PROLOGUE

Tyr

Snow swirls around Hawthorn Academy as I close my car door and step onto the street. The place looks abandoned, some of its stones blackened from fire and the windows dark, but I know better than to believe what I see.

The Silver Hunters might hate anyone else who uses magic, but that's only because they're salty that they aren't innately good at it. They have no problem using spells to get what they want.

Which makes them annoying but also useful to me.

And hopefully not my end.

If I slip up and the Silver Hunters find out why I’m really here, they’ll kill me on the spot. Like most people, they don’t like being played.

I approach the bridge, my footsteps heavy on its wood. At the front door, I ring the bell and wait.

Nothing happens.

Sighing, I look at the window next to the door. "I'm here to see Finnegan. I have a proposition that will interest her."

Another moment passes, then the door finally opens. A Silver Hunter with a thick beard frowns at me. He’s removed his helmet, but his sword remains at his hip, and he’s dressed head to toe in black—the Silver Hunter uniform.

"You're that guy who's always playing wizard," he says.

Anger boils up my chest. "Where's Finnegan?"

He crosses his arms. "She's busy."

I push past him and into the school.

"Hey!" he shouts at me. "You can't just come in here!"

He goes to grab me, but I swipe his arm away. When he tries again, the incantation is on the tip of my tongue. I'm more than ready to blast this fool into next week; I'm eager.

"Enough." A voice booms through the foyer, and Gray Finnegan approaches.

She stands tall, her long, blonde hair in a ponytail down her back, her cheekbones and eyes so sharp they could cut glass. It's no surprise she's risen to one of the highest ranks in the Silver Hunters. Beautiful women are always granted shortcuts.

"What are you here for, Tyr?" She narrows her eyes at me.

I lift my chin. "I have a proposition."

She looks at the man behind me, then back at me. A long moment passes.

"Come to my office." Without another word, she turns and strides down a hallway.

I follow, aware of the three Silver Hunters on my heels. The office isn't hers, of course. It probably belonged to one of the teachers here. Maybe the headmaster.

She takes a seat behind the desk like she owns the place, though. "I'm listening."

I stay standing. "I know you're searching for the Golden Coin. I have some information you might find useful."

Her eyebrows rise. "And what information is that?"

"A riddle."

She tries to act blasé, but I can tell she's interested. "And what do you want in return for sharing this riddle?"

"Once you find that coin, you Silver Hunters will be rolling in dough. I need my payout."

Taking a piece of paper from my pocket, I put it on the desk in front of her. She picks it up and makes a face.

It's a lot of money. More than can be understandably asked for, and that's intentional. That's the only way to sell this proposition.

"And why don't you just find the coin yourself?" She puts the paper down. "If you have this precious riddle?"

"I've been searching for years." I twist my lips. "At this point, I have nothing else to go on. Whatever information you have, though, if you add my riddle to it, perhaps you can find it and then we'll both win."

She studies me. Considers it. "Where did you get the riddle?"

"Is that important?"

"It is if you're making all this up." She cocks her head.

I sneer. "From that old scholar Igor Rhodes in Dyad Marketplace. I ... persuaded him to tell me everything he knows."

"Igor Rhodes?" She frowns.

"I just paid him a second visit." I take a step closer to her desk. "I assure you; he told me everything he knows."

The door flies open, and a Silver Hunter bursts in. "Still no sign of the escaped students, ma'am. We've searched all the woods."

"I'm in a meeting." She glares at him.

"S-sorry," he stammers, then turns to go.

"Wait." She holds up her hand, her face turning red with anger. "They're only teenagers. They couldn't have gone far."

He nods, but she's not done.

"First, you lost the vampire and the Grace girl, and now you lose prisoners that should have been guarded constantly. You're making it hard for me to keep you around."

My head cocks. The Grace girl?

Could it be ...

Of course, it's her. Winter Grace.

A feverish shiver runs through me. I knew she was at this school, but I didn't think I would get to her until I had the coin, until I had unleashed the ghoul.

But the Silver Hunters are after her too.

Why? What do they know about her?

"They're fast," the hunter says. "They're moving around the islands quicker than we can track them."

I try not to smile. These two are giving me more information than they know.

So, Winter is looking for the coin as well. But why?

To save her parents?

Does she even know that they're alive?

Or does she want it to save her school?

Either way, I need her gone. She's too powerful and too much of a nuisance. The sooner I have her out of the way, the better.

And now I see a way to kill two birds with one stone. My original plan was to send the Silver Hunters after the coin, and once they had it, I would dispose of them and take it for myself.

But perhaps now they can do me two favors. If Winter is after the coin as well, then likely they want to kill her in order to take out the competition.

It's hard to hide my glee.

"Leave." She waves her hand at the Silver Hunter, and he slinks into the hallway.

Finnegan looks back at me. "You have a deal. What's the riddle?"

My lips twist into a grin. Finally, things are looking up for me.