“Where is Gina?” I shouted.
“Who the fuck is Gina?” Midir straightened his crown. “Lyr, your depraved captive is hurting my ears. Now that you apparently have found that athame, I think it is time to do the thing with her head on our gates.”
Gwydion made a face. “We’ll have to shave her head first, at least.”
“No one is killing anyone,” said Lyr. “And especially not the true queen of Ys.”
They stared at him.
Gwydion touched his forehead. “Okay, what in Beelzebub’s arsehole has happened while we were possessed?”
Lyr’s tattoos moved on his skin, his eyes glowing with gold. Now that he’d brought me back from the dead as well, this wouldn’t get any easier for him.
“Aenor didn’t destroy Ys,” said Lyr. “It was an ancient fae named Salem. For just a moment, I saw him. And I know Aenor.”
Midir held his cheek where I’d slapped him. “So who was controlling—”
“Look, we can catch you up later,” Lyr interrupted. “Two things need to happen now. One, you need to remember where you left the human girl, and two, someone needs to bring Melisande to the dungeon.”
Gwydion heaved a sigh. “Fine. I vaguely remember the human girl. I don’t remember her name or what she looked like, but she’s tied up beneath a shop that sells frosted biscuits shaped like human baby faces.”
“That’s not vague,” said Lyr. “It’s very specific.”
Gwydion frowned. “The bakery is memorable. It’s honestly the creepiest part of Jerusalem.” He waved at the rocks behind us. “Including this bit, where they used to sacrifice people.”
I glanced back at the caves, a chill skimming up my spine. Salem’s true home, a place of human sacrifice. Not shocking. And I’d eaten his fruit, meaning he could always find me.
Still, we were finally making progress with Gina.
“Good!” I said. “We have a location. Anyone know where this bakery is?”
Gwydion sighed, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Hang on. Oh, bloody hell. Did the fuath have data roaming turned on this whole time? Fuck pigeon.”
“Gwydion!” Lyr snapped. “Stay focused.”
“Calm your tits, I’m looking it up,” said Gwydion. “It’s not far.” He held up the phone to Lyr’s face. “See? On the map. A few streets away.”
I’d had no idea the knights had phones.
“I’ve got it,” said Lyr. “Midir, I need you to find Melisande. She’s recovering near the market. Just follow the trail of blood; it won’t be hard. Bring her to the…” he waved a hand, “baby-face bakery. I’ll open the portal there. Gwydion, you stay here and wait till the other knights wake up. Bring them to the portal also. We’ll return to Acre while everyone recovers.”
I wanted to get Gina back right away.
But after that? Once I knew she was safe? I wanted to come back to Jerusalem. Salem was still here, hoarding my power.
My thoughts were on him as we started running back through the city walls. He was, truly, evil to his core.
And I’d given him power over me.
Gina sat on the stone floor in a cellar, surrounded by cookie crumbs. One half-eaten baby-faced cookie lay on the ground, with pink cheeks and a curl on its head.
Lyr was ripping the bindings off her.
Tears streaked Gina’s cheeks, but she seemed to be fine. “I thought they were going to kill me. They kept feeding me those baby-face sweets, and I thought it was, like, a weird cult and maybe they were going to sacrifice me to a giant baby. Is that a thing that happens?”
I shook my head. “Spirits don’t understand human dietary needs very well.”
She sighed. “It’s a nut-free bakery though. I made them check. They kept rolling their eyes like I was making up the allergy.”
At last, Lyr had her bindings free. She shot up, with the energy of a million hot suns. She always had energy. “What happens now? Are we staying in a hotel again?” She glanced at Lyr. “Is he your boyfriend? He’s well fit.”
“Better than a hotel,” I ignored the other questions. “I’m taking you to a crusader castle.” I remembered the last time I was there. “Which, with any luck, is still standing after I lit it on fire.”
“You what?” said Lyr.
“Lit it on fire, a little? It’s probably fine.”
“She does that when she’s lying,” Gina pointed to my face. “That nose wrinkle she’s doing.”
I grabbed her hand. “Shhh. Come with me. I have to catch you up on one or two things. We just have to jump into a pit of icy water first.”
Chapter 41
Gina zoomed around the dining hall on roller skates, while Midir scowled at her over his wildflower salad. “Remind me again. When are we sending that human back to the Savoy?”
“Tomorrow,” said Lyr. “Aenor just wanted a little more time with her.”
Midir stopped eating, his fork hovering midair. “Aenor is not going with her? Please tell me she’s not staying here.”
I smiled at him. “I’m staying here.”
Gwydion chuckled. “This should get interesting.”
“Why?” asked Midir, his fork still suspended in hair.
“Because Salem still has my power, somewhere in Jerusalem, I think. And I want to get it back.”
Lyr and I had returned to Salem’s home—exactly where I’d found the door days ago. Except—the door was gone this time. We’d scoured the city once, and the cavern again. We hadn’t found him, but we weren’t done yet. I could still hear Salem’s music there, distantly.
“And then,” said Lyr, “the coronation in Nova Ys.”
I sighed. If you wanted people to believe you, they had to hear it from a man.
Gwydion filled his wineglass. “I’m just shocked about Melisande. She didn’t even deny it. Just confessed right away. Granted, she was always a major bitch, but…” He took a long sip of his drink. “I guess I’m not surprised. I mean, I feel like I should be, but she was just always a full-on bitch. The only time I ever saw her cheerful was immediately after banging Lyr.”
Lyr put his head in his hands, like he’d been enduring centuries of his brothers’ bull crap.
Gwydion put his hand to his mouth in mock horror. “Oops. Should I not have brought that up?”
Midir stared at me. “Now that you mention it, Aenor seems more cheerful now, doesn’t she?”
And that was my cue to leave.
I rose from the table. “You know? I’ve been meaning to pay Melisande a visit.” I snatched my wineglass up and refilled it before I left the table.
I glanced at Lyr, who was looking at me with curiosity. “I’m just going to talk to her,” I said. “I’ll meet you right after.”
Gina looped around the large hall on the roller skates, her curls flying behind her. A lollipop stick jutted from her mouth.
I frowned at her as she circled round me. “Where did you get roller skates?”
She pulled out her lollipop. “Lyr found them for me. I told you he’d become your boyfriend and you two would fall in love. I have psychic powers.”