The Night Prince (The Wolf King, #2)(81)

My head snaps toward Philip, and for the first time, curiosity outweighs my ill feeling. “You went to the Snowlands?”

“Yes,” says Philip. “And as for how I found it. . .” He wiggles his tipless finger. “It was rather cold. I got frostbite within days.”

“I. . . what. . . why?” I splutter.

Philip rolls his eyes. “Why do you think, little sister?” To find out more about our mother. “Perhaps we should save the family catch-up for later.” He nods at the bindings around his wrists and ankles. “After my needless torture.”

“Tell us what you’re doing here, and you won’t be harmed,” says Callum.

“Release me, and I shall,” says Philip.

A look passes between Callum and Blake.

“We know why he’s here,” I say. “He’s come to take me back to my father.”

“Not everything is about you, darling sister. I didn’t come for you. I only found out you were here a few days ago.”

“Why are you here, then?” I ask.

He nods at Callum. “I came for him.”

Callum laughs. Arms folded, he looks Philip up and down. “You came for me?”

“Not to kill you. Goodness, must it always amount to violence among your people? I was sent by Ingrid Erickson, alpha of the Iceborn tribe, queen of the Snowlands. She believes an agent of the God of Night wishes to release the dark god from his prison. An army will be needed to push him, and his followers, back. She has a message for the Wolf King.”

Callum frowns. “What’s the message?”

“She wants to make an alliance to unite the two wolf kingdoms,” says Philip. “She wishes to ask for your hand in marriage.”





Chapter Forty-One





“Marriage?” Callum’s eyebrows raise.

Shock hardens my body.

Philip has come with a betrothal request for Callum from the queen of the Snowlands. Of all the reasons I could have theorized for his presence in the Northlands, I would never have imagined it would be this. I would rather he had come for me.

“I see I’ve touched a nerve, little sister. Sorry about that,” says Philip.

“Explain yourself,” says Callum—when I need him to just say no.

“Around thirty years ago, our mother was sent to the Southlands by our grandmother,” says Philip. “The Snowlands was being ravaged by a pack who were deeply devoted to the God of Night.”

“They were led by someone called the Shadow Wolf,” I say. I read about it in one of Blake’s books at Lowfell.

“Yes,” says Philip. “I don’t know the exact terms of the agreement, but our mother married Father because he agreed to help the Wolves fight this Shadow Wolf. They were defeated, but lately, there has been a resurgence in this pack. They’re stronger than before. More determined. They seem to think they have a chance of actually freeing the God of Night this time. There are rumors that the key to his prison is in the Northlands, and a wolf they’re calling The Night Prince is looking for it. Soon, you’ll face the same threat we have been dealing with. We need to unite.”

Callum runs a hand along his jaw, and I wonder if he’s thinking about all the strange things that have been happening in the Northlands lately—Night’s chapels springing back into use, Claire’s desperation for an alliance because of strange murders happening in the north, and Kai’s claim that he faced one of Night’s prisoners.

Philip nods at me. “My father will never agree to a match between the two of you, so you have no chance of an alliance with the Southlands. What I’m presenting. . . it’s a sensible match. You’ve not seen the things I have seen.” Callum opens his mouth, and Philip raises his fingers to stop him from speaking. “You don’t need to answer now. Think on it. I will stay for a while.”

Callum’s expression is stony. “When I marry, it will be for love, not for politics.”

“Then perhaps you’re not ready to become king,” says Philip.

“That’s rich, coming from you,” I say.

He shrugs. “It’s different. I’m heir to the throne. One day, the Southlands will be mine, whether I’m ready to be king or not.”

Obnoxious, arrogant fool. I bet he would let our kingdom fall into ruins rather than perform his duty as king.

“I was drinking in a tavern close to here,” continues Philip. “Word is, not all support your claim to the throne. They think you’re a southern sympathizer. It won’t be long before you’re challenged, and then what? Constant war among your people, when a bigger war is coming. An alliance with another wolf kingdom would be wise.” He shrugs. “It would be for appearances only. You can still carry on with whatever this is.” He waves his gloved hand between us, and his wrist strains against his constraints.

Callum’s low growl rumbles through the infirmary. “Do not question my honor. My answer is no. When I marry a lass, she will have all of me—heart, body, and soul. I will expect the same from her. I will settle for no less.”

“Why not offer yourself to Ingrid as a marriage prospect?” Blake asks Philip. I feel a thrum of curiosity that doesn’t belong to me.

“The last time my kingdom made an alliance with the Snowlands, it didn’t end well for them.” A shadow dulls Philip’s eyes. With the seriousness of his freckled face, and his hard lips, he looks like the prince he’s supposed to be, rather than the waste of space I know that he is. “Ingrid won’t marry me.”