“A high sidhe can no more break a bargain than lie. She must return—” Cuan broke off, drawing in a sharp breath. “Unless she does not have him.”
“Oh no,” Tamsin breathed. “Oh, shit.”
The world seemed to lurch under Cathy. Without meaning to, she lunged for Maeve—though whether to rip her apart or collapse at her feet, she had no idea. Only Cuan’s lightning-fast reflexes stopped her from running straight into the stone circle.
“Where is he?” Cathy demanded of the fae woman, straining against Cuan’s outflung arm. “Who has my son?”
Maeve examined her red fingernails. “I am under no compulsion to tell you anything more.”
“But you can.” Cathy pushed past Cuan’s sword, advancing right to the edge of the stone circle. “Please, I’m begging you. I’ll give you whatever you want. Just tell me what’s happened to Kevin.”
Maeve’s cruel smile widened, just a fraction. Cuan had said that unseelie high sidhe were like emotional vampires, drawing perverse pleasure from others’ agony. Cathy had no doubt that she was enjoying this immensely.
“As I said, I am not required by law nor nature to reveal what I know, nor assist you in recovering the dear boy.” Maeve tilted her head. “Yet you find me in an expansive mood. Perhaps we can strike a bargain.”
“Anything,” Cathy said without hesitation, cutting over Tamsin’s protest. “Name your price.”
“I will tell you who took your son, and where.” Maeve gestured at the stones. “If you but step into my circle.”
“Mistress Cathy, no,” Cuan said urgently. “She seeks to deceive you.”
“You said high sidhe can’t lie.” Cathy didn’t take her eyes from Maeve. “That’s right, isn’t it? You can twist the truth, but you can’t tell a direct lie, and you can’t break a bargain.”
“Indeed.” Maeve cast a disdainful look at Cuan. “Unlike certain misbegotten hounds, I am pure high sidhe. I tell you this, human, plain and direct so that you may know it to be true. I know who took your son. It lies within your power to rescue him, if you but have the courage. But in order to do so, you must cross into my realm.”
“Do not listen to her,” Cuan said, but he sounded less certain now. “It cannot be so. She will attack you the moment you step through the circle.”
Maeve spread her hands, palm-up. “On my blood and bone, human, I vow that neither I nor any of my fae shall harm you. Nor will we prevent you from going to your son.”
“Yeah, and a fat lot of good that will do Cathy when she’s stuck in the fae realm along with Kevin,” Tamsin said. “Listen to what she’s not saying, Cathy. She hasn’t promised to send you home again.”
Cathy held Maeve’s glowing gaze. “Promise that when I find Kevin, you’ll let us return here. Right here, to our own world, through the stone circle. You won’t do anything to stop us from coming back.”
“But of course.” Maeve looked mildly offended, as though Cathy should have taken this on trust. “Should you rescue your son, I shall grant you both free passage back to your own realm, whenever you wish to return. Now give me your answer, human. It is draining to keep the portal between our worlds open, and I grow weary of this tedious negotiation. Do we have a bargain?”
“No,” Tamsin said in firm, final tones. “We’re done here. Come on, Cathy. We’ll find another way to rescue Kevin, I promise. This is a trap.”
“I know,” said Cathy, and stepped into the circle.