Piper Prince by Amber Argyle

Author:Amber Argyle [Argyle, Amber]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Forbidden Forest
Publisher: Starling Publishing
Published: 2019-04-18T23:00:00+00:00

Tam settled in the chair Raeneth had vacated and started loading both his and Larkin’s plates. “Yeah, let’s hear it, Granny.”

She stared at him, eyes popping out of her head. “Did I not make it perfectly clear you would not be allowed in my house until you’ve been thoroughly inspected—”

Tam flattened her with a look. “My house in the Alamant is twice as grand as this. When I’m not serving as the prince’s personal guard—or Larkin’s—I command my own unit of a hundred soldiers. Your own granddaughter is a princess.” He dunked his scone in his soup and bit into it. He winced, probably realizing it was a sweet bread, and shook the remains in Iniya’s direction. “So from now on, you’re going to pretend to be respectful.”

Iniya blinked, opened her mouth, and shut it again. “A princess?”

Tam rolled his eyes. “And unlike in the Idelmarch, Larkin has power.”

Not yet. Still, Larkin wasn’t about to argue.

Iniya’s gaze turned inward. “Very well, Tam, Commander of a Hundred Men and Defender of the Prince. You may remain.” She took a delicate bite of her own scone. “The feast begins in two days. While I’m not technically allowed to bring more than two guests, the druids won’t turn away Nesha and her guard”—she looked pointedly at Tam—“sent by their very own prize Black Druid, Garrot.”

Tam huffed. “Appears I’ve been demoted.” He leaned into Larkin. “I might actually miss terrorizing Idelmarchians as a druid. It’s more fun when you can see their reactions.”

Rolling her eyes, Larkin tore apart her own scone and slathered it with butter and jam. “Garrot is important to the druids?”

Iniya stirred her soup, ran the edge of her spoon over the bowl’s rim, and set it delicately on her plate. “If all goes according to his plans, Garrot will be the next Master Druid.”

The forest take him and my sister both, Larkin thought darkly.

“And the current Master Druid would be all right with his disowned granddaughter at his celebrations?” Tam asked.

“The hero of Hamel?” Iniya scoffed. “He could not very well turn her away.”

Nesha, a hero—for betraying her family and nearly getting Larkin killed, twice. She hid her clenched fists under the table. “And after?”

“Leave that to me,” Iniya said. “But first, we attend the Black Rites.”

Larkin didn’t like the sound of that.

Tam looked up. “Black Rites?”

Iniya lifted her bowl to her lips. “Any regular druid who wishes to become a Black Druid must enter the Forbidden Forest and discover its secret.”

This was why the Black Druids were feared and admired—they had survived what no one else had.

Tam’s eyes widened. “Without knowing what’s inside?”

“A few make it back intact,” Iniya said.

Tam sat back with a huff. “That’s not far off from murder.”

“What’s a few less druids? While there, I must speak with a man, Humbent.”

Larkin looked between Tam and Iniya. “Just like that? We attend the equinox celebrations and try to get inside the crypts and library?”

“Just?” Iniya huffed. “If the druids realize who you are, we’ll all be part of the equinox’s culminating activity: the public hangings.

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