Daivad’s body refused to stay still. He paced the clearing back and forth, cracking his knuckles, rolling his shoulders, and repeatedly adjusting the newly-repaired wolf’s head charm tied around his bicep. Like Daivad’s restlessness was contagious, Maxea paced as well, circling all three men and the other two Wolves endlessly. Ben scratched Drauge’s chin absently, a distant look in his eyes as he seemed to process everything that Daivad had just told them.

Tobei, who was still astride Kunin after their hunt for the day, snapped at Daivad, “Would you quit that?”

Daivad didn’t know if it was the pacing, the knuckle-cracking, or the general fidgeting that Tobei was talking about, but he ignored him regardless. If he didn’t keep moving, his insides were going to turn into his outsides.

“I know where he’ll be.”

Ben’s gaze snapped up. “Daivad.”

“We go, we take him out, and then she has nothing.”

“That was your exact plan for Ubika,” Ben argued. “We agreed we’d stay quiet.”

“The Colonel is coming after us, and you want me to sit here and let him?” Daivad growled.

“That’s knowledge Belle gave us two moons ago,” Ben said.

“She said he’s investigating Luvatha,” Daivad said. “Investigating her.”

“Hm,” Tobei said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. “Speak the real words, Daivad. You’re not concerned he’ll find us—you’re concerned he’ll find her.”

“It’s the same thing,” Daivad snapped. “The Colonel’s not like Richard—ready to take in any words he wants to hear. She said she had trouble reading his magic—she won’t be able to play him like she plays Richard. He’ll discover her involvement, and she’ll have to tell him where we are. Even if she does manage to play him—he’ll be talking to Jac too.”

“Did she name the date of these ‘interviews’?” Ben asked.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Not the date, just that it would be after his investigation of the city—so all we need to do is make sure he never finishes it.”

“Will he be alone?” Tobei asked. “Will he have the others from the Farm at his sides? And the Royal Guard behind him?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then shouldn’t we stay quiet until you do?”

On his next pass by an enormous tree trunk, Daivad struck, burying a magic-wrapped fist a foot into the wood and spraying bark. A shower of great leaves and little acorns fell over them. “I won’t sit here and do nothing!”

“We don’t do nothing,” Ben said in his deep, calm voice. “We listen.” After a pause, he said, “Name her tone.”

“What does her tone change?”

“Afraid?” Ben pressed. “Defeated?”

Daivad stopped pacing to hold Ben’s steady gaze, already seeing where he was going with this. It simultaneously annoyed and calmed him. “No. She sounded…”

Truthfully, she’d sounded almost excited—nervous, of course, but not panicked like she had been when she realized Kitten was missing. Nervous, but eager. He could imagine why—she must feel powerless in Broken Earth. But now she was fighting back, chipping away at the castle’s foundation from within it. And she had assured him he didn’t need to worry about her, said she had a plan—but hadn’t thought to tell him that plan.

“We have to deal with him carefully,” Ben said.

Daivad let out a sound that was half growl, half sigh. Maxea came to a stop behind him and shook out her coat.

“You know,” Tobei said, beginning to braid the long hair around Kunin’s neck. “I think you’re maturing backwards, Daivad. At eight you had the patience of an old man, but now you’re as reckless as a kid. Could be good news—maybe you’ll start shrinking!”

That really annoyed Daivad, because it was true. He’d grown up hard and learned how to live hard, learned to stay cool and calm no matter the madness around him. Now, he was growing soft, letting his emotions take control of him.

He scowled into the forest, irritated that despite the enormous beasts that slumbered within it, he felt safe here. Worse—he felt comfortable.

He turned his attention back to the Colonel, the threat.

Fine. They would deal with him carefully. So carefully he would never see them coming, and Aran would never see him go. They would obliterate him. And then they would obliterate Aran. And Nyxabella would be free.

It clicked. He was in.

He was going to kill the queen. Or die trying.