Chapter 2

Dare

Icouldn”t sleep, and I rolled over, cranking my pillow under my arm as I tried to find a cool spot. My bedding felt too hot.

And I couldn”t stop thinking about the blond hellion who was apparently responsible for Thorne losing his goddamned mind tonight. I kept thinking about her face. Her mischievous smirk curved her lips so easily, and there was something in me that wanted to own that smile for myself.

But she was destroying Thorne.

I wasn”t sure if it was Thorne or Hanna keeping me awake tonight.

Though I hadn”t slept all that well as a rule, since my parents were murdered, anyway.

The fireplace sent scattered light and shadows dancing over the dim living room, illuminating the very few things I owned; almost everything in here had been borrowed or stolen. Easily owned, easily surrendered.

Edric had always made it clear that this castle wasn”t my home. But I never would”ve believed it was anyway. I”d never forgotten my real home.

”What do you think will happen in the end?” Jaia”s voice was sleepy.

”I only agreed to let you two sleep in my room because you said you”d be quiet.” I rolled onto my elbow. The crackling fire cast shadowed light over Jaia and Azora, who were inexplicably sprawled across my couches.

Jaia had been badly hurt, and even though she”d recovered, I”d wanted to keep an eye on her the night before. So I had let her sleep in my apartments, and somehow Azora came along inevitably with Jaia. Even though I really thought Azora had more sense than to involve herself with Jaia...and I”d said as much.

They”d just laughed at me.

Then later, Jaia had thrown a knife at me---as part of a game, of course. Testing my reflexes.

My friends were exhausting.

And now, somehow, they were back in my apartments a second time. Jaia was more than slightly drunk. Azora was watchful and quiet, as always. Jaia was obnoxious and clever by turns... also, as always.

”You knew I didn”t mean it,” Jaia chided. She tossed something up in the air idly and caught it. It took me a second, squinting in the dim, flickering light, to realize the object was a dagger. ”We”ve spent enough time talking around the fire long after bedtime.”

”None of it voluntary on my part.” We”d all patrolled the no man”s land between the Snake Queen”s territory and our own kingdom while the queen sent endless waves of monsters to terrorize the people.

She let out a laugh. ”You love it. You love the sound of your own voice. You just hate to take turns.”

”Azora...” I began.

”No. I”m asleep.” Azora”s voice was muffled by her blanket, her eyes shut.

I hoped maybe she would sleep without nightmares when Jaia and I were so close.

She”d been through far worse than Jaia and I had, and that was saying something.

”Lies. Jaia won”t---”

There was a knock at the door, so loud and demanding it made us all sit up.

”Dare,” Kaelan growled through the door.

Something was wrong.

I raced to the door and threw it open.

Kaelan stalked in, looking more furious than I had seen him in a long time. His hands were formed into fists, and he seemed to tower even more than usual.

”What is it?” I asked. ”What happened?”

”Hanna,” he choked out, and then his lips pressed together tightly, his eyes closing.

Fear writhed though my chest like a snake. ”Is she hurt?”

I was about go past him, rushing to heal her, but he grabbed my shoulder. ”She”s not hurt.”

Then his eyes darkened. ”Not yet.”

Had Hanna betrayed him somehow? I stared at my best friend, trying to understand what was happening.

”What the hell is going on?”

”Thorne,” he said, and then couldn”t seem to go on. As if rage had stolen his voice.

I”d never seen Kaelan like this before. ”Is Thorne alright?”

”No,” Kaelan said. ”Thorne is dead.”

The whole world dropped out from beneath my feet.

The sense of falling stole my breath.

I wouldn”t believe it until I saw it. Not Thorne, my best friend, who was always there. Thorne was a man of few words.

But a few of those words he spoke were the names of my family. He was the one who kept their memory alive with me; he”d listened to me ramble about them, for hours---enough that I”d been left with that hot, humiliated feeling one does after exposing far too much---and then he brought up the little memories I”d shared sometimes. ”Good fishing today. I bet your father would”ve loved fishing with us.”

”He just doesn”t know it yet,” Kaelan went on.

I stared at Kaelan, trying to process any of what was happening. ”Thorne isn”t dead.”

”Not until we find him.”

”Well, that”s not much of an incentive,” Jaia drawled as she joined us. She had thrown her blanket around her muscular shoulders like a cloak. ”I like him better than I like you, Kae.”

