The Frozen Prince (The Beast Charmer #2) - Maxym M. Martineau Page 0,16

the inky scythe on his wrist disappeared from view. Maybe this was our chance. Mages were powerful beings with unparalleled magic. They rarely crossed the sea to deal with anyone outside their realm. Rumors suggested they were as disgusted with the outcome of the First War as Charmers were, and rather than succumb to the ruling of the First King, they’d left.

To be granted an audience with one now…

“I don’t know how you managed this, but thank you,” I said, voice unfailingly polite in order to hide my mistrust. Gaige’s inscrutable gaze drifted to me. What were his motives? Why had he gone to such lengths? There was no way of knowing how many people Wynn had won over. And judging by Dominus and Okean’s relationship, it was safe to say that Wynn and Gaige had spent a decent amount of time together. Maybe Gaige knew more about our enemy than he let on.

Maybe he was even on her side.

Regardless, this wasn’t an option we could pass up. Perhaps he was an ally on the Council. Or maybe he was just using his wits to further his own agenda. It was so hard to tell. After everything I’d been through, between my exile and this bounty, trust wasn’t something I had in great supply.

Noc gestured toward the manor. “You can stay with us until tomorrow.”

Gaige channeled the god of mischief himself with his crooked grin. “Excellent.”

I wasn’t sure if excellent was the word I’d use, but risking another debt to the Council was a small price to pay if it meant saving Noc.

Four

Leena

We took the familiar path to Midnight Jester just after breakfast the following morning. Snarled, plum-colored vines covered in thorns threaded through decaying branches, creating a thicket of swirling darkness along the dirt path. Kitska Forest never slumbered, and the shimmering pods of pinesco trees winked like eyes in the faint breeze. Pulling my leather coat tight, I quickened my pace to keep up with Noc, Kost, Calem and Gaige. Dressed entirely in black with a trench coat that fell to his calves, Noc walked like a predator. Darkness oozed from his fingers and curled around his legs, mingling with the shadows of the forest and blending with the onyx shade of his hair. It was hard to tell where one nightmare ended and the other began.

No. Not a nightmare. At least not to me. I could decipher all the shades of slate and ebony and charcoal intermingling to form a world of beautiful depth. But to an outsider? Noc wore danger like a garment. And it’s the exact thing he wanted this mage to know; that he, and invariably us, wouldn’t be easy marks.

Kost and Gaige flanked him, twin threats in their own right. Kost because he wore his own sharp expression, coupled with a similar arrangement of black-on-black attire. Gaige, because I couldn’t bring myself to trust that brain of his. Why grant us this meeting with the mage? What was his plan? If only I had a Nezbit at my disposal. Then I could ask Gaige point-blank if he was involved with Wynn, with the mystery woman behind the bounty, and know truth from lie.

Flexing my fingers, I studied the tree inked into my skin, as if the rosewood color would suddenly spring to life and wash away my concern.

“Cold?” Calem knocked into me with his shoulder and nodded toward my hand. “It might be time for gloves.”

I shoved my hands into my pockets and forced a smile. “That’s what pockets are for.”

Calem grinned back, and my stomach knotted. That boyish expression haunted my dreams. It was the last thing I had seen before his face contorted in pain. Before the red coated my hands and the stink of iron rooted in my nose. Before the life in his eyes died as his head lolled in my lap. Last night’s nightmare had been no different.

The multigrain toast I’d managed to eat this morning tried in vain to crawl up my throat. I swallowed. Hard.

Calem watched me with cautious eyes. With a gentle finger, he poked my forehead. “Everything okay in there?”

“Just peachy.” Dried-up twigs snapped beneath my boots as we walked. Midnight Jester was visible on the horizon, and a new chill joined the winter air nipping against my skin. “We should’ve brought Oz too.”

Calem tossed a cursory glance behind us in the direction of Cruor. “Someone needed to stay behind. Everyone’s on edge since Darrien left.”

The bloodbath of Hireath was always at the forefront