A moment later, I’m tumbling across the floor of my room. The wolf nudges me with his nose until I’m on my stomach. He places a paw on the back of my bloody calf. There’s a shock of pain and a tingling numbness. I look down to see a small layer of ice sealing off my wound.
“What’s going on?” I gasp, looking up at the wolf, but he’s already turned away. “Keldarion?”
But I’m alone again, in a castle of beasts.
17
Dayton
Iheararguingvoicesbefore I even open the door. Ezryn’s balls must be as hard as the helmet he always wears. Even though I know Ez will take the lead on whatever is going on in there, I hesitate. The ice crawling up the door frame is not a good sign.
Gritting my teeth, I push open the door. This is my least favorite room in the entire castle. Always too damn cold.
Kel and Ez stand by the window, continuing their argument as I walk in. Like I’m barely of note. It’s not unusual.
Farron is curled up on the couch, knees drawn to his chest. My heart pangs. He looks miserable. I plop down on the armrest, and he immediately curls into my side. His hand clutches the fabric of my pants and I instinctively let my fingers trail through the soft brown waves of his hair.
“What are Daddy and Mommy fighting about now?” I lean down and whisper.
That earns me the briefest flash of a smile before it falters, his golden eyes glassy. “This is all my—”
“Don’t,” I say sternly and snatch his chin. “Don’t go there.”
“Ah, Dayton, it seems you’ve finally managed to get yourself out of bed. You’d be well versed on the events if you’d arrived on time.” Ezryn’s deep metallic voice reverberates as he studies me. “I sent Rintoulo an hour ago to retrieve you.”
“Did you expect anything less from the drunken Prince of Summer?” Kel snarls, his long white hair framing the hard angles of his jaw.
A broad smile graces my face as an instinctive defense. “Sorry about that. You know, it’s a lot of work dragging a giant beast all the way up to the dungeon. A lot of stairs. A lot ofthorns.”
Kel bristles and ice cracks beneath his feet. The man is too fucking easy to rile.
“Enough,” Ezryn snaps. “This is serious.”
My fingers trail further down Farron’s neck, and he flinches. There are still red marks there, but not from me. I’d only gripped the loose skin at the back of his neck. That wound was from where Kel had bitten him. It told just how hard that bite was that it still lingered on Farron in his fae form.
We’ve all known for a long time how unhinged Kel is, but last night was something else. And I’ll be damned if I let Farron pay the price for it.
“You’re right. It is serious.” I stand, anger rippling off me like a wave of heat. Water seeps into my boots where the ice melts beneath my feet. “Farron was hurt last night. He could have been killed.”
“Farron should learn to control his beast.” Keldarion steps toward me. “The pup’s had twenty-five years to do it.”
Farron’s face falls.
“He shouldn’t have needed to!” I yell back. “You were ready to snap his neck. For what? To protect some human?”
I’m not easily scared. I’ve seen Kel tear apart his tower, rip thorns from walls, break stone with his bare hands. I’ve seen him kill twenty fae with his blade in the time it takes his enemy to draw their sword. But I’ve never seen him like he’d been when he stepped over the girl and shook the entire castle with his howl. The way he protected her…
Kel growls low in his throat and storms over, pulling me closer to him.
“It wasn’t Rosalina’s fault!” Farron shouts.
At the mention of her name, Keldarion drops my arm, and we are all still.
“Place blame on me,” Farron says sadly. “Kel’s right. There’s no excuse that I can’t control my—the beast. All of you can.”
Kel looks at Farron, and if I didn’t know for certain that the icy bastard was void of all emotion, I’d swear something akin to guilt flashes in his eyes.
“Why was she out of her room? I told you not to let her out.” Kel returns to yelling at Ez. One of his favorite things to do.