Page 10 of Avaritia

“Come,” I commanded, feeling the phantom shadows ushering her forward, though I was too hungry to actually form them. What a sorry state of affairs Allerick had let the realm fall into. I would have never allowed such things to be had I inherited our father’s crown.

I would have found a way to bring all of the Hunters here by now, and after enough time in the shadow realm, they would learn to enjoy being the Hunted again. We would be fed, they would be content—the ones who’d come here already seemed perfectly happy—and the natural order would be restored. It was baffling that Allerick hadn’t even attempted such measures.

At the very least, I would have bribed more of them here by now. My brother was such a lazy ruler. His strategy seemed to be: let whoever wanted to come show up when they felt like, and, in the meantime, let the realm starve.

Begrudgingly, I could admit that I had no idea about the history of the connection between Hunters and Shades until my informant at the palace had relayed it to me. While it was merely good fortune that Allerick had stumbled upon this far superior source of power, he’d at least had the good sense not to squander his queen when he’d discovered what she could do.

The problem was that his current method of dealing with the Hunters—a lunatic organization whom he should have never attempted a treaty with in the first place—was going to be the death of us all.

No one wanted to talk about it, but I would. The stores were dwindling. When they were empty, Shades would die en masse.

“It’s raining,” Verity said unnecessarily as we stepped out of the entry room, hidden away in the trees near my home.

“It rarely isn’t.”

This was a particularly lush, verdant region, in large part because of how much it rained.

“Whoa,” Verity breathed, looking up at my home as we broke through the tree line. “This is nearly as big as the palace.”

I bristled. “This is the original palace, and it is far older and of greater historical importance than the hideous, oversized one the king lives in.”

Verity looked up at me with wide, unblinking brown eyes, carefully shifting the bag containing her small pet beast from one hand to the other. “I’m sensing some sibling tension here.”

“Why would I feel any kind of tension? I am superior to my brother in every way.” Except for raw strength, apparently. “My sister will give you a tour of the castle later. For now, I will show you to your room.”

“Okey dokey.”

“You do realize that you are my captive now?” I confirmed, because Verity didn’t seem to understand the magnitude of her situation.

“Right, right. I volunteered to be your captive.” The corner of her mouth twitched, and the motion was quite enchanting.

“You clearly didn’t know what you were volunteering for. You are my captive. You will live here forever, and I will feed from you at my leisure.”

“Well, if you say so.” She shrugged dismissively.

Perhaps the Hunters weren’t very intelligent?

All the more reason for us to have rounded them up long ago. For their own safety, if this one was anything to go by.

Wilder would bring her things through the servants’ entrance, but I took my time showing Verity through the front door. Partly to let her appreciate the ornate architecture and grand entryway, and partly because I was finding it difficult to walk at all. This route allowed me to take more natural stops for Verity to admire her new home.

Aderith appeared from the servants’ entrance next to the stairs, inclining her head respectfully and watching Verity with unabashed curiosity. She and Wilder had all but raised me since birth, not much shocked them anymore.

“Aderith, this is Verity. I have stolen her from the palace. She is to feed me and will be my queen when I take over the realm.”

“Very good, Your Grace.”

“Excuse me?” Verity spluttered, staring at me with interestingly wide eyes. “Can we cool it on the treason?”

“Absolutely not. Verity, Aderith is my seneschal. She will show you to your room. Second floor. The east-facing one,” I added quietly.

Aderith blinked, the only sign of her surprise. There was only one east-facing room on the second floor, and it had never been used during my time. Before they could leave, my sister appeared at the top of the stairs, surveying Verity coldly.

“What is that doing here?” she asked disdainfully.

“Wow,” Verity laughed, a loud, bright sound that echoed off the walls. “Way to make a girl feel welcome.”

I was slightly taken aback by her confidence. Melody-Rainywillow wasn’t quite of age yet, still a child to our kind, but she could gut Verity with almost no effort.

---