34. CHAPTER 34

CHAPTER 34

KALYLL

The reins creaked in my hands as I twisted them, and pain shot up my jaw from the force of my bite. It was all I could do not to leap from the horse and wrap my hands around Varamede’s throat.

—Kill him, Wölfe said in my mind.

Patience, I replied.

In this, we were in agreement. The thunderlord had to die, but the time wasn’t right. Mythorne was the priority, and once he was dead, Varamede would get my full attention.

—Cardian too, that familiar dark force whispered inside my head.

He will live, for our mother’s sake.

—Bah.

Wölfe didn’t mind being a monster, but I wasn’t ready to abandon all sense of morality, even if my brother deserved to share Varamede’s fate.

“What news of the troops?” I forced myself to ask. “Are they with King Naeduin?”

Cardian ignored my question. “A nice day for hunting mud-spriggans, wouldn’t you say?”

I grunted and made no comment. Making sport of the creatures was despicable and exactly what I would expect from someone like Mythorne.

The creatures were suspected to be self-aware. They exhibited interesting behavior and were known for their rudimentary use of tools. When left alone, they were harmless and even helpful, keeping vermin in check. But when they were mistreated or their land encroached on, they turned territorial and mischievous, becoming pests.

“Indeed,” I responded, sure that Earl Qierlan wouldn’t mind making sport of the minor folk.

“It’s been some time since I enjoyed your company?” Cardian said.

I narrowed my eyes, pretending to search for prey in the underbrush. I had no idea when Cardian had seen the earl last. Was this a test? Did this mean he suspected we might not be who we said we were? If I answered incorrectly, he would have his proof.

So I didn’t say anything. Instead, I simply shrugged.

“You lied to me,” Cardian said with sudden anger. “And I’m not happy about it.”

What is this about? Was it part of the test? Or had the earl actually done something to anger Cardian?

I turned on my saddle and faced him full-on. “I thought we were here to hunt, not to discuss platitudes.”

“Platitudes? That is what you call your betrayal.”

I ignored him once more and urged my steed forward, twirling my sword in a way that displayed the considerable skill I knew the earl to possess. My intent was for the action to appear threatening in hopes that Cardian would shut his mouth. Though it was very likely a waste of time. He had his thunderlord by his side, and he always felt untouchable when Varamede was around.

“You promised me Mylendra,” Cardian spat. “And now you’re here, slithering about Mythorne’s feet, thrusting her at him instead.”

So this was it then, the reason why Cardian had appeared so upset when we first arrived. This was no test then.

“From one snake to another,” I said, “slithering is what we do. Not to mention betrayal.”

Cardian’s upper lip trembled. I knew the tic very well. It manifested when he was angry, fit to burst.

Warily, I glanced sideways at Varamede, who appeared alert to any command from my brother. “I don’t owe you anything, boy. Once I realized who was really in control, I knew what I had to do.”

“And what of the gold I gave you,” Cardian barked.

Gold? There had been a bribe involved? Cardian had paid for a wife? Worse yet, the earl, my father, had literally sold his daughter. And I’d thought they couldn’t get any lower.

My fingers cracked as my hand closed into a tight fist. I looked at it as it trembled. The action had been involuntary—or more to the point, caused by Wölfe.

—Rip his head off.

I took a deep breath, regaining a shred of calm, barely enough to keep me from letting my dark side erupt.

“You will pay it back,” Cardian said. “Every last bit of it. Three thousand gold coins.”

Three thousand?!This had to be a joke.

Cardian’s gaze roved over my face, expectantly.

“Sure,” I said. “Come by Thellanora one day, and you can have it back.”

He scoffed, then smiled crookedly, leaning down to pet the thick column of his mount’s neck. “It seems you don’t mind paying me back with interest, Earl Qierlan,” Cardian said.

Fuck.

The clever asshole had alluded to a much larger sum than he’d actually given the earl, knowing that he should bark at being asked for more.

His eyes flicked in Varamede’s direction, and he gave a curt nod. The thunderlord whipped a hand in my direction and released a bolt of electricity, aimed directly at my chest.