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claim her as a Midsummer conquest, and release her to the Shadow King, who might be willing to let him have her back once the king had claimed her powers.
    The thought of any man, much less his own father, laying hands on her, entering her, made a raging inferno boil Rook’s blood. Maybe there was only one option he could stomach—the one where he claimed the Seer’s powers. Despite how his verge responded to the thought, pulsing heavy and hot against his abdomen, that way was far more difficult and rife with complications. As son of the king and heir to the throne, Rook might be able to buck tradition without deadly consequences, but to make it happen he would have to get her to choose him. It was the only way. As a Seer she was in a higher caste, off-limits to him, unless she chose otherwise.
    He glanced at Cate, the wonder evident on her face as she stared up at the brilliant white marble facade that made up the palace and the flurry of servants who were coming out to greet them.
    He was going to have to seduce the Seer and get her to stay in the Shadow Court.
    “It looks like some European villa, like something on Lake Como in Italy,” she murmured.
    “Like I said, this is my seashore cottage. Just wait until you see the size of the palaces elsewhere.”
    “Is that where they have Maya? At one of the other palaces?”
    “They’ve taken your friend to the capital of the Shadow Court, Seaneath.”
    “How far is that from here?”
    “Four days on foot.”
    She frowned, the tips of her slender dark brows coming together to form a V. “Is there any way we can get there faster?”
    Rook smiled and thanked the gods for small favors. “I can get us there quickly, by transporting us there. If you’re willing to assist me.”
    Her doelike eyes narrowed with suspicion and she crossed her arms over her chest, deepening the intriguing crease between her breasts. “How?”
    “Being in your realm for too long drains our magickal powers. I need to regenerate them before I can effectively transport us that kind of distance.”
    Cate rolled her hand, as if trying to pull the words out of him. “And…”
    “And what?”
    She muttered a few choice words under her breath. “What do you have to do to regenerate your power?”
    “It’s very simple.” He stepped closer, putting a crooked finger beneath her chin and lifting her head to look up into his eyes. “And it’s practically a given between us at some point.”
    She raised one brow in challenge, but he could feel her pulse beating hard and fast with desire in her veins. “Rook, quit playing games. What is it?”
    “Sex.”

Chapter Four
    “Sex?” Cate’s mouth grew dry at the thought of his large hands on her bare skin. While seducing him to get her into the fae world and find Maya had been the plan, some small part of her had never fully considered that he might want to take things this far. Not that she hadn’t had fantasies about it. She had. But he was far more potent than she’d anticipated. Her head buzzed.
    Rook’s raw sexuality pulsed off of him like a damn heat wave. Cate flexed her hand, closing it then opening it over and over, to keep herself from slapping the cocky confidence off his face. For a moment, she didn’t know if she was more pissed that he’d suggested it so casually, assuming she’d just jump at the chance, or if she was angry because she’d been thinking not five seconds before that perhaps she’d like to follow through with thoroughly seducing him after all.
    “You expect me to believe the only way I can get to Maya is if we have sex? How dumb do you think Uplanders are? This isn’t my first rodeo, cowboy. I’ve been watching, studying your kind for years. I know you can do things without having to horizontal mambo first.”
    Rook shrugged, his eyes clouding with confusion. Maybe they didn’t use slang in the fae world. Maybe a woman had never flat out told him no. His head tilted just enough that his eyes flashed violet,