1. CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

WÖLFE

The beast tried to claw its way out of me as I squeezed the weak male’s neck, but it wouldn’t do to terrify my prey out of his wits. Not just yet.

“Where is he?” I demanded, my patience teetering at the sword’s edge of a precipice.

A hand fell on my shoulder. “Wölfe. Please.”

My head jerked back. I growled, teeth bared. “Unwise to touch me, Summer Prince.”

Jeondar pulled his hand back, curling his fingers into a fist, probably worried I might bite them off. Not so unwise, after all.

I returned my attention to the coiffed male, whom I held against the wall. This was his villa. My Seelie spies had marked him as one of Cardian’s allies, someone who could potentially be harboring my weasel brother.

As I squeezed his neck a little harder, Kryn came barreling through the door, followed by Silver.

“Cardian isn’t here,” my half-brother said. “We searched everywhere.”

I narrowed my eyes at my quarry, my claws unsheathing. He whimpered as they pierced his pasty skin. A cloying sweet smell clung to him, some sort of flowery perfume. His hair was a mass of well-arranged curls on top of his head. They glittered with enough pixie dust to make a full-grown horse soar from the ground. Sweat slid down his forehead, and his tongue kept darting out like a snake’s.

My fingers squeezed harder still. “I will ask one last time or I’ll kill you. Where is Cardian?”

“I don’t know, my king.” His voice trembled.

I applied more pressure to my thumb. My claw dug in and warm blood flowed to stain his pristine white collar. I stared in fascination as it blossomed, spreading through the threads like fire through a cotton field.

“Please, my k-king,” the male managed just barely. “All I know is that… he acquired a transfer token, stole it from your father.”

For a second, I didn’t move, my urge to kill him dampened by the news, then my fury redoubled and I leaned more heavily into him, the tendons around his throat feeling like flimsy twigs that I yearned to break. He made a croaking sound.

“He’s told you what he knows, Wölfe.” Jeondar stepped into my field of vision. “Let him go. He’s not worth it.”

My eyes flicked toward the Summer Prince, and for a moment, I considered his words, Kalyll trying to push his own morality on me. But the moment of insanity passed, and with a little more pressure—an effortless thing, really—I snapped the traitor’s neck.

The crack of bones was loud in the quiet room. It reverberated like the crashing of a tree.

I let him go. He dropped to the floor in a heap of uselessness. I leaned forward, pulled an embroidered handkerchief from his breast pocket, and used it to wipe his blood from my hand. Working on one finger at a time, I turned and faced the others.

Jeondar, Kryn, and Silver’s expressions were identical: wide eyes, lips pressed into tight lines, brows furrowed. They didn’t approve. What a surprise.

I huffed and walked out of the room, a garish parlor with fuchsia curtains and cream cushions. My steps pounded against the veined marble floors as I made my way down a long hall. The others followed at a distance.

Two servants stood at the main door. Earlier, they had let me pass as soon as they recognized me and sensed my fury. Smart. I would’ve torn out their throats had they gotten in the way.

Cylea and Arabis waited outside in the courtyard under the star-covered black sky. They stayed to keep watch in case any rats scurried out of the large villa as we searched it.

“No luck, huh?” Cylea handed me Stormheart’s reins, who was drinking water from a gurgling fountain.

I grunted in response.

Silver and Kryn prepared to mount, but a glare from Jeondar stopped them.

“No one’s going to say anything about what just happened?” he demanded.

I looked at him over my shoulder. “You always say enough for everyone.”

He met my glower, unflinching.

“What… happened?” Arabis asked.

Jeondar jerked a hand, pointing at the ornate house behind us. “He killed him. That’s what happened.”

“By Erilena.” Arabis covered her mouth.

I huffed. “What would you have me do? Cuddle the traitor?”

“The king is not supposed to go around murdering denizens. Guilty or not? There should be a trial.” Jeondar droned on.

“We don’t have time for that. We have to find Cardian.”

“Your personal vendetta should not take precedence over more pressing matters. Mythorne prepares for war as we speak.”

I let go of Stormheart’s reins, took a step forward, and snatched a handful of Jeondar’s jacket. “Dani lies cold on a bed while my brother runs free plotting against me, against your precious realm. He possesses valuable information that can help the enemy. So I would say my personal vendetta aligns itself very well with your lofty goals for Elf-hame. But if you don’t agree with my methods, you’re welcome to scuttle back to Imbermore.”

Jeondar pushed me, trying to shake himself free of my hold. I doubled down, but Kryn wedged himself between us, while Arabis came forth and placed a hand on my arm.

“Settled down, Wölfe!” she said, her Susurro powers traveling like wind over my body.

I felt the force of her command as it burrowed itself under my skin, trying to force me into compliance.

Kalyll reared its ugly head. He pushed, trying to come to the forefront and replace me, but right now his weak tactics were not needed. Right now—