Old Dog, New Tricks (Black Dog Book 4) by Hailey Edwards

Author:Hailey Edwards [Edwards, Hailey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-07-29T23:00:00+00:00

* * *

The heavy scent of damp earth seeped into me and sparked a tiny flame of panic. An hour ago, I had asked Mac if we were there yet. His tail hadn’t even twitched. Hop-crawling through utter darkness, I bumped into him as he stopped to gnaw a root that had grown through the tunnel since its last use.

“My nose is cramping,” I whined.

The reflexive wiggling reflected my state of agitation—like wearing a mood ring on my face.

“I see light ahead.” Mac panted through a narrowing of the walls. “We’re almost there.”

Paws flying, I hustled through the tight spot and gasped when brilliant sunlight blasted me in the face. I shuffled forward, and the ground vanished beneath me. Tumbling tail over teakettle, I landed on a soft spot with a sharp oomph. Blinded, I tested it with my paw. Oops. The grunt hadn’t been mine after all. “Sorry.”

Mac slid out from under me while I blinked away the last of the darkness.

“Are you all right?” He sounded winded.

My furry cheeks heated. I wasn’t that heavy.

“Fine,” I grumbled. “Where are we?”

“Near the kitchen.” Mac hopped several feet toward an arched doorway. “Stay close.”

I fumbled my first hop-step. “We’re not shifting back?”

“We’re less likely to be noticed this way.” I heard a smile in his voice. He reached the threshold and peered around the corner, scanning the hall left to right. “We also retain the element of surprise.”

Flattening my ears against my head, I sank deeper into the pelt, hoping its muscle memory would let me keep up with Mac, who moved as if born to his skin.

Unlike the crystalline rooms surrounded by flowing water and filled with sunlight I remembered from my first visit to the Halls, this area had solid white walls with blue-and-white-checkered floors. The ceiling was translucent. Sunlight glinted off the polished surface, making me squint as I slipped on soft paws.

Ahead of me, Mac tensed as low voices echoed down the hall.

“Prince Tiberius should be made aware of the situation,” a feminine voice cautioned.

“Aves are the Morrigan’s creatures, Unseelie,” a man scoffed. “They are no threat to us.”

The click-clack of heels and steady cadence of soft-soled boots brought the pair closer.

Nose wiggling a hundred miles per hour, I shuffled close to Mac, ready to spring where he led.

The woman sighed. “You don’t find it odd how they’re skulking in the grove?”

He snorted. “Not when the Morrigan is rallying to become the next ruler of Faerie.”

“She killed her own son for the throne,” the woman mused.

“Rook was a half-blood,” the man countered. “No better than the half-blood pup the consuls had chosen as queen.” He managed to make my once-future title sound like pond scum. “There has never been a Faerie queen, and the old gods willing, there never will be. Let alone that feral Unseelie cur.”

“Prince Tiberius would be wise to take the Morrigan in hand sooner rather than later,” she responded.

“Aye, there is that.” He blew out a long breath. “The longer he waits, the harder it will be.

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