“Then, MacKayla, you must remove the runes from the binding,” V’lane said.

“What?” I exclaimed, whirling to face him as he sifted in. “I’m not taking those runes off!”

Barrons said, “I thought you were bringing the queen.”

“I am making certain it is safe for her first.”

V’lane scanned the chamber, studying each person, Fae and Druid. I could tell he wasn’t comfortable with the risk. His gaze rested on Velvet for a moment, who nodded. Then he looked at me. “I apologize, but it is the only way to protect her. I cannot be two of me at once without halving my abilities.”

“What are you talking about?”

He didn’t answer.

My parents were suddenly there. My mom and dad—here with the Sinsar Dubh—in the last place I would ever have brought them. And supposedly I was going to have to remove the runes, but we’d see about that.

My dad had the Seelie queen in his arms, heavily wrapped in blankets. She was so well swaddled that all I could see of her were a few strands of silvery hair and the tip of her nose. My mom was pressed close to my dad’s side, and I understood why V’lane had apologized. He should have.

He had my parents protecting the queen with their bodies.

“You’re using my parents as her shield?”

“It’s all right, baby. We wanted to help,” Jack said.

Rainey agreed. “You’re so much like your sister, facing everything alone, but you don’t have to. We’re family. We face things together. Besides, if I have to stay one more moment in that glass cage, I’ll lose my mind. We’ve been stuck in there for months.”

Barrons jerked his head, and Ryodan, Lor, and Fade closed in around my parents, shielding them.

“Thank you,” I said softly. He was always protecting me and mine. God, I sucked.

V’lane was still eyeing all the occupants of the room. “I had no choice, MacKayla. Someone kidnapped her. At first I believed it must be one of my race. Now I wonder if it was not one of yours.”

“Let’s just get this over with,” I said tightly. “Why do I have to remove the runes?”

“They are unpredictable parasites and you have placed them directly on a sentient being. On walls, on a cage, they are useful. On a living, thinking entity, they are unbelievably dangerous. In time, it and they will transmogrify. Who knows what kind of monster we will be dealing with then?”

I blew out a breath. It made perfect Fae sense. I’d applied something Unseelie and alive to something else Unseelie and alive. Who could say whether it would ultimately make the Book stronger, maybe even give it whatever it needed to free itself?

“It must be re-interred precisely as it was before. Without the runes.”

“She’s not removing them,” said Barrons. “It’s too dangerous.”

“It is toodangerous if she does not.”

“If it becomes something else, we’ll deal with it then,” said Barrons.

“You may no longer be around,” V’lane replied coolly. “We cannot always count on Jericho Barrons to save the day.”

“I’ll always be around.”

“The runes on the walls, ceiling, and floor make them obsolete. They will contain it.”

“It escaped before.”

“It was carried out,” Kat said. “Isla O’Connor carried it out. She was the leader of the Haven and the only one with the power to carry it past the wards.”

I was quiet, thinking. The truth of what V’lane had said resonated deep inside me. I feared the crimson runes myself. They were potent; they’d been given to me by the Sinsar Dubh, which in itself was enough to make them suspect. Was this another of its patient gambits? Had I sealed it with precisely what it needed to one day break free again?

Everyone was looking at me. I was tired of making all the decisions. “I see both sides. I don’t know the answer.”

“We’ll vote,” Jo said.

“We’re not voting on something this important,” Barrons said. “This isn’t a fucking democracy.”

“Would you prefer a tyranny? Who would you place in charge?” V’lane demanded.

“Why isn’t it a democracy?” Kat said. “Everyone here is present because they are useful and important. Everyone should have a say.”

Barrons cut her a hard look. “Some of us are more useful and important than others.”

“My ass, you are,” Christian growled.

Barrons folded his arms. “Who let the Unseelie in here?”

Christian lunged for him. Dageus and Cian were on him in an instant, restraining him.

The muscles in the young Highlander’s arms bulged as he shook his uncles off. “I have an idea. Let’s subject Barrons to a little lie-detector test.”

I sighed. “Why don’t we subject everyone to one, Christian? But who’s going to test you? Will you be judge and jury of us all?”

“I could,” he said coldly. “Got a few secrets you don’t want to get out, Mac?”

“Gee, look who’s talking, Prince Christian.”

“Enough,” Drustan said. “No one of us is any better qualified to make the choice alone. Let’s take the bloody vote and be done with it.”

The Fae voted to remove the crimson runes and trust V’lane, naturally. As longtime Druids to the Fae, the Keltar did, too. Ryodan, Lor, Barrons, Fade, and myself voted against it. The sidhe-seers were split down the middle, with Jo for removing them and Kat against. I could barely see the tip of my father’s head between Lor, Fade, and Ryodan, but my parents weighed in on my side. Smart parents.