and explained my task. Everyone echoed the ridiculousness of it. But then, what else can anyone expect from a fae lord?

  When we arrived at the cave, we took our pace slow and kept any chatter to party chat. It didn’t take long to get to the cliff. This time, I spared the expense of good rope and anchored it, pounding a spike into the stone.

  My death was my fault. I learned. Never again. Always have an exit route.

  The cavern ceiling rose high above us as we climbed down, one by one.

  Jake: “This cave doesn’t have any stalactites. It wasn’t formed by water.”

  Akilah: “It was formed by an alien AI that doesn’t care about nature’s laws.”

  She beat me to it. I was gonna say that.

  When we got to the point where we were attacked, we stopped. As planned, Elora scouted ahead, telling us what she saw. This time, she hadn’t stumbled into a giant bug brood mother. She found a split in the cavern. One going at the same level, curving away from another with an angled descent.

  When we caught up to her, she was sitting cross-legged, a short distance from the uneven fork. We sat in silence, listening, our faces lit in the chilly light of Akilah’s stone.

  “Do you hear anything, anyone?”

  Jake: “Just the wind between my ears.”

  Elora: “Silly.”

  Akilah: “Let’s go down. I’ll mark the wall so we know where we’ve been.”

  The mage pulled a hunk of chalk out and drew a horizontal line with an arrow point in the direction we were headed. Elora resumed scouting, reporting the terrain.

  I hated waiting. hated staying still while Elora did all the work. It grated on my nerves. I didn’t have to remind myself how things could go if we strayed from the plan, though. Memory was enough to leash my impatience.

  Elora: “I hear something.”

  “What?”

  Elora: “I don’t know.”

  I clenched my teeth. Elf hearing was supposed to be superior. The hell.

  Akilah: “Keep going, but careful. Take it slow.”

  A minute passed. Then another. Then another. I started squeezing my sword hilt, glancing at Akilah, then Jake, then back to the slope of a hole Elora had gone down. I was seconds from cracking and telling them I was going after her when her voice came through audio chat again.

  Elora: “It’s beautiful down here.”

  “What do you see?”

  Elora: “You guys have to see it for yourselves. Come!”

  I threw up a hand in frustration and stalked down after her, the slope enough to make me lean back to keep balance. A faint glow and an echoing sound came from further down the uneven tunnel. The ceiling dipped low in some places, enough to make me bow my head to fit, winding so that we couldn’t get a good view until we turned the last bend.

  Elora stood at the edge of a drop off, and beyond her lay the ripple of a black pool, but the real stunner was what hung above. Millions of silken threads hung over the underground pond, glowing with an eerie bluish-green light.

  “Isn’t it amazing?” Elora whispered, pointing at it, her face aglow with excitement.

  It was. I hooked my thumb in my belt and relaxed, now that I knew what was going on. The cavern was unique, reminding me vaguely of photos I’d seen of a cave in New Zealand.

  “Whoa, it’s kinda like Arachnocampa luminosa, from the North Islands in New Zealand,” Jake said, voice hushed with awe.

  I shot him a side-eye. What a nerd.

  “I love this. If I had a witch cave, I’d do something like this,” Akilah sighed.

  We stood in silence, admiring it for a while. Yeah, okay, enough of that.

  “Okay, let’s look around and see if we should turn around or if there’s a way down,” I said.

  I didn’t say it loud, but apparently, it was loud enough.

  Something splashed in the water, followed by a steady tapping, something hard scrabbling on stone. I stepped forward to look down into the pond.

  “Oh. Uh, giant crabs. They’re coming up.”

  Because we can’t have anything nice here, not even glowing fungal gnat pupae.

  -ARCHIVE-