Hazel had run away from her mother . . . again.
She was a beautiful girl. She wanted to find trouble, to stir up some chaos and scandal. She was the great-granddaughter of a Dane King. She was the daughter to the closest friend of the now-dethroned Storm Queen. Which self-respecting pup wouldn’t want to cause some shenanigans with her?
With luck, it would be a hot second before her mother noticed she was missing. Hazel had run to the lake, then to the burned husk of the Ashen Woodlands twice-but now she was going to the other woodland, which was reportedly filled with glowing yellow things called fireflies. Ick. She wanted to at least see them, though. She could brag to her brother Hael.
What did they taste like?
She leaped into the trees, giggling and grinning. But as she rolled into a tree, she suddenly fell limp without realizing anything was wrong.

“That’s the price you’re payin’ if you want my magic!”