Also, making or way over rolling hills toward a two-story red house perched in front of a sparkling lake for a kilometer or two was way easier than the hikes Senair used to take me on through the mountains “to walk off the grief” after Alban’s death.
I couldn’t believe this green, hilly place was where Da died—or that I, of all people, was actually here to broker peace between the two wolf kingdoms.
“Why me?” I asked Sadie as we got closer to a. “Uncle—I mean, King Magnus—said you requested me as their ambassador specifically, even though I just moved back to Scotland after going to uni and working abroad.”
One of the first questions the youngest and fourth High Prince had asked was, “Why do you sound like North America?”
For so many reasons, I didn’t feel equipped to handle these negotiations.
“I hope you’ll understand after you meet Naomi,” Sadie answered. “It could only be you.”
Maybe. But I didn’t understand at all when my Aunt Naomi, the Queen of the Irish Wolves, emerged just before we reached the house.
She was small but sharp as a razor. High cheekbones, wiry muscles, cornrows that fell down her back like whips. Everything about her was sharp, the complete opposite of Sadie’s teddy bear softness. It was hard to believe they were best friends.
A much taller female and male flanked her, and they carried the same sharpness, though younger. Her children. I could tell at first sniff.
The son had long red hair braided in a way that reminded me of the Vikings of yore. And the daughter had wild curls with leaves and sticks with bright red berries woven through them—clearly intentional, but it made her look like a living bush of poisonous berries.
They all wore leather outfits that could have easily gotten them cast as bandits in one of those historical entertainments set in the days before metal armor.
The first thing Naomi said to me was, “You are not allowed in my home. We will have this discussion by the Three Gods Lake.”
Then she turned and headed around the house toward the sparkling body of water, obviously expecting us to follow.
Sadie didn’t seem the least bit surprised by this announcement. She simply adjusted my duffel on her shoulder and followed.
I trailed behind, wondering where I was expected to sleep. Maybe in the small town I could see on the other side of the lake in the distance.
We stopped at the water’s edge—so close I could see that it was more like a reservoir or basin. No beach. Just a grassy lip with a steep drop, surrounded by signs warning that swimming wasn’t allowed.
No problem. I’d never learned how to swim, and even after the hike under a real sun in hot, unmoderated temperatures, the thought of risking my life in what looked like a massive, sheer-drop hole of water did not appeal to me.
Naomi turned to face me, her expression as hard as one of the stones in the circle we just hiked here from.
Was this where I was supposed to recite the poem I’d been taught? I looked to Sadie for some kind of clue about how to proceed.
“You probably have questions for me,” Naomi said before I could speak. Her voice was cold, and her eyes glittered with unchecked rage. “Including which one of us killed Alban Scotswolf. I’m told you called himDa.”
“I did,” I confirmed. “But I don’t need to know who?—”
“It was me,” Naomi said, tilting her sharp, beautiful face with the expression of someone enjoying a truly delicious memory. “He murdered my husbands and then dared to come to the castle to negotiate peace. But of course there could be none after what he did. I slit his throat with the dagger my Wild King gave me as a baby moon gift. It is important to me that you know that.”
Naomi told me this… told me she’d killed my da, who’d survived the battle with her evil, kidnapping husbands… who had only wanted to get his duty over with and come home to me, his unborn son, and my pregnant maem… She told me this with a proud smirk on her lips, madness sparkling in her eyes.
Okay…
Okay…
I realized two things in that moment:
1. I was no diplomat. Uncle Magnus should never have sent me.
And…
2. This bitch was about to die.
In an instant, the temper I’d learned to tame after a difficult childhood flamed hotter than a bonfire. My fists curled at my sides, and I stepped forward, vision going red with only one thought in my mind:Kill her.
