A Court So Dark

A Court So Dark Ingrid Seymour PenDreams Copyright © 2023 by Ingrid Seymour All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Contents 1. CHAPTER 1 2. CHAPTER 2 3. CHAPTER 3 4. CHAPTER 4 5. CHAPTER 5 6. CHAPTER 6 7. CHAPTER 7 8. CHAPTER 8 9. CHAPTER 9 10. CHAPTER 10 11. CHAPTER 11 12. CHAPTER 12 13. CHAPTER 13 14. CHAPTER 14 15. CHAPTER 15 16. CHAPTER 16 17. CHAPTER 17 18. CHAPTER 18 19. CHAPTER 19 20. CHAPTER 20 21. CHAPTER 21 22. CHAPTER 22 23. CHAPTER 23 24. CHAPTER 24 25. CHAPTER 25 26. CHAPTER 26 27. CHAPTER 27 28. CHAPTER 28 29. CHAPTER 29 30. CHAPTER 30 31. CHAPTER 31 32. CHAPTER 32 33. CHAPTER 33 34. CHAPTER 34 35. CHAPTER 35 36. CHAPTER 36 37. CHAPTER 37 38. CHAPTER 38 39. CHAPTER 39 40. CHAPTER 40 41. CHAPTER 41 42. CHAPTER 42 43. THE SPRITE Afterword Also By Ingrid Seymour About Author Ingrid Seymour CHAPTER 1 WÖLFE The beast tried to claw its way out of me as I squeezed the weak male’s neck, but it wouldn’t do to terrify my prey out of his wits. Not just yet. “Where is he?” I demanded, my patience teetering at the sword’s edge of a precipice. A hand fell on my shoulder. “Wölfe. Please.” My head jerked back. I growled, teeth bared. “Unwise to touch me, Summer Prince.” Jeondar pulled his hand back, curling his fingers into a fist, probably worried I might bite them off. Not so unwise, after all. I returned my attention to the coiffed male, whom I held against the wall. This was his villa. My Seelie spies had marked him as one of Cardian’s allies, someone who could potentially be harboring my weasel brother. As I squeezed his neck a little harder, Kryn came barreling through the door, followed by Silver. “Cardian isn’t here,” my half-brother said. “We searched everywhere.” I narrowed my eyes at my quarry, my claws unsheathing. He whimpered as they pierced his pasty skin. A cloying sweet smell clung to him, some sort of flowery perfume. His hair was a mass of well-arranged curls on top of his head. They glittered with enough pixie dust to make a full-grown horse soar from the ground. Sweat slid down his forehead, and his tongue kept darting out like a snake’s. My fingers squeezed harder still. “I will ask one last time or I’ll kill you. Where is Cardian?” “I don’t know, my king.” His voice trembled. I applied more pressure to my thumb. My claw dug in and warm blood flowed to stain his pristine white collar. I stared in fascination as it blossomed, spreading through the threads like fire through a cotton field. “Please, my k-king,” the male managed just barely. “All I know is that… he acquired a transfer token, stole it from your father.” For a second, I didn’t move, my urge to kill him dampened by the news, then my fury redoubled and I leaned more heavily into him, the tendons around his throat feeling like flimsy twigs that I yearned to break. He made a croaking sound. “He’s told you what he knows, Wölfe.” Jeondar stepped into my field of vision. “Let him go. He’s not worth it.” My eyes flicked toward the Summer Prince, and for a moment, I considered his words, Kalyll trying to push his own morality on me. But the moment of insanity passed, and with a little more pressure—an effortless thing, really—I snapped the traitor’s neck. The crack of bones was loud in the quiet room. It reverberated like the crashing of a tree. I let him go. He dropped to the floor in a heap of uselessness. I leaned forward, pulled an embroidered handkerchief from his breast pocket, and used it to wipe his blood from my hand. Working on one finger at a time, I turned and faced the others. Jeondar, Kryn, and Silver’s expressions were identical: wide eyes, lips pressed into tight lines, brows furrowed. They didn’t approve. What a surprise. I huffed and walked out of the room, a garish parlor with fuchsia curtains and cream cushions. My steps pounded against the veined marble floors as I made my way down a long hall. The others followed at a distance. Two servants stood at the main door. Earlier, they had let me pass as soon as they recognized me and sensed my fury. Smart. I would’ve torn out their throats had they gotten in the way. Cylea and Arabis waited outside in the courtyard under the star-covered black sky. They stayed to keep watch in case any rats scurried out of the large villa as we searched it. “No luck, huh?” Cylea handed me Stormheart’s reins, who was drinking water from a gurgling fountain. I grunted in response. Silver and Kryn prepared to mount, but a glare from Jeondar stopped them. “No one’s going to say anything about what just happened?” he demanded. I looked at him over my shoulder. “You always say enough for everyone.” He met my glower, unflinching. “What… happened?” Arabis asked. Jeondar jerked a hand, pointing at the ornate house behind us. “He killed him. That’s what happened.” “By Erilena.” Arabis covered her mouth. I huffed. “What would you have me do? Cuddle the traitor?” “The king is not supposed to go around murdering denizens. Guilty or not? There should be a trial.” Jeondar droned on. “We don’t have time for that. We have to find Cardian.” “Your personal vendetta should not take precedence over more pressing matters. Mythorne prepares for war as we speak.” I let go of Stormheart’s reins, took a step forward, and snatched a handful of Jeondar’s jacket. “Dani lies cold on a bed while my brother runs free plotting against me, against your precious realm. He possesses valuable information that can help the enemy. So