I gave her a quick headshake, urging discretion. I already knew she would ignore it.

Kaelan”s jaw was so tight that it seemed it might shatter, and the look he aimed in her direction was cutting.

”I thought they were in danger,” I said quickly, trying to divert the conversation before Kaelan”s current fury found another target.

”They are in danger. But not from the Snake Queen... I am going to kill Thorne. I”m going to drag my queen back and tie her down to my throne...” Kaelan”s fingers flexed at his side as if he could barely keep himself from losing it, and cold blue magic crackled around his fingers.

Azora joined us, looking small and bony in her nightgown. Her gaze met mine, the two of us trading a worried look.

Kaelan”s temper ran cold. This didn”t feel like him.

But then, he was a different man for Hanna.

”We”ll find them,” she promised. ”But tell us what happened.”

”Thorne came to my rooms and told Hanna and I that he needed to speak to us urgently. It was just a ploy to get us outside to the gardens---where he could take her.” The crackling around his fingers burnt brighter.

”Maybe we should go talk in your rooms,” I said, because Kaelan had a lot more money than I did and if he was going to be explosively angry, he shouldn”t lose his temper surrounded by the limited things I owned.

Kaelan was not going to be deterred. Jaia gave me a look that was amused or sympathetic or both, seeing through me, as Kaelan forged on.

”Thorne told her that I was lying. That I manipulated her to be my bride---”

So far, no lies.

”That I didn”t really love her.” Kaelan”s voice dropped to a dangerous rasp. ”That he loved her. That he had gotten to know her through my eyes, through the bond, and he had fallen in love with her.”

”Ah,” I said, feeling a sudden rush of guilt.

I”d known how Thorne felt. Maybe I should have maneuvered my idiot friends to keep this situation from igniting.

To be fair, who had seen the way Thorne looked at Hanna and not known how he felt?

”He told her that she needed to trust him and come with him.” Kaelan”s face was a mask of rage. ”And she did.”

”Where are they now?”

”He took her home,” he said. ”To his home. Caer Far.”

Relief shot through me. It was a full day”s flight to Caer Far.

There was time for Kaelan to cool down.

I didn”t know what I should do when one of my best friends was intent on killing the other.

The knock at the door, sudden and sharp, jolted all three of us. I looked at the three people who were the only ones in the castle I”d willingly open the door for--- and barely, even then---then pointed to the far side behind the door where they could be concealed.

Reluctantly, Kaelan moved behind the door, his posture tall and chin raising as if he were offended by having to hide.

Jaia leaned against the wall, still toying with her knife, as if she might gut whoever had knocked if things didn”t go well. I frowned at her, and mimed putting the knife inside my jacket. She reluctantly tucked it back into her clothes, then slung one arm over Azora”s shoulders. Azora”s gaze was watchful and alert, but even primed for a fight, she leaned into Jaia”s touch.

I swung open the door to find a servant.

Creish. Edric”s faithful, beady-eyed servant.

He”d been one of those sent to kill Kaelan”s hounds, a long time ago, when we were just boys.

”My apologies, Lord Dare.”Creish blinked his little eyes at me, the movement barely making a difference in how much iris was visible. Just the sound of his voice sent a greasy sliver down my spine, remembering how often I”d been used as a bargaining chip, just like those hounds. How many times I had known Creish and the others might come for me. ”King Edric sent me to find Prince Kaelan.”

”I assume he”s with his lovely bride,” I deadpanned, keenly aware of Kaelan out of the corner of my eye.

”He isn”t in his apartments. The king says it”s urgent.”

The king”s urgent mission must be something that would take Kaelan away from his mission to find Hanna and Thorne?

Until I could figure out what the fuck was going on?

”Then I suggest you find him,” I said. ”But I was already in bed, and I”m not going on any hunting missions tonight.”

The servant bowed. ”Thank you, Lord Dare.”

He didn”t mean it.

He retreated to confer with another of Edric”s servants at the end of the hall.

And the other servant stayed there, lingering.

I closed the door.

”If you want to avoid being swept up in whatever distraction your father has for you,” I said quietly, ”it looks like our sleepover party has just gotten larger.”

Kaelan paced the room, looking like one of the tigers from the taiga, his fury and bloodthirst barely contained.

But I was happy to slow him down